Upgrade to Radeon 9250 or Geforce FX 5200 or 5500?

Hello I have an Intel 845GLVA motherboard with 2.4GHz 512 Ram and a Diamond Stealth S80 Radeon 9200se 128mb video card. I can run half life 2 on Medium texture with soft shadows and high Modles detail (No AA)and I have enjoyed every minute of it. I was Wondering if i should upgrade to a GeForce FX 5200 128mb or FX 5500 128mb or a Radeon 9250 128mb? Note: I only have PCI slots sorry, and also my parents hate me spending money

Video

I think a 5700le would be better than all the cards you listed. It is a pci card.
http://www.newegg.com/app/ViewProductDesc.asp?description=14-140-041&depa=1
Read the review by Irv on the above link.
Here's another card to consider, it might be a little bit better.
http://www.newegg.com/app/ViewProductDesc.asp?description=14-139-166&depa=1

Thanks For That but I live in Canada and Newegg does not ship here. So If you could find a place that ships to canada than that would be awsome. But the only place I really trust is TigerDirect.ca and it does not have the FX5700LE it has those three oh and the 9250 has 256MB not 128MB sorry for that.

Fx5200 Pci

Hi,

I've just bought a geforce fx 5200 PCI card, but i went for the 256MB version. For a PCI card, the graphics it produces are amazing - I use it to play high detailed, fast games like Unreal Tournament 2004. The best place to look for PCI cards is probably eBay, I got mine brand new from eBay.co.uk cheaper than any other internet shop. Basically waht i'm trying to say is that i recommend the fx5200 and if you can afford it, the 256MB version. How much were you looking to spend?

Andy

I am Planning on paying around $200 (Canadian dollars) And the FX5200 and 5500 have 128mb it is the 9250 that has the 256MB. I'll try Ebay, but I guess it is the customer that you have to worry about.

Hi again,

this is the card i've got:

http://www.xfxforce.com/product_view.php?sku=PVT64KUA

This is the link to it on amazon uk, i couldn't find it on amazon canada:

http://www.amazon.co.uk/exec/obidos/ASIN/B00026V8N0/qid=1108487898/ref=sr_8_xs_ap_i1_xgl/202-0070040-0631077

You should be able to get hold of it for your 200 canadian dollars.

video

Sorry, I didn't know you are in Canada. I don't know what online stores sell to canada, but I found two more places. You can check them out. I also found a 5600 pci. I think this is even better than a 5700le.
http://www.amamax.com/pci25vica.html
http://www.ocie.com/metacart/product.asp?intProdID=1000371

I would go for the FX5700LE or a Radeon 9600. The 5200 and 9200 series cards are underpowered and the 5500 is just a warmed over version of the 5200. And get a 256mb card if you can. You need all the memory you can get with newer games like HL2 and Doom 3. You'll be amazed by HL2 when you can turn up all the visual details and resolution. Deffinately check Ebay. How about this one
http://cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&category=40161&item=5166472435&rd=1

I'm Sorry, but none of these sites ship to canada, so this is no help. But out of these three cards, FX5500 128 or FX5200 128 or Radeon 9250 256mb which one would you pick. ONLY THESE THREE!!!! WITH THIS SET UP! NOTHING ELSE! WHICH WOULD YOU PICK!!! Thank You. puke:

I would buy the FX 5500 card if I were you becuase I think nvidia makes much better card. :bounce:

Thanks Finally somone with a straight answer. That is what I've always been looking for in the whole start of this thread good job :bounce:

video

Sorry, I didn't know you wanted only one of those three. Out of the three, get the 5500, it's the best.

Hey, no problem :bounce:

I've got a question about these three cards. Just for my own knowledge, wouldn't a 256 mb card be better than a 128, even though you like nVidia? Just wondering.

i agree with olefarte, go with the 256mb card. PCI technology isn't as good as agp or pci express by a long way, Therefore get a 256 rather than a 128 or you'll find that the 128 soon won't be able to handle new games that come out. A 256mb card will last longer before becoming outdated

My point exactly. And now that I've read all of this thread, I see Vegasgmc has already mentioned this also.

I definitely agree with getting a 256mb card. As you can only get a PCI card, instead of an AGP or PCI-E, then the added memory will greatly help with gaming. On my old PC, I went from a GF4 MX440 128mb card to an GF FX5500 256mb card and saw a considerable increase in performance.

So are you saying I should go for the 9250 with the 256MB of memory? becuase I do have a 9200se 128MB right now and I can have Half-Life 2 with high Modles and Medium details, a little choppiness in a few places but still... So that is how she works out then out of these three cards I should get the 9250 with 256MB?

You are better to look for a n vidia 5700 card since the core speed is much better than cards mentioned,also you look for a asus v9570 card same chip set with excellent speeds

a 256 card is not better than a 128 if you are looking at cards,most high end 128 cards have much faster core speed and memory.If you want your game to boot faster you buy a 256mb card but you lack the actual speed of the card when you play your games.every one can wait a few seconds for their game to boot but i rather have the speed in the game.

BAH!!!! Im so confused so go with the GeForce FX5500 with 128mb or the 9250 with 256mb? Both PCI! I can run hal-life 2 on my 9200se right now if i upgrade to these two would i still be able to play?

Wait does this matter? The Geforce FX5500 has a RAMDAC of Dual 350MHz while the 9250 has a RAMDAC of dual 400Mhz what does that mean is the 9250 faster then?