which cards can do directX 9?

[bill]

I am totally confused:
Bought a game for my son: Lego Bionicles (PC). Per
the box and website, it requires DirectX 9.0.
The box also says ATI Radeon w/32MB or NVidia..
http://shop.lego.com/product.asp?p=14683

OK. I need to get him a new graphics card
(currently cheap built-in graphics, but there is
an AGP slot.)

When I look at the ads, only the new ($$$) say the
are DirectX 9. (And obviously nothing with only
32MB of graphics memory is in that category.)
Can older and/or less expensive boards support
DirectX 9.0?

As the box says it only needs a card with 32MB, I
doubt this is an overly demanding game. What cards
would you recommend for up to $75 that would
support DirectX 9. And how much more can I get if
I go to $100. (Bearing in mind that this computer
will probably get replaced in ~2 years and we will
move on to PCI Express, etc.)

Thanks in advance.

 

[Sean]

I am totally confused:
Bought a game for my son: Lego Bionicles (PC). Per
the box and website, it requires DirectX 9.0.
The box also says ATI Radeon w/32MB or NVidia..
http://shop.lego.com/product.asp?p=14683

OK. I need to get him a new graphics card
(currently cheap built-in graphics, but there is
an AGP slot.)

When I look at the ads, only the new ($$$) say the
are DirectX 9. (And obviously nothing with only
32MB of graphics memory is in that category.)
Can older and/or less expensive boards support
DirectX 9.0?

As the box says it only needs a card with 32MB, I
doubt this is an overly demanding game. What cards
would you recommend for up to $75 that would
support DirectX 9. And how much more can I get if
I go to $100. (Bearing in mind that this computer
will probably get replaced in ~2 years and we will
move on to PCI Express, etc.)

Thanks in advance.

copy and pasted:

BIONICLE PC System Requirements
Operating system: Microsoft Windows® 98/2000/ME/XP
Processor: 600 MHz Intel Pentium III processor or 100% Compatible
Memory: 64MB RAM
CD-DVD: 4x CD ROM/DVD drive
Graphics Card: 32MB Direct3D video card with DirectXT 9 compatible driver
(with hardware T&L support)

It says with a Directx 9 Compatible driver. Most cards from the past 3
years has the HARDWARE T&L support, even though they can't do some of the
things done in DirectX 9.0. (such as pixel shading, etc).

http://www.newegg.com/app/ViewProductDesc.asp?description=14-156-005&catalog=48&depa=0

Radeon 9000 for $63.00. That'll be good. But before I, or anyone else,
starts listing off video cards, what kind of system do you have? CPU, RAM,
OS, etc???

-Sean

 

[BigJIm]

a geforce fx5600 is dx9 ready or as suggested the ati 9000

 

[Tod]

ATI 9600 will do the job.
9600SE 64-bit memory pathway, 200mhz memory
9600 128 bit memory pathway, 300-325mhz memory.
9600PRO " "
9600XT " "

9600SE $85
9600 $120
9600PRO $140
9600XT $155

www.pricewatch.com

 

[bill]

copy and pasted:

BIONICLE PC System Requirements
Operating system: Microsoft Windows® 98/2000/ME/XP
Processor: 600 MHz Intel Pentium III processor or 100% Compatible
Memory: 64MB RAM
CD-DVD: 4x CD ROM/DVD drive
Graphics Card: 32MB Direct3D video card with DirectXT 9 compatible driver
(with hardware T&L support)

It says with a Directx 9 Compatible driver. Most cards from the past 3
years has the HARDWARE T&L support, even though they can't do some of the
things done in DirectX 9.0. (such as pixel shading, etc).

http://www.newegg.com/app/ViewProductDesc.asp?desc
ription=14-156-005&catalog=48&depa=0

Radeon 9000 for $63.00. That'll be good. But before I, or anyone else,
starts listing off video cards, what kind of system do you have? CPU, RAM,
OS, etc???

