FX5200, should it be this bad?

I recently made a P4 3.0 computer, the place was out of 5700 ultras so I got
a Geforce FX5200 128mb, I figured it would still be on a par or better than
the 2 year old TI 4200 I had in the previous system.

Imagine my surprise to see GTA3(old game with a 700mhz + 16mb D3D card
recommended) running like a slide show on the new computer, I proceeded to
run the game X2-the threat in benchmark mode to compare the new computer to
the old one(athlon 2800 with the TI 4200):

Old Athlon with 4200TI - 53 frames per second
New P4 3.0 with FX 5200 - 10 FPS

I went through the normal procedure of reintalling direct x, getting new
drivers etc, totally convinced something was seriously wrong but it seems
this really is how bad the 5200 is!!, I swapped the cards and the Athlon
performed just as badly with the 5200, infact either computer with the 5200
was half as fast as my daughters Athlon 1000 with a GF2 ultra.

OK I know the 5200 is not exactly top-of-the-range and it didnt cost me a
lot, but with figures like 10 FPS it is frankly unusable, I really cant see
how Nvidia can still sell a card that is vastly slower than one they were
selling 4 years ago, hell I have a 3dFX 5500 in the cupboard upstairs that
beats it hands-down.

Anyone else have the misfortune to have owned one of these "video cards"?,
are they supposed to be this bad?

Note the use of the past-tense as I cant believe anyone who plays games more
demanding than minesweeper still uses one

"Red Activist" wrote in message
...
I recently made a P4 3.0 computer, the place was out of 5700 ultras so I
got
a Geforce FX5200 128mb, I figured it would still be on a par or better
than
the 2 year old TI 4200 I had in the previous system.

Imagine my surprise to see GTA3(old game with a 700mhz + 16mb D3D card
recommended) running like a slide show on the new computer, I proceeded to
run the game X2-the threat in benchmark mode to compare the new computer
to
the old one(athlon 2800 with the TI 4200):

Old Athlon with 4200TI - 53 frames per second
New P4 3.0 with FX 5200 - 10 FPS

I went through the normal procedure of reintalling direct x, getting new
drivers etc, totally convinced something was seriously wrong but it seems
this really is how bad the 5200 is!!, I swapped the cards and the Athlon
performed just as badly with the 5200, infact either computer with the
5200
was half as fast as my daughters Athlon 1000 with a GF2 ultra.

OK I know the 5200 is not exactly top-of-the-range and it didnt cost me a
lot, but with figures like 10 FPS it is frankly unusable, I really cant
see
how Nvidia can still sell a card that is vastly slower than one they were
selling 4 years ago, hell I have a 3dFX 5500 in the cupboard upstairs that
beats it hands-down.

Anyone else have the misfortune to have owned one of these "video cards"?,
are they supposed to be this bad?

Note the use of the past-tense as I cant believe anyone who plays games
more
demanding than minesweeper still uses one

The FX 5200 is the lowest end card NVIDIA currently makes. That was not the
case with the Ti4200. Many people need video cards to do mostly 2D and
occasionally 3D without playing a lot of games, and that is who the 5200 is
for.

I have one word for the 5200.....crapola!!!

"PRIVATE1964" wrote in message
...
I have one word for the 5200.....crapola!!!

....And it seems you have a 5200 with 64bit mem acess, as a regular model
with 128bit (that would cost the same! 64bit versions are simply a plague)
should outperform your gf2 and almost be on pair with a gf3.

"Red Activist" wrote in message
...
OK I know the 5200 is not exactly top-of-the-range and it didnt cost me a
lot, but with figures like 10 FPS it is frankly unusable, I really cant
see
how Nvidia can still sell a card that is vastly slower than one they were
selling 4 years ago, hell I have a 3dFX 5500 in the cupboard upstairs that
beats it hands-down.

You have learnt a very universally important lesson: Always do some
backgroud research before spending money!!! (especially if you care much
about money that is...) With the internet at your hands nowadays it should
be a piece of cake for you to get quick accurate info

You have learnt a very universally important lesson: Always do some
backgroud research before spending money!!! (especially if you care much
about money that is...) With the internet at your hands nowadays it should
be a piece of cake for you to get quick accurate info

How people can purchase items costing hundreds and sometimes thousands of
dollars without doing *any* research whatsoever is BEYOND ME.

How people can purchase items costing hundreds and sometimes thousands of
dollars without doing *any* research whatsoever is BEYOND ME.

I agree to a certain point that someone should do some research before an
expensive purchase.
In the case of buying a graphic card someone who is just a casual gamer is not
gonna know what information to look for on a box.
They know that for sure.
How many 5200's do you think they would sell if on the box they had a graph
comparing its performance to a 4200? Especially when there are still 4200 cards
on the shelf and cheaper.

