Halo 1 & 2 for PC
This topic has moved here: Subject: im buying a new graphics card, but i need help
  • Subject: im buying a new graphics card, but i need help
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would an AMD 64 3500+ bottleneck it?

  • 05.01.2006 4:29 PM PDT
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i8pptu, dont listen to him he doesnt know what hes talking about. My old rig was an athlon xp 2400 which is probably slower than your celeron and I had a 6600GT and it ran fine, and I only had 512mb's of ram too. Trust me, itl run it fine, I HAD THAT SETUP SO I KNOW IT WORKS :) good luck

also if your p4 2.4 bottlenecked with a 6600GT, then either you didnt have a p4, or you didnt have a 6600GT. My friend has an athlon xp 2800 and runs the 6800GT. Seriously, dont give advice when you dont know what your talking about.

[Edited on 5/1/2006]

  • 05.01.2006 5:19 PM PDT
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you need to lay off the crack. I told you, I'm running that setup and getting 50+FPS so i have first hand proof. And wtf are you talking about the celron running halo fine, "but thats besides the point". No its not besides the point, that is the point. The whole topic of this conversation is it running with the 6600GT

  • 05.01.2006 6:11 PM PDT
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i don't know who to believe. but i think i should go with TMH

  • 05.01.2006 6:36 PM PDT
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If you have an AGP slot, a 6600GT will be fine. Its alot (alot alot) better than a 5500.

  • 05.01.2006 6:46 PM PDT
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ok heres my system with the 6600GT.

Date / Time: 4/25/2006 1:04:03 AM (8922984ms)
2000MHz, 512MB, 256M NVIDIA (DeviceID=0x554d) Driver= 684.21 Shader=2.0
C:\Program Files\Microsoft Games\Halo\halo.exe -timedemo (Version=1.0.0.564)
Frames=4700
Total Time=86.84s
Average frame rate=54.12fps
Below 5fps= 10% (time) 0% (frames) (8.310s spent in 10 frames)
Below 10fps= 11% (time) 0% (frames)
Below 15fps= 11% (time) 0% (frames)
Below 20fps= 11% (time) 0% (frames)
Below 25fps= 12% (time) 0% (frames)
Below 30fps= 12% (time) 0% (frames)
Below 40fps= 14% (time) 1% (frames)
Below 50fps= 24% (time) 9% (frames)
Below 60fps= 41% (time) 25% (frames)
Memory used Max=162MB, Min=132MB, Ave=151MB

[Edited on 5/1/2006]

  • 05.01.2006 6:46 PM PDT
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opened up a dell case yesterday? Im a senior in highschool and I've been building them since I was in 7th grade. I have built 3 pc's for my self, and well over 28 for customers at the shop I work at. I work at a local computer store building, fixing, and setting up networks for people in their homes. I can almost guarentee I have more builds than you have ever done. For future reference dont attack until you know your opponent.

i8pptu, you'l be fine with a 6600GT. Just ignore fatals remarks, he doesnt know whats going on.




[Edited on 5/1/2006]

  • 05.01.2006 6:53 PM PDT
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tmh, i heart people dont you?

i agree with trevor, anything less than the 6600GT would be a waste of time. regardless of what processor you're using. every system has a bottleneck somewhere, i wouldn't cut down on different parts just to keep from bottlenecking. if you can you may want to look for a older card like the 9800pro or XT (i dont think they sell the XT very many places anymore) which still perform pretty well. i have a 9800XT in this one and i get 60fps on halo easy. halo isnt as graphically demanding as everyone claims, you just need a decent card.

bluephoria2

  • 05.01.2006 7:19 PM PDT

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Be careful of trusting people who think they know everything.

Your entire experience isn't dedicated to just your videocard, contrary to what TMH has been stating in this thread. If it's just about running Halo and nothing more demanding, the 5500 will be just fine to run it at decent settings 800X600. High settings if you double your memory to 512 MB. To get higher rez, you will want something a little more beefy. I run Halo in 1024X768 on HQ Graphics Settings on a 6100 Integrated with 2 GB RAM, and I average 35 FPS so the videocard is one minor part of the picture.