-Sean

Thanks, Sean.
I noticed this at the Newegg link: Support 3D
API: DirectX®8.1, OpenGL®
When the retail sites, etc. list this info
(DirectX 8.1) are they really just parroting what
ATI put on the box, i.e. what version the board
shipped (or ships) with? (On the CD in the box, I
suppose.) I don't know the production dates for
the various cards, but I assume that a 9000
shipped by Newegg was produced many months ago,
before DirectX 9. Obviously, nobody is going to
repackage a board just so they can put in a CD
with 9.0.

I'll get the specs tomorrow morning. (It would
creep out my 13-year old if I snuck into his room
to start checking out his computer. Although he
may be up playing Age of Mythology. (He figured
out not to leave the lights on because we can see
under the door, but not that I can walk outside
and see the glow from his monitor or gameboy.)

 

[J.Clarke]

Thanks, Sean.
I noticed this at the Newegg link: Support 3D
API: DirectX®8.1, OpenGL®
When the retail sites, etc. list this info
(DirectX 8.1) are they really just parroting what
ATI put on the box, i.e. what version the board
shipped (or ships) with? (On the CD in the box, I
suppose.) I don't know the production dates for
the various cards, but I assume that a 9000
shipped by Newegg was produced many months ago,
before DirectX 9. Obviously, nobody is going to
repackage a board just so they can put in a CD
with 9.0.

I'll get the specs tomorrow morning. (It would
creep out my 13-year old if I snuck into his room
to start checking out his computer. Although he
may be up playing Age of Mythology. (He figured
out not to leave the lights on because we can see
under the door, but not that I can walk outside
and see the glow from his monitor or gameboy.)

The deal on this is that DirectX 9 adds some new capabilities beyond
what DirectX 8 provides. Some of those are implemented in software
while others are not. A board that is not designed around DirectX 9
will still work fine with it as long as you don't try to use those new
features--if you do they'll either run slowly because they're running in
software rather than purpose-made hardware or they won't show up at all
because they're not implemented in either.

The Radeons numbered below 9500 have hardware acceleration for DirectX 8
but not DirectX 9--they run fine with it with the limitations I
mentioned, but that's why Newegg is showing them as having a DirectX 8.1
API. If you want hardware acceleration for all the new stuff then your
entry level ATI product would be a Radeon 9500, or in an nvidia product
a GeforceFX 5200, although I would advise against the 5200 because even
the nvidia advocates admit that it's a dog--go to a 5600 or higher if
you go that route.

That said, avoid the Radeon 9000 and 9200--if you're going with a
DirectX 8.1 ATI board the 9100, which is a relabelled 8500LE, is the
best of the current crop but a full 8500 if you can find one at a
reasonable price will outperform it.

If, however, you're going to get a DirectX 8.1 board then your _best_
option would be a Geforce 4 Ti4200, which you can get for about $15 more
than you were going to pay for that 9000--the 4200 is part of the family
that until the Radeon 9700 shipped was the performance leader--it's
still a fast board.

Before you do _any_ of that though, download DirectX 9.0b from Windows
Update (you'll need to do that anyway to be sure you have the latest
version--it's a big download--will take a few hours with dialup) and
install it and see what happens. It may turn out to be fine as it
sits--no point in spending money if you don't have to.

 

[Sean]

Thanks, Sean.
I noticed this at the Newegg link: Support 3D
API: DirectX®8.1, OpenGL®
When the retail sites, etc. list this info
(DirectX 8.1) are they really just parroting what
ATI put on the box, i.e. what version the board
shipped (or ships) with? (On the CD in the box, I
suppose.) I don't know the production dates for
the various cards, but I assume that a 9000
shipped by Newegg was produced many months ago,
before DirectX 9. Obviously, nobody is going to
repackage a board just so they can put in a CD
with 9.0.

I'll get the specs tomorrow morning. (It would
creep out my 13-year old if I snuck into his room
to start checking out his computer. Although he
may be up playing Age of Mythology. (He figured
out not to leave the lights on because we can see
under the door, but not that I can walk outside
and see the glow from his monitor or gameboy.)

