ATI 9200 or G. FX 5200

[Rev_Night]

I am helping a friend upgrade to an AMD Athlon xp 1800+, and I was wondering which gpu is better, the 9200 or the 5200. There are many reviews for the mid and high range cards, but hardly none for the value cards. It has to be one of these two since the gpu has to cost less then $100 or so. What i need to know the most is which one will hold him over the best for the next 2 years (when he will get a new one for graduation).

thanks

 

[phial]

hmmm tough question

the 5200 is dx9 hardware, yet it renders pixel shaders slower than teh 9200, which is dx8.

go for the cheapest one i guess. its a toss up, they are both entry level cards. the 5200 might have faster ram, but the 9200 is more powerful

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[Willamette_sucks]

Is he gonna be playin games?

You can get a GeForce 4 TI4200 for less than 100, which is infinitly better than the FX5200, and better than the 9200 also.


"Every Day is the Right Day." -Pink Floyd

 

[Rev_Night]

he does play games. I was thinking about getting him a g4 4200, but when it comes to half life 2 and doom 3, the 5200 is going to do better. THe g4s are only dx 8.1 while the 5200 is dx9.

 

[phial]

true

TI4200's are the best deal right now. good point mang

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[phial]

actually thats not true

even tho it is a directx 9 graphics card, it does it very slow. TI4200 is all around faster card

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[GeneticWeapon]

I was thinking about getting him a g4 4200, but when it comes to half life 2 and doom 3, the 5200 is going to do better.

That is complete and uttar bullshiit.

 

[10GHZ]

yea.. dont be fooled by the fact that it is a "FX". the 5200 are just rebadged MX cards, so defitnitly stay away from it if you are considering playing D3 and HL2.
if you HAD to choose between the 9200 and the 5200, i would probably buy the 9200

 

[TheGreatGrapeApe]

Yeah, GW's right, the GF4ti will kick the FX5200 in just about every application. Yeah so the FX is DX9, however not powerful enough to use it. It's only advantage would by in 3d screensavers!

As for the original question of the thread;<A HREF="http://www.hardocp.com/article.html?art=NDkw" target="_new">HERE's</A> and answer provided by [H], they have a good head to head.

HOWEVER, like alot people have said go for the GF4ti if you can afford it. Or an R9600/P if you can afford that.

<A HREF="http://www.hardocp.com/article.html?art=NDkw" target="_new">http://www.hardocp.com/article.html?art=NDkw</A>

10GHZ, yeah actually it appears the FX5200 is ok, and may outperform the 9200, HOWEVER I would say the 8500/9100 would beat both of them. Remember the 9200 is a 9000 with 8X agp support, but it's still not a 'pro' which would help.


- You need a licence to buy a gun, but they'll sell anyone a stamp <i>(or internet account)</i> ! <A HREF="http://www.redgreen.com" target="_new"><font color=green>RED</font color=green> <font color=red>GREEN</font color=red></A> GA to SK

 

[selfbuilt]

From what I remember of early reviews of the FX5200 non-ultra, it underperforms the 9000 non-pro on most game demos (without AA/AF). So by that reasoning, the 9200 non-pro should also be a match for it there. Similarly, the 9000 pro had a slight edge over the 5200 ultra (but again, newer drivers may have changed that). Regardless, I also agree that the 8500/9100 core is clearly superior for non-AA/AF modes.

Of course, one of the advantages for the 5200 is its AA/AF ability, but its debatable who would actually want to use it. Of the two, AF is probably the most likely thing people will turn on. The early 5200s took about a 20% hit for AF, apparently, but I know the 8500 only takes about a 10% hit (of course, the 5200 AF is likely to be superior in quality). Again, newer drivers may have helped the 5200 ... not sure on that one.

So, to summarize, hard to choose between the 9200/5200 ... but I would still go for a 8500/9100 for the same price, or the Ti4200 if close enough (around here, they still cost twice as much as the 9100s!).


Where does good judgement come from? Experience. Where does experience come from? Bad judgement.

 

[shadus]

Wrong. Dead wrong. A GF4 TI-ANYTHING is going to smoke down a 5200/9200/9100. It's a simple matter of what the original card was designed for.

The TI-4200/4400/4800SE were all designed as midrange cards (equiv of 5600/9500/9600) the TI-4600/4800 are the high end cards of that generation. In going in a single generation gap you generally gain features (read: better appearance, lighting, etc) and stay about the same speed if you stay in the same series.