You don't need anything higher than 35-40 Frames per second, anyone saying you do is a liar. The human eye can't register much above 28 FPS anyway. Even 640 x 480 resolution is better than the XBox signal, so if you can run on that you'll still be getting a decent picture. Not the best, but something playable. Make sure whatever video card you purchase has at least 128 MB RAM. You should be able to run Halo with a minimum of trouble. Especially if you upgrade your system RAM.

  • 05.01.2006 9:51 PM PDT
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not trying to attack you either game junkie, but have you ever played a game above 35-40 fps? Its a world of a difference from 60 fps to 35 fps. O yes, you can definately tell the difference from 28 fps to 60 fps. I know that movies are played at 24fps but if you were to look at the individual cells they are slightly blurred to give it a more "flowing" appearance. And I guarentee if you were to upgrade your videocard from the 6200 or whateve ryou said you have that you will see a massive difference. Videocards are a huge determinant in how well your pc can handle games.

[Edited on 5/1/2006]

  • 05.01.2006 10:44 PM PDT
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i think junkiejim does have a point though that its up to this guy to decide what he wants to do. obviously we are pushing for a more expensive card, but it depends on what he wants the picture to look like. if he can get away with 800x600, and doesnt mind than let him go for it i guess.

  • 05.02.2006 3:55 AM PDT
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A long story short . you will be fine. If you cannot afford a pci express card consider the next best thing, a 6800 gt agp. I have been using it for a year and am maxing it out at 1600x1200 res. it should go down in price because of the pci express craze.

Peace!!

  • 05.02.2006 7:36 AM PDT

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With all the salvos of 16-inch guns in this thread has anyone established what slot the guy has? If all he has is PCI the best he can do is the 5500.

To summarize the info in this thread:

The 5000-series cards ARE an improvement over integrated graphics BUT they have had issues and are not a great option if you plan on keeping the card awhile.

The 6000-series is a much better bet it will run Halo fine. If possible you want to get a 6600GT it has more pipelines and much better performance then the 6600. It would be a better card for the long haul also.

If you going ATI you want to try to get an X800 but I'm not up to speed with the ATI's

  • 05.02.2006 8:08 AM PDT
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Posted by: lpjuunin
ok, so after the help and suggestions of Master Kim a week ago or so, i decided to save up money for the nVidia GeForce FX5500. yes i know it may not be the best card, but i heard its pretty decent in its performance. i saw one at CompUSA for about $110. im currently in the process of saving up for the 5500 card, but theres one thing that boggles my mind. is my computer able to run the geforce 5500 at its fullest potential? ive put down some of my computer specs so you guys can see if the card is compatible with my computer:

System Model: P4I45Gx_PE (version 1.00)
Processor: Intel Celeron CPU 2.40GHz
248MB RAM
DirectX 9.0c

so is my computer good enough to run the card? yes, i know my computer isnt that good, so feel free to make fun of me ;)

thank you in advance


Yeah it is good enough, but......You seriously need to upgrade that RAM.

  • 05.02.2006 9:33 AM PDT
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good point. ram is sometimes over looked. it is best ot have at least 1.5 gigs of ram. If an agp though a 6800 gt 256 has 16 pipelines and quite a bit more power than the 6600. Sorry but unless you have a 6600 pci express a BFG 6800 gt OC is the way to go!! Nothin' but nvidia in my Pc . ATI .................. I won't go there!! LOL

  • 05.02.2006 9:53 AM PDT

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Posted by: TMH1988
not trying to attack you either game junkie, but have you ever played a game above 35-40 fps? Its a world of a difference from 60 fps to 35 fps. O yes, you can definately tell the difference from 28 fps to 60 fps. I know that movies are played at 24fps but if you were to look at the individual cells they are slightly blurred to give it a more "flowing" appearance. And I guarentee if you were to upgrade your videocard from the 6200 or whateve ryou said you have that you will see a massive difference. Videocards are a huge determinant in how well your pc can handle games.


