Question for Hardware Guru's

[Guest]

Archived from groups: alt.games.neverwinter-nights (More info?)

I'm thinking about upgrading one of my computers for NWN HotU.

For the model, the memory is max'ed out and the CPU is close to it, so
the only real option is graphics card. I was hoping to get some
opinions as to how much bang-for-the-buck I could get if I sprang for a
card between $200 and $300, and what card you would suggest at that range.

Current Specs:
P3 933MHz
512M Memory
NVIDIA Geoforce2 MX200
Win2000 SP4

 

[Guest]

Archived from groups: alt.games.neverwinter-nights (More info?)

On Wed, 14 Apr 2004 14:30:04 GMT, everlast@jmjservices.com scrawled:

> Current Specs:
> P3 933MHz
> 512M Memory
> NVIDIA Geoforce2 MX200
> Win2000 SP4
>

GF4 runs it rather well, though I'm not up to speed on the current nvidia
cards. Bear in mind that it's openGL, so getting a card with good openGL
performance will help the most.

--
http://www.rexx.co.uk

To email me, visit the site.

 

[Guest]

Archived from groups: alt.games.neverwinter-nights (More info?)

"Rexx Magnus" <trashcan@uk2.net> wrote in message
news:Xns94CBA14B49AF1rexxdeansaund@130.133.1.4...
> On Wed, 14 Apr 2004 14:30:04 GMT, everlast@jmjservices.com scrawled:
>
> > Current Specs:
> > P3 933MHz
> > 512M Memory
> > NVIDIA Geoforce2 MX200
> > Win2000 SP4
> >
>
> GF4 runs it rather well, though I'm not up to speed on the current nvidia
> cards. Bear in mind that it's openGL, so getting a card with good openGL
> performance will help the most.
>
> --
> http://www.rexx.co.uk
>
> To email me, visit the site.
NVidia cards are GREAT! I have prefered them over any others in the past,
however, I did break down and tried a Radeon 9000 (this was a while ago),
1.) to see how the card preformed and 2.) it was about $100 cheaper than the
equivelant Gforce card at the time. And I must say I have never looked back.
great preformance and great visual in both openGL and D3D, though it does
look better with D3D than openGL games but I have never had any problems
running either type, in fact I have yet to find a game my machine won't play
and I am often the envy at our local LAN parties. That being said though it
is really personal preference, you might wanna hook up at a LAN party or see
if you can compare 2 eqivelent cards and go with what you like for the
price. Nvidia certainly looks great especially on game code written for it,
but IMHO the Radeon has great diversity overall if your gonna plan on
playing alot of different kind of games...
I,m Running
Athalon XP 1500 CPU
512M DDR
Radeon 9000 (still, but planning an upgrade soon)
WinXP Pro sp1
Nothing real impressive but good performance and visual, very happy with her

 

[Guest]

Archived from groups: alt.games.neverwinter-nights (More info?)

with that mobo/memory configuration, anything more than Geforce 3 or
equivilant is goint to be held back by that FSB/memory speed. Look in the
Geforce FX 5700 or equivilant range, with a new mobo/memory for a 200-300
buck upgrade. Almost anyway ya look at it, for best performance where yer
system board ain't yer bottleneck, ya gonna haveta come off for a faster
Front Side Bus ( FSB ) cpu/memory/mainboard. otherwise as another poster
already sed, when it gets heated in NWN, or nearly any title 2002 or newer
you most likely are gonna be lookin at a slide show.

....Syn...

 

[Guest]

Archived from groups: alt.games.neverwinter-nights (More info?)

everlast@jmjservices.com wrote:
> For the model, the memory is max'ed out and the CPU is close to it, so
> the only real option is graphics card. I was hoping to get some
> opinions as to how much bang-for-the-buck I could get if I sprang for a
> card between $200 and $300, and what card you would suggest at that range.


In that price range, you can get pretty much anything. I've run NWN on
an old ATI 128 Pro, a Radeon 9000 and (currently) a Radeon 9600.
Overall, I thought the 9000 had the best look. In the $200 - $300 price
range, you can get a Radeon 9800 Pro or GeForce FX5900, both near
state-of-the-art right now. I've always preferred ATI cards, but nVidia
is certainly good.
--
Barry Scott Will
Pyric RPG Publications
http://www.pyric.com/

If you insist on emailing me, remove all the **JUNK** first

 

[Guest]

Archived from groups: alt.games.neverwinter-nights (More info?)

