Need help. Keep 5200 or return it for something else?

[SpeedingPenguin]

I have a Soyo Dragon Lite KT333 motherboard, AMD Athalon XP1600, 256mb PC2700 DDR, and a Radeon 7500 video card. I got a GeForce FX 5200 (by eVGA) for xmas today, and before opening the box i of course did a quick check on here and some other sites to make sure it was a good card. Luckily i didnt open it, because what i read said that it was definatly not the greatest card you can get for the money. What i want to know is if it is really as horrible as what i've read or not. I do mostly racing games, nothing too crazy like whatever those FPS games are...I want good, smooth graphics, doesnt need to be the fastest, but i had an 8500 for a few weeks before i got the 7500 (dont ask why i didnt keep the 8500 :rolleyes:) and i liked the graphics....If i could get something a small step above an 8500 i'd be thrilled, but something equal to the 8500 would be what i'm looking for. My dad got the card at best buy, so if you can recomend any VC's that i could pick up there for about the same amount of money, that would be my first choice. Is the motherboard and stuff going to be able to handle a faster video card? I dont want to spend much $ on upgrading the computer because now i have my mind set on an E36 BMW M3, so i gotta save my $. If the 5200 is the fastest i'll be able to get on this mobo then i'll keep it. The 8500 i used on an Epox 8k3ae (again, dont ask why i dont have it anymore), so i cant say that i know that this mobo will handle it. Thx for the help

[Wiggo]

The FX5200 is certainly better than that R7500 that ya have now and it's compatible with ya current setup as both card and mobo will work on the 4x AGP setting (even though I still prefer somethin' faster like a GF4 Ti4200 or R9600P).

[SearanoX]

Though the FX series has better support for DX9 games than the Ti, on your system, a card like the GeForce 4 Ti 4xxxx will be the best if you're on a somewhat low budget. I'd go with a 4600 if you can afford it, as they're relatively cheap right now.

Of course, if you have the money for a Radeon 9800 Pro, then go for it, but you won't be getting anywhere near the full potential of the card.

So yeah, I'd go with a GeForce 4 Ti, but nearly anything out right now (barring the GeForece MX series) will be better than what you have.

[AsianBatman]

If your going to suggest the Ti series, suggest the ti4200 which is a great card that can be oc'ed to a 4600, but if you want directx9 support and you are on a budget, you can get the 9600pro/xt or the fx5700 ultra. But if you have the 5200, its better than nothing at all. :cheers:

[SpeedingPenguin]

Well, Best Buy doesnt have much of anything better than the 5200 i dont think for that price range....
How will the 5200 compare to an 8500?

[amd_man2005]

8500 beats FX5200

[SearanoX]

The 8500 Pro is a good solid card. However, you don't want to buy from a big box manufacturer like Best Buy. Even though you're almost guaranteed to get exactly what you paid for (aside from whole computers, that is), they generally charge a lot more than the smaller stores.

Still though, you'll want to get something like a 9600 Pro or XT, because they'll give you much better performance, plus DX9 support.

[SpeedingPenguin]

yeah normally i buy my stuff from newegg.com but since my dad got this at BB it would be easier for me to just exchange it there....So whatcha think, keep this or get something else?

[Mista K6]

Get something better, you'll enjoy your games ALOT more. Like mentioned, a Radeon 9600 Pro is very nice ($160 or so retail), or for $20 more get the XT. Both are very nice cards, and the trade-in will knock down those prices. Have fun with your new card, : peace2: Mista K6

[SpeedingPenguin]

160...damn....thats more than i really wanted to pay.....i'll see what i find...

[SearanoX]

Well, be glad you're not in Canada. Over here, a 9600 Pro is $250, and a 9800 Pro is $500, unless you get it from a smaller store, get a powered by ATi card, or buy it off of eBay. I wouldn't have gotten a 9800 Pro had it not been for it being bundled with my new computer for a cheaper price.

[amd_man2005]

Well, be glad you're not in Canada. Over here, a 9600 Pro is 0, and a 9800 Pro is 0, unless you get it from a smaller store, get a powered by ATi card, or buy it off of eBay. I wouldn't have gotten a 9800 Pro had it not been for it being bundled with my new computer for a cheaper price.

Yeah, but the current exchange rate is roughly $1 Can= $0.70 US

[SearanoX]

Actually, we're back up to around .75 right now. Still doesn't stop them from charging extra, though, and when our dollar goes higher, it's not like they're going to lower their prices.

It's also somewhat annoying, considering that ATi is a Canadian company. They say they don't want to lose out on profits, but that's bull****. If they were to charge cheaper prices here, they'd have a huge advantage over the competition, so they'd have happier consumers and more profits than what they have now.

In theory.

[amd_man2005]

Actually, we're back up to around .75 right now. Still doesn't stop them from charging extra, though, and when our dollar goes higher, it's not like they're going to lower their prices.

It's also somewhat annoying, considering that ATi is a Canadian company. They say they don't want to lose out on profits, but that's bull****. If they were to charge cheaper prices here, they'd have a huge advantage over the competition, so they'd have happier consumers and more profits than what they have now.

In theory.

ATi doesn't determine th e price retailers sell there products for, so it depends on the retailer itself, not ATi

[SearanoX]

The retailers will most often charge the suggested retail price that is set by the manufacturer, in this case, ATi. Of course, they can always charge more than it, but it's evident tht ATi's suggested price is higher than it should be. I've even seen Canadian contests in which you can win ATi products, and the suggested retail price is listed as much higher than the US price.

Meh, it's like that for everything, though. If businesses think they can get away with it, then they'll do it. ATi caters to gamers, and unless they suddenly stop buying new cards, then ATi will keep charging more than they should for their cards. It's ludicrous as well. I hear Americans *****ing about how it's $50 bucks for a game. 50 bucks? That's a damn good price for a game in Canada, especially if it's new.

Bleh, getting to ranty...

/me stops now