Should I buy this graphics card?

[Phil Pease]

I currently have GeForce4 MX Integrated GPU (uses 64MB memory).

The games I play are Civ III and Links 2003 mostly. They look fine to me.

I do have an AGP slot in my HP computer (AMD 2800+ cpu).

I saw an advertisement for an XFX GeForce FX 5200 128MB card for just
$20 (actually $60 less $40 rebate if buy before 11/30).

My question is would this be an improvement or a waste of money?

 

[Nerdillius Maximus]

I currently have GeForce4 MX Integrated GPU (uses 64MB memory).

The games I play are Civ III and Links 2003 mostly. They look fine to me.

I do have an AGP slot in my HP computer (AMD 2800+ cpu).

I saw an advertisement for an XFX GeForce FX 5200 128MB card for just
$20 (actually $60 less $40 rebate if buy before 11/30).

My question is would this be an improvement or a waste of money?

I think it's a waste of money. It's not much of an upgrade. DO NOT BUY IT
FROM BEST BUY. It also likely has 64-bit memory, and if you're already not
hankering for more performance...ahh hell, it's only twenty bucks! And
getting rid of the shared memory will help a little, as well as the fact
that it's marginally faster than onboard video. As a DX9 card, it's
completely useless. Me? I'd set my sights a bit higher, as my budget
allows...

 

[DaveW]

A Waste of money. It is an ENTRY level card and is clocked slowww.

 

[Bob Knowlden]

A dissenting view:

http://www.anandtech.com/video/showdoc.aspx?i=1797

Hardcore gamers don't like the card, because it's nVidia's lowest-end
DirectX9 product. However, its performance seems to be generally at least
slightly better than a GF4 MX440, and it can be significantly better.

If the advertised version is one that doesn't have the full 256 bit memory
data path, avoid it.

Whether you'd get improvements for Civilization III or Links 2003, I can't
say. It looks like you could use a bit of antialiasing that's not practical
with the GF4 MX.

$20 net is pretty cheap, though. (I dislike rebates, but I usually receive
them.) If you're comfortable with swapping graphics cards, it might be worth
the trouble. (Hint: if you go for it, remove the drivers for the GF4 MX
first, using the add/remove software control panel. Rather than rebooting
the machine, power it down. Swap the cards. Start up the machine, and boot
into Windows. Install the latest nVidia drivers.)

(My own graphics card at this time is a 6800GT.)

HTH.

Bob Knowlden

Address may be scrambled. replace nkbob with bobkn.

 

[Phil Pease]

Thanks for the response. I won't waste my $ on this card. I'll just
wait until I really feel the need to upgrade and then go for something
better.

 

[Nerdillius Maximus]

Thanks for the response. I won't waste my $ on this card. I'll just
wait until I really feel the need to upgrade and then go for something
better.

Not to play Devil's Advocate, but it's only twenty bucks and it is still an
improvement over onboard video. If it were me, I'd nab it if it was an
instant rebate, and eventually throw it into a lower-end box. But under no
circumstances would I get it from Best Buy, if that's where you saw it.
Staples, ok. Fry's, maybe. Best Buy, it's prolly a defective rewrapped
return, or a rock inside to weight the box, and no card...

 

[Guest]

I just upgraded my GeForce2 to a GeForce FX5900 w. 128M. (And yes, it is an
AGP card.) This weekend, I expect to test it out on Industry Giant 2, whose
graphics demands should be similar to Civ III.

 

[Nicolas The Great]

I currently have GeForce4 MX Integrated GPU (uses 64MB memory).

The games I play are Civ III and Links 2003 mostly. They look fine to me.

I do have an AGP slot in my HP computer (AMD 2800+ cpu).

I saw an advertisement for an XFX GeForce FX 5200 128MB card for just
$20 (actually $60 less $40 rebate if buy before 11/30).

My question is would this be an improvement or a waste of money?

If you do buy a card buy it from NEWEGG.COM. They have the cheapest
prices on the planet. Check it out and see.

Nick