I never said otherwise, but he's not asking what's the best thing he can do. He's asking for what he needs. That's a whole different ballpark. The reason games look better at 60 fps is because the frames blend better. Your eye notices the blending. but you can't pick out an individual frame any better. It's similar in principle to the way a VCR records. You can record in SP, LP or EP (SLP on some recorders). Lets call these 60fps, 40 fps, and 25 fps. In the same amount of tape (Or video memory) you can run 2 hours of super high quality video (the 60 fps) or 4 hours of medium quality (40 fps) or 6 hours of low quality (25 fps) On your VCR tape, this translates to a near theater perfect image for the SP, or a fairly grainy, but still watchable EP (SLP). How does this correlate? Think of the memory and archetecture of the card as space on the tape. The cheaper, lower memory cards don't have a lot of space for textures and whatnot, so they're analogous to the SLP setting. You have to cut out some stuff to play the whole movie in that amount of space.

I'm rambling because I haven't slept well, I hope that was clear.

  • 05.02.2006 11:14 AM PDT
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The best you can get for AGP is a 7800GS. Period.

What the OP can probably do fine with is a 6600GT [I wouldn't get the normal one, its performance is rubbish in comparison].

ATi - you won't go there? The FX5 series by nVidia was trash. It got whomped by the 9800 Pro. For the past two generations green and red have been neck and neck, with nVidia eeking out a few more FPS and ATi producing better image quality. Most recently, the X1K series has been competing strongly with the 7 series. At maximum resolutions with AA and AF, ATi has absolutely dominated. X-Bit benchmarks ATi and nVidia Crossfire and SLI. In two-card configs, Crossfire dominates at high res and high IQ settings. Oh yes, ATi can currently employ HDR and AA simultaneously in games such as Oblivion. nVidia's hardware or driver cannot currently support it.

Is either better? Hard to say. Fewer Crossfire boards exist, and often they're more expensive and have fewer features. SLI has been out longer.

To just stay away from a company without regard is rather foolish. It's not like the market is unbalanced. Both companies make amazing products.

  • 05.02.2006 11:15 AM PDT
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Holy crap. I just had my GeForce 6600 installed in my AGP slot yesterday.

It is sweet. Ipjuunin, if you have the money, get it!

  • 05.02.2006 12:47 PM PDT
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oh ok, but how much is a 6600 exactly? im currently in the process of saving up for a 5500 as i mentioned earlier, but maybe ill get a 6600 or a 7900.

what do you guys think?

  • 05.02.2006 5:37 PM PDT
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lpjuunin, with that computer I know you don't have a PCI-E slot, and I really don't see how it would have an AGP either. Do you just have PCI slots are you sure you have an AGP slot.?

  • 05.02.2006 5:56 PM PDT
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Well, what you've already got would severely hinder a 7800GS.

Here are the best things to do [if you just want to upgrade and not buy a new pc]:

1. Video card. The 6600GT will suit your needs for Halo and other games. It can be found for close to $100 these days, but those prices are often at less reliable stores. Ne wegg has a big list of them. The cheapest is a silent solution and requires two slots. If you don't have two available slots, then a single-slot card would obviously be your only choice. You need to be sure which slot you have. AGP, PCI, or PCI-Express. You can find descriptions and comparisons online to help you distinguish. Otherwise, perhaps take it to a computer retailer or a techie.

-Side note- If you don't want to spend that much for a card, then a 5500 to 5900 series will do for Halo. It won't be max settings, but it will be decent and better than what you have.

2. RAM. To be sure, take your pc to a retailer like CompUSA or have someone who knows the tech look at it to see whether you use DDR1 or DDR2. It's important since they aren't interchangeable. The best thing to do [if you want a gig] would be to sell what you've got on eBay and just buy two 512MB sticks. That way, it's all uniform and the probability of conflicts between brands and memory sticks sizes is reduced.

This all requires roughly $160-$190. It's what will help your performance in Halo and may give you acceptable frame rates in other games.

[Edited on 5/2/2006]

  • 05.02.2006 5:58 PM PDT

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