What graphics card to get !? :)

[PLAYLIFE]

I mostly play LFS (90%) but would also like to play other games... I guess I am looking at the price range of some x550 or x600.

Currently running :

Sempron 1700 MHz (2400+)
NVIDIA GeForce 4 MX 440 (64MB)

Please advise :)

[Forbin]

If you want to increase your framerate in LFS, the first thing to look at is the CPU. LFS uses the CPU much more heavily than it does the graphics card. However, in your case, your card is pretty crappy (basically the same thing as a GF2), so... :)

Note that your motherboard only has AGP. It does not have any PCI-Express slots. Therefore, you cannot run any X550 or X600 as they are all PCI-Express.

One really good card that's just a bit more expensive than the price range you've quoted is the 6600GT. If you're serious about gaming, I really wouldn't buy anything slower. This would also allow you to run LFS with lots of AA and AF (anti-aliasing and anisotropic filtering, the first smooths out diagonal lines, the second sharpens textures).

Regardless of what card you buy, make sure it's AGP and not PCI-Express. That is, unless you plan on upgrading your entire system (CPU, motherboard, etc.).

[MadCatX]

GF6600GT is really good card. I own one, and I am REALLY SATISFIED with it. In systhetic tests have BETTER score that X800 radeon!!!(yeah, after a little overclocking). And as Forbin said, if you wanna play games, it is a good choice. Little more expensive, but you WILL get a value for your money. I can recommend GF6600GT to you.

For LFS will be enough it's smaller sister GF6600 (without GT sign), but I don't see any good reason why to get it. Is is not much cheaper than GT and it is MUCH slower.

[MadCatX]

If you want to increase your framerate in LFS, the first thing to look at is the CPU.

I don't think so. Sempron 2400+ is enough for LFS. OK, Athlon FX-57 will be better:), but with HVS supporting graphic card can his Sempron manage LFS fast.
You don't wanna say that we need 3 GHz CPUs to run LFS smoothly, do you?

[PLAYLIFE]

Guys, I'm looking at buying the 9600 PRO at the moment. Think that's OK? GF6600 is a tad bit expensive for me...

[Forbin]

I don't think so. Sempron 2400+ is enough for LFS. OK, Athlon FX-57 will be better:), but with HVS supporting graphic card can his Sempron manage LFS fast.
You don't wanna say that we need 3 GHz CPUs to run LFS smoothly, do you?

I'm running an Athlon XP 3000+ 2.1GHz and I still get slowdowns that would be remedied by a new CPU.

It's the same basic chip as the Socket A Sempron that Playlife is running, except his is a Thoroughbred core with 256KB L2 cache, mine's a Barton with 512KB L2 cache. AMD reverted to the Thoroughbred core for the Sempron because the Barton's more expensive to produce.

As for the 9600 Pro, I suppose that's alright if you're really on a super-tight budget. It's certainly much better than the GF4 MX (aka GF2). :)

[PLAYLIFE]

As for the 9600 Pro, I suppose that's alright if you're really on a super-tight budget. It's certainly much better than the GF4 MX (aka GF2). :)

Yeah, I hope it is - don't wanna go through this trouble and just waste money for a 5 % improvement :D

[MadCatX]

R9600Pro is OK. My friend is running Sempron 2400+(as you) and R9600Pro and his system is nice quick. He plays FarCry, HL2 as so as LFS and it is running smoothly on good details set. Good luck with your new Radeon:)

[Seahorse]

Don't waste your money on the 6600 - your PC should be replaced first - it's a museum piece...:really:

[Gunn]

Don't waste your money on the 6600 - your PC should be replaced first - it's a museum piece...:really:Nonsense.

[PLAYLIFE]

Don't waste your money on the 6600 - your PC should be replaced first - it's a museum piece...:really:

I read a similar comment by you elsewhere... You seem to be under the impression that everybody should own the latest most expensive PC... Sry, I do not think so!!!

Additionally, people in our country earn 3x less than the same people in your country... Perhaps you should try taking a wider perspective on things

[Seahorse]

Clearly you are (probably deliberately) missing the point. His CPU is the bottleneck and throwing a modern graphics card will do nothing for the problem. I have explained it in simple terms but you are probably too stubborn to believe me. I am confident that if I told you the sky was Blue you would argue.

Go chat to Google (http://www.google.com/search?hl=en&lr=&c2coff=1&q=processor+grapics+card+bottleneck) boy... :noob:

[Mounthy]

nope sea, thats wrong.

his gf4mx doesn`t support hvs
so its for sure the bottleneck.
and a 9600 should give a performance boost for his system
not only in LFS, probably in all other games too.

[Seahorse]

Why put an obselete 9600 (2 year old) graphics card in? besides, he was talking about a GF6600. Waste of time & money.


A cheap mobo/cpu/ram/bundle would be a better option. LFS love processor power. Like I said, museum piece, bin it...:tilt:

[Mounthy]

nice that y have a tree where the money grows,
in this case y are of course excused that you dont know the difference between low and high prices.

