What is the best video card for half life 2?

  • Thread starter Thread starter Tim W
  • Start date Start date
Sure, it's worth taking all the benchmarks about at the mo with a pinch of salt. Especially as so many seem to condradict each other.

It is worthy noting that in those benchmarks the 6800's seem to perform very well with AA/AF even when using SM2.0.
 
My System specs are:

2.2 GigaHertz (overclocked to 2.8)
256 MB ram (is this enough?)
80 GB drivespace (43.5 GB left)
My maximum res is 1600x1200
 
So cool to see everyone helping each other. Most boards I visit just flame anyone for asking a question. So Bravo, fellas. Anyway, gotta ask what you think about my machines specs. I already know I can run HL2 fairly well though, but just for kicks:
P4 1.8ghz
512mb RAM
Sapphire Radeon 9600 Pro

Considering I can run Far Cry (which has a horribly unstable engine) at mostly High settings (i only turn a couple things down to medium) fine I think I'll be all right. The only real problem I have with Far Cry is that it freezes for a second or two the first time I shoot a weapon after any level loads. After that it's fine though.
Cheers.
 
I have looked for prices on radeon 9800 pro.
There where prices arround 180€.
Why is this card so cheap?
And what is the difference between 128-bits cards and 256-bits cards?
 
Tim W said:
I have looked for prices on radeon 9800 pro.
There where prices arround 180€.
Why is this card so cheap?
And what is the difference between 128-bits cards and 256-bits cards?
Click to expand...

It's cheap because it's awesome and there's already the X800 Pro out for $400. There is no difference between the 128MB and 256MB for now. Maybe later in time there'll be a difference, but it's not worth it.

Check out: http://www.newegg.com/

9600XT, 9800, 9800 Pro, 9600, 9600 Pro, all of them will run HL2 fine.
 
He meant 128-BIT vs 256-BIT, 256-Bit is the way to go man, they are WAY WAY faster than the 128-Bit cards, go to www.newegg.com and look for the Sapphire Radeon 9800 Pro, it's $206 and its 128MB and 256-BIT That's a good card, and you can flash to an XT.
 
I also crave 6800 Ultra, but when I start dreaming... "Hello", says Reality. I simply can't afford it. On top of it all I have 256MB RAM and a 1.4GHZ P4. And I've spent 125$ on a set of goddamn headphones! They are good though. Really good. :naughty:
 
Strifer said:
I also crave 6800 Ultra, but when I start dreaming... "Hello", says Reality. I simply can't afford it. On top of it all I have 256MB RAM and a 1.4GHZ P4. And I've spent 125$ on a set of goddamn headphones! They are good though. Really good. :naughty:
Click to expand...

OMG Dude you know what you could have used those $125 for?!?!?1 SLAP YOURSELF RIGHT NOW!
 
I know, I regret spending so much money on the most no-performance-boost thingy. But then I just put my headphones on and play Freespace 2. The sound is amazing!
 
my specs are:

ati radeon 9800 pro (will get it before hl2 release atleast)
256mb ram (will buy 512mb more, and if my ram's work together, i will have 768mb)
pt4 2,4ghz

i reckon this will run ok,right?

and does anybody have a clue how the ram in a ibm computer will run together with twinmos?will there be any "conflicts"?
 
if you want the best graphics card for hl2 i suggest getting the x800 xt. if you want the best card for future dx9.0c games get the 680 ultra sicne it has more support in dx9.0c.
 
Strifer said:
I know, I regret spending so much money on the most no-performance-boost thingy. But then I just put my headphones on and play Freespace 2. The sound is amazing!
Click to expand...

lol at $125 i don't doubt it :D
 
any radeon above 9200 will be great ...even 9200 will run fine
 
dino_21 said:
any radeon above 9200 will be great ...even 9200 will run fine
Click to expand...

9200 is a Dx.8 card.

Go for 9600xt which is a direct X.9 card, it's very cheap in price nowadays and it does a fine job. Trust me, my brother (whos the xbox freak) plays Far cry on it on Very high all settings @ 1024x768 and get's 30 - 72 FPS but sometimes go down to a almost bearable 27. If you put the lighting on high, medium or low - expect it to sky rocket at about 45 to 50 minimum. :)

However he also has 768 mb ram and a P4 3ghz, which makes some difference too.
 
