Cheap card for doom3, farcry, and ut2004.

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Zohar78

[H]ard|Gawd
Joined
Aug 12, 2004
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Im looking for a really cheap card that will play these games. This is for a second pc that will be used for various things. Mainly folding & little bro to dm against me.
The newest games that i will be playing will be doom3, farcry and ut2004.
Im thinking a refurbeshed geforce4 mx440 from newegg. What is the difference between the mx440 and the 4000 part that i keep seeing?
THanks.
This will be another box to fold for the horde!

zohar78
10+ghz for the horde!
 
Farcry and Doom 3 are too much for those cards I think. Get a 9600SE and softmod it.
 
Hahahaha oh my god. Sorry about that, but sir, in case you don't know, those games are VERY graphically advanced. "Im thinking a refurbeshed geforce4 mx440 from newegg" for FR CRY? OH MY GOD! Dude, my TI 4200 has a little trouble with it. For those games, you watn AT LEAST a 9600 XT. You can find it on newegg. Oh my god, I think I'm gonna sig this.

*Falls over in chair laughing*
 
I was about to say... cheap card for Doom 3 and Far Cry? Yeah, wouldn't that be nice. Not going to happen ;)
 
9800se and softmod it to 9800, that's about 140 dollars for a 200 dollar card.

~Adam
 
If you look around on the fs/t part of the forum you might be able to find a cheap used 9700 card or something that would run those games fine. A gf4mx440 aint gonna cut it. I have one in another system w/ a 2.5ghz p4 and 512mb of ram and it gets about 20fps playing ut2k4 in 1024x768 med quality. I didn't even try doom3 of facry cause it wouldn't even be worth it. Anyways stay away from the gf4 mx series as they are just gf2's on steroids so to speak.
 
That card is not going to cut it.

I would say something like 9700 Pro/ 9800NP. Those are like $150-200 price range right? I dunno havent checked up on that. If u have PCI-e u could get a 6600 or 6600GT.
 
My opinion, at least aim for a 9800 pro. the 9600's will handle UT2004 very nicely, while the 9700 will do good most likely in the FarCry. But i think your best shot to get good performance in Doom 3 would be from the 9800 Pro or 9800XT (if you can find a cheap one). Though, a buddy of mine pulls good fps in far cry with 5900 Ultra, so thats always a option as well. Plus you would prolly see some good fps in Doom 3 as well (good ol openGL). Also, how much ram is in this machine? I would recommend at least a gig to play Doom 3 and FarCry decently.

Theres a link to Newegg for 5900XT's
http://www.newegg.com/app/ViewProduct.asp?submit=property&DEPA=0

Theres for 9800XT's (though they are around $300)
http://www.newegg.com/app/ViewProduct.asp?submit=property&DEPA=0

And here is for 9800 Pro's
http://www.newegg.com/app/ViewProduct.asp?submit=property&DEPA=0
 
First off, to everyone else in this thread - I may be wrong, but when most people say "cheap card" they mean "substantially under $100".

As to the original poster....couple things, assuming you REALLY mean "cheap card":

1) Ignore pretty much everyone in this thread. Graphics cards = ePenis, so there is tons of bad advice here. You do NOT need a Radeon 9700, 9800, etc. Heck does nobody even read the reviews on this site, anymore?

2) Well, no, while a GF4 MX will technically *play* Doom 3 (and still look okay doing it)....probably not the experience you want.

Really, check out the [H] article above. Doom 3 ran on:
1.5GHz Pentium 4
512MB of Corsair RAM
GeForce 4 MX 440

Got max FPS of 59 and average of 22 at 640x480. Probably not playable, but that's with ALL THE ADVANCED GRAPHICS OPTIONS TURNED ON!

Turning off specular lighting shoots the FPS up to 30 as the average! Check out their screen shots - it still looks fine! Doom 3 also has the advantage of being really dark, so the 'jaggies' that low res + lack of AA would create are hardly evident. I mean, hell, 640x480 is higher resolution than any TV short of HDTV can even display, so even set THAT low you are getting a better graphical experience than XBox can offer!

Now, all that said, Doom 3 is rather the exception than the rule. For most things, a GF4 MX just won't cut it. Even with low res and 'turned down' graphics settings, it's just not a very good card any more.

Still, you can find a GeForce FX 5200 around for pretty cheap (brand new), or an older GeForce4 Ti series card - either of those may be perfect for your needs. You can find used versions of either for around $50 on eBay.

If you NEED a new card, the FX 5200 gets a little overpriced for its performance, but you can still find good values out there. FX 5700 LEs sell for really cheap (~$79) - just make sure you get the 128-bit and not the half-height 64-bit cards. And you'll want to overclock it some, too. Still, for that price, that's PROBABLY the lowest graphics card you'd really want to go as far as playing modern games.

