The FX 5200 is something like a MX440SE (64Mb, SDR memory), the FX 5200
Ultra is closer to a Ti4200 4X card, the 5600 (flipchip or v2.0 version) is
more like the 8X 4200 (A.K.A. 4280) or almost the 8X 4400 (A.K.A. 4800SE);
the 5800 is like an 8X 4600 (A.K.A. the 4800) while the 5900 is like
nothing in the GeForce 4 lineup.
Unless you are going to resolutions greater than 1600X1200 you can save
yourself $100 and stick with the 128Mb 5900. The 5900 Ultra comes with
256Mb and according to everything I have read only gets benefit of the extra
128Mb of RAM at resolutions higher than 1600X1200. You can find the 5900
for around $425 while the 5900 Ultra is somewhere around $500-$550 (all
prices USD). I have seen the 5200 for as low as $90 for 128Mb version (do
NOT get the 64Mb version as it only has a 64-bit datapath...I thought we
left 64-bit paths behind with the GeForce 2???); and the 5200 Ultra for
around $200. I have read lot of stuff on here slamming the 5200 series and
if you have a fast P4 (or probably a Barton core Athlon) they work VERY
well. If you are in the 1.6-2.0 (1600+ to 2200+) range I would recommend
the 5600 Ultra as it will not depend on the CPU to achieve fast frame-rates
like the 5200 will. I suppose the easy answer is 5200=entry level and
5600=mid-level which translates to performance as well. If you are into
complex 3D games, spend the extra money for the 5600 Ultra; although a 5200
Ultra on a Pentium 4 3.06 with 1Gb of Dual Channel PC2100 memory and Windows
XP does rock and roll quite nicely. It actually benchmarks within 2500
points (3DMark01) of a GeForce 5800 on the samel CPU, mobo, memory and OS.
Ron
P.S. Tornado Computers (
www.tornadocomputers.com) has some good deals on
GeForce FX cards and offers free shipping.
"Lyle" wrote in message
...
looking at upgradeing my Geforce4 mx440.
what i would like to know is how the Geforce fx line compares to the
geforce 4 line. looking at getting a PNY 5600 ultra, would like to get
a 5800, but want to stick with PNY brand.
how would the fx 5600ultra compare to the geforce 4 4600???