What graphics card is best for me? How to upgrade for X3?

vindicator · Post by **vindicator** » Wed, 2. Nov 05, 00:26

me too. heh.

sad that 3 months ago my card was medium-top-of-the-line, now its midrange

pjknibbs · Post by **pjknibbs** » Wed, 2. Nov 05, 07:24

grays wrote:pjknibbs - out of interest what settings were you running at on Argon Prime. Was the Hud on?.

Medium for both main settings, 1280x1024 (native resolution of my LCD), HUD on--I don't turn it off because it's pretty much impossible to play the game without it! I think the bottleneck there is CPU--lots of activity going on in Argon Prime. Kingdom End was similar, though not quite as bad.

The_Abyss · Post by **The_Abyss** » Wed, 2. Nov 05, 10:05

Try turning off Post Processing (nice glow effects) in the in-game graphics options and see what difference this makes.

G_MAN · Post by **G_MAN** » Wed, 2. Nov 05, 11:22

out of interest my LCD also has the native 1280*1024 (widescreen (?))

but X3 will not let me have less than 1280x1024-32bit (only 1 option) can I set it to 16bit?

also Im considering a 6600GT, is there an ultra & is it worth it, is it better with 128 or 256ram?

(Im currently running a 128Mb FX5200 - AGP only available)

Thx

G.

grays · Post by **grays** » Wed, 2. Nov 05, 13:10

GMAN my understanding is that Ultra are the top end of the 6800 series. the best you will get from a 6600 is the GT range and then increases of memory on top of that.

I'm going for a 256Mb 6600GT (£150), the extra memory will help.

vindicator · Post by **vindicator** » Wed, 2. Nov 05, 13:48

if you can afford a 6800 ultra, then do it! that card kicks ass. 16 pipes, pre-7800 core, high clock & memory, plus 256mb of vram (ya can get a version with 512). its a great card all around.

G_MAN · Post by **G_MAN** » Wed, 2. Nov 05, 14:01

Thanks for that.

Guess ill get something like this but can get for around £145.

does anyone know somewhere that sells DVI to Dsub converters?

out of interest would a 6800 XT 128Mb be roughly similar?

I know i could research this but im lazy

and you will know the answers

G.

crazygoldfish · Post by **crazygoldfish** » Wed, 2. Nov 05, 19:08

I just ordered a X800 PRO-TD256 AGP 256MB TV-Out DVI from ebuyer for roughly £200 if you can stretch that extra 50quid its gonna be well worth it.

http://www.ebuyer.com/customer/products ... _uid=74745

Got some good reviews on tomshardware too.

http://graphics.tomshardware.com/graphi ... index.html

Thankfully my old 9600Xt will take a tiny amount of that cost down when i flog it on ebay.

swaaye · Post by **swaaye** » Wed, 2. Nov 05, 21:06

My notebook has a 6800 Go which is identical to a desktop plain 6800. When I overclock it to 380/770 it is a good bit ahead of a 6600GT. The default clocks are below a desktop 6800, but overclocked it's ahead a little.

I strongly suggest anyone buying a card for games not go below a X800 or 6800 anymore. And you should go for 256MB RAM. My current recommendations for AGP are X800XL, X800GTO, or 6800GT. PCIe users should jump on a X800GTO2 (highly tweakable), X800GTO, X800XL, or even a 7800GT if possible. If you want to play Doom3-based OpenGL titles you should go with NV unless you are looking at X1800.

crazygoldfish · Post by **crazygoldfish** » Thu, 3. Nov 05, 19:53

Im bloody raging.

Bought a new MSi X800pro 256meg card, which got good reviews on tomshardware.

Runs all the latest games at full power.

X3 still runs like its being played on spectrum.!!!

I've had enough of this game, back to the shops it goes!

paulatwork6 · Post by **paulatwork6** » Thu, 3. Nov 05, 22:56

I am considering buying a geforce 6600 256MB AGP.
I have a limited budget. (Cant Exceed the cost of this card).
Is this card the best for its price?

OR

Should I be looking at a different one for the same price or less?

Please, any comments would greatfully appreciated.

legolas.w · Post by **legolas.w** » Thu, 3. Nov 05, 23:37

Thank you for reading my post.
I want to update my computer to play the game , so
will a intel celeron D 2.53 and 1 gig of ram run the game smoothly ?
does any one played game on a VGA 1.4 Pixel shader model ?
i mean will it works well on a 1.4 pixel shader model ?

Thank you

G_MAN · Post by **G_MAN** » Fri, 4. Nov 05, 00:01

is this cheap
click

Post by **Cycrow** » Fri, 4. Nov 05, 00:57

if i was u, i would try to push for either a 6800LE or 6600GT
they'll both have simlar performance nad will be alot better than the 6600
and if ur lucky, with the 6800LE u can unluck extra piplines and shaders to make it alot faster
u can pick on up for about £80

paulatwork6 · Post by **paulatwork6** » Fri, 4. Nov 05, 01:21

Where can I get one of those for £80.

Aladin · Post by **Aladin** » Fri, 4. Nov 05, 01:21

Check out the VGA Charts at Tom's Hardware: http://graphics.tomshardware.com/graphi ... index.html

If it was me, I'd probably go for a Radeon 9800 Pro. You should be able to find one at the same price as a 6600, and the 9800 Pro performs better in most games, as you can see in the VGA Chart link.

paulatwork6 · Post by **paulatwork6** » Fri, 4. Nov 05, 01:43

After looking at the above thread, It does make sence to get the radeon 9800 Pro, but it is 128 MB. The geforce 6600 was 256 MB. Do I compromise the memory difference?

I can't come close to £80 for the Radeon 9800 Pro. Please can you direct me to a nice site.

Im in the UK.

Da_Imp · Post by **Da_Imp** » Fri, 4. Nov 05, 01:45

paulatwork6 wrote: The geforce 6600 was 256 MB.

Not quite so. Im one of the suckers thats stuck with a 6600GT 128MB version...

aka1nas · Post by **aka1nas** » Fri, 4. Nov 05, 01:56

The RAM on the card only matters if you play a game that has textures which take up that much RAM (which X3 might, to be honest). The 6600 is significantly slower than a 6600GT or 6800 based card.

Scarecrow · Post by **Scarecrow** » Fri, 4. Nov 05, 01:59

The_Abyss created a really nice thread in Off Topic for these kind of threads.

Over we go.

egosoft.com

egosoft.com

What graphics card is best for me? How to upgrade for X3?

Dont Waste Your Time Buying A New Card

Another Graphics Card Question

Will a Celeron D 2.53 + 1Gig Ram run the game smoothly ?

Radeon 9800 Pro