Graphics/Video Cards Benchmarks & Performance Ratings

[ManagerJosh]

I deal with a lot of computer stuff on a day to day basis. From time after time, I usually get invited to a whole bunch of computer conferences and get debriefed on the latest technologies out on the market.

My personal recommendation for a computer to work with The Sims 2 is a system with AT LEAST:

1.5GHz Pentium 4/Athlon XP Processor
512MB-1GB of RAM
GeForce FX5200 or ATI Radeon 9200

A quick way to find out your video card chipset is doing the following.

Click Start > Run.
Type DXDIAG
Hit Enter.

Click the Display Tab and look under the Chip Type. Usually looking under there, name or manufacturer could tell you the model and the manufacturer of the board. People may tell you this is not important however I can tell you both are equally important as just Company A and Company B uses the same chipset, they may not necessary be equal.

From our Friends @ Digit-life.com

We have recently tested some Low-End video cards (up to US$100) on the latest versions of drivers (for the beginning of December 2003) in modern gaming applications (though most older cards do not support shaders, and they got zero scores in the tests where games without shaders look awful).

Today we are going to carry out a through complex test of most video cards released in 1999-2003 (but only those which are able to work on modern mainboards requiring AGP power supply of 1.5V, that is why Voodoo3/5 based cards are missed). But this is just a summary review, not a comparative analysis as it doesn't make sense to compare speeds of various cards of different generations without accounting for quality because up-to-date accelerators deliver perfect gameplay with AA and anisotropy enabled, in contrast to video cards of previous generations.

I selected 80 cards from the collection of our 3Digests of different times including those from the latest 3Digests. Some of the cards are borrowed from traders.

The tests were carried out in two resolutions: 800x600 (to relieve suffering of the low-end cards) and 1024x768 as this is the most frequently used resolution today.

So, the review covers the following cards (the average price in USD for the beginning of December 2003 is given in parentheses; the cards are taken only from well known companies):