[Gunn]

Seahorse we already can determine that he doen't have a lot of money, hence the budget solution he is considering. I run 2 PCs here for LFS, one is a lower spec than his, and it runs just fine. A better graphics card than he now has will certainly improve his LFS experience, without busting the piggy bank.

[_rod_]

b4 s2 was realeased i was runing with a 2.2+ ghz xp @ 1.8 ghz, 256 ram and 64 mx440, i could not play lfs with more than 3 cars around me, depending the track i was playin, i was very short on budget, so i bought a fx 5200 256mb, now i can play lfs without a problem most of the time, only when gets 15-20 cars around me the fps gos to 10-15.. but usually in race i get 35-50 fps, b4 the card up grade, i coulndt start from the grid or i would get 5-7 fps...

@ seahorse my pc is also a piece of museum, but some of us dont have the money to buy a better pc,and also any thing that to u is 50 uk money is 250-300 of my money

[Seahorse]

If the processor is the bottleneck a better graphics card will also suffer from the bottleneck, Duh! Being short of money doesn't mean you have to waste what you have. By the same token, there comes a point in every PC's life when it's time to accept your hardware is not up to the job. His clearly isn't. I offer three solutions:

1. Live with it - a fast graphics card is wasted on that machine.

2. If he is skint, I suggest he starts saving like the rest of us or get a better paying paper round/job whatever.

3. Hope that Father Christmas reads this thread...:wmann3:

[Cue-Ball]

Sorry, Seahorse, but you're just plain wrong. My LFS rig is a Sempron 2800+ with a friggin' Parhelia and it runs LFS just fine. My second machine is a Barton 2500+ with a 9600 and it runs even faster. I can pretty much guarantee that Playlife will triple his frame rate simply by buying a new video card. He doesn't need a whole new PC and what he's running isn't a junk "museum piece" as you keep stating. Some of us have better things to spend our money on than having the latest, greatest PC hardware. I've spent very little on my PC and it runs everything I play just fine.

[Seahorse]

Sorry, Seahorse, but you're just plain wrong. My LFS rig is a Sempron 2800+ with a friggin' Parhelia and it runs LFS just fine. My second machine is a Barton 2500+ with a 9600 and it runs even faster. I can pretty much guarantee that Playlife will triple his frame rate simply by buying a new video card. He doesn't need a whole new PC and what he's running isn't a junk "museum piece" as you keep stating. Some of us have better things to spend our money on than having the latest, greatest PC hardware. I've spent very little on my PC and it runs everything I play just fine.

Personally I don't spend much on my PC either, but it outspecs all of yours by a country mile. I also pay a mortgage, run a car and motorcycle (expensive hobby) and feed a wife & 3 kids. I also buy shiny things with buttons on as and when I can.

Therefore don't waste my time babbling on about your better things to spend you money on. Try playing Half Life 2 etc with your PC and see how far you get; LFS isn't the only game I own.

Why spend good money buying out of date hardware? You just don't get it do you. I have explained the 3 options in terms a child could understand but you continue to bleat. You are either obtuse or stupid, take your pick...:Eyecrazy:

[Cue-Ball]

Personally I don't spend much on my PC either, but it outspecs all of yours by a country mile.
Well congratulations to you!

Therefore don't waste my time babbling on about your better things to spend you money on. Try playing Half Life 2 etc with your PC and see how far you get; LFS isn't the only game I own.
I don't see what HL2 has to do with LFS.

Why spend good money buying out of date hardware?
Because there is a price/performance sweet spot and spending $50 on a "good enough" video card is often a better option than spending $200 on something three times as fast. If someone can get something that meets their needs without spending a fortune, why not save some money?

You just don't get it do you. I have explained the 3 options in terms a child could understand but you continue to bleat. You are either obtuse or stupid, take your pick...:Eyecrazy:
Oh I get it, alright. I get that you're an egotistical jerk who thinks you know what's best for everyone else. Every single post you've made in this thread has been condescending and downright rude. The OP said he was looking to spend $70 to upgrade his machine. Instead of trying to help you you insinuate that the OP is poor, call people stubborn and stupid, and you suggest that the guy buy a new motherboard, CPU, RAM, etc which is way out of his price range. You've been about as unhelpful as you could possibly be.

Playtime: There are people on the LFS Benchmark page getting well over 40fps average with a similar processor to yours, but a faster video card. Buy the best video card that you can afford and you should see a big jump in frame rate. ussbeethoven's suggestion of a 9800 Pro is a good one. You can probably find a used 9800 for about the same price as a new 9600.

[Seahorse]

Well congratulations to you!

Thank you.

I don't see what HL2 has to do with LFS.

Obviously plain English is not enough for you. Some people play more than one game, therfore what's good for one is not much cop for another. HL2 is an example of an extremely popular game with high hardware requirements.

