Video Card Upgrade?

[Paul]

Archived from groups: alt.sys.pc-clone.dell (More info?)

I have a DEll 4600 with a Nvidia GeForce 5200X video card.The 5200X can
barely handle Doom 3 pretty jerky at times. I'm not a heavy gamer but I like
things to look and go smoothly on screen. Will updating the drivers help?
Dell's web site has no updates listed. Nvidia shows an update. Should I
update the drivers or get a better video card? In order to protect my
computer warranty do I have to purchase a video card from Dell?

 

[Guest]

Archived from groups: alt.sys.pc-clone.dell (More info?)

"Paul" <atwater@(NOSPAM)pacbell.net> wrote in message
news:rpoqd.26123$zx1.10231@newssvr13.news.prodigy.com...
>I have a DEll 4600 with a Nvidia GeForce 5200X video card.The 5200X can
>barely handle Doom 3 pretty jerky at times. I'm not a heavy gamer but I
>like things to look and go smoothly on screen. Will updating the drivers
>help?
> Dell's web site has no updates listed. Nvidia shows an update. Should I
> update the drivers or get a better video card? In order to protect my
> computer warranty do I have to purchase a video card from Dell?
>

Paul,

I don't play DIII, but I understand that it is taxing to even the most
impressive PCs when all of the "eye candy" in the game settings are turned
up. So, if you're trying to run the game with many features maximized, then
I don't know that even the best card out there will entirely fix the
problems you're seeing.

Before you drop some serious bucks, read around a bit. Here's some quick
links:

http://www.xbitlabs.com/articles/video/display/doom-3-tests_11.html

http://www.techreport.com/onearticle.x/7133

http://www.tweakguides.com/Doom3_2.html

http://doom.neoseeker.com/DOOM_3/PC/pages/performance_tweaks/


Stew

 

[Guest]

Archived from groups: alt.sys.pc-clone.dell (More info?)

"Paul" <atwater@(NOSPAM)pacbell.net> wrote in message news:rpoqd.26123$zx1.10231@newssvr13.news.prodigy.com...
>I have a DEll 4600 with a Nvidia GeForce 5200X video card.The 5200X can
> barely handle Doom 3 pretty jerky at times. I'm not a heavy gamer but I like
> things to look and go smoothly on screen. Will updating the drivers help?
> Dell's web site has no updates listed. Nvidia shows an update. Should I
> update the drivers or get a better video card? In order to protect my
> computer warranty do I have to purchase a video card from Dell?

As has already been mentioned, the 5200 isn't a very powerfull card
by today's standards. Tom's Hardware Guide is one site that reviews
graphics cards:

http://graphics.tomshardware.com/graphic/index.html

And has benchmarked cards using a Doom III demo on high quality:

http://graphics.tomshardware.com/graphic/20041004/vga_charts-08.html

At that level of detail, Doom III requires some pretty impressive hardware
to achieve acceptable frame rates. A driver update *might* buy you
an increase in performance, but I wouldn't expect much, and I certainly
wouldn't expect it to make the game playable at those levels of detail.
Have you tried bumping down the resolution and quality settings? It
depends on the person and level of detail, but when it comes to minimum
playable frame rates, the numbers discussed tend to fall somewhere in the
30-50 FPS range.

AFAIK, replacing the video card with one purchased from someone
other than Dell will not void the warranty. However, should any hardware
or software issues arise, I believe Dell will say you are on your own.

 

[Guest]

Archived from groups: alt.sys.pc-clone.dell (More info?)

The 5200 is the bottom of the line for Nvidia. Go with a new video card.

"Paul" <atwater@(NOSPAM)pacbell.net> wrote in message
news:rpoqd.26123$zx1.10231@newssvr13.news.prodigy.com...
>I have a DEll 4600 with a Nvidia GeForce 5200X video card.The 5200X can
>barely handle Doom 3 pretty jerky at times. I'm not a heavy gamer but I
>like things to look and go smoothly on screen. Will updating the drivers
>help?
> Dell's web site has no updates listed. Nvidia shows an update. Should I
> update the drivers or get a better video card? In order to protect my
> computer warranty do I have to purchase a video card from Dell?
>

 

[Guest]

Archived from groups: alt.sys.pc-clone.dell (More info?)

"Paul" <atwater@(NOSPAM)pacbell.net> wrote:

>In order to protect my
>computer warranty do I have to purchase a video card from Dell?

No.

But.

Keep the old card on hand. If you call in with a computer
problem which /could/ be the result of a video card problem, the
Dell tech will ask you to restore your computer to its original
configuration, i.e., reinstall the original card for
troubleshooting purposes. They take no responsibility for any
replacement hardware you might have installed, like a new video
card.
--
OJ III
[Email to Yahoo address may be burned before reading.
Lower and crunch the sig and you'll net me at comcast.]