upgrade from fx5200 to 9700 pro worth it ?

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jase

i know all the top graphics cards that are out there at the mo,but dont have no cash!a radeon 9700 128 has come my way for next to nothing and i would really like to know if its any better speed/eye candy wise than my nvidia fx5200.i have heard that the 5200 is pants as is all fx models but i think its a good card for free from a good freind!!.the only reason i want to upgrade is to play battlefield 2 properly,which my fx5200 doesnt fully support dx9? 3.0 shader? i think.?? so if anyone has lots of good info for me im all ears.by the way that radeon is (hopefully) gonna cost me less than £10.good or bad?help me out please!! :wave: :wave:
 
I read someplace back that BF2 "only" supports these cards:
Battlefield 2 only supports the following video cards:
Radeon X700 (PCIe)
Radeon X600 (PCIe)
GeForce 6600 (PCIe)
GeForce PCX 5900 (PCIe)
GeForce 5800 Series (AGP)
ATI Radeon X800 XT Platinum Edition
ATI Radeon X800 PRO
ATI Radeon 9800 Series
ATI Radeon 9600 Series
ATI Radeon 9550 (RV350LX)
ATI Radeon 9500 / 9700 Series
ATI Radeon 8500 Series
ATI Radeon X300 Series
NVidia GeForce 6800 Ultra
NVidia GeForce 6800 GT
NVidia GeForce 6800
NVidia GeForce FX 5950 Series
NVidia GeForce FX 5900 Series
NVidia GeForce FX 5700 Series
------------

I suppose this list would also include NEW cards since then. So your fx5200 is off the list :(
And don't even think about the 9700 either. While it does support DX9, it is right on the edge of falling off the charts as a useful vid card. Unless you get the "Pro" version of course.
Go for anything on that list or better, for BF2.

Then head over the tomshardware to see their benchmarks for AGP and PCI-E vid cards. This chart is for AGP using 3DMark 2005:
http://www.tomshardware.com/2005/07