Can anyone explain the Differences of Videocards,Im confused

[Alden]

ok i have a geforce fx 5200 I played this game you see, like guild wars but its laaagy !! but weird thing is I can play wow with no scratch using FX.The requirements of this game said you need to have this specs too play it fast:


GeForce4 TI/Radeon 8500 (or equivalent) with 64 Mb VRAM

what are the differences of GeForce4 TI and geforce fx 5200 and the latest series of geforces im confused !!! There's an MX too! so how will i know whats the best and whats The worst!!

 

[Xzar]

A quick way to compare the performance of newer cards:

http://www23.tomshardware.com/graphics.html?modelx=33&model1=584&model2=607&chart=204

older AGP cards
http://www.tomshardware.com/2005/07/05/vga_charts_vii/page7.html

You should also pay attention to the video card slot on your motherboard. Your motherboard probably has an AGP slot, so you should buy a card with an AGP connector.

Video cards specify which power supply they need to function properly, that's something important to consider too.

And for low priced cards, the 512 MB versions are slower than the 256 MB version.

The newer Nvidia card names follow this format

XY00

X is the name of the generation
Y is the category of the card: 3 is for business users, 6 and higher is for gaming

XY00
7300: 7th generation, used in business applications, bad for gaming
7600: 7th generation, used for gaming, mid-power card
8800: 8th generation, used for gaming, very powerful card

 

[Alden]

That didnt helped lol i dont get the bars and crap or am i just stupid :?

what about this Vid card GeForce4 TI is it better than geforce FX 5200

And thanks for the info! about the X and Y

 

[sirheck]

dude 8O

you need to go back to the future.

 

[sirheck]

That didnt helped lol i dont get the bars and crap or am i just stupid :?

what about this Vid card GeForce4 TI is it better than geforce FX 5200

And thanks for the info! about the X and Y

they are about the same
the 5200 has dx9.0

 

[SEALBoy]

You need an upgrade. Mind telling us how much you can spend, if any?

Although I am not totally sure about this (someone correct me if I'm wrong), the GeForce 4 Ti series should outperform the GeForce FX5200, the reason being the GeForceFX 5200 is a low-end card of a newer generation, and the GeForce 4 Ti is a high end card of the previous generation - and as a rule of thumb high end cards of the previous generation outperform low-end of cards of the subsequent generation.

The GeForceFX series can be considered as GeForce5. They were crappy cards, and you unfortunately got among the crappiest of the bunch. nVidia redeemed itself with the Geforce6/7/8 series of cards.

There are 3 main categories of cards in each generation: low end, midrange, and high end. Low-end are usually A200/A300(A=6,7, not 8 yet). Mid-range are usually A600. High end are A800/A900. This is a very general rule. There are variations in each class of cards, sometimes with significant peformance impacts. That is why, rather than choosing a card yourself, you should tell us your budget and we can recommend you the best bang for your buck.

 

[Alden]

:?

 

[AwsmGy]

If you're using a 5200 then you have an AGP card, the 8800 isn't an option for you unless you start doing major upgrades to your computer. If you still want to upgrade just your video card you can probably get an AGP 7600GT and be just fine.

 

[Fire_Zealot]

I also have an FX 5200, and as others have said, you PROBABLY have an AGP motherboard. Its also possible that you have a motherboard with PCI.(not PCI express)


All new cards are of the PCI Express varient, so stuff like an 8800GTX are out of the question. If you are with an AGP slot, then you can go with some 7th generation cards or most 6th generation cards. ( like an 7600GT, X1950 Pro or 6600GT)

If you are of the PCI slot, then you are in bad luck. PCI slots for GPUs is ancient. You cant get much better. Your best hope for an PCI slot would be an Radeon 9800.


If you can tell us what slot you are using, it will be very usefull. Also, what are your other components? You may also be hanged back because of your RAM or CPU.

 

[PCAnalyst]

Here are the diferent types of PCI slots:
Wikipedia

Here is an AGP Slot: MysuprPC

Check to see if one of those match and get back to us and let us know.

 

[fatcat]

If you are of the PCI slot, then you are in bad luck. PCI slots for GPUs is ancient. You cant get much better. Your best hope for an PCI slot would be an Radeon 9800.

I still have a Radeon 9800 and those were AGP cards unless they made PCI version that I am not aware of.

 

[Fire_Zealot]

If you are of the PCI slot, then you are in bad luck. PCI slots for GPUs is ancient. You cant get much better. Your best hope for an PCI slot would be an Radeon 9800.