NVIDIA RIVA TNT2 Ultra (20)
NVIDIA GeForce2 MX 200 (15)
NVIDIA GeForce2 MX 400 (28)
NVIDIA GeForce256 (36)
NVIDIA GeForce2 GTS (35)
NVIDIA GeForce2 Pro (40)
NVIDIA GeForce4 MX 440 (45)
NVIDIA GeForce4 MX 440SE (36)
NVIDIA GeForce4 MX 460 (55)
NVIDIA GeForce4 MX 440-8x (55)
NVIDIA GeForce3 Ti 200 (70)
NVIDIA GeForce4 Ti 4200 (100)
NVIDIA GeForce4 Ti 4400 (148)
NVIDIA GeForce4 Ti 4600 (160)
NVIDIA GeForce4 Ti 4200-8x (125)
NVIDIA GeForce4 Ti 4800SE (140)
NVIDIA GeForce FX 5200 64bit (58)
NVIDIA GeForce FX 5200 128bit 250/400 MHz (67)
NVIDIA GeForce FX 5200 128bit 250/300 MHz (60)
NVIDIA GeForce FX 5200 128bit 275/500 MHz (64)
NVIDIA GeForce FX 5200 Ultra (100)
NVIDIA GeForce FX 5600XT 64bit (89)
NVIDIA GeForce FX 5600XT 128bit (120)
NVIDIA GeForce FX 5600 128MB 325/550 MHz (118)
NVIDIA GeForce FX 5600 128MB 325/600 MHz (175)
NVIDIA GeForce FX 5600 256MB 325/500 MHz (149)
NVIDIA GeForce FX 5600 256MB 325/400 MHz (141)
NVIDIA GeForce FX 5600 256MB 350/600 MHz (138)
NVIDIA GeForce FX 5600 Ultra 350/700 MHz (192)
NVIDIA GeForce FX 5600 Ultra 400/800 MHz (223)
NVIDIA GeForce FX 5700 (175)
NVIDIA GeForce FX 5700 Ultra (252)
NVIDIA GeForce FX 5800 (265)
NVIDIA GeForce FX 5800 Ultra (340)
NVIDIA GeForce FX 5900SE (CP/LX) (252)
NVIDIA GeForce FX 5900 (313)
NVIDIA GeForce FX 5900EPV (321)
NVIDIA GeForce FX 5900 Turbo (380)
NVIDIA GeForce FX 5900 Ultra (452)
NVIDIA GeForce FX 5950 Ultra (540)
ATI RAGE 128 PRO (14)
ATI RADEON 7000 (VE) 32MB (30)
ATI RADEON 7200 64MB DDR (20)
ATI RADEON 7200 32MB DDR (20)
ATI RADEON 7500LE 64MB DDR (38)
ATI RADEON 7500 64MB DDR (50)
ATI RADEON 9000 PRO 128MB (78)
ATI RADEON 9100 64MB (65)
ATI RADEON 9100 128MB (70)
ATI RADEON 8500 64MB (70)
ATI RADEON 8500 128MB (85)
ATI RADEON 9200SE 128MB (47)
ATI RADEON 9200 64bit 64MB (57)
ATI RADEON 9200 128MB (67)
ATI RADEON 9600SE 128MB (102)
ATI RADEON 9600 128MB (113)
ATI RADEON 9600 256MB (135)
ATI RADEON 9600 PRO 128MB 400/600 MHz (168)
ATI RADEON 9600 PRO-EZ 256MB 400/400 MHz (155)
ATI RADEON 9600 XT (232)
ATI RADEON 9500 128bit 128MB (147)
ATI RADEON 9500 PRO (165)
ATI RADEON 9700 (230)
ATI RADEON 9700 PRO (270)
ATI RADEON 9800SE 128bit (202)
ATI RADEON 9800SE 256bit (255)
ATI RADEON 9800 (275)
ATI RADEON 9800 PRO 128MB 380/680 MHz (340)
ATI RADEON 9800 PRO 128MB 400/680 MHz (400)
ATI RADEON 9800 PRO 256MB (478)
ATI RADEON 9800 XT 256MB (530)
3dfx Voodoo4 4500 (22)
Matrox G550 32MB (36)
Matrox Parhelia 128MB (340)
SIS Xabre 400 (35)
SIS Xabre 600 (65)
PowerVR/STM KYRO 64MB (23)
PowerVR/STM KYRO II 64MB (46)
S3 Savage4 Pro+ 32MB (14)
S3 Savage2000 32MB (14)
These results should generally determine whether you can run The Sims 2. Below are results from Unreal Tournment 2003, one of the newest games out on the market that's probably one of the most intensive out there.

http://www.worldsims.org/media/ut-1024.png
You can check out the results from the following images:

[ManagerJosh]

Here are more test results.

Understand that any computer can play The Sims 2. Performance would vary though greatly. If people tell you that your old Pentium Computer can't run The Sims 2, well there is some truth however there is a lot of fiction in that as well.

The Truth: is that any computer can run The Sims 2, however it might be so slow, you'd probably turn 1,000 before you finish creating your sims.

If you have a card with a similar chipset towards the bottom of those graphs, the general thought is that you can run it, however performance may be faster or slower depending on what ingame features you have and how powerful your CPU (Processor) and how much memory you have.

When a computer processes graphics, it first defers instructions to the GPU (Graphics Processing Unit) and its on board memory. Its like a CPU but its on the Video Card just dedicated to processing graphic functions. When the GPU can not keep up with the amount of instructions and/or graphics memory is being overrunned with too many instructions, the computer will start rerouting instructions for the CPU to process and store stuff in the system memory.

For any game to run smoothly, including The Sims 2, the computer MUST be outputting graphics at at LEAST 30fps (Frames Per Second). Any slower, and it will look jagged, jerky, or whatever you want to call it. My personal limit recommendation is something over 40 so that there is a bit of leeway of your computer slows down a bit causing some delay you have a few extra frames as buffer.

