Hl2 Video card

[Noirceur]

I'm not sure if there was another thread about this, the search didn't help me any. But anyways, I am looking for an okay video card for hl2 that is compatible with the new hdr valve made that will run at least 50 fps. I'm used to 50 so it is enough, I don't need 70-100. Does anyone have an idea as to an inexpensive card that would suffice? My processor is a p4 3200, and I have 1 gig of ram(not sure as to what kind). My current video card is a geforce 5200.

[Wallrod]

To save you some time and effort, what kind of money range are we looking at? $50-$100? $100-$150?

[Evil Superstar]

found at http://www.bit-tech.net/gaming/2005/09/21/lost_coast_benchmark/2.html

Many gamers believe Lost Coast is resource hungry because of the HDR. This is not strictly the case. Lost Coast features very high resolution textures, and the infamous Fisherman character has double the number of polygons than a typical Half-Life 2 character does. It all adds up, in line with the design brief. We will see HDR next week Day of Defeat: Source, and that will be a clearer indication of the impact of HDR in a "normal" game, rather than a souped-up technology demo level.

Here is a quick overview of what we found:

Low-end: Less than Radeon 9600, GeForceFX 5900 - not playable, less than 5FPS
Mid-range: Around Radeon 9800, Radeon X700, GeForce 5950, GeForce 6600 - playable at 800x600 with AA turned off
High-end: Radeon X800, GeForce 6800 - playable at 1024x768 or 1280x1024, with AA and AF depending on the exact model of card
Bleeding-edge: GeForce 7800 - playable at 1600x1200 with full AF

[Noirceur]

To save you some time and effort, what kind of money range are we looking at? $50-$100? $100-$150?
150-200 is what I'm looking at.
I'm not looking for very high as I know that would be way out of my price range. And although price doesn't always = effectiveness, it does in an extreme case and I doubt a 50$ video card would run hl2, lol.
How much does a geforce 6800 usually cost, I believe it was one of the ones valve suggested.

[Captain Colon]

A 6800GT can be had for anywhere from $150(if you're savvy/lucky) to $200, I believe. Then you just unlock the pipes and presto: 6800Ultra :D
found at http://www.bit-tech.net/gaming/2005/09/21/lost_coast_benchmark/2.html

Many gamers believe Lost Coast is resource hungry because of the HDR. This is not strictly the case. Lost Coast features very high resolution textures, and the infamous Fisherman character has double the number of polygons than a typical Half-Life 2 character does. It all adds up, in line with the design brief. We will see HDR next week Day of Defeat: Source, and that will be a clearer indication of the impact of HDR in a "normal" game, rather than a souped-up technology demo level.

Here is a quick overview of what we found:

Low-end: Less than Radeon 9600, GeForceFX 5900 - not playable, less than 5FPS
Mid-range: Around Radeon 9800, Radeon X700, GeForce 5950, GeForce 6600 - playable at 800x600 with AA turned off
High-end: Radeon X800, GeForce 6800 - playable at 1024x768 or 1280x1024, with AA and AF depending on the exact model of card
Bleeding-edge: GeForce 7800 - playable at 1600x1200 with full AF
Interesting...I get a good 25FPS average at 1024x768 with full settings(6x aa/16x af)...XP2600, 1gig ram, EVGA 6600GT. Little bit of slowdown near the end but not bad, just turn the AA/AF down and it'd be fine.

Will have to try with my radeon 8500 when I my brother gets a new mobo that works with the 6600 and I have to give it back :(

[Noirceur]

A 6800GT can be had for anywhere from $150(if you're savvy/lucky) to $200, I believe. Then you just unlock the pipes and presto: 6800Ultra :D


I wish I knew what pipes were or how to unlock them, lol. While I am exceedingly more computer literate than most people I know, I know nothing about overclocking or unlocking anything.

[Moe_Rahn]

Actually, there is zero difference in pipes between the 6800GT and Ultra, they're both 16 pixel/6 vertex pipes. The only difference is the speeds, and OC'ing a GT to Ultra speeds really isn't that hard.

Also, a $200 6800GT? Where is this magical creature? A 6800GS can be had for $200 easily, but a GT? The cheapest one on Newegg is $250, and that's after a rebate. And all the GT's on Newegg are PCI-E, so if he needs an AGP one, he can't get it there.

[Noirceur]

Actually, there is zero difference in pipes between the 6800GT and Ultra, they're both 16 pixel/6 vertex pipes. The only difference is the speeds, and OC'ing a GT to Ultra speeds really isn't that hard.