The Bionicle game doesn't need a DirectX 9.0 card. Just one with the latest
drivers compatible with Directx 9.0, not necessarily a Directx 9.0 card. I
doubt the game would need such a card.

 

[Vellu]

The Bionicle game doesn't need a DirectX 9.0 card. Just one with the latest
drivers compatible with Directx 9.0, not necessarily a Directx 9.0 card. I
doubt the game would need such a card.

Precisely. DirectX 9 Compatible is not the same thing as DX9 Compliant:
compatible=works with software, compliant=fully supported via hardware. I
believe the level of hardware support required is DX8.1.

 

[JAD]

DX9 = eye candy no DX9 enhanced/compatible/driver card then no eye candy (what little there is). I play halo, call of duty and
MOH on a 7500 AIW, all is smooth and focused, better on my 9600pro,but not by leaps and bounds...both on P4 2.0+ machines

 

[bill]

copy and pasted:

BIONICLE PC System Requirements
Operating system: Microsoft Windows® 98/2000/ME/XP
Processor: 600 MHz Intel Pentium III processor or 100% Compatible
Memory: 64MB RAM
CD-DVD: 4x CD ROM/DVD drive
Graphics Card: 32MB Direct3D video card with DirectXT 9 compatible driver
(with hardware T&L support)

It says with a Directx 9 Compatible driver. Most cards from the past 3
years has the HARDWARE T&L support, even though they can't do some of the
things done in DirectX 9.0. (such as pixel shading, etc).

http://www.newegg.com/app/ViewProductDesc.asp?desc
ription=14-156-005&catalog=48&depa=0

Radeon 9000 for $63.00. That'll be good. But before I, or anyone else,
starts listing off video cards, what kind of system do you have? CPU, RAM,
OS, etc???

-Sean

Here are the specs:
eMachine C1641
Athlon XP 1600+
224 MB ram (that what it reports; I assume it's
256 less 32 that the S3 has grabbed)
Phonix Bios (but I can't read the fine print)
S3 Graphics Pro Savage DDR

(The game's box specifically states that ATI or
nVidia is required, so the S3 is probably a
roadblock. Hey, my wife bought it online w/o
consulting me! I have to admit, it has been decent
from a graphics standpoint: plays Age of Mythology
and son's other games fine, and the little movies
that come with the Lego Bionicles figures really
look good. IT DOES HAVE AN AGP SLOT ... one piece
of luck - or maybe my wife really was listening to
my ramblings about PCs all these years.)

Compaq V70 17" monitor
Seagate 40GB
WD 80GB (added)
CDRW TDK 121032A (replaces the DVD-ROM/CDRW that
broke after 5 months)
(no more refurb unless it has decent warranty:
this one only had 3 months)

Not bad for $325 15 months ago, except for the
warranty and you can't get CD drives from
eMachines that match the "artistically curved"
front bezel.

thanks again
Bill

 

[DaveW]

ATI Radeon 9200, 9600, 9800.
nVidia 5200, 5600, and 5900.
These, with their various suffixes, support DX9 with the required circuitry
on board.

 

[John Hall]

Except that Nvidia cards fail to render DirectX 9 correctly in hardware
requiring driver fixes to attemp to overcome these deficiencies, and
resulting in relatively poor performance. Nvidia is going to need a
redesign of their GPU which I believe they are working on.

JK

 

[Dean Black]

Precisely. DirectX 9 Compatible is not the same thing as DX9 Compliant:
compatible=works with software, compliant=fully supported via hardware. I
believe the level of hardware support required is DX8.1.

I am using a ATI 7500, 64MB and running DirectX 9.0b. When running dxdiag
there is no problems with it but I do have the latest drivers for the board.
I had a program that required DirectX9 therefore I installed it. Also you
will need to find out what your AGP bus will support 1X/2X/4X/8X. And get a
board that will work in your computer.