I still have a Radeon 9800 and those were AGP cards unless they made PCI version that I am not aware of.


well, I have no personal experiance with the ATI side of that generation. All I do know is that nvida did make some PCI GPUs as well. High level GPUs of that gen were AGP, but low and mid levels were PCI as well.

here is a link to a PCI Nvidia FX 5500.
http://www.bfgtech.com/5500OC_pci.html


right here is a link to an FX 5200 PCI
http://www.bfgtech.com/5200_256.html


at the top left you will see the box says PCI and another says AGP...

 

[masterboy27]

Best thing is to upgrade your video card.

 

[Alden]

ok Zealot my motherboard is an Asrock motherboard it says i have 1 AGI or should i say AGP8x for vga upgrade......... what is the best video card i can buy for this kind of motherboard? as in for GAMING!!!!!!!!!!!!!! :x

 

[Alden]

ok i have $340 saved up. So I just want the video card that is called EVGA 8800GTX they say this is the best card for gaming correct?

Can you just tell me what are the best series that I can buy? MX?FX?GTX? what do you recommend for the best gaming experience.....

If i cant afford it or the price is too high, can you tell me what card I can buy that is worth the buying for gaming Thanks!!

what does this mean ?? A200/A300 << huh ? model ?

A200/A300(A=6,7, not 8 yet). Mid-range are usually A600. High end are A800/A900

 

[yakyb]

best AGP card you can get is the x1950 pro that will sort you out fine LINK TO CARD

whilst the 8800 is better it uses a new type of slot that you dont have

could you post your full system specifications so we could give you full advise

 

[Fire_Zealot]

ok i have $340 saved up. So I just want the video card that is called EVGA 8800GTX they say this is the best card for gaming correct?

Can you just tell me what are the best series that I can buy? MX?FX?GTX? what do you recommend for the best gaming experience.....

If i cant afford it or the price is too high, can you tell me what card I can buy that is worth the buying for gaming Thanks!!

what does this mean ?? A200/A300 << huh ? model ?

A200/A300(A=6,7, not 8 yet). Mid-range are usually A600. High end are A800/A900

as yakyb said, the most powerful AGP 8X is the X1950 Pro. Be careful you get the AGP version, as there is also similar versions for PCI e.

However, it might be overkill. A Pentium 4 2.6 ghz with 512 RAM(for instance) would never be able to use an X1950 Pro to its potential. Post your entire system specs( or atleast CPU and RAM) and we can give you a more detailed suggestion.


Let me try to explain the differance between AGP and PCI e. AGP stands for Accelerated Graphics Port. Its an older technology, PCI Express is the newcommer. PCI e is better because it provides more bandwith.

All new and powerful cards are PCI e only. 8800GTX, 7950 GX2, X1900XTX.... they are all PCI e. AGP has been relagated to the back.


The FX, GT, XTX,Pro, PE, GTX... They are all just branding. They signify the GPUs level.

FX was only used for Nvidia 5th generation Geforce cards. A card with the FX is now considered EXTREMLY weak.

MX is an Nvidia only thing. I Think it was only used for 2nd Gen Gefore cards. Dont worry about MX or FX.

The others ar just monikers for the level. For Nvidia, the weakest level is GS. Then GT, then GTX. For ATI, I'm not so sure. I know XTX is best, PRO and XT is in the middle. PE I think was just for the X850....


However, number is the most important(generally). The A with the numbers graph is like this:

The "A" stands for the generation of the card. A 8800GTX is an 8th generation card. A 6800 is an 6th generation card. For ATI, its the same idea. 9800 is 9th gen. X850 is 10th(think roman numerals). X1950 is 11th.( X + 1)

After the "A" comes the level the GPU is in. A 7900 is better than an 7600. We know this because the 9 is bigger than the 6.

Finaly, we get to the letters. A 7600 GS is WORSE than a 7600 GT. ( and its obviously worse than a 7900GTX)

However, a 7300 GT is also worse than a 7600 GS, even though the letters are worse on the 7600. Letters come last in importance.

To simplify:

Most important: 1st number, this singifies generation
2nd important: 2nd number. Signifies level of that generation
3rd important: Letters. Signigies level of that card.

Ofcourse, there are instances where this is differant, like a 6800 being better than a 7300 but I dont want to get into that.


