Is a GeForce FX5500 a good enough card to play this game?

[Phatferd]

I am a college student so money is tight, but I want to get a card to play the EA games on my PC. I have never done the PC thing, I have always been a console guy.

I can get a 256mb FX5500 for $40 at newegg.com. I don't play anything other than EA sports titles.

I would want the game to be playable and run smoothly with nice graphics (comparable at least to my PS2). I know with my budget that it could really limit my choices, however, it's the boat I'm in so I am trying to find the best card around $50.

[ignorantfool]

it's a pretty good card, it will now depend on your processor and ram.

[Num33Baller]

Check the bottom of the box.

It also depends on your CPU.

If you have a 1.5ghz, its not gonna look nice.

If you have a 3.4ghz, it will.

[Phatferd]

My computer specs are:
Athlon 3200
2.2 GHZ
512 RAM

[Num33Baller]

My computer specs are:
Athlon 3200
2.2 GHZ
512 RAM

You won't be able to run it at max but you should be able to run it at High me thinks.

[Phatferd]

I'm probably going to throw another 512mb of RAM into it in a couple of paychecks or when I get my tax return.

Would you suggest doing this or will it only do minimal improvements?

[Num33Baller]

I'm probably going to throw another 512mb of RAM into it in a couple of paychecks or when I get my tax return.

Would you suggest doing this or will it only do minimal improvements?

It will GREATLY improve performance.

A lot. At least double or triple loading times.

If you can, I would throw in a one gb ram card into the slot.

[threatlockz]

2x 512 is faster than 1x 512 + 1x 1024, and even faster than 1x 1024 at most times.

[Phatferd]

2x 512 is faster than 1x 512 + 1x 1024, and even faster than 1x 1024 at most times.

Just so I have this right...2x 512 (=1024) is faster than 1x 512 + 1x 1024 (=1536)

[Num33Baller]

2x 512 is faster than 1x 512 + 1x 1024, and even faster than 1x 1024 at most times.

Uhm... No its not.

As long as the ram chips are same speed, they will always be equal in speed.

Just one setup will be able to hold more info than the other.

[threatlockz]

they might be equal in speed on paper, but in benchmarks 2x512 has always been faster than 1x1024, unless you manually adjust your timings but i think 98% of the users here don't know what i'm talking about then

[Num33Baller]

they might be equal in speed on paper, but in benchmarks 2x512 has always been faster than 1x1024, unless you manually adjust your timings but i think 98% of the users here don't know what i'm talking about then

Hmm I guess, but personally, I would still take the 1gb stick + 512mb stick vs two 512mb sticks.

[kingtrobe807]

sorry to be using this tread....

how about me...what would be a good video card upgrade??

System Overview

Operating System Microsoft Windows XP Home Edition Service Pack 1 (Build 2600) Windows XP/2000/ME/98

System Memory 640.3

Processor Speed 1694.8

DirectX Version 9.0c





Operating System Information
Microsoft Windows XP Home Edition Service Pack 1 (Build 2600)
Internet Explorer Information

System Device Information
Intel Intel(R) Pentium(R) 4 CPU 1700MHz 1694.8

Memory
System Total 640.3
Virtual Total 2047.9
Pagefile Total 1113.9

Display Device
NVIDIA GeForce2 MX/MX 400 (Microsoft Corporation) Local Memory: 32.0 Driver Version: 6.14.10.5672

Memory
Total 32.0
Available 28.8
Non-Local 63.0
Texture 91.8

Sound Device
Creative Sound Blaster PCI Driver: 5.1.2501.0[/b]

[ignorantfool]

your display device is way off. better buy a new one. your processor is ok but if you want a nice gameplay with nice graphics you should upgrade it too, something like 2.4 ghz i guess.

[Num33Baller]

If you're gonna upgrade the CPU you're gonna want to get a nice video card...

If not... Get an ATI Radeon 9550 or 9800, depending if you know how to overclock or not, and depending on how much you want to spend.

The 9550 should work for you until you upgrade your computer to PCI Express/64bit etc...

[kingtrobe807]

one of the main reasons i want to upgrade is because i am almost sure live 07 will take more than a 32 mb video card.....and i want to buy the new madden...prob 07 since 06 is kinda old already and that took 64 mb card...so i couldnt buy the 06 one....

i kinda want to stick with nvidia card....the ATI Radeon i have heard is ok but ive also have heard that is sucks sometimes.....are there any good Nvidia cards out there for my computer??

Num33Baller: what do u mean The 9550 should work for me until i upgrade my computer to PCI Express/64bit etc??? I think my graphics card is a PCI.....Ive had this computer since 2001-02...so its not really old...

I just want a good card that will be able to play new EaSports and EaGames....l

[Phatferd]

You can get the FX5500 pretty cheap (from what I have gathered, its a pretty capable card for EA products) for $40 http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.asp?Item=N82E16814130197

You can get the GeForce 6200 for about $50 http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.asp?Item=N82E16814121542

Or you can get the 6600LE for under $75 (the other 6600 models are sub $100). http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.asp?Item=N82E16814130252

[Num33Baller]

Num33Baller: what do u mean The 9550 should work for me until i upgrade my computer to PCI Express/64bit etc??? I think my graphics card is a PCI.....Ive had this computer since 2001-02...so its not really old...

I just want a good card that will be able to play new EaSports and EaGames....l

Your computer is very old. It might not be fast enough to run Madden and Live 2007, depending on what chip you have.

You don't have an AGP slot, so it doesn't matter how fast your video card is, it's traveling in a traffic jam on a one lane road (pardon the metaphor).

Your computer is four or five years old. Thats two generations.

You have a PCI Slot for graphics. In 2002 or so, the AGP (Advance Graphics Port) was made so you could have your own "highway" for the video card. Now they have PCI Express.

What CPU do you have? A Pentium 3 or a pentium 4? And how many mhz is it?

[kingtrobe807]

its pentium 4
1.7 mhz

[Num33Baller]

its pentium 4
1.7 mhz

ehh... I would get an ATI Radeon 9600 or something, then upgrade around christmas or next spring.

[Silas]

I have an FX 5200 and it runs realy smooth with no problems, even when its totally maxed out graphics. I also have a 3ghz proccessor and 2 gigs of ram, so that helps stop any lag that may think about coming up

[kingtrobe807]

whats better overall for easports and eagames for video cards....and for my computer.....

FX 5200
FX 5500
GeForce 6200
ATI Radeon 9550
ATI Radeon 9600
ATI Radeon 9800

[Silas]

theres lots of nice cards out there, if most of you guys have AGP, get the ATI X800XL which is VERY NICE, you'll be able to run pretty much the most demanding games on nice settings, and then the Nvidia 6800 GS is awesome in AGP for running any game on high. Those cards run just under 200 dollars. If you want something less expensive get a 6600 GT in AGP, those are a little over 100 dollars.

For PCI-E, the best cards are the Nvidia 7800 series, but the cheap ones are just under 300 dollars the nice ones are over 400. The 6800 series also comes in PCI-E and the best bang for the buck is the 6800 GS, which is like 170 now days. Then again, like i said, the 6600 GT is a great card for less money....

[Num33Baller]

whats better overall for easports and eagames for video cards....and for my computer.....

FX 5200
FX 5500
GeForce 6200
ATI Radeon 9550
ATI Radeon 9600
ATI Radeon 9800

Obviously the higher the number the better the card (usually).

I think the ATI Radeon 9800 is better than the 6200, but I'm not sure.

All I know is that you can over clock the 9800 like a beast.

[Silas]

9800 is better, but i think 6600 is the best low budget card out there