Also, a $200 6800GT? Where is this magical creature? A 6800GS can be had for $200 easily, but a GT? The cheapest one on Newegg is $250, and that's after a rebate. And all the GT's on Newegg are PCI-E, so if he needs an AGP one, he can't get it there.
I believe I have both slots.
Well....provided I take out my current p.o.s., and I don't see the point in leaving two video cards in anyway, lol.
I'll probably go for the 6600, seeing as I really only want to play hl2 mods and the hl2 engine will be lasting awhile. I don't so much need to think about a decade from now in choosing a video card. With my luck it will be outdated by february, but hey what are ya gonna do.

[Moe_Rahn]

I believe I have both slots.
I highly doubt it.

[spartan]

He must be referring to the AGP 6800LE, which comes with 12 pipes and 5 shades, and can be unlocked to 16pipes and 6 shaders via a BIOS flash. That's what I run, and I run Lost Coast at a playable 20-40 FPS.

If you're talking about solely HL2... get an ATI card. They preform ridiculously better in HL2. x800gt would be a midrange ($150-ish), I wouldn't recommend anything below that. If you want to get higher up, any other non-basic x800 will amply suit your needs.

HL2 is also a processor heavy game. If you're running on a celeron or something similar, don't expect huge preformance gains, as your bottleneck will simply stop becoming your graphics and become your CPU. Consider this before upgrading.

[StandingCow]

If your mostly interested in HL2 then make sure you go ATI... they are more Halflife friendly.

X800XL would be a good buy.

[siddy]

I highly doubt it.

certainly could happen. there were a few mobos made with those slots, however, up until the ASRock ULI board, very few did it well.

[StandingCow]

some new boards do have both AGP and PCI express... like siddy said.

They were to continue of people actually bought them.. I was thinking about it for my next board since I have AGP but want to have PCI express for the future.

[siddy]

some new boards do have both AGP and PCI express... like siddy said.

They were to continue of people actually bought them.. I was thinking about it for my next board since I have AGP but want to have PCI express for the future.

yep, and the Asrock is cheap as dirt to boot!

[Noirceur]

HL2 is also a processor heavy game. If you're running on a celeron or something similar, don't expect huge preformance gains, as your bottleneck will simply stop becoming your graphics and become your CPU. Consider this before upgrading.
P4 @ 3.2 ghz. From what people have said I think it is decent. What I have is basically a maxed out dell 4600. That was 4-5 years ago. And I have just upgraded to a gig of ram as opposed to 512 mb. My geforce 5200 sufficed for most hl1 games and low graphic settings on ghost recon/C&C, but once I started with hl2 I maybe get 15, plus I want to be able to run C&C on high or at least medium settings.

[Noirceur]

I highly doubt it.
I have had both a pci-e card and an agp card in my computer at the same time before.

[DesertChicken]

I've got a 9800pro with 512mb ram and AMD athlon 64 3200+. HL2 ran perfectly smoothly through the first levels of HL2 at 1024x768 at medium texture and model detail. Then I realized that it wasn't looking too much like the screens I got so hyped up about and turned the texter and models up to high. This increased the loading times for me, lowered my frame rates and cause some stuttering here and there. It was still playable though. My card ought to get the job done, but if you want a silky smooth experience at max settings, you'll have to go higher.

Also, isn't HDR only supported in X800 equivalent and higher?

[spartan]

P4 @ 3.2 ghz. From what people have said I think it is decent. What I have is basically a maxed out dell 4600. That was 4-5 years ago. And I have just upgraded to a gig of ram as opposed to 512 mb. My geforce 5200 sufficed for most hl1 games and low graphic settings on ghost recon/C&C, but once I started with hl2 I maybe get 15, plus I want to be able to run C&C on high or at least medium settings.

A 3.2GHz chip is plenty powerful. Faster then what I have, un-overclocked.

[Moe_Rahn]

I have had both a pci-e card and an agp card in my computer at the same time before.
Not if you're in a Dell 4600 case, unless you have some kind of whacko custom motherboard in that thing, because I don't think Dell ever shipped any machines with both AGP and PCI-E. I could be wrong on that bit, but if they did I doubt it was in a 4600, especially one as old as you say. My mid-2003 Dell 4600 only had AGP and regular PCI slots.

[Noirceur]

Not if you're in a Dell 4600 case, unless you have some kind of whacko custom motherboard in that thing, because I don't think Dell ever shipped any machines with both AGP and PCI-E. I could be wrong on that bit, but if they did I doubt it was in a 4600, especially one as old as you say. My mid-2003 Dell 4600 only had AGP and regular PCI slots.
Oh, yeah, that's what I was referring to. I can't quite tell the difference between pci and pci-e. Therefore why I'm asking for help, because of my extremely limited knowledge, lol.

[siddy]

Oh, yeah, that's what I was referring to. I can't quite tell the difference between pci and pci-e. Therefore why I'm asking for help, because of my extremely limited knowledge, lol.

probably best to google your computer type, and see what specs come up.