Yes, you'll get a great card for that price, but you may soon find that you
have a bottleneck at your processor. I run the game on a 1GHz (Athlon) with
768MB and a RADEON 9700 Pro. Things get unbearably chunky during some heavy
combat (the worst time possible, of course). On a friend's system with an
equivalent (slightly less powerful, actually) GeForce but a 2GHz AMD, the
game runs much more smoothly.

I get the feeling you mean you would have to upgrade your mainboard to
upgrade your processor, though. Got the same problem, myself. :\

 

[Guest]

Archived from groups: alt.games.neverwinter-nights (More info?)

On Wed, 14 Apr 2004 16:23:23 GMT, QUINN R PAYNE scrawled:

> NVidia cards are GREAT! I have prefered them over any others in the
> past, however, I did break down and tried a Radeon 9000 (this was a
> while ago), 1.) to see how the card preformed and 2.) it was about $100
> cheaper than the equivelant Gforce card at the time. And I must say I
> have never looked back. great preformance and great visual in both
> openGL and D3D, though it does look better with D3D than openGL games
> but I have never had any problems running either type, in fact I have
> yet to find a game my machine won't play and I am often the envy at our
> local LAN parties.

*snip*

I wasn't sure how good they were. I'd had an ATI in the past, way back
when the rage 128 came out, and was depressed that the openGL performance
at the time was rather poor compared to a matrox g200 (which was a much
older card at the time) - so I'd tended to avoid them.

I guess the main issue now with choosing a card, is whether the chipset
handles most of the features that current games require.

--
http://www.rexx.co.uk

To email me, visit the site.

 

[Guest]

Archived from groups: alt.games.neverwinter-nights (More info?)

"everlast@jmjservices.com" <everlast@jmjservices.com> looked up from
reading the entrails of the porn spammer to utter "The Augury is good,
the signs say:

>I'm thinking about upgrading one of my computers for NWN HotU.
>
>For the model, the memory is max'ed out and the CPU is close to it, so
>the only real option is graphics card. I was hoping to get some
>opinions as to how much bang-for-the-buck I could get if I sprang for a
>card between $200 and $300, and what card you would suggest at that range.
>
>Current Specs:
>P3 933MHz
>512M Memory
>NVIDIA Geoforce2 MX200
>Win2000 SP4

Well there's no point in going right for the top of the line, since your
processor is going to end up being a bottleneck instead.

Probably your best bet for the current system is a Geforce4 Ti4200.
NWN runs just dandy here on my GeForce3Ti200 (i'd have bought a 4200 but
they weren't available here at the time I had to upgrade from my
voodoo3.) Stay well away from the GeForce4MX cards, they're pretty much
an Gf2MX card with a different (faster) memory subsystem and are
generally garbage.

Once you get round to upgrading the rest of the system (or building a
second system, then you can worry about getting a card suitable for that
system.)

Xocyll
--
I don't particularly want you to FOAD, myself. You'll be more of
a cautionary example if you'll FO And Get Chronically, Incurably,
Painfully, Progressively, Expensively, Debilitatingly Ill. So
FOAGCIPPEDI. -- Mike Andrews responding to an idiot in asr

 

[lee]

Archived from groups: alt.games.neverwinter-nights (More info?)

Xocyll wrote:

> Well there's no point in going right for the top of the line, since your
> processor is going to end up being a bottleneck instead.
>
> Probably your best bet for the current system is a Geforce4 Ti4200.
> NWN runs just dandy here on my GeForce3Ti200 (i'd have bought a 4200 but
> they weren't available here at the time I had to upgrade from my
> voodoo3.) Stay well away from the GeForce4MX cards, they're pretty much
> an Gf2MX card with a different (faster) memory subsystem and are
> generally garbage.
>
> Once you get round to upgrading the rest of the system (or building a
> second system, then you can worry about getting a card suitable for that
> system.)
>
> Xocyll

/delurk

Just to second that, although HoTU runs fine on my notebook with
a P4 2.8 and a Geforce Go 420 (similar to a GF4 MX) Obviously with the
eye candy turned down
There is a slight slowdown in some scenes, but not as much as when I had
a Geforce3 /P3 933 desktop

Also runs fine on my current desktop machine with
an XP2800 and Geforce3 Ti500.

