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3DMark03 disappointment?

A

adam7488

Limp Gawd
Joined
Oct 14, 2004
Messages
303
I've recently purchased a new, inexpensive system with money that I made over Christmas.

I bought a Geforce 5700 LE 256mb, a Sempron 2300+, and 512mb PC2100 Kingston Ram.

I wanna be able to play games like HL2; but after recently running 3DMark03, I only averaged 50 fps on the first demo, 15 on the second, and 5 on the third.

I wanna get everything I can outta this video card. Whatever little that may be. Are there any drivers that have the potential to drastically increase Video card performance?

For those of you that have had this card in the past. What should I expect out of it? How well did you oc? What speeds did you have it at?

All help is greatly appreciated.

Adam.
 
Unfortunately the GeForce FX5700LE is similar in speed to the GeForce FX5200, which isn't particularly fast especially in newer DX9 games.

You would have been a lot better off ordering a GeForce 6200 or better yet 6600, if you can I'd order one and use any old card you have laying around until you can get one of these:

eVGA GeForce 6200 $129 (4 pipeline)
http://www.evga.com/products/moreinfo.asp?pn=128-A8-N326-LX

eVGA GeForce 6600 $149 (8 pipeline, much faster for $20 more)
http://www.evga.com/products/moreinfo.asp?pn=128-A8-N330-TX
 
Why are you using 3dmark03 to tell you how HL2 will look? Wouldn't it be easier to just try HL2 and decide if you like it?
I say this because 3dmark03 is primarily a directx9 test, and with that card, you won't even be running directx9 in HL2. So I don't think 3dmark03 is a good indicator of how well your card will do in HL2.
 
tranCendenZ said:
Unfortunately the GeForce FX5700LE is similar in speed to the GeForce FX5200, which isn't particularly fast especially in newer DX9 games.

You would have been a lot better off ordering a GeForce 6200 or better yet 6600, if you can I'd order one and use any old card you have laying around until you can get one of these:

eVGA GeForce 6200 $129 (4 pipeline)
http://www.evga.com/products/moreinfo.asp?pn=128-A8-N326-LX

eVGA GeForce 6600 $149 (8 pipeline, much faster for $20 more)
http://www.evga.com/products/moreinfo.asp?pn=128-A8-N330-TX
Click to expand...

I'm assuming those are out of his budget if he's bought a 5700LE with leftover money. Dude, you could try overclocking the heck out of it, but I don't think anything is going to drastically change your performance. You should have went for a 9600Pro refurb or something. :(.
 
bboynitrous said:
I'm assuming those are out of his budget if he's bought a 5700LE with leftover money. Dude, you could try overclocking the heck out of it, but I don't think anything is going to drastically change your performance. You should have went for a 9600Pro refurb or something. :(.
Click to expand...

Depends on brand really, on newegg 5700LE cards range from 64-bit $99 cards to 128-bit $130 cards.

There is a $99 64-bit 6200 here which would still beat the 5700LE:
eVGA 6200 64-bit $99
http://www.evga.com/products/moreinfo.asp?pn=128-A8-N325-LX

Though it probably still would be unsatisfactory, you really need to spend ~$130 to get a decent videocard for games (thats not used or refurb - which from buying from a store usually means partially broken ;)), which is why I recommended the 128-bit 6200 and 6600 cards at $129/$149... No amount of tweaking is going to make the FX5700LE more acceptable for modern games.
 
tranCendenZ said:
Depends on brand really, on newegg 5700LE cards range from 64-bit $99 cards to 128-bit $130 cards.

There is a $99 64-bit 6200 here which would still beat the 5700LE:
eVGA 6200 64-bit $99
http://www.evga.com/products/moreinfo.asp?pn=128-A8-N325-LX

Though it probably still would be unsatisfactory, you really need to spend ~$130 to get a decent videocard for games (thats not used or refurb - which from buying from a store usually means partially broken ;)), which is why I recommended the 128-bit 6200 and 6600 cards at $129/$149... No amount of tweaking is going to make the FX5700LE more acceptable for modern games.
Click to expand...

Thank you. I will definetly have to put that into consideration.
 
Your stated purpose was to get a card that could play HL2 well. You based the worth of your system entirely on a synthetic benchmark. Yes, your system is not the greatest. But, before you get another card, why don't you try HL2? The game scales well on lesser cards, and you might be pleasantly surprised at how well it runs.
[H] is an enthusiast site. As such, we're alway looking for more performance. Look back at the recommendation threads, and you'll find a common theme. A person will ask "I have X amount of money, what should I get?" You'll find lots of responses like "spend just this much more money and you can get a better card, save for awhile." There is nothing wrong with that attitude, but it doesn't fit everyone.

A budget gamer can enjoy a game with a budget card just as much as the enthusiast with a expensive card, it all depends on your particular needs. Some people don't mind playing at a lower resolution or lower detail levels, and that's fine. Don't let another person (or synthetic e-penis benchmark) make that decision for you.

Long story short: play the games you want to play on your current card before you get another one.
 
Thank you for your advice.

I've actually been trying to play HL2 ever since I transferred the data from my old HDD. I'm unable to connect to steam. For the time being I don't think it's an option.

Thanx anyways.

Adam.
 
adam7488 said:
Thank you for your advice.

I've actually been trying to play HL2 ever since I transferred the data from my old HDD. I'm unable to connect to steam. For the time being I don't think it's an option.

Thanx anyways.

Adam.
Click to expand...

The real question is, how do you want to play Half Life 2. If you don't mind playing at lowest detail at very low resolution, you probably will be able to play it with the FX5700LE. But if you want to play it at a smooth clip with medium-level graphics, I'd recommend a GeForce 6600 at the minimum.

eVGA's order page for these is now here:
http://www.evga.com/products/moreinfo.asp?pn=128-A8-N330-TX

They should be available by the end of the month.
 
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