This graphics card...good buy or rip off?

[Toto]

Well, since Deus Ex: Invisible War isn't compatible with the MX series of graphics card (DIE DIE DIE DIE Warren Spector), I need to upgrade. The Ti range is already outdated, thanks to the FX, and I found the cheapest FX to show you people today. Tell me if its worth the 80 USD Im paying for it.

NVIDIA GeForce� FX 5200 256-bit 3D Graphics Accelerator
128MB DDR Memory Interface
128-bit Studio-Precision Color for the Most Demanding Applications
NVIDIA nView� Multiple Display Technology
AGP 8X with Fast Writes and Sideband Addressing
CineFX Shading Architecture Supports DX 9.0 Pixel Shader 2.0+ and Vertex Shader 2.0+
High-performance, High-precision 3D Rendering Engine
Digital Vibrance Control (DVC) 3.0 Technology
TV-out supports S-Video/Composite
DVI-I interface for LCD Monitor
High-quality HDTV/DVD playback support
I/O Interface

D-Sub 15-pin VGA connector
TV-out connector
DVI connector for LCD monitors
Bundled Software


SiluroDVD4
Siluro Software Album CD

[Mason]

Haha, I just got a GeForce FX 5200 for the exact same reason. Up until I tried to play DX2 I had a GeForce 2 MX, so I decided it was a good time to upgrade. I got my card from PNY and I've been very impressed with it so far. Was only about $70 USD too, so I really can't complain. :P

[Toto]

Originally posted by Maison
Haha, I just got a GeForce FX 5200 for the exact same reason. Up until I tried to play DX2 I had a GeForce 2 MX, so I decided it was a good time to upgrade. I got my card from PNY and I've been very impressed with it so far. Was only about $70 USD too, so I really can't complain.

I think that it's stupid that DX2 doesn't have MX series support. Why? It has to be one of the most commonly used cards in the world, cheap and up until now very compatible.

[Lord Riff Raff]

And can't do DX8 or DX9, thats why.

FX5200 or FX5700 are damn fine cards for the price.

[Josh]

My computer came with a GeForce 5200, and I LOVE it. It's a very fine card, especially for the price.

[Del_Boy]

Don't count on running any DX9 apps on an FX5200 and you'll be fine. In DX9 they are a slideshow, but for that price, it's to be expected. Runs DX8 Pixel Shaders alright though, as you have found.

And I know of at least one very respected coder who uses an FX5200, simply because it provides all the capabilities he needs.

Just a small edit, if you could pick up one of the higher end GF4 Tis for a cheap price, then consider one of them... they beat the FX5200s by a large margin.

Yes they ain't DX9 cards, but nor are the FX5200s unless you want to watch DX9 interactive flickbooks.

[grantu2]

If your going to look for gamming in 2004 I'd say get any card that supports directx9. With the min of 128mb onboard ram of course.

[Trogdor20x36]

make sure it supports pixel shading specially nice in Morrowind since the water becomes kick-ass. Pixel shading is fairly new, and very few games use it as of now, but i'd shoot for it.

[Dark Neighbour]

Is that pixel shading anything like cel-shading used in console games?

[Lord Riff Raff]

Cell shading is reprogramming the graphics pipeline. Pixel shaders are shaders that are applied per pixel.

[Solitude]

Originally posted by Lord Riff Raff
Cell shading is reprogramming the graphics pipeline. Pixel shaders are shaders that are applied per pixel.

:O!i was meaning to ask the difference one of these day...so thanks

[chrono8921]

IMHO, you got ripped off, you could buy a Geforce 4 Ti 4200 AGP 8x for the same price range, and it's better than the lower range of FX cards

[madcrow]

cel-shading isn't anything technical. it's just choosing a color pallett like the ones used in cartoons. it doesn't need special hardware. for an example of cel-shading look at zelda:windwaker

[Lord Riff Raff]

Oh yeah? Well write a cell shading program that runs in software and you have a try and doing it without completely reprogramming the rendering pipeline.

There's a whole DX Assembly language for writing Pixel Shaders and Cell shading.

The only way you could do Cell shading in software is to really build your own renderer by hand. Which would take up about the same space as OpenGL at least.

Any game that uses Cell Shading has to change the rendering pipeline. Which is why there isn't any cell shading on older consules.

[Magus]

Originally posted by Lord Riff Raff
And can't do DX8 or DX9, thats why.

FX5200 or FX5700 are damn fine cards for the price.

Exactly. The MX chipset is widely used because many resellers use motherboards with integrated MX graphics. Just about every HP PC for the last three years can be cited.

Originally posted by Lord Riff Raff
Oh yeah? Well write a cell shading program that runs in software and you have a try and doing it without completely reprogramming the rendering pipeline.

There's a whole DX Assembly language for writing Pixel Shaders and Cell shading.

The only way you could do Cell shading in software is to really build your own renderer by hand. Which would take up about the same space as OpenGL at least.

Any game that uses Cell Shading has to change the rendering pipeline. Which is why there isn't any cell shading on older consules.

Correct again. For some reason it is a common misconception that cell shading just uses textureless vectors. Far from the truth. Cell shading requires advanced rendering techniques, which done in the right way can be utilised for realistically fluid movements. The Wind Waker's film-like animation can be cited.