Cheap Shader 2.0 AGP GPU needed!

**Ituralde** · 10-11-2006, 17:46

Well, the title says it all:

I just played the Medieval 2 Demo the last couple of days and was pretty happy that my 3-year old system could handle it so well. I have a Pentium IV 2,66 GHz with 1 Gig of RAM but the chokepoint is my graphics card, which is a Geforce4 Ti4200, while I can play the game fine on the lowest to medium settings I have been planning on buying an all new PC for quite some time now. I want to wait though until Vista with its accompanying Directx10 is out and Core2 Duo processor have fallen in price a little before I make my move.

You may wonder now, why I should care for a new GPU, when Medieval 2 is displaying fine. The problem is that the Geforce4 only allows me to use Shader 1.0 and after wondering a lot why I didn't get to see any nice blood and mud effects on my units and after installing it on my laptop, whose ATI Radeon 9800 Mobility supports Shader 2.0, I realized that it was all down to that little 2 in front of the dot. My Laptop unfortunately only has 512MB RAM which is a little too low and the processor is also lacking, besides I need my numpad to play Total War, everything else just feels akward.

So what I really want is a pretty cheap AGP card wich has Shader 2.0 support. I don't want to spend more than roughly 50$ on it, maybe one of you forumites can point me in the right direction. By the way I live in Germany so keep this in mind before you point me to any Internet site.

Glad for your help!
Cheers!

Ituralde

**Husar** · 10-12-2006, 11:51

Well, you said cheap, so here it is.

But I wouldn't recommend it at all. I'd just wait to get a whole new computer and a decent graphicscard.

**MSB** · 10-12-2006, 12:44

Originally Posted by Husar

Well, you said cheap, so here it is.

But I wouldn't recommend it at all. I'd just wait to get a whole new computer and a decent graphicscard.

The 6600 is shader 3.0 not 2.0, but it is very good value.

**Ituralde** · 10-12-2006, 16:37

That's why it should be cheap, because it's only to bridge the time until I buy the new computer. Also I already have plans on selling the computer on to somebody else who doesn't really need a high-end machine, but would still like to see a decent graphic card in it, so the whole deal might actually pay off for me.

Thanks for the links Husar, will definetly keep checking that price and see if it drops a little more. I would even settle for a Radeon 9600 Pro or something along those lines, as long as its capable of Shader 2.0. Since I don't know which cards support this I though I might ask around here and see if anybody could give me a good hint.

Cheers!

Ituralde

**x-dANGEr** · 10-13-2006, 11:48

FX 5200. (You will be able to use Shader 2, but with framrates of 1-4)

**Ituralde** · 10-13-2006, 19:32

Originally Posted by x-dANGEr

FX 5200. (You will be able to use Shader 2, but with framrates of 1-4)

Why is that exactly? And thanks for the advice... I guess...

**Geezer57** · 10-14-2006, 23:37

x-dANGEr is pulling your leg - the FX5200 is a notoriously slow GPU. If you "only" want Shader Model 2.0, then consider a Radeon 9800 as your bottom pick.

**TosaInu** · 10-16-2006, 23:50

I would avoid all NVIDIA GF5 cards. There may be 'good' deals now, but they are generally bulky, noisy and underperforming. The 5700 LE is a splendid example. It does support some kind of feature (also used in MTW, but I forgot what) but lacks the muscle power to pull it off. So, it's in effect a slow and buggy card.

The whole era was infected by Extra Special, SE, LE, UltraPlus and whatever editions, avoid them all. The GF6 series however. Something 6600 will be nice.

**Beirut** · 10-17-2006, 11:18

Originally Posted by TosaInu

I would avoid all NVIDIA GF5 cards. There may be 'good' deals now, but they are generally bulky, noisy and underperforming.

Wasn't it the il fated 5800 that sounded like a Shopvac being run inside your computer? Loudest card ever, so I read.

**TosaInu** · 10-18-2006, 12:50

Yes, and they occupied two expansion slots (one AGP actually used, and the bulky size blocked one PCI). It wasn't just the 5800 I recall, many GF5 cards shared that feature.

Todays new GF5 cards are the entry level 5200. They are passively cooled and lean. That card is only recommended for office applications, browsing and low spec/old games.

I purchased an Asus GF TI4800 SE (yes, also SE) 3 years ago when I assembled this PIV system and not any of those new expensive GF5 cards. It was a very neat card, only replaced by a GF6600 last year because Half-Life 2 asked more power in higher resolution. I recall this GF4800 SE to outclass several GF5 in benches.

Ituralde, the case of the 5700LE shows that a card supporting a new feature, doesn't mean that it will perform better than a card that doesn't. A card needs to support the feature and needs to have the muscles to pull it off. Otherwise, it's better to have a card that does not support it at all. Then, hopefully, the software will scale to a level where that feature is not used, but run smoothly.