Please answer my graphics card question.

[Anheuser-Busch]

GForce FX 5200 ULTRA 256 mb 160$$, worth the buy? will it run FFXI without bullshit that will give me a heartattack from being so pissed? *im not buying this online, im buying it IRL at a store since HouseOfComputers jipped me when I bought a defective radeon 9600 chip and still charged the restock fee... 20 fu**ing %!, never again will I buy fragile shit over the internet, also I hear cheap ATI cards like 9600 and below have problems with ffxi freezing, so im getting a geforce fx.*

anyways, please answer my question, u guys might not find it important, but its important to me and I want to know everything before I buy.

System specs:
P4 2.53 Ghz
AGP 4x mobo
512 mb

please help.

[The Heretic]

Basically, Fx's are pieces of crap that need to burn in hell. If your buying a 5200, (and God only knows why someone would), $160 of any currency is too expensive. The 256 ram you have suggested is also pointless. The only reason you would buy 256 ram on a card is for the next generation of games ie. HL2 and beyond. A 5200 wont even start HL2, so the added ram will have no effect whatsoever.

As for 9600's being defective, thats unlucky, but your case was rare, so dont be put off. 9600's dont freeze, so whoever told you that can burn in hell, for such blasphemous talk. (Ask any 9600 user, he'll/she'll tell you the score )

9600's are the best value for money cards around, and the 9600xt should come with a coupon for HL2! So by all means buy one.

[Anheuser-Busch]

I looked on the IGN boards, alot of 9600 users are complaining that their game is freezing up in the character select screen and during the game... also 9600 is mysteriously not listed on playonline's acceptable radoen cards... coincidence?

[Anheuser-Busch]

hmmm, im thinking of getting a radeon 9600 xt, 180$ at bestbuy.

[The Heretic]

I can get it for $300 in Aust, so that seems right. Be careful of the ram type when buying a 9600xt, it can range from 4-2.5 (lower is better)

I am almost 100% sure that a 9600 should play FFXI perfectly. Perhaps some people arent updating their drivers?

Found a list of working cards

ATI® GPUs
RADEON™ 9000
RADEON™ 9000 Pro
RADEON™ 9100
RADEON™ 9500
RADEON™ 9500 Pro
RADEON™ 9600
RADEON™ 9600 Pro
RADEON™ 9700
RADEON™ 9700 Pro
RADEON™ 9800
RADEON™ 9800 Pro
RADEON™ 9800 Pro 256 MB

Dunno what your talking about mate?

[Anheuser-Busch]

its 128 MB Radeon 9600 XT *drool* two proccessors, and this card fits in my budjet. as for the list, they must of just updated it... before there was no 9600 on the list :-/ aw well, Im definetly getting this card.

http://www.bestbuy.com/site/olspage....3&type=product

ram type? can u tell what ram type it is just by looking at the page? anyways, 2 processors, this is a rocking card.

[The Heretic]

Ill find out what type of ram it has on it, if its the last thing I do!

[Anheuser-Busch]

alright, thanks, hey is this a good buy though? I mean its pretty sweet plus it has a coupon for free HL2....... and I hear that game is gonna be pretty good, but im using this card mainly for ffxi. I hope this card overkills the high resolution.

[The Heretic]

Im Australian, so currency conversions is kind of confusing for me. At that price, you wouldnt be getting it cheap and you wouldnt be getting ripped off.

[Anheuser-Busch]

i'd buy it online if there wasnt so much hassle and risk... mailing packages costs so much these days... anyways... im off to bed, post the ram type if you ever run across it

[The Heretic]

I found a 9600 xt that is perfect:

Gecube GC-R96XTG-C3 EXTR HL2 - ~$315.00 128Mb 2.5ns DDR

Take note of the model number when looking for it, should you decide to get it. It features 2.5ns ram (good, good) and is cheap at $315 Au (NOT US).

[Anheuser-Busch]

thats too much, I dont have that much money to spend around, I still need to save 50 bucks to buy ffxi after I get the radeon 9600!

[Anheuser-Busch]

oh, before when i said radeon 9600 freezes up, I meant while playing FFXI... people have been seeing problems with their gameplay because supposedly it freezes up in the character screen and during gameplay... the other games i havent heard of any problems with... what do you think about this?

[Rostum]

Just to mention, if you want a good converting website Heretic... go to www.xe.com It's great, I go there when ever I'm looking at prices for things in different currencies.

[Anheuser-Busch]

thanks for the link bud, it should help out our australian friend quite a bit