If you have a card performing somewhere between the 40-70fps range, they SHOULD not have any problems however I can't promise anything. A lot of factors go into this, including how fast the GPU is clocked up and how much memory is on board, including how fast the onboard memory is as well. This also includes what type of memory (DDR, DDR2, DDR3, etc.) and that also affects things as well.

If you look at the chart, you can see Chipsets like FX5200 scoring at several ranges. Some are scoring higher while others are scoring lower. The Chipset/GPU are the same however their speeds are completely different.

I strongly suggest not getting a computer with integrated graphics. True some do cut it like the Radeon IGP 9100, however overall majority don't satisfy the pace games are growing and how much resources they demand on a computer. A lot of them depend on System Memory (RAM) however there are a few out on the market that have their own independent memory built in on the motherboard and do not depend on the system memory for its own memory. They are rare (I think the nForce series and IGP series are the only exceptions....you just gotta find motherboards with them that have it built on)

Most custom build computers today from OEM/Channel Builders do use onboard solutions to cut costs, however they usually bundle with an AGP port because it is a complete necessity. Usually popping in a new card into the AGP port will render the onboard graphics useless.

The cards usually on the upper end of the chart, the 100+fps cards are guarenteed to work, and can probably last you quite a while. They normally range from $399.00+ US Dollars however I'm not sure if someone wants to sink that much money into a video card.

I know places actually once in a while have these one day specials where they have cards like ATI Radeon 9800 Pro with 128MB (Brand new too) at 199.00 with no mail in rebate.

Prices change and vary on the market. I personally advise finding a local computer company in your area to help you get the cards you need. Many have suppliers which they can bargain out products for you.

I strongly suggest finding a distributor (its a middleman that carries large inventory between the manufacturer and resellers/end-users) that deals with end-users. They are very rare as many distributors prefer working with resellers.

Please note that not included in these benchmarks are the new ATI X800 Pro/XT and nVidia FX6800 Ultra/GT. These top the top of the list and carry a hefty price tag.

For US Residents.. WorldSims can help assist many people in finding products at cheap prices. We've recently acquiried a bit of buying power and can probably act as middleman between Manufacturers and You in all aspects of the computer industry, from CPUs, Memory, Video Cards and anything computer related.

Hopefully this helps clear out some confusion create by other people based on false information.

[Nic]

Thankyou!
We've been needing an indepth informative anaylisis like this and just want to say thanks.

[FaeLuna]

Thanks for all the information! Looks like what I've got is over 40 so I'll see how it goes when I get the game. :D This gives me ideas what to look for for our NEXT computer too! ;)

[I_bite_138]

My card is not listed, the Geforce 4 MX 420 (probably named by stoners). Does this mean I need a new card? Well I actaully wanted to get a new one anyway for performance reasons. I already have issues with that crap pile.

[ManagerJosh]

Your closest comparison would be:


NVIDIA GeForce2 Pro (40)
NVIDIA GeForce4 MX 440 (45)

[wize_guy123]

Lots of information.. but too bad for me I dont know what my video card is... anyone know where to find out?

[FaeLuna]

It was at the beginning of Josh's post

" Click Start > Run.
Type DXDIAG
Hit Enter.

Click the Display Tab and look under the Chip Type."

I followed that and it worked for me to see what I had, I didn't know how to find out before! :D

[wize_guy123]

Well I did find it thanx Fae... Ill add to your rep because you told me something I missed... LoL... um but I cant find it on the charts: Intel(R) 82845G/GL Chip

[wize_guy123]

Forgot a couple of informations.... 64 MB and 32 bits and 75(Hz)

[Flameback777]

I believe that is an intergrated card. What are the rest of your system specs?

[wize_guy123]

well let me check on that... brb

My System is:

Windows XP Home Edition

Intel Pentium 4 CPU 1.80 GHz

254 MB RAM

DirectX Version: DirectX 9

Any other info needed?

