[shassouneh]

HI All,
I am considering buying a copy of Prince Of Persia: Sands of Time, but their site (as well as some people I have talked to) say that my video card will not work with it. I have an Nvidia GeForce4 MX440 128MB 4x AGP video card, which is a very capable card.

Is there a patch or workaround I cna use to install/play the game If I buy it? I don't beleive my video card is not capable of playing the gane (as Ubisoft claims).

Can anyone help?

Thanx beforehand

[jmmijo]

Well actually it makes sense in that this graphics card is not really a GeForce 4 nor even a GeForce 3. It's more like a GeForce 2 Plus.

My guess is that the game makes use of some very intensive hardware capabilities that the NV17 GPU doesn't support, sorry about that

I've noted others having the same misgivings about this as you. I guess the game publisher has the right to make a more robust gaming engine that requires a more robust GPU as well ;(

[shassouneh]

That's funny.
I bought the Geforce 4 as an UPGRADE from a geforce 2. I thought I was getting a spankin hot card. Oh Well.
Can someone recommend a video card for me to buy. I DON'T have a very hot machine, so I will have to buy something reasonable. Here is my current configuration:

Athlon XP 2000+ (1.66Ghz) (266MHz FSB) Palomino core
1GB DDR 2100 RAM (266MHz FSB)
PLENTY hard disk space
Soyo Dragon Plus (k7V) motherboard

Note that the AGP slot is only 4x.

Can someone recommend a decent card for this configuration.

Note: I prefer nvidia cards over ATI because I run Linux.

[jmmijo]

If you can get a good price on the older GeForce 4/4200, this could save you some money, however since nVidia is trying to sell the FX series of GPU's now, you most likely can get an FX 5200 for about the same price

Some users seem to think the 5200 is about on par with the GeForce 4/4400~4600 in performance. Not really sure where it ends up being but I've seen new cards with this GPU for less then $100(USD).

If you have more funds then either an FX 5600/5700 would be in order.

[shassouneh]

Thanx for the input jmmijo,

However, MOST of these cards offer too many bells and whistles for my system (see short description above).
Even If i DO get the latest and greatest vido card, the rest of the system will be a huge bottleneck.

So I prefer to get something more in par with the rest of the system, yet if at all possible, I would like it to be powerful enough to run suich a demanding game as POP:SOT.

Any ideas?

[jmmijo]

Well actually you're system is not really that slow nor would I consider it sub-par

I have two machines that I use ATM, one is running an Athlon XP 2600 on an Asus A7N8X Deluxe with 1GB of ram and my older GeForce 4 Ti 4600.

The other is my gaming rig running a P4-2.53 on an Aopen AX4C Max II board with 1GB of RAM and an Abit Siluro GeForce FX 5600.

Now I wouldn't consider either to be a speed demon by today's standards but hey, remember that an FX series card will run on an AGP4x mobo without any problems an I'd say get one for when/if you do upgrade to an AGP8x board. Too many bells and whistles is what you're gonna get with todays graphics cards. Asus no longer makes what they called a "PURE" graphics card anymore

[shassouneh]

I found a nice FX 5200 for $55 shipped.

Should I look foir a slightly mor epowerful card, or is my hardware pretty much maxed out with an FX 5200?

Quote:

House Brand - ONLINE ORDER ONLY - nVidia GeForce FX5200 128MB DDR dual head AGP8X TV & DVI-Out
Details:
Nvidia Geforce FX 5200 128MB DDR Bus:AGP 8X/ 4X AGP support 256-bit graphics architecture

Updated - 12/6, 4:13 PM

Price Quote from Pricewatch.com

I figure If i can get a slightly more powerful card for around $70 then why not. But I don't want to waste $15 if I won't be able to take advantage of a better card due to my hardware.

Let me know what you think

[jmmijo]

Just for grins, what's a generic/house brand 5600 going for ?!?

[shassouneh]

Quote:

I found a nice FX 5200 for $55 shipped.

[jmmijo]

That is a good price and this would fit your system nicely. If however you can get a 5600 for a little more, say another $25~35 then this would be good too.

Also note, I would recommend staying with a card that has a local frame buffer size of 128MB instead of 64MB

[shassouneh]

Quote:

local frame buffer size of 128MB instead of 64MB

What does that mean?

I was intending on buying a 128MB card (64 is too outdated).