Thus, if you had a MX440/420 and are content with the performance (Snicker) you would probally be content with a 9100/9200/5200.

If you had a 4200/4400/4800SE and are content with the performance you would probally be content with the performance of 5600/9500/9600.

If you had a 4600/4800 and are content with the performance youw ould probally be content with the performance of the 5800(and get a bonus non-optional dustblower/airplane turbine)/5900/9700/9800.

Just my couple coppers on the way video card lines work

A strong DX8 card is going to outperform a weak DX9 card... Hell I think my TI-500 would probally outperform a 5200... Actually I'm sure it would.

Shadus

 

[Nights_L]

Get a Geforce 4 Ti series at they said..
compare 9200 and fx5200, 9200 should be faster from what i know

 

[cleeve]

One more vote for the Geforce4 Ti 4200.

It will eat a 5200 for breakfast, and have it evacuated by lunch.

------------------
Radeon 9500 w/256 bit memory bus @ 367/310
AMD AthlonXP 2000+
3dMark03: 3439

 

[selfbuilt]

There is clearly no debate on how the Ti4200 will blow away any of the other cards mentioned here. But since the title of this thread is the <b>9200 vs 5200</b>, here's a new review I just came across at HardOCP:

<A HREF="http://www.hardocp.com/article.html?art=NDkw" target="_new">http://www.hardocp.com/article.html?art=NDkw</A>

Seems like the 128-bit version of the 5200 has pretty much caught up with the 9200 in non-AA/AF modes (based on the new drivers). And, of course, it beats it easily for AA/AF (not that I imagine you are likely to use AA except when running older games). However, since HardOCP simply underclocked a 128-bit 5200 ultra to produce their non-ultra review, I'm not sure how representative their review really is for the actual 5200s out there. And of course, it says nothing about the 64-bit 5200s (which I imagine suck badly).

So, it sounds like a good 5200 would be better than a 9200, for the same price. But the 8500/9100 would still be a better choice methinks (also the same price around here). And, of course, the Ti4200 better still (if you can it cheaply enough).

Where does good judgement come from? Experience. Where does experience come from? Bad judgement.

 

[cefoskey]

I agree with you Shadus....but not on the 9100. Thats an 8500 rebadge, remember? I would (and did) take an 8500 over a Gf4 ti4200 any day of the week.

But when it comes down to the 5200 non-ultra vs 9200...how about NEITHER! Both the cards are so slow its silly to think about buying them right now. If you want to game then you are going to have to shell out a little more, dont buy these half assed cards...you will be very disappointed. Like everyone is saying - go for an older Ti4xxx or spend the cash on a 9500 or 9600.

In my opinion DX9 compatibility is an overrated feature, its not like you physically wont be albe to play newer games with cards that dont feature 100% support for DX9. Game studios would be comitting financial suicide designing a game that cut that much of the market out.

"Who is General Failure, and why is he reading my drive?"

 

[confoundicator]

One more vote for the Geforce4 Ti4200.

<font color=blue>Insanity is doing the same thing over and over again and expecting a different result. -Einstein</font color=blue>

 

[sirak]

when it comes to half life 2 and doom 3, the 5200 is going to do better

The 5200 would not run those games effectively. You will need a decent card like a 9700pro to run those well.

 

[JustPlainJef]

I concur. My personal favorite is the MSI Ti4200 8x AGP. Not sure if you want the 64M or 128M, but I would imagine that on the newer games, the 128M will be an asset rather than a liability.

me

What's a signature? Oh, those words that show up after all my comments? I don't need one of those!

 

[cleeve]

Why would you take an 8500 over a Geforce4 Ti4200 any day of the week?

Radeon 8500s are nice cards for their price, but the Ti4200 easily mops the floor with them, especially when AA is enabled.

------------------
Radeon 9500 w/256 bit memory bus @ 367/310
AMD AthlonXP 2000+
3dMark03: 3439

 

[TheGreatGrapeApe]

here's a new review I just came across at HardOCP:

So did you 'just come across it' after reading my post above? :tongue:

Thanks for backing me up!


- You need a licence to buy a gun, but they'll sell anyone a stamp <i>(or internet account)</i> ! <A HREF="http://www.redgreen.com" target="_new"><font color=green>RED</font color=green> <font color=red>GREEN</font color=red></A> GA to SK