This might help I got my computer only 2 years ago in August..... shouldnt I have all the necessary components?

[Flameback777]

well let me check on that... brb

My System is:

Windows XP Home Edition

Intel Pentium 4 CPU 1.80 GHz

254 MB RAM

DirectX Version: DirectX 9

Any other info needed?

This might help I got my computer only 2 years ago in August..... shouldnt I have all the necessary components?Since you may not have a AGP slot or you might not want to buy a video card, I would try and upgrade that 254MBs of RAM to 512MBs of RAM.

[wize_guy123]

Do you think thats all I would need...

[Supernova]

My computer does not even have any noticable video card. It can't run ANYTHING :mads:

[wize_guy123]

that must really suck Supernova

[EwanGirl5]

NVIDIA GeForce2 MX 400 (28)

My card is on the bottom of the chart thingy... What does that mean?

And what is that 28? What does that mean?

The answer must be written up there somewhere, I just don't know how to find out... :o

[KatAnubis]

NVIDIA GeForce2 MX 400 (28)

My card is on the bottom of the chart thingy... What does that mean?

And what is that 28? What does that mean?

The answer must be written up there somewhere, I just don't know how to find out... :o The chart shows what the frames per second are. The fewer the frames, the more jerky it looks (unless you're above a certain threshold.)

It explains it in one of the paragraphs. "For any game to run smoothly, including The Sims 2, the computer MUST be outputting graphics at at LEAST 30fps (Frames Per Second). Any slower, and it will look jagged, jerky, or whatever you want to call it. My personal limit recommendation is something over 40 so that there is a bit of leeway of your computer slows down a bit causing some delay you have a few extra frames as buffer."

[Supernova]

I dont think my video card is even on the chart. That one game, Rise of Nations, runs at 2 fps on my computer. And thats only the trial version

[wize_guy123]

Hey.........................

[grizfan235]

I'm getting a Dell with everything, so no worries here. My new system will be able to play Half-Life2 and Doom3. Which means S2 will look awesome..............:D

[Trinasis]

That is sweet but I hope that S2 will play ok on mines

[Supernova]

Mine will be okay. I actually chose my video card for my new computer from that chart! It was a great help. I'm gvetting one around the middle. It the Radeon 9600 Pro 256 MB one. I got it cause it seems to be a decent card, and its not to terribly expensive.

[Jixxx]

Thanks for your advice, I got a RADEON 9200SE runnin at 47 frames. Thanks :D

[Supernova]

Your welcome :D .

[Jixxx]

^ Thanks :D
I have a question:
Up there somewhere it said that really The Sims 2 could be played on any computer, well the computer in my bedroom (not the one with the new graphics card, familys) does not meet the specs for The Sims 2 but the specs for the processer and video card are nearly double with double for those requriments can I expect The Sims 2 to run smoothly without 256MB ram and I'm not sure about the T&L thing.
The specs for my PC are:
AMD Athlon XP 2400+
1.99 GHz
192MB Ram
64MB Video/Graphics card (VIA/S3G UniChrome IGP)
I'm running on XP but I could install 98 on a partioned (sp?) part of my hard drive.

Please reply with assistance someone :) What I really want to know if The Sims 2 will be decent on my PC, I know it will be playable but I want to know if I can play it with decent performance :)
Thanks
- Jack

[KatAnubis]

^ Thanks :D
I have a question:
Up there somewhere it said that really The Sims 2 could be played on any computer, well the computer in my bedroom (not the one with the new graphics card, familys) does not meet the specs for The Sims 2 but the specs for the processer and video card are nearly double with double for those requriments can I expect The Sims 2 to run smoothly without 256MB ram and I'm not sure about the T&L thing.
The specs for my PC are:
AMD Athlon XP 2400+
1.99 GHz
192MB Ram
64MB Video/Graphics card (VIA/S3G UniChrome IGP)
I'm running on XP but I could install 98 on a partioned (sp?) part of my hard drive.

