On 23 Nov 2003 12:27:35 -0800, (John) wrote:

Anybody know when you'll absolutely need a Directx 9 card to have any
fun with games? It seems that games like Halo and Max Payne 2 use
Directx 9 features sparingly, and therefore, it's no big deal if I
play them on my Directx 8.1 card (which is a GeForce 4 Ti 4200).

Are we talking 3-4 months maybe?

I'm just trying to get a handle on when to spend the bucks for an
upgrade.


Do not confuse the need for DirectX9.0b software and
the hardware support in the game. Read the game-box
for a list of the supported hardware. If your (old) video
hardware does not support DX9.0 hardware functions,
some will be automatically emulated by the CPU
(with slow-down), others will be ignored.

Games that have hardware support for earlier video cards
generally have option-settings that eliminate the emulation
of hardware functions (and restore speed), which are all
graphics-enhancements not essential to the game-play.

Recommendation:-

1. Install the latest updates to your OS. If the OS is
obsolete and not supported, then upgrade.

2. Update your audio and video drivers to the
latest version.

2. Install the latest official version of DX.

Your old games should not break unless you have not
updated your audio and video drivers to the latest
versions.Set System Restore points if you are
paranoid about 1, 2, 3.

4 Try the new game out on your hardware. Not
satisfied, then consider a new card. Only takes a
couple of days to ship in the US, with free Fedex
shiipping on the upper-end cards.

Updating hardware before the software is available
is not a clever use of monetary resources.

Consider those who rushed out to buy cards specifically
for anicipated HL2 needs. With HL2 delayed for 6 months,
another generation of video cards will be here, and the
current generation will be much less expensive.

John Lewis







thanks.