PCI video card to play Never Winter Nights 2

[50bmg]

A friend at work has a emachines p4 3G, 300w with no agp and no pcie slots.

are there any PCI cards under $50 out that will play NWN2?

I found this

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16814187041

will that card work?

 

[njalterio]

No it will not.

The very best that card will do is probably 10 - 20 FPS at the lowest settings possible. I played NW2 through and it was pretty demanding even for my HD 3870 and q6600 at 3 GHz. I know the 3870 isn't the best, but it's still a pretty good card.

If I remember correctly, I played with all High settings, 2x AA and linear AF and had a playable frame rate with a rare lag.

 

[50bmg]

here is that card's site:

http://www.sparkle.com.tw/product_detail.asp?id=86&sub_id=236

i cant find where it supports pixel shading.

NWN2 needs pixel shading 2.0.

 

[njalterio]

According to wikipedia Geforce 8 series supports Pixel Shader 4.0

*Technically* I am sure you could play the game with that card, it is a recent enough generation to support things like pixel shader. The only real issue is if the game will get a playable frame rate.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pixel_shader

 

[nocteratus]

http://www.xbitlabs.com/articles/video/display/geforce8-roundup_14.html#sect0

a 8500GT can't run this game at playable FPS and a 8400GS is weaker than a 8500GT.

 

[50bmg]

that is at 4xAA,16x AF @1280x1024

he will be at 0xAA, 0xAF @ 1024x768, med/low settings.

 

[nocteratus]

if you read at the bottom of the page it says the 8500GT won't be playable even with low resolution... and the 8400GS PCI version will be too weak to play this game...

 

[nocteratus]

Well it might run the game at 800*600 with 12-15fps with low settings, that's not what I call playable fps for that type of game...

 

[50bmg]

LOL, i agree. I don't play anything under 30fps and dont like to play anything under 60.

I think i will try to talk him into a micro atx p45 and pcie 9600GT/ATI 4830 or equivalent. Depending on the power consumption.

Thanks

 

[nocteratus]

Well the 8400GS Pci-E MIGHT get @ 1024*768 medium setting:
Max fps: 30
Low fps: 10
Avg fps: 16
Those number are speculation only if compare to other games like Farcry2 and oblivion.

And the regular PCI version will be a little slower.

 

[KyleSTL]

The best PCI cards ever made are the HD 2400Pro and the 8400GS. Neither will play that game reasonably.