Please reply with assistance someone :) What I really want to know if The Sims 2 will be decent on my PC, I know it will be playable but I want to know if I can play it with decent performance :)
Thanks
- Jack
The new spec minimums for a non-T&L card are
2.0ghz processor (yours is 1.99ghz)
256mb of RAM (Yours is 192mb)
Supported graphics card (yours is not only not supported but the Via/S3G cards have been problematic on BodyShop, which is a *very* bad sign, since it was because of incompatibility and gave invisible Sims.It's also a non-T&L card)

So, I doubt your computer as is can play it at all unless you get a T&L card and more RAM.

When they said that just about any new computer could play TS2, that was probably before we knew as much as we do now about the minimum requirements. They used to be lower (like even T&L cards only required 1.5ghz and if you had pre-XP you could use 128mb of RAM.) However, testing showed that they needed higher requirements and they let us know those as soon as they could.

Most new computers which are not bottom of the line and mostly meant for business applications can run the game. But older computers and those meant for business (or the inexpensive ones) can't do it and some of them can't even be upgraded.

If you replaced your

[Supernova]

replaced your video card? maybe the sentance should be finished.

[Jixxx]

^ Thanks, it turns out that I do 256MB but 64 of it, is shared with my intergreated gfx card but I plan to spend some of my summer job money on a FX5200, so then hopely everything will be running smoothly :)

[litl_mama1971]

Here are my specs

504mb of ram
pentium 4 2.40ghz
37.4gb free on my c drive
intel 82845G/GL graphic controller
win xp
I am very worried about my memory card.
Because in the past I tried to play a different 3d program (shrek) and it wouldn't work. So since ts2 is also 3d I am worried it won't work. Hubby says he's getting it updated but he hasn't even got his fixed up right yet. I hate to use his computer but I guess I may have to bleh. He had to buy a new power source for his to even run the dang new video card. I wish he would just take his and mine in to to best buy where we baught everything and get them fixed up right lol. I don't want anything to mess up. I have my ts2 preordered and I want to play it right away without having to deal with computers lol.

[KatAnubis]

Here are my specs

504mb of ram
pentium 4 2.40ghz
37.4gb free on my c drive
intel 82845G/GL graphic controller
win xp
I am very worried about my memory card.
Because in the past I tried to play a different 3d program (shrek) and it wouldn't work. So since ts2 is also 3d I am worried it won't work. Hubby says he's getting it updated but he hasn't even got his fixed up right yet. I hate to use his computer but I guess I may have to bleh. He had to buy a new power source for his to even run the dang new video card. I wish he would just take his and mine in to to best buy where we baught everything and get them fixed up right lol. I don't want anything to mess up. I have my ts2 preordered and I want to play it right away without having to deal with computers lol.
You shouldn't be worried that the game won't work on your machine. You have a processor more than 2.0gb, more than the minimum RAM and your card (although a nonT&L card) is supported. That means that you will be able to play the game with a reasonable frame rate. But you won't have the highest graphics ability that the game can do because your card is not built to do it. But the game will run just fine and you'll be able to enjoy it without having to do anything to your computer.

So, let go of your worry and look forward to playing your game!

[copter]

I have a cool graphics card- the Intel 82845G - however its not listed. I also have a good CPU-2GHZ Pentium-and 512MB RAM...Will my computer run TS2?
Copter.

[ringleesim]

Since your graphics card is provided by Intel you need 2.0 GHz processor (which you have). Now with me on the other hand, I have an Nvidia GeForce 4 Graphics card and I have a 2.08 GHz processor, but since my graphics card has T&L, I only need an 800 MHz processor to play so yeah, yours should work fine, but maybe you should think about upgrading to Nvidia GeForce 4, 5, or 6.:)

[copter]

Thanks ringlee, I'll take that into consideration. I was just making sure it WOULD run instead of sit there with a blinking cursor, no game name mentioned *Cough Need For Speed 2 Cough*. heh. thanks again ;)
Copter.

