[manimal]

ok, i got a new machine that has the new AMD 64 chipset with the Radeon xpress 200 video card (pci-e)

for some reason, it plays my games slower than my old computer and even slower than my work laptop that only has 256mb ram and a P4 processor.

i don't get it, i get this pretty fast, AMD 64 processor with 1GB Ram, blah..blah..blah. all in the hopes of being able to play my bigger games that my older GEforce 4 card couldn't play....and the games are super choppy.

from all of the reviews i've read, the xpress 200 video card is supposed to be pretty decent...so why does halo 1 play slower on this machine than my bare bones work laptop w/ win2000?

any help or background info would be greatly appreciated....most of the lingo on the review sites for the xpress 200 was greek to me.

do i need to upgrade to a $200 256mb PCI-E card just to play these games properly? (medal of honor pacific assault, halo, call of duty.....)

 

[binary visions]

Hate to be the bearer of bad news, but there's a darn good chance your Radeon Xpress 200 is slower than your GeForce4.

The Xpress 200 doesn't necessarily have any dedicated memory of its own - and if it does, it's very small (depends on your system configuration). It relies heavily on system memory instead. Your GeForce 4 had its own dedicated memory which made up for its slower processer.

If it were me, I'd pick up something like a GeForce 6600GT:

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.asp?Item=N82E16814150098

It's only $119 after mail-in rebate.

Those Xpress 200s really aren't made for gaming, they're mostly base level cards for average users.

Of course, if you don't want to spend the money, you can drop the resolution down and lower the texture details.

 

[H8R]

Hate to be the bearer of bad news, but there's a darn good chance your Radeon Xpress 200 is slower than your GeForce4.

The Xpress 200 doesn't necessarily have any dedicated memory of its own - and if it does, it's very small (depends on your system configuration). It relies heavily on system memory instead. Your GeForce 4 had its own dedicated memory which made up for its slower processer.

If it were me, I'd pick up something like a GeForce 6600GT:

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.asp?Item=N82E16814150098

It's only $119 after mail-in rebate.

Those Xpress 200s really aren't made for gaming, they're mostly base level cards for average users.

Of course, if you don't want to spend the money, you can drop the resolution down and lower the texture details.

Wait, isn't the Radeon Xpress an onboard MOBO gpu? If so then yeah, it will be a dog. I think you can bump the shared memory in the BIOS, but it will still be slower than any dedicated PCIe card, even a X300.

Go for the Geforce, it's the best bang for the buck these days.

 

[binary visions]

Wait, isn't the Radeon Xpress an onboard MOBO gpu? If so then yeah, it will be a dog. I think you can bump the shared memory in the BIOS, but it will still be slower than any dedicated PCIe card, even a X300.

Go for the Geforce, it's the best bang for the buck these days.

Yep.

Some systems come with 64mb of dedicated memory and the rest is system memory but a lot of the cheaper systems are coming with no onboard memory - it's just a processer.

 

[H8R]

Yep.

Some systems come with 64mb of dedicated memory and the rest is system memory but a lot of the cheaper systems are coming with no onboard memory - it's just a processer.

The system I just put together for my sister was with a Asrock Nvidia 6100 board. (new GPU integrated thing)

It has a feature in the bios to allocate a portion of the RAM to video, and it STAYS allocated. If you have 1gb and dedicate 128mb then you are left with 896mb of system RAM.

Manimal, what motherboard and how much RAM do you have? We may able to help you squeeze some performance out of it.

 

[manimal]

how can i find out what motherboard i have? all i know is that it's an AMD 64 3400+

does geforce make a pci-e card?

 

[H8R]

how can i find out what motherboard i have? all i know is that it's an AMD 64 3400+

does geforce make a pci-e card?

It's a pre-built system? Then what make/model/etc, and how much RAM does it have?

Give any/all details that you can, or a link if you got one.


Note: Nvidia makes video cards and chips, as well as chipsets for motherboards, as well as BOTH combined in some systems.

It all gets a littl confusing (especially with the naming conventions used in chipsets and GPU's these days)

Short answer: YES Nvidia makes Geforce cards for PCIe, the 6600GT that BV mentioned above is an excellent choice. In the meantime, let's work with what you have.
EDIT: to make it even more confusing, Nvidia doesn't make the cards, they make the chips that GO INTO the cards. Different manufacturers have different standards of excellence and design, so shop carefully. Newegg.com is great for this, the reviews speak volumes. (lotsa nerds on there tearing the products a new a-hole)

 

[binary visions]

NewEgg's reviews are bunk. They filter out the really bad reviews - anything worse than "This is a good product with this small flaw" gets deleted.

Like H8R said, just let us know what system you have, we'll pick you out a card to meet your budget. Don't sweat the details :-D

 

[H8R]

NewEgg's reviews are bunk. They filter out the really bad reviews - anything worse than "This is a good product with this small flaw" gets deleted.