And do expect to forget FSAA unless playing much older games*, and expect to crank the res down.

* FWIW, I think this caveat is a little too overstated. There are many, MANY older games that will simply scream on an FX 5700 LE, you can crank the FSAA up, and enjoy awesome gaming goodness. And the card is even capable of providing a quality (if not the HIGHEST quality) experience on new games.
 
bob said:
you probably want something with pixel shaders. http://www.newegg.com/app/ViewProductDesc.asp?description=14-139-165R&depa=0 for under 50$.
Click to expand...
I've used a card like that (FX 5200 64-bit). It is right about exactly the same speed as the MX440 he was looking at.

IE., you probably want to stear clear of that one. Seriously, a FX 5700LE can offer a much better game experience - 3 or 4 times the framerate of that card - for only $30 more.

And while a 9800 Pro is a nice card, it is twice the cost of the 5700 LE (granted, with about twice the performance, too). Since it'd fall in the same price:performance ratio, the question is just which can you afford (and if you have any brand loyalties - I play a number of games in 16-bit color which ATI cannot FSAA properly, so it's nVidia for me).
 
dderidex said:
First off, to everyone else in this thread - I may be wrong, but when most people say "cheap card" they mean "substantially under $100".

As to the original poster....couple things, assuming you REALLY mean "cheap card":

1) Ignore pretty much everyone in this thread. Graphics cards = ePenis, so there is tons of bad advice here. You do NOT need a Radeon 9700, 9800, etc. Heck does nobody even read the reviews on this site, anymore?

2) Well, no, while a GF4 MX will technically *play* Doom 3 (and still look okay doing it)....probably not the experience you want.

Really, check out the [H] article above. Doom 3 ran on:
1.5GHz Pentium 4
512MB of Corsair RAM
GeForce 4 MX 440

Got max FPS of 59 and average of 22 at 640x480. Probably not playable, but that's with ALL THE ADVANCED GRAPHICS OPTIONS TURNED ON!

Turning off specular lighting shoots the FPS up to 30 as the average! Check out their screen shots - it still looks fine! Doom 3 also has the advantage of being really dark, so the 'jaggies' that low res + lack of AA would create are hardly evident. I mean, hell, 640x480 is higher resolution than any TV short of HDTV can even display, so even set THAT low you are getting a better graphical experience than XBox can offer!

Now, all that said, Doom 3 is rather the exception than the rule. For most things, a GF4 MX just won't cut it. Even with low res and 'turned down' graphics settings, it's just not a very good card any more.

Still, you can find a GeForce FX 5200 around for pretty cheap (brand new), or an older GeForce4 Ti series card - either of those may be perfect for your needs. You can find used versions of either for around $50 on eBay.

If you NEED a new card, the FX 5200 gets a little overpriced for its performance, but you can still find good values out there. FX 5700 LEs sell for really cheap (~$79) - just make sure you get the 128-bit and not the half-height 64-bit cards. And you'll want to overclock it some, too. Still, for that price, that's PROBABLY the lowest graphics card you'd really want to go as far as playing modern games.

And do expect to forget FSAA unless playing much older games*, and expect to crank the res down.

* FWIW, I think this caveat is a little too overstated. There are many, MANY older games that will simply scream on an FX 5700 LE, you can crank the FSAA up, and enjoy awesome gaming goodness. And the card is even capable of providing a quality (if not the HIGHEST quality) experience on new games.
Click to expand...


Still though, I think he would want something to last his brother for quite sometime. I wouldnt want to buy a cheap graphics card, then a couple months later shell out another 50+ bucks to play the next game that comes out. Besides, i think his bro would appreciate it if he had some good eye candy as far as graphics go. I know I would. Oh, and where in P-Ville do you live?
 
Zohar78 said:
Im looking for a really cheap card that will play these games. This is for a second pc that will be used for various things. Mainly folding & little bro to dm against me.
The newest games that i will be playing will be doom3, farcry and ut2004.
Im thinking a refurbeshed geforce4 mx440 from newegg. What is the difference between the mx440 and the 4000 part that i keep seeing?
THanks.
This will be another box to fold for the horde!

zohar78
10+ghz for the horde!
Click to expand...
i have a 9600xt for sale, if ur interested pm me.... it runs doom3, farcry and ut2k4 fairly decent....
 
The only reason i suggested (and bought) the FX5200, is because it supports pixel shaders, and the MX400(0) doesnt. I waited 3 years for Theif III to come out, and now that its here, it says on the box that geforce mx series are NOT supported.