Oh I get it, alright. I get that you're an egotistical jerk who thinks you know what's best for everyone else. Every single post you've made in this thread has been condescending and downright rude. The OP said he was looking to spend $70 to upgrade his machine. Instead of trying to help you you insinuate that the OP is poor, call people stubborn and stupid, and you suggest that the guy buy a new motherboard, CPU, RAM, etc which is way out of his price range. You've been about as unhelpful as you could possibly be.

Pot calling kettle.

You can't be bothered to do the research - clearly. You don't like the answers provided - tough. You don't have a sense of humour - I don't care.

HANDFOAD

[Cue-Ball]

You can't be bothered to do the research - clearly. You don't like the answers provided - tough. You don't have a sense of humour - I don't care.
I HAVE done the research. Just take a look at the LFS Benchmark site. People with similar processors and newer video cards are getting frame rates that are just fine (including me). I've looked at your past posts and every time someone asks for help getting better frame rates your answer is "throw your crappy system in the trash and buy a new one". If that's your answer then you're right, I don't like it. And I don't think anyone else here appreciates it either.

[jmkz]

I am confident that if I told you the sky was Blue you would argue.

well.. the sky is not actually blue ;)

http://www.sciencemadesimple.com/sky_blue.html


ontopic; both his CPU AND GFX card will have problems coping with LFS even at the lowest resolutions with a few cars around.

The CPU is "okay", but not great either, maybe try a little OC on the bastard (1.9Ghz should be obtainable), for the GFX, used 9600 Pro is sufficient to play at 1024x768 with high texture detail, your system will have CPU bottleneck before a GFX one at that resolution.

LFS is much harder on CPU & system bandwidth (memory speed) than on GFX card, so upgrade/buy in that order

[Seahorse]

I don't like it. And I don't think anyone else here appreciates it either.

It's good to see someone with an intimate knowledge of other peoples 'opinions' speaking up, but then opinions are like arseholes, everyone has them...:D

[AndroidXP]

Look guys, basically I can just repeat what has been said: CPU is the most important factor for LFS.

BUT there is one special case where this is not true. And that is when the GFX card doesn't support HVS. And this is the case here, so upgrading the GFX card will be a much higher benefit for a much lower cost, because even a measily 9600 would suffice to fulfill the HVS requirement.

A 6600GT is probably too much for his rig, especially if he doesn't plan to update the other components in the next time, too.

A 9600 would be good enough for LFS, that's for sure, but I think he wouldn't be too happy with the 10% time he plays other games.

A 9800 Pro is probably the best choice IF he wants to play other "newer" games too. If the remaining 10% time is spent on Sim City 3, Civilization or something similar, then the 9600 would be more than enough.

[N15MO_C]

My system didnt cost that much, but its fine for running LS2 and half life 2 etc. I am getting frame rates of about 60ish if i remember correctly. Only been playing for 1 day. I have a athlon 2500+ with 1gb ram and geforce 6600gt. At the moment its not overclocked but will OC it when i get home tomorrow. Will post the before and after results.

Buy your parts for your system bit by bit, as you can afford them. You will proberbly end up with a better system than "throwing it in the bin and buying a new computer"!!

[PLAYLIFE]

Hi :)

I've been away on project leadership for a few days training and I came back to this :(

I must say, I have already bought a Radeon 9600 PRO. I don't get any slowdown at the start anymore and I run 6xAA and 16xAF - I could not run any of those before. In addition, almost everything is turned way up in the graphics part + I got a card that is dx9 compatible, not only dx7... The starts are not a problem anymore - no slowdowns. I am quite satisfied :) I really don't know what I would do with a better card :/ or a better cpu.

Half-Life 2 I already played long time ago and it ran just fine...

Seahorse - Your comments are not welcome in this thread anymore - they do nothing but insult me!!!!! :mad: You are simply... stupid!!


For the rest of you. Thank you :D I did not manage to buy a better card, but I think this one is OK for a year or so, until LFS gets a graphics workover or smth.

See you on the track :D

P.S. What is hvs?

[Michael Miskella]

9600 pro id say is your best option anyway but id turn the graphics options down to a minimum, especially if you play any first person shooters.

seahorse is right, saying it in a friendly or agressive tone dosent change its truth.

[Mounthy]

grats to your new "toy" :)

P.S. What is hvs?hardware vertex shading
some transistors in the chip made for a speziall job.
more... (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Vertex_shader)
The GF2 / GF4mx were the last nvidia without this feature.
also standard in ati cards for a long time.

In LFS you can set it on/off in options/graphics to see the performance difference.

[Julppu]

Well, I manage with 2,5GHz Celeron with disgustingly poor motherboard and 9200 budget-ati. Just tune graphics level if it bogs. But the again, I've been playing since 80's so I'm more into playability and contents than graphical looks. (It also builds patience and character ;) Sure it's grand if lfs looks great, but what's (a way) more important is the feeling. Don't know if current configuration will cause lower fps with more than 8 racers, but so far no problems encountered..

[Gona74]

I play lfs with 3.0ghz pentium 4 and shitty integrated radeon 9100 graphics. Performance is just fine, even with 2xAA and 2xAF... 30+ fps all the time... :)