/go back to lurking now

Lee
--
Email address is valid, but doesn't get read.

 

[Guest]

Archived from groups: alt.games.neverwinter-nights (More info?)

alordofchaos@yahoo.com (Anonymous Jack) wrote in message news:<cf889346.0404160457.489d232@posting.google.com>...
> I'll agree with the suggestion for a better vid card first.
> Processor-wise, many have had success with overclocking the Tualatin
> Celerons (currently roughly $37 US for the 1.2/1.3GHz range) using an
> inexpensive ($12) adapter (see DellTalk's Inspiron hardware upgrade
> forums)<snip>

D'Oh! I meant the Dell Dimension forums, not Inspirom - IIRC, people
were mostly doing this in Dimension 4100s. The guys who came up with
this:
http://www.kilowattalley.com/easy.htm

Note that the website is outdated (hasn't been updated in a year) and
you will find updated information in the Dell Talk forums. Instead of
breaking off a pin in the socket, you can jumper a couple of pins.
I've been running a Tualatin Celeron 1.3 @ 133Mhz FSB (resulting in
1.73GHz) for about a year now, with no added cooling needed, total
cost <$50

 

[Guest]

Archived from groups: alt.games.neverwinter-nights (More info?)

<everlast@jmjservices.com> wrote in message
news:MVbfc.13913$ci4.12254@fe1.columbus.rr.com...
> I'm thinking about upgrading one of my computers for NWN HotU.
>
> For the model, the memory is max'ed out and the CPU is close to it, so
> the only real option is graphics card. I was hoping to get some
> opinions as to how much bang-for-the-buck I could get if I sprang for a
> card between $200 and $300, and what card you would suggest at that range.
>
> Current Specs:
> P3 933MHz
> 512M Memory
> NVIDIA Geoforce2 MX200
> Win2000 SP4
>
>

Geforce 4 Ti or any FX 5600 or above

 

[Guest]

Archived from groups: alt.games.neverwinter-nights (More info?)

On Fri, 16 Apr 2004 23:51:27 GMT, "John Lynch, Jr."
<nospammers_jlynch@se.rr.com> wrote:

>
><everlast@jmjservices.com> wrote in message
>news:MVbfc.13913$ci4.12254@fe1.columbus.rr.com...
>> I'm thinking about upgrading one of my computers for NWN HotU.
>>
>> For the model, the memory is max'ed out and the CPU is close to it, so
>> the only real option is graphics card. I was hoping to get some
>> opinions as to how much bang-for-the-buck I could get if I sprang for a
>> card between $200 and $300, and what card you would suggest at that range.
>>
>> Current Specs:
>> P3 933MHz
>> 512M Memory
>> NVIDIA Geoforce2 MX200
>> Win2000 SP4
>>
>>
>
>Geforce 4 Ti or any FX 5600 or above

Hmm - you're probably missing out on performance for not that good a
reason there ... Geforce 4 is not Directx9 ready, which means a _big_
hit on performance for Directx9 things.

If I was looking now (and I was nearly looking for the same reason
last year ! more later), then I would look on Ebay for Radeon 9500s or
Radeon 9700s. Pro if possible ... The 9500s and 9700s are pretty
powerful beasts which are more powerful than the PIII933 can really
take advantage of but they are cards that you could keep after a
mainboard upgrade.

There's some (presumably) used Radeon 9500s on Ebay (uk) for not that
much cash. Ebay is an extra risk over retail but I think it's worth it
here ... People will be looking to get rid of the older 9500s and
9700s in order to fit 9600s and 9800s. Could be an opportunity to get
a good bargain There's a couple of 9500s at Buy It Now prices of
£90, which is the upper limit. I wouldn't want to pay that, I'd be
expecting cheaper.

More later ? My Radeon 9700 Pro is by Sapphire. Unfortunately the fan
failed last year ... (could have been caused by me moving it between
machines - main machine was having issues). So ... I could have been
left with a melted Radeon :-(. It's now been Zalmanised though
(Big Metal Heatsink) and it's been fine ever since. Phew ! I.e., I was
that close to looking for a decent card along the same lines ...
Except the base it would be plugging into is an XP2400+

Pete Lilleyman
alishas.dontspam.addict@blueyonder.co.getrid.uk
(please get rid of ".getrid" to reply direct)
(don't get rid of the dontspam though ;-)