[ringleesim]

Thanks ringlee, I'll take that into consideration. I was just making sure it WOULD run instead of sit there with a blinking cursor, no game name mentioned *Cough Need For Speed 2 Cough*. heh. thanks again ;)
Copter.
np. If you need anything else just post!

[KatAnubis]

I have a cool graphics card- the Intel 82845G - however its not listed. I also have a good CPU-2GHZ Pentium-and 512MB RAM...Will my computer run TS2?
Copter.
The 82845G/GL certainly is listed. It's one of the 3 supported integrated Intel cards. It's a non-T&L card, but you have the 2.0ghz required for that. And you have more than the 256mb of RAM needed.

Your computer will run the game. The only downside is that being nonT&L, you won't see all the textures. However, most people don't even know what they're missing so you'll be fine. Just avoid seeing anyone play the game with a T&L graphics card.

[copter]

lol. I didn't see it in the list, but my eyes werent really sharp last night ;p Thanks KatAnubis.
Copter.

[WHEATTHlNS]

Holy god - integrated Intels are like. . .whew. I dont even think they have Open GL capabilities. You can get a pretty good card for 100 or so bucks. I saw a screenshot with AA turned on, 1280-1024. . .it looked gorgeous. But youd have to invest in a pretty nice card, and your CPU/Memory cant be pushing less than 512. The game runs off of 256megs of mem itself.

[mickles]

i have a really bad video card. ATI mobility RAEDON 16MB. can anyone give an estimate on how it would go with ts2? its under the requirements but it works with other 3d games like vice city. also, does anyone know if it is T&L or not?

[BILLYBOB]

I have a:
chip typeIntel (R) 82810
directx 9.0

computer, its pretty old. like everyone, i bought ts2 and installed it when i click on it to play it a pop up appears saying that i dont have a directx 9.0 but i do. can you help me?:confused:

[Mirelly]

i have a really bad video card. ATI mobility RAEDON 16MB. can anyone give an estimate on how it would go with ts2? its under the requirements but it works with other 3d games like vice city. also, does anyone know if it is T&L or not?

Old laptops will definitely not manage to run TS2. Sorry. "Old" means more than 2 years old.

[Mirelly]

I have a:
chip typeIntel (R) 82810
directx 9.0

computer, its pretty old. like everyone, i bought ts2 and installed it when i click on it to play it a pop up appears saying that i dont have a directx 9.0 but i do. can you help me?:confused:
That's not much to go, Billybob have you tried update your system? (eg display drivers, Directx and so on).

[Selene]

I would like to know if my Computer would run TS2 fine, like I have a Pentium IV 3.20 GHZ with 512 MB RAM and my graphics card is a SiS 661 FX O_O with 64MB

[Mirelly]

You should be able to play the game with no major problems. You have a decent system that can be cheaply upgraded if you decide you wish to improve performance for example adding an AGP graphics card or an extra 512MB RAM.

[Selene]

Oh thanks, I am actually intrested in buying a new graphics card that would be good like for another 2 years lol, any suggestions?

[ManagerJosh]

GeForce GF6 6600

[Selene]

Ohh, how much would that cost?

[ManagerJosh]

roughly 199USD MSRP

[Selene]

Do you know if it exists in europe? (lol)

[Mirelly]

Hi Selene. Try Amazon in your country.

eg in Britain: I searched Amazon for the GeForce 6800 (http://www.amazon.co.uk/exec/obidos/search-handle-url/index%3Delectronics-uk%26field-keywords%3Dgeforce%26results-process%3Ddefault%26dispatch%3Dsearch/ref%3Dpd%5Fsl%5Faw%5Ftops-2%5Felectronics-uk%5F6577685%5F1/202-7649371-0419844) which is just about the bees knees of graphics cards

[mmr92]

I looked under chip type and mine says VIA/S3G UniChrome IGP I'm not sure what this means or if it will play ts2, i just got my computer last month.

