Better card

[lazyboyzob12]

Yes, I am a newbie but have played HL2 since day one. I have a Radeon 9000 64 mb (Yes, i know thats bad) but it plays HL2 at 30fps in 1024x768. So my question is this: I wanna upgrade to a Radeon 9550 256mb and was wondering if it is a significant improvement in fps in gameplay especially during heavy battle!
Thanks!

 

[xombine]

Well from that card yes, you will notice a big difference. But if you have the money I would most definately upgrade to something better.

 

[lazyboyzob12]

I dont have enough money to upgrade to any of the un-budget cards. So I will definitely see higher framerates then! Good! I mean 30fps is horrible and with a map with many enemies like Antlion Troopers my fps would go to GASP 10fps!!
It is HORRIBLE!

Offtopic: I love Disturbed. What is you fav song on their recent album??

 

[Solver]

30 fps is actually decent, but yeah, you will see an improvement with the 9550. Most notably, you should experience less dips in FPS - heavy battles shouldn't feel slower than the other parts of the game then.

However, consider your budget carefully. The 9550 is a relatively bad card by now, so look at the prices of the 9800, X700 and X800 and see if you could possibly get those. Consider, on Amazon:

9550 (100 USD): http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B0...f=pd_bbs_1/002-1342994-8975234?_encoding=UTF8
9800 (90 USD):
http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B0...f=pd_bbs_3/002-1342994-8975234?_encoding=UTF8

You could probably find a 9800 with 256 MB for just a bit more than the 9550...

 

[lazyboyzob12]

9800 huh? Is that a big step up from a 9550 gameplay wise??
Can I get even better fps?
So with a 9800 I can enable AA then?

I have:
AMD Athlon 2000+ (1.67 gig)
768 mb DDR
60 gig HD
SB Audigy 4
Radeon 9000 64 mb

 

[Solver]

Well, sky is the limit. 9800 is quite a bit better technically, yes. And even that's not as good as cards get, there's X700, X800 and whatever else.

I assume you're in the US? You could post here how big your budget is and I could take a look at what your best option would be.

 

[hungryduck]

meh...the 9550 is still a pretty crummy card....get a 9800 on the cheap at least for HL2

 

[lazyboyzob12]

Budget = $150

Thats all i got.
Sux 2 b me!

 

[lazyboyzob12]

How about an X1300??
Are those better?

 

[joule]

How about an X1300??
Are those better?

ATI's X1300 line of cards are PCI-Express only. So unless you have a motherboard with a PCI-E slot, (which I highly doubt), this will do you no good.

I suggest using Newegg's Guided Search/Power Search if you want to really narrow down and specify what video you are interested in, in terms of price, manufacturer, and power.

 

[63]

I got a BFG 6600 GT OC for $160 Canadian at Futureshop...

 

[Wolfxi]

where did u buy that BFG 6600 GT? i mean like where in canada....cause the futureshop i have WAY overprices there vid cards....lol they were selling 6200's for like 160$:x

 

[lazyboyzob12]

I have decided just to buy the 9550 just because I am not a hardcore gamer and need to watch my $. Plus it sounds like I will be able to run HL2 in 1024x768 in Medium setting comfortably. Better than my 10-20fps with my Radeon 9000!! Thanks for all your help! Any other tips welcome!

 

[63]

where did u buy that BFG 6600 GT? i mean like where in canada....cause the futureshop i have WAY overprices there vid cards....lol they were selling 6200's for like 160$:x

I got mine in Vancouver. I know that FS/Best Buy are incredibly overpriced, I managed to get mine at such a deal because, heh, the salesman made a mistake and I didn't feel the need to correct him

 

[lazyboyzob12]

Actually I am gonna buy a XFX GeForce 6600 / 256MB DDR / AGP 8X / Dual DVI / TV Out / Video Card. Great reviews and only $125!!
SWEET!! Any one object to this card?

 

[hungryduck]

well, the 6600GT is a good bit faster, but a bit more expensive, and only has 128mb DDR

 

[DannyC.]

... you wanna know something scary?

... the only perspective I've seen Half-Life 2 from (besides Fraps movies and screenshots) is from this Dell with 512 mb and a shitty Intel card. I can only get to 30 fps about 45% of the time.

<Insert Grigori Laugh>

Somehow, it managed to absolutely blow my mind when I first played it.

ps: The last shipment of parts for my new pc should arrive next week at the latest.

 

[lazyboyzob12]

Actually it is a 256mb card! It looks sweet. So now I have to wait another month to get paid enough to buy it! GAWD! Meanwhile I will rock the combine with a shitty 64meg Radeon. Not that bad besides the 20-30fps.
THANKS EVERYBODY!!!

 

[Naudian]

30 FPS with that card? Hmm I don't think you've even been playing HL2 in all its DX9 glory
Most likely you've been seeing it in DX8 or even 7, missing out on a lot of purtyness.

If you get that 6600 you'll definitely be playing in DX9, which I bet will look way better than DX8. (I don't really know much about the differences and stuff though)

I'd say that card is a good choice. :thumbs:

 

[Solver]

The 6600 sounds great. I am a fan of nVidia myself, and the 6600 is a good card - it's a budget one, yet a good card. With the NV5 series, they kinda fluked - the FX 5200 was the budget card, but it was a considerable deal worse than the 5500 or 5700, whereas the 6600 is indeed a good card.

And yeah... HL2 will be all different for you. When you make the switch from a low-end card to a high-end card, you really feel the difference!

 

[lazyboyzob12]

Thanks guys!