Also, what is the difference between the 5200 and 5600? I DON'T want to fall in Nvidia's trap twice (where the Geforce 4 is nothing but a Geforce 2)

[jmmijo]

Sorry about that, it's just another name for the local video memory on the graphics card

Yes I understand the dilema here, I'd say stick with the 5200 since the price is right, but if you can find a 5600 for a little more then it may indeed be worth it, just because the GPU and memory run faster.

[shassouneh]

Quote:

Sorry about that, it's just another name for the local video memory on the graphics card

Yes I understand the dilema here, I'd say stick with the 5200 since the price is right, but if you can find a 5600 for a little more then it may indeed be worth it, just because the GPU and memory run faster.

So the 5600 IS a better card?

From the look of the prices, looks like I might go for a 5200

[Patch]

The 5200 is the low budget card for people who want to watch videos on their desktops and maybe play small game. If you play any graphic intensive games this is not the card to buy. The 5600 is an excellent buy, usually running around 119-145. For an equal card you could buy an ATI 9600 or the new 9600 xt for about 170. Of course the ATI has a free license of HL2 when it comes out, so price comparison is about the same if you plan on buying that game.

[Newumbrella]

5200FX is not recommended since it's performance is quite questionable. Although it's capable of directx 9 but when it run these kind of games the frame rate is so slow that it's almost unplayable. In directx8 games it's no better, since even geforce 4 4200ti can beats 5200, sometimes 5600 too.

So my recommedation is to get ATI 9600 pro/XT, since it's performance is above 5200 - 5700 in almost every application/benchmark, plus it's video/2d/3d quality is better too. And besides 9600pro's price has dropped considably since XT's introduction, so it'll be best buy for now.

[shassouneh]

I c. Thanx dor all the valuable input everyone. Here are the requirements I look for in a video card. I would really appreciate it if someone can point me towards a video card that's optimum for them:

1.) Intensive Game play: I intend to play heavy graphics games (Command And Conquer Generals Zero Hour, Prince Of Persia Sands OF Time, Medal OF honor series, etc...)

However I do NOT have a nice fast gaming machine. My machines is OK but not superb or anything. So I don't want to spend too much $ on a card that will be bottlenecked by the rest of my sysem. Here is yet again, a reminder of what my system is:

Soyo Dragon Plus k7V motherboard (266MHZ FSB) For complete information on my mtoherboard's specs and capabilities, click here
512 to 1 GB DDR 2100 (266MHZ) RAM
[video card needs to fit here]
PLENTY of hard drive space
Athlon XP 2000+ (1.66GHz) PALOMINO CORE
4x AGP. My motherboard only has 4X AGP. I am sure it will accept 8x too.


2.) Windows 2000 SP4 Compatibility is a MUST. I do NOT intend on running WIndows XP in the future simply because I personally beleive its not a good OS (but Pleeeeease lets not get into this discussion right now)

3.) Linux compatibility is a MUST. I run Linux frequently enough to justify a card that is somewhat Linux-compatible. I am no authority on this, but I heard Nvidia is more compatible with linux than Ati

4.) Buying just a small "upgrade" card is out of the question. I had bought a GeForce 4 MX 440 thinking I am UPGRADING from a Geforce 2 MX 400. This is obviously not true. I need a good solid reliable and powerful card (see number 1 above).


If someone has his/her 2 cents, kindly do not hesitate to let me know. All input is appreciated. Thanx

[jmmijo]

I think the nVidia GPU's are needed due to better(?) compatibility with *nix so this is why none of the ATi GPU cards were mentioned

Also pricing seems to be an issue too...

[shassouneh]

Quote:

I think the nVidia GPU's are needed due to better(?) compatibility with *nix so this is why none of the ATi GPU cards were mentioned

Also pricing seems to be an issue too...

Yes. That's What I heard too. I also like the ability to go to Nvidia.com and download drivers form there. No hassle of writing, compiling, or hunting down drivers.

I still need some recommendations for good video cards. It looks like the FX5200 is not the one.

I need a card that will satisfy all of the 4 requirements above.

[duhmez]

9600PRO or XT.
Or 9500 PRo or non pro.

Or 9600 non pro.

these will all be excellent, wil last a long time, and will be a good price.

They are all full DX 9 parts, so you won't get the MX 400 deal where it doesnt have the needed features.

[shassouneh]

Quote:

9600PRO or XT.
Or 9500 PRo or non pro.

Or 9600 non pro.

these will all be excellent, wil last a long time, and will be a good price.

They are all full DX 9 parts, so you won't get the MX 400 deal where it doesnt have the needed features.

Are these Ati or Nvidia? Also, I need to make sure the fulfill requirements 1 through 4 (above)