[JeannieMarie]

Does anyone know about the FPS on laptop graphics cards? I heard that the Intel integrateds are pretty bad. What about the ATI Raedon mobility 64MB / 128MB? Is there anything better than that out there?

I'm about to purchase a laptop (looking at the compaq nw8000.) Anybody know of a more affordable laptop with great graphics?

Thanks!

[ManagerJosh]

Do you know what model it is?

[JeannieMarie]

The model of the graphics card? Here's the description from compaq/hp's website: ATI Mobility Fire GL T2 graphics controller with OpenGL hardware accelerated graphics 128-MB of Video Memory.

The other laptop model has the ATI Mobility Radeon 9600 Pro graphics controller with 64 MB or 128 MB DDR SDRAM.

I'm assuming the "Integrated Intel® Extreme Graphics 2 with up to 64MB of shared system memory for graphics" would be the worst of the these three, huh?

(I'm looking at laptops in the 1.6 -1.8 GHz range.)

[MissGrad]

Well I Just Ordered a XFX Geforce 6600 is that good:confused:

[ManagerJosh]

Yep...that's a very nice card :D

[lyholy]

I've got ATI Rage 128 pro. I can play the game, but the actions is freezing all the time and it is very slow. So I bought an another video card, an ATI Radeon 9200, but my computer does'nt boot with this card. The manufacturer of my motherboard told me it should be ok, but...it doesn't work. Someone can suggest me what video card i should buy (with minimum requirements)??? I've got a P4 s478 1.6G 256meg. Should I upgrade something else instead of the video card?:confused: Thanks!

[ManagerJosh]

Could you post your "complete" list of system requirements?

[lyholy]

Not sure exactly what you mean but here is my system setup.

Motherboard: Biostar M7SXF (bios ugraded lately) - supporting AGP 1x,2x,4x
Processor: P4 1.6G (S478 512K)
Ram: 256 meg, 266 MHZ DDR
Current video card: ATI RAGE 128 Pro 32meg
Hard Drive: Maxtor 40G 7200rpm
Monitor: TTX8770
Windows 98 SE

The video card I want to install is a ATI Radeon 9200 128meg AGP, but like I said the computer doesn't boot (not even the beep at the beginning..). The monitor only displays flashing white squares, like if it's not plugged. And by the way, the new video card works on a friend's computer. What is your suggestion? Thanks a lot!

[HelloKit]

Motherboard: Biostar M7SXF (bios ugraded lately) - supporting AGP 1x,2x,4x
[snip]
The video card I want to install is a ATI Radeon 9200 128meg AGP Could it be that this video card only runs at AGP 8x while your motherboard only supports up to 4x?

[lyholy]

It suppose to run 2x,4x and 8x. It's a universal card and it should work. At least, it's what I found on ATI's site!! But I tried everything so it must have something wrong with the compatibility even if the manufacturer of my motherboard told me that it's suppose to work.

[HelloKit]

It suppose to run 2x,4x and 8x. It's a universal card and it should work. At least, it's what I found on ATI's site!! But I tried everything so it must have something wrong with the compatibility even if the manufacturer of my motherboard told me that it's suppose to work. Perhaps an incorrect BIOS setting then?

[Ub3rshade]

Hey Josh, you said you could hook people up with better deals for graphics cards. Well, you'll probably recognize me with that awesome DraculaBlack/chrome Logysis LE case: http://store1.yimg.com/I/xoxide_1825_53129273
Now, I hear you might be able to hook me up with some good prices for graphics cards. As you can tell by the case, I'm building a new gaming machine which'll last, and I've got all parts planned out. My main beef is the fact that while I'm willing to dish out the money for a machine that'll last for a long time, I'm waiting for Geforce 6800 GT 256MB prices to drop. While I can afford 400, I was wondering if you knew where to get me slightly cheaper prices. I'm not sure if I want DVI or TV-Out, but they seem like nice features to have. I have my eyes on this right now:
http://image.ak.outpost.com/art/product/box_shots/4122823.box.GIF From Outpost.com, 400 bucks seems a bit steep, so if you know anywhere else, post please (While I do prefer having a local retailer like Fry's Eelctronics which sells this at the same price, I'm willing to pay shipping for a mail order for anything not based in San Jose, California)

[ManagerJosh]

I don't know a whole lot of suppliers....I just usually buy my stuff from this place -> http://www.topmicrousa.com

Email my rep: -> josh@topmicrousa.com

[lyholy]

Perhaps an incorrect BIOS setting then?

