Radeon 9200 SE 128mb - Should it be this bad?

[poodlehead]

I didn't want to spend a whole pile of money on a gaming machine so I kind of improvised. I bought a cheap futureshop 2.6Ghz Cicero computer about a year ago and I plopped a $100 Radeon 9200 SE video card in there. I also put in 1 Gig of RAM.

My current addiction is World of Warcraft, but I often find myself getting as low as 0.3 FPS (if you play games, you'll know that's low enough to make somebody want to pull their hair out).

On a side note, for months my computer has been freezing when left unattended over night, or while running quicktime movies or sometimes just browsing the internet, but I have a feeling this is a different issue.

Anyways, I know Cicero computers are less than desirable for gaming machines, or anything for that matter. And my video card isn't top of the line, but I would think that kind of mind numbing lag is just too much. Should it really be that bad?

P.S. - I never run any background programs while I'm playing games, and I've configured the system startup to only load up necessary applications.

 

[dhlucke]

You should check the hardware part of the site to see how your card does. I know it doesn't do very well.

In the end, it might be doing .3fps but if we get you all the way up to a whooping 20 fps you're still going to be unhappy.

Here's the VGA chart that has the closest thing to your card
http://graphics.tomshardware.com/graphic/20031229/index.html

 

[Crashman]

9200SE is an underclocked Radeon 8500 with half the memory bandwidth taken away. And the Radeon 8500 was ridiculed for being slower than a GeForce3.

So basically you get the performance of what...let me think...a Radeon 7200? But with newer features?

 

[margag_]

lockup when always on is common for many low end computer system or
os that have not been freshend for a long time.

may be it is time to startup all again with a fresh install.

heat makes it worst so make sure you have a good airflow .


your vid card is out of date an out of tune with the computer do ot expect
much with it.

 

[godlyatheist]

sry but you paid $100 for the 9200???? you could've gotten a 6600LE for that!!!

 

[dhlucke]

Were those out a year ago?

 

[bobbydamm]

I think I saw that baby card at Wal Mart for 50 clams...close-out.
Gone. Yesterdays news.
2001 Technology rebadged and remarketed.
(can you say Crippled 8500?)
But if it's all ya got. well, OK. :x

 

[poodlehead]

Well darn. I had no idea it was such a junk heap when I bought it. I guess it could have been more towards 2 years ago now that I think about it. Thanks for all the replies. At least now I know I shouldn't be expecting anything more out of it.
Christmas is coming up and I think I might just treat myself to a new video card. I'd really like to stay below $200-250 though. Like I said above, I'm totally addicted to World of Warcraft, and I sometimes play some Counter Strike with my buddies. And I'm sorry to say I know next to nothing when it comes to shopping for a video card. Does anyone have any suggestions on what could possibly make for a good choice? Thanks again in advance!

 

[ShadowdogKGB]

There's excellent deals to be had on video cards now. Heck, you can even find Radeon 9800 Pro's for around a 100 bucks now. The Geforce 6800GS AGP version is supposed to be available anytime now for 200-250. You couldn't go wrong with that one.

 

[Nights_L]

Isn't a 8500 faster than a GeForce3?

 

[Spitfire_x86]

GeForce3 Ti500 > GeForce3/Radeon 8500 > GeForce3 Ti200

 

[pauldh]

Once drivers got worked out the Radeon 8500 kept pace with the GF3 Ti500 and actually beat it in some games. I'd still have rather have had the Ti500 though.(I had an 8500 back then) But yeah, I'd say the Radeon 8500 was a little better than a plain GF3 or GF3Ti200.

 

[bobbydamm]

The 9200 isn't junk, but it's a very scaled back version of a once muscular stud (The Grand Am of Cards....Radeon 8500 128mb)
Nvidia's drivers made the Geforce 3 a Killer.
If you can, get an X800XL AGP
they are getting cheaper in price and the performance is Very Nice.
You'll need a good 350+ watt PSU plus $$$ for the card.
If that's out of range check out the Nvidia 6600 or Radeon X700Pro.
Both cards can be in the $150 price range (X800XL is more$) but will definitely get the job done.
Leaning more towards 6600 because the reviews are so good.

 

[Crashman]

Remember that SE indicates it's a 9200 with a lowly 64-bit memory bus. Wow, that's kind of like the TNT2-M64...

 

[bobbydamm]

Ouch.

 

[wowwannabe]

I have a question. My bff has the game world of warcraft. She has showed no signs of addiction cuz shes outside every day swimming and going to the movies and walking with me. she only plays when she is at home. When i played the game at her house i loved it! my b-day is coming up and i wanted to ask my parents for the game. My mom is worried about the whole addiction and killing thing ! but i looked it up and it says 40 percent of wow players are addicted. I am scared i might get addicted but i play Sims which is somewhat alike and i limit myself. My perants usually dont let me stay on the computer for more than an hour and a half. I am very limited of how much i play! Do u think its reasonable to buy this game. Is it ok for my parents approval. My bff is 13 and i am almost 13. i used to play runescape but it eventually got boring. please let me know!

 

[FeareX]

ehmm?

 

[bfellow]

I still can't believe you paid a $100 for a 9200 SE. I bought my X1600 PRO for $88 8 months ago.

 

[slim142]

AFAIK, the 9200 is compared to an FX5200 if that makes you have an idea of how bad your card is on this days.

 

[morerevs]

See kids. This is why you shouldn't talk to Strangers... especially Strangestrangers... on the internet... go play outside. There's a whole real world for you to conquer before you try (aging) virtual worlds

 

[slim142]

did you even look at the dates on these posts.

Wow! Sorry I never thought it was this old. I only saw it on the scroll menu in main page and I thought it was a new topic :S

 

[Spikke]

Holy necropost batman.

 

[SEALBoy]

AFAIK, the 9200 is compared to an FX5200 if that makes you have an idea of how bad your card is on this days.

My 9250 served me well, it ran Halo (medium-high) and Age of Empires III (medium-low). I don't think it should have had much trouble running WoW.

 

[slim142]

well, i see him 1 on every 50 topics :?

 

[Crashman]

I had to leave room for you to handle a few.