"Humga" wrote in message
...

"Red Activist" wrote in message
...
OK I know the 5200 is not exactly top-of-the-range and it didnt cost me
a
lot, but with figures like 10 FPS it is frankly unusable, I really cant
see
how Nvidia can still sell a card that is vastly slower than one they
were
selling 4 years ago, hell I have a 3dFX 5500 in the cupboard upstairs
that
beats it hands-down.

You have learnt a very universally important lesson: Always do some
backgroud research before spending money!!! (especially if you care much
about money that is...) With the internet at your hands nowadays it should
be a piece of cake for you to get quick accurate info



This is easily said...but remember, time is a valuable resource many of us
don't have for video cards. My experience is that the internet provides
mountains of 'trash information' one must swim through before reaching
something that is 'usable'. The frustration level often is so high that I
wonder if a study won't be done someday on how computerization affects blood
pressure in the masses. Often, we are 'forced' due to the technicality of a
thing, to involve ourselves far more than we have a real interest in doing.
Graphics cards are one thing I do not have a lot of time for...but I'm
forced to take the time to wade through 'useless' information [for me
anyway] just to make a simple purchase at the store. I'm quite happy that a
lot of you have such time to burn...or perhaps it involves your 'profession'
anyway [techies and hardware pros etc]...or perhaps you're just young and
computers are still toys you and your classmates play with and therefore,
are more intimate with, but it's not the real world to expect the typical
buyer/user to be so intimate with what amounts to labels and complex 'model
numbers'. Exactly what is the difference from a GForce 1 and a GForce 4 or
a UF from an XT model? See...to the common buyer, who can't actually 'sit
in the Laborghinni' or kick the tires, but only have the box to go upon [and
whatever the box reports, most of it foreign garble], there's no way of
actually knowing if it's really that KIA or not [until of course they get it
home and it does not do what you 'thought' it would...namely run the damn
game better than the old junker sitting in the driveway]. Ooops, getting
analogies cross referenced...hehe..

What gripes me is getting DX9.0b compatability for tomorrows games. I hate
buying something 'obsolete' before I even install it. But now...we have
DX9.0c...so where does it end??????

so where does it end??????


It never will end.

"tooly" wrote in message
...

This is easily said...but remember, time is a valuable resource many of us
don't have for video cards. My experience is that the internet provides
mountains of 'trash information' one must swim through before reaching
something that is 'usable'.

Well true, but surely you can go to some well established hardware sites for
reference. Take this for example:

http://www20.graphics.tomshardware.c...phic/20031229/

Also, could have asked people here for advice

Graphics cards are one thing I do not have a lot of time for...but I'm
forced to take the time to wade through 'useless' information [for me
anyway] just to make a simple purchase at the store.

Contrary you have the time to 'waste' on enjoyment of your card...hmmmm
Maybe I'm wrong. Maybe this card helps you on your job.

Exactly what is the difference from a GForce 1 and a GForce 4 or
a UF from an XT model?

First place to go to is their manufacturers' site. Most of the time there
should be a comparison chart. Then all you do is compare the numbers eg, 2
pipes, 4 pipes...4 is better...but those with 4 costs a bomb...so must be a
new card in the market...so go for 2 pipes. Memory 128MB or 256 MB? etc.

The usual steps in product research is *comparison*! Ever heard this saying
that goes, "ugly is ugly only because there is beauty"? Browse around the
online stores and it will be apparent which is the high end cards and which
are not - if you're not technical, numbers are meaningless until you have
another to compare. There are also many hints too to which are better;
price, buyers' comments, buyers' ratings, frequency of occurence etc.

See...to the common buyer, who can't actually 'sit
in the Laborghinni' or kick the tires, but only have the box to go upon
[and
whatever the box reports, most of it foreign garble], there's no way of
actually knowing if it's really that KIA or not [until of course they get
it
home and it does not do what you 'thought' it would...namely run the damn
game better than the old junker sitting in the driveway]. Ooops, getting
analogies cross referenced...hehe..

*Never* rely on too much on the stuff on the box! No card would actually
write negative stuff about itself - unless someone wants to go out of
business...


What gripes me is getting DX9.0b compatability for tomorrows games. I
hate
buying something 'obsolete' before I even install it. But now...we have
DX9.0c...so where does it end??????

If the hardware doesn't support it then usually the computer does it in
'software' hence kind-of emulates the hardware so as long as your PC is fast
enough it's ok.

You must learn to live with the fact that PCs get out-of-date the day you
buy them! Buying a PC 'is not' an investment...like buying property. Worst,
PCs is one of those commodities with the large depreciation rates :O Worst
than cars!