I upgraded the bios, but I really don't know anything else about that.

[Ub3rshade]

Unfortunately Walnut is about 6 hours away from here in San Jose, and you don't seem to have any of the really high end graphics cards I want (6800, but its for mac? and you don't have a PC version?) I'm standing at 400 as the best price, but I've gotten everything else pretty cheap. (AMD Athlon 64 3400+ 2.2 ghz 939 pin for only about 100-200 dollars, a mobo with 4 slots for 4 gb ram, 5 pci and 1 agp for 100, as well as the audigy2 zs gamer edition for 90 all from neweggs, plus a 90 dollar case with 2 120mm blue LED fans, a dual cathode kit (i'm /eventually/ going to get sound reactive cathods when I get some more MP3s), and a 480 watt power supply. If you want to get some good prices for you're hardware, I shop from
www.xoxide.com
www.newegg.com
I got my hardware from newegg, my case from xoxide (good place for heating, case modding, power supplies, wire management for computers loaded with the works like mine, and caffine :cool:)
Hey, build a PC, its /way cheaper/, and you're only getting ripped off by giving retailers 800 dollars for a PC at the low-mid range end, and I'm pretty sure anyone can do it, I'm only a 14 year old guy just fresh into highschool.

[Flameback777]

Hey, build a PC, its /way cheaper/, and you're only getting ripped off by giving retailers 800 dollars for a PC at the low-mid range end, and I'm pretty sure anyone can do it, I'm only a 14 year old guy just fresh into highschool. Yes it is but lots of people don't even know what DirectX is (Although more do now after ts2) let alone the insides of a computer. :rolleyes:

[Missfluffy]

I dont know anything bout computers all i kno is my computer is crap coz sims is slow when i run it and they move really slow can u download update graphics cards or anything?

[Flameback777]

I dont know anything bout computers all i kno is my computer is crap coz sims is slow when i run it and they move really slow can u download update graphics cards or anything?
You can download graphic card updates but they do not change it's memory and speed. If the sims 2 is running slow upgrade your RAM and graphics card.

[Ub3rshade]

Yeah, you might want to upgrade you're card, as well as you're ram, because a slow computer can EASILY cripple the capabilities of a fast graphics card, and while I'm building a machine that'll last for a while and a little over 1000, (less if I live with onboard sound), you can look up www.mysuperpc.com if you want to be able to hand any game with high-mid range parts for about 800 dollars. Heh, this is one of the first instances where so many people knew so little about the hardware and finally touched a video game. (I remember people complaining about not being able to play Doom 3 smoothly, but they knew what their problems were :rolleyes:)

[SilentDragon]

My card isn't listed... It's SiS 650 intergrated chip with 32.0 MB of memory. Just in case it helpful, here's my full PC specs:

Pentium 4 2.50 GHz
196 MB of DDR RAM (Ignore this, I'm adding 512 DDR before the Sims 2)
SiS 650 32 MB
SigmaTel Audio (This shouldn't matter)

I hope I didn't forget something... Could someone tell me what the closest match is?

[ManagerJosh]

My bet would be it is one of those Savage cards.

[SilentDragon]

:eek: Did I miss something on the chart or is it saying it gets 0 FPS? I hope I'm being an idiot here. Thanks, it looks like I need to update the graphics card too.

[ManagerJosh]

It's an integrated solution so it would rank pretty low on the charts. If you had an nVidia nForce solution, I'd rank it higher. But SiS is not well known for graphics.