Plus, 30$ is 30$. On a budget system, where you only spend 400$ on a 64bit system, that is a big difference. 30$ can get you a TV tuner card. 30$ will let you go from 80gb hard drive to 200gb. 30$ gets you a 52x cd burner. 30$ can get you a scanner. Its just a matter of how much you want to spend, what you will be doing with your computer, and long it will be before you can afford to upgrade.

I liked the idea of spending 50$ for a videocard that can play Doom 3, C&C Generals, Theif III, Farcry, or minesweeper.
 
Sedriss said:
Still though, I think he would want something to last his brother for quite sometime. I wouldnt want to buy a cheap graphics card, then a couple months later shell out another 50+ bucks to play the next game that comes out. Besides, i think his bro would appreciate it if he had some good eye candy as far as graphics go. I know I would. Oh, and where in P-Ville do you live?
Click to expand...
DID I live, I moved to Bend early this year. Used to live over by the Perry border.

As to the card....I think you'd be surprised how long a $90 card can last. I picked up an....errrr....'evaluation copy' of "Pacific Fighters" to tinker with till me preorder comes in.

And, surprisingly, it works fine on older cards! Which is impressive, given the graphics involved:
Carrier2.JPG


This is literally a 'next gen' game making extensive use of even PS3.0, if available. Obviously, the GF-FX is running PS2.0 path, but as you can see, it still looks great. And while you aren't getting screaming performance out of an FX 5700 LE, you still get *very good* performance out of it at 800x600 or so. That is still fine for playability, looks great, and can be played on very reasonably priced cards.

bob said:
The only reason i suggested (and bought) the FX5200, is because it supports pixel shaders, and the MX400(0) doesnt. I waited 3 years for Theif III to come out, and now that its here, it says on the box that geforce mx series are NOT supported.

Plus, 30$ is 30$. On a budget system, where you only spend 400$ on a 64bit system, that is a big difference. 30$ can get you a TV tuner card. 30$ will let you go from 80gb hard drive to 200gb. 30$ gets you a 52x cd burner. 30$ can get you a scanner. Its just a matter of how much you want to spend, what you will be doing with your computer, and long it will be before you can afford to upgrade.

I liked the idea of spending 50$ for a videocard that can play Doom 3, C&C Generals, Theif III, Farcry, or minesweeper.
Click to expand...
Oh, I quite agree, I'm not knocking the FX 5200 at all. For $50, it's a great card to buy new with warranty and everything.

Still, it's kinda in a low spot in the price: performance ratio, the 5700 LE really is a much faster card across the board for not MUCH more.
 
IMO, Radeon 9200 > Geforce FX5200. I've owned both cards, and the 9200 rocked the FX's world in everything I threw at them. And they are about the same price. Just DO NOT get any "SE" version--they have a crippled memory bus and lower clock speeds. Anyway, this is what I would get by price range:

~$50: Radeon 9200 regular version. http://www.newegg.com/app/ViewProductDesc.asp?description=14-102-349&depa=1
Yes, this only has 64 megs of VRAM, but you wouldn't notice on a card this low end anyway.

<$75 Radeon 9600 non-pro.
http://www.newegg.com/app/ViewProductDesc.asp?description=14-153-014&depa=1
It says LE, but that's got the 128-bit memory bus you want and the normal 9600 clock speed.

$75-$100, GeForce FX5700, if you don't mind a refurby
http://www.newegg.com/app/ViewProductDesc.asp?description=14-135-136R&type=Refurbish

>$100, PowerColor Radeon 9800SE
http://www.newegg.com/app/ViewProductDesc.asp?description=14-131-236&depa=1
That one has the full 256-bit memory interface, and has a LOT of success being softmodded to a full-blown Radeon 9800 pro. Just use the Omega drivers, which can be found at www.omegadrivers.net

I hope this helped!
 
I just saw in the fs/trade section of the forum there is a 9500 pro being sold for $80!! That's an 8 pipe card that is faster than a 9600xt for $80! I would jump on that deal NOW, as it's only $30 more than a new 5200 but WAY faster. It should run doom3, facry, and unreal awesome. Not sure if you can put a vga silencer on a 9500 pro , but if you can I would pick up one of those from svc.com and oc that card to it's max.
 
hmm.. thanks.. i have a 9700pro in my main (a64 3000 @ 3200 speeds). Im going to upgrade it in the next 6 months, and the 9700 he will get. then it would be used for another system.....
 
simple fact it comes down to money...buy the best you can... and if your wanting to play doom3 and farcry I suggest getting a 9600 for the lowest amount of money spent. Truth is however, even a 9800 is lagging hell even a 6800gt cant run them with all the eye candy yet at high resolutions. Im going to buy me a sli setup with duel 6800gts and nforce 4 setup here in the next month or so.... will last me for a couple years.
 
v1p3r-386- said:
Not sure if you can put a vga silencer on a 9500 pro
Click to expand...