I think the current best card is the Geforce 68000 Ultra Extreme (Damn nvidia videocard names are beginning to sound like Streetfighter titles :O)
 
dino_21 said:
any radeon above 9200 will be great ...even 9200 will run fine
Click to expand...
If you enjoy playing games on low detail settings, yeah.
 
Abom said:
If you enjoy playing games on low detail settings, yeah.
Click to expand...

Low detail settings would be a DX7 card. The 9200 is faster than a Geforce 256.
 
I am using this for Half Life 2

Pentium 4 3.2 ghz
ATI Radeon 9800 128 Megs
1024 Ram Memory
Surround Sound 5 speakers and a boom box Dolby Digital
CDRW 52X
DVD Rom
Black Flat Sony 17-18 Inches monitor
ASUS MotherBoard
Direct X 9b

This is gonna be awesome!
 
Quick Question, what's better a FX 5200 or a Radeon 9200? My cousin is building a low-buget computer and I want to know which one is better.
 
blahblahblah said:
Low detail settings would be a DX7 card. The 9200 is faster than a Geforce 256.
Click to expand...
I didn't say playing with only DX7 effects, I said playing on low details - character detail, world textures, etc. The 9200 is not going to be able to keep up.
 
blindvomit said:
Quick Question, what's better a FX 5200 or a Radeon 9200? My cousin is building a low-buget computer and I want to know which one is better.
Click to expand...
the 9200 would be better. but IMO, they both suck, but since its for a low-budget computer i can see the decision on it. but i think a ti4600 would be faster than a 5200/9200, it just wont have dx9. its a dx8.1 card
 
blindvomit said:
Quick Question, what's better a FX 5200 or a Radeon 9200? My cousin is building a low-buget computer and I want to know which one is better.
Click to expand...


FX 5200 is better I think
 
Ok thanks, my very old computer used to be a p3 1.13, 512ddr, and a fx 5200, it ran every game ok. lol what a disgrace.
 
Ill be running HL 2 on

An AMD 3200 +
1024 MB Ram
Ati Radeon 9800 Pro 128
Asus Mobo
Dolby Digital 5.1 Surround
and a 16" High Def monitor.

I got the monitor recently, along with the surround sound,but if i want to enjoy striders killing everything in their wake and getting my feet bit off by Icthyosaurs in the best possible way, thats the way to do it.

P.S. Set me back a few too =/
 
Hah my sytem is VERY identical to yours

P4 3.0E
1024Mb DDR PC-3200
Sapphire Radeon 9800 Pro 128mb
Asus P4P800-E Deluxe
Sound Blaster Live! 5.1
17 Inch 16 Inch Viewable Black CRT
Set me back about a grand.
 
blindvomit said:
Quick Question, what's better a FX 5200 or a Radeon 9200? My cousin is building a low-buget computer and I want to know which one is better.
Click to expand...

See if you can pick up a 5200 Ultra (make sure it is the Ultra version, that is important).
 
Gronoken said:
FX 5200 is better I think
Click to expand...
actually, you might be right.

looking at ...
http://www.nordichardware.com/reviews/graphiccard/2004/PCIx200/index.php?ez=5

i guess it depends on the game that you play. in ut2k4 the 9200 lost by a bit. in quake3 the 9200 won. and in the rest of the test they were about even.

these were the pci seires of these cards so the numbers might be off.

i think a ti4600 would still be better than both of them. i can definately play ut2k4 higher than 25fps at 1024x768 on my ti4200 lol.
 
Well my cousin is getting the Gigabyte 9200 for $69 (w00t l33t) at newegg.
 
if HL2 releases soon, i'll be running it on this

AMD athlon 2700+ xp
512 Ram
Gf2 mx400


if it releases later, than i'll run it on this

P4 2.8ghz
2 gb Ram
radeon x800 xt PE
7.1 audio
 
a 4200 ti 128mb is more than twice the speed of a 9200, check out tomshardware.
i dont know why anyone would consider buying one. if you want a low end office system just use the onboard graphics.
 
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