Like H8R said, just let us know what system you have, we'll pick you out a card to meet your budget. Don't sweat the details :-D

Meh, I've seen people rip into stuff here and there.

http://secure.newegg.com/NewVersion/FeedBack/CustRatingReview.asp?Item=N82E16811164063

Anandtechs forums are a good source too, like RM for computer nerds.

 

[binary visions]

Meh, I've seen people rip into stuff here and there.

http://secure.newegg.com/NewVersion/FeedBack/CustRatingReview.asp?Item=N82E16811164063

Anandtechs forums are a good source too, like RM for computer nerds.

Yeah, but it's only because that's not a popular product. Popular products get filtered pretty quickly.

I've seen several reviews where people said, "Posted this same review before with one out of five rating, posting it again with five/five rating so that it doesn't get deleted".

 

[manimal]

ok...here are my specs:

eMachines (don't laugh..killer deal) T6520
AMD Athlon 64 3400+
2.39GHz, 896MB of RAM <----- advertised as 1GB...how does that work?

device manager shows my vid card/display adapter to be ATI RADEON Xpress 200

need anything else?

oh, i'm 5-10/225lbs and like cuddling by the fire after a long walk on the beach.

 

[H8R]

ok...here are my specs:

eMachines (don't laugh..killer deal) T6520

Not laughing, I had one years ago. Not the worst machines.

AMD Athlon 64 3400+
2.39GHz, 896MB of RAM <----- advertised as 1GB...how does that work?

See my post above. It's onboard video (not a separate card) so the video RAM is shared w/ the rest of the system. 1GB = 1024MB minus 128MB shared video RAM = 896MB of available system RAM.

device manager shows my vid card/display adapter to be ATI RADEON Xpress 200

That's what video chip is installed on the motherboard. The good news is you can add an additional PCI express card (that has it's own memory) and get your full 1GB of system RAM back, at the same time vastly improving video performance.

I would suggest installing the latest video drivers from ATI's website, often you can get a performance bump just by running the latest drivers.

IMPORTANT - download the driver install file first, then UN-install the old driver (in Control Panel > Add Remove Programs or via Device Manager) then install the new driver after you reboot.

BV may have some ATI specific tweaks to add here.

need anything else?

I need a good gram scale if you have a spare. No, it's not for THAT.

oh, i'm 5-10/225lbs and like cuddling by the fire after a long walk on the beach.

I'm sure N8 is will be very happy to hear that.

 

[Pau11y]

Manimal, you can also do some tweaks to the display settings until you get your replacement card. If you're running things in full 32 bit colors, dial it back to 16 bit...less CPU cycles. It won't be much, but you'll get a bit of speed out of this. And, if you're running things in wicked hi rez (mine is at 1600x1200 native), dial it back too (I wouldn't go any more than 1024x768 w/ an onboard chip, and 800x600 if you can tolerate it).

 

[blue]

I'm currently running a 6600GT I got in the summer...easily the best bang for your buck still. You can overclock it to run as well if not better than the 6800s, yet it'll only set you back half as much...Now I just need to deal with the chokepoint between my CPU and GPU...512mb of RAM

 

[binary visions]

Alrighty. Here's the only question you need to worry about for the second:

Do you, or do you not, want to spend money on a new video card?

The only way you'll be running things at high resolution and high color is if you get the new card. Otherwise, you'll probably end up playing most of your games at 800x600, or 1024x768 if you turn off some details.

If the answer is yes, I'd leap on that deal of a card I already posted. That's going to be an enormous boost in performance for your games for very little money - there is literally nothing you can do to your system for $120 that will improve it as much as that card. Your system has an open PCI-x16 slot, and most new systems with onboard stuff will handle it automatically - you just install the card, and the system will probably shut off the old card for you.

If the answer is no, there's some good suggestions already - the latest drivers will tweak (not give you a huge boost in) performance, and you should look at your games' settings to see what resolution they're running at and what their quality settings are like. Tweak settings until you start getting acceptable speeds.

 

[binary visions]

Just FYI, that card uses DVI outputs. That means it doesn't use a normal monitor connector - it uses one with like 15 pins. If you have a new monitor, it might handle it, but if it doesn't, the card should come with a little converter. I have a converter and I'll give it to you if it doesn't come in the box.

 

[manimal]

hmmm, thanks for all the help guys. i think i'll get the card....in a month or so, have to save up for it you know.

until then, i'll take your suggestions on lowering the resolution and specs on the games.

 

[manimal]

Just FYI, that card uses DVI outputs. That means it doesn't use a normal monitor connector - it uses one with like 15 pins. If you have a new monitor, it might handle it, but if it doesn't, the card should come with a little converter. I have a converter and I'll give it to you if it doesn't come in the box.

i have a new flat panel monitor but i'm too lazy to get back there and check to see what kind of connection i have......i'll check and get back w/ you.

 

[Pau11y]

You'll be fine w/ an adapter either way as far as your monitor goes. One will come w/ your card if you buy a retail box. If you get an OEM, remember to buy one before you checkout.