EDIT: The lagg you talked about could also be from your internet connection. Check that.

Any modern GPU should run Guildwars no problem. Dare I say a 9800 Pro could run it, but not any where near max ofcourse.

 

[stemnin]

My cousin had an FX5200, he plays Guild Wars, so do I, he upgraded to a x850 pro and it runs well.

I had a 6200, it ran so-so, but in other games (battlefield 2, farcry, etc.) it ran kinda bad, I upgraded to a 7800 GS OC (BFG Tech), good card, too pricey though!

The 5 and 6 in 5000 and 6000 are generations, usually the lower the number (5200, 6200) are crap! 6600 and up are usually better, as for ATI, similar numbers, just the XT, XTX, PRO... are corresponding things to Nvidia's GT, GTX, GTS.. (i'm not sure what order).

For Guild Wars, x800 would run sweet, 6600, 7600 also...

Edit:
Someone mentioned the x1950 agp, I heard its insanely good card, I wish I waited for it.. should run chapter 4 good!

 

[Inshali]

hope this helps on info I cant find the 2007 update atm
http://www.tomshardware.com/2006/12/12/the_best_gaming_graphics_cards_for_the_money/page3.html
has list of pci and agp cards as well

 

[cdonato]

Dude for 340$ you might be able to buy an 8800GTS but no way on the 8800GTX besides even though that is currently the best there is you won't be able to use it since you have an old motherboard & it won't be able to be plugged into it (you dont have teh proper slot for the card)

ok i have $340 saved up. So I just want the video card that is called EVGA 8800GTX they say this is the best card for gaming correct?

Can you just tell me what are the best series that I can buy? MX?FX?GTX? what do you recommend for the best gaming experience.....

If i cant afford it or the price is too high, can you tell me what card I can buy that is worth the buying for gaming Thanks!!

what does this mean ?? A200/A300 << huh ? model ?

A200/A300(A=6,7, not 8 yet). Mid-range are usually A600. High end are A800/A900

 

[rubix_1011]

I had an email back a long time ago from a guy (who had no idea what he was buying) and got a 7800gtx, but had an AGP board. His buddy, who made him believe he knew a lot about computers, just told him to get some wire cutters and chop off parts of the pci-e connectors on the card to 'fit it' into place. He made him believe that what you were supposed to do...trim it up to fit.

Moral of the story is:

If you don't know what you are doing, make sure you find someone who does and verify they do before you take their advice. I will try to find the pic/story and post it

 

[BaldEagle]

ok i have $340 saved up. So I just want the video card that is called EVGA 8800GTX they say this is the best card for gaming correct?

Can you just tell me what are the best series that I can buy? MX?FX?GTX? what do you recommend for the best gaming experience.....

If i cant afford it or the price is too high, can you tell me what card I can buy that is worth the buying for gaming Thanks!!

what does this mean ?? A200/A300 << huh ? model ?

A200/A300(A=6,7, not 8 yet). Mid-range are usually A600. High end are A800/A900

You may be disappointed with the performance of the 8800gtx since it doesn't plus into your mother board. Some of the other suggestions may not perform as well if you can't run the cards even if the fit the slot. So before these guys get all fired up and give you the best agp card your money can buy (the x1950 pro) better figure out if will run properly. What does the label on the side of your power supply say? What processor do you have, How much ram do you have? Processor and installed ram can be found in the system section under control panel.

 

[AdamBomb42]

Hahahahahaha! That has got to be one of the funniest things that I have heard in a while. "Yeah just trim the board, that's what your suppose to do." What a jackass.

 

[rubix_1011]

I am still trying to find it...it was a classic. Goes to show you that people will try anything and expect it to work. You might be able to saw off pieces of, say, wood to make a door fit better and still have it work. But trying to do that with electronic components...don't people grasp the concept that they are there for a reason...? ...Shimming a gfx card doesn't apply...

 

[Fire_Zealot]

I had an email back a long time ago from a guy (who had no idea what he was buying) and got a 7800gtx, but had an AGP board. His buddy, who made him believe he knew a lot about computers, just told him to get some wire cutters and chop off parts of the pci-e connectors on the card to 'fit it' into place. He made him believe that what you were supposed to do...trim it up to fit.

Moral of the story is:

If you don't know what you are doing, make sure you find someone who does and verify they do before you take their advice. I will try to find the pic/story and post it

8O 8O

scary man... I'll have nightmares over that...

what type of friend wastes his money like that?