Video card help

[sageridder]

I've looked all over and cannot find a simple answer any help is appreciated.
I've got this build.

Dell dimension 4700
pentium 4 processor 550 with ht tech 3.4GHz
2GB DDR2 SDRAM at 400MHz
160GB hard drive
128MB Radeon x300 se video card

A friend bought the wrong video card and waited too long to return it, so it's being gifted to me.It's a 128MB Radeon x800, From what I could find this is a decent upgrade not top end but decent. So happy with this little bit of luck, I decide I'm finally going to get around to installing NWN2. It calls for a Ati 9700 pro or nVidia 6600 at min requirement. I just haven't been able to figure if my new card will be enough to run this game. For people that know thier video cards I am sure I sound retarded but this is an area I just don't know that much about. Any help appreciated.

[Hivetyrant]

It will meet the game's advertised requirement's.

However NWN's 2 is a game that eats babies and chews your hardware up and spits it in your face..... so to speak...

But yes, either of those cards would work Just dont expect to run on max quality.

EDIT: BTW, have you installed the new card yet? I only ask because most (not all) of the x800 cards were AGP and I believe your PC would be PCIe......

[ 02-23-2007, 01:44 AM: Message edited by: Hivetyrant ]

[sageridder]

Ok, good to know thanks. No haven't installed the card yet, I only told them I could make use of it tonight. So hopefully I'll recive it within a week or so. It is pci express that's the problem they had with it, they didn't have a slot to except it. I expect I'll have to tone down the game settings to run it, just wanted know if it would run it. On a side note will this card enhance the apperance of video I view from youtube or other sites,(love the mma highlights) or is that all determined by the download quality ?

[ 02-23-2007, 02:30 AM: Message edited by: sageridder ]

[PurpleXVI]

The card will not affect anything pre-recorded like something on YouTube or such. Nor is it likely to do much for anything 2D. That is, as you say, entirely determined by the original video quality.

You'll only notice a difference in how high you can crank the settings of 3D applications without experiencing any chop.

[Ilander]

I've owned the x800 for about a year and a half now. I've got the x800GTO version specifically, which is their budget-conscious release. I plan to upgrade to a GeForce 8800GTS 320 MB version when I've got the money, but y'know. Anyway, I am intimately familiar with the card.


Mmmmm, the x800GTO. That's what Hosscat runs on, and I am *mostly* very satisfied with it. Here are my complaints, in order of prevalence:

1) Does not support Direct X 10.
2) Does not support Shader Model 3.
3) Will not run Hellgate: London at a high framerate with maximum visual quality.
4) Cannot run ESIV: Oblivion at a high framerate with maximum visual quality.

Here's the games I play with it:
ESIII Morrowind
Counterstrike Condition Zero
GTAIII and GTA VC
Star Wars JK II, Battlefront, and KOTOR
NWN (1)
World of Warcraft
Need for Speed Underground II
Call of Cthulhu: Dark Corners of the Earth
ESIV: Oblivion
Battlefield 2142

Only two games cannot be run at full settings, and that's the bottom two.

BF2142 runs well, with all settings on 1152 X 864, including 6 times Antialiasing. Not so at 1280 X 1024

Oblivion runs well, but I get frame hits during fights. I have grass turned completely off (I don't really like dropping things and losing them). It's worth noting that with a properly updated Catalyst Control Center, you can have HDR lighting AND antialiasing in this game, though, and it does not hit the performance too badly.

To do it, you have to hardcode your graphics card to antialias in all games (very simple to do, just enable it in Catalyst).

Voila. Turn Oblivion's AA off (your card will still AA), and turn on HDR lighting.

I find that at absolute max settings with Oblivion, I get 15-20 fps outdoors and 30-35 indoors.

Plus, the x800 supports adaptive AA, which is very efficient, and works wonders on game environments without as much of a performance hit as normal AA. Enable within Catalyst.

[ 02-23-2007, 08:43 AM: Message edited by: Ilander ]

[PurpleXVI]

I've got an 8800 GTX, 4 GB RAM and even I can't run BF2142 at max settings. That thing is even more horrifying than Doom 3 at swallowing system resources for it's graphics.

Of course, I could probably press it higher than I currently do, but I actually get a bit of a tactical advantage out of turning off some things, like some of the shadow and lighting stuff. Less places for people to hide.

[Hivetyrant]

Wow, I was able to run BF2142 at max back when I was using a x1900xtx.....

But yes, it is a resource hog.

[Bozos of Bones]

They just don't make them like they used to.