Yes, there's one on mine. Overclocks like a champ, too. I got it up to 390, from a 277 stock!
 
icthus13 said:
<$75 Radeon 9600 non-pro.
http://www.newegg.com/app/ViewProductDesc.asp?description=14-153-014&depa=1
It says LE, but that's got the 128-bit memory bus you want and the normal 9600 clock speed.

I hope this helped!
Click to expand...


Hello, I am looking for a cheap video card like this one. Thanks for breaking it down for me Icthus13. The only game I really want to play thief 3 though. Does anyone know if it will play it? I currently can't play it because my video card doesn't have some type of pixel shader if I recall correctly.... thanks for any response...
 
Shane said:
... hell even a 6800gt cant run them with all the eye candy yet at high resolutions...
Click to expand...

if by "cant run" you mean "can run at 1600x1200, 2x AA, with all options turned on at High Quality" then yes, you're right. Truth is, there's nothing right now the GT can't do... but you pay for it... right around $400

before i got my new card i had a 5600 nu... worked out ok on newer games, not the best... i'd definitely suggest getting at leasts a 9600 or 5700
 
ElementK said:
Hahahaha oh my god. Sorry about that, but sir, in case you don't know, those games are VERY graphically advanced. "Im thinking a refurbeshed geforce4 mx440 from newegg" for FR CRY? OH MY GOD! Dude, my TI 4200 has a little trouble with it. For those games, you watn AT LEAST a 9600 XT. You can find it on newegg. Oh my god, I think I'm gonna sig this.

*Falls over in chair laughing*
Click to expand...
What he said. I don't mean to be mean about it though, you will need something that costs at leat $150 to play either with their graphics on lowest.
 
Staples said:
What he said. I don't mean to be mean about it though, you will need something that costs at leat $150 to play either with their graphics on lowest.
Click to expand...
*sigh*

That's exactly, 100%, completely, untrue.

I already linked to the article on the front page that show Doom 3 plays *just fine* on MEDIUM detail, not even lowest, on a GeForce4 MX.

Far Cry is another story, but Doom 3 will play on a GF4MX. I wouldn't recommend it. But it will play on it.

You don't need to spend HALF as much as that for a good gaming experience. I've played a ton of games on a 64-bit FX 5200 (even 'Pacific Fighters', which you can see some screenshots of in this thread), I've played them on a FX 5600, and have an FX 5700 on order (non-ultras the lot of them).

You DO NOT need a $100+ graphics card to get a good experience out of modern games, sorry.
 
Where do you get CHEAP Ti4600s..? For as old as they are I see them priced fairly high..
 
tree_ said:
Where do you get CHEAP Ti4600s..? For as old as they are I see them priced fairly high..
Click to expand...
The manufacturing cost of video cards are getting higher and higher. I doubt you will ever see new cards such as the 6800GT dropping below $150. They will introduce cheaper cards soon enough. The TI4600 was the most expensive one to make in its day so it isn't going to get that cheap unless they want to clear the warehouse and sell it for a really cheap price.
 
I think he means 'used'. You won't find new ones for 'cheap' anywhere. That's one of the reasons I mention FX 5200s in these threads - for the same price, you CAN get those 'new', with warranties intact and everything.

As to getting a warranty-no-good-anymore-but-still-fast Ti4200/Ti4600.....The 'Classifieds' section of Anandtech's forum and the 'For Sale/Trade' section of the Hard|Forum are the places to get a Ti4600 'cheap'.

eBay sometimes, but don't hold your breath. eBay is weird that way, some things you really get price gouged on, some things have sweet deals. Generally, high-end graphics cards are always going to fall into the 'price gouge' catagory regardless of how old they are. Users on eBay can't seem to accept the fact that just before they spent $250 on the card 3 years ago that they can't expect to get even half that back now.

AT and [H] forums are much better for that. You'll often see GF4s in the $50-$75 range....but the market is much smaller, so you'll probably have to wait a few weeks before seeing one. You can also post a 'WTB' thread for the topic (want to buy) - make sure you list what features you want (Ti4600, with or without AGP 8x, VIVO or not, etc), and what you'll pay. Some users may have a GF4 Ti laying around in their back closet and haven't sold it since they didn't think they'd get anything for it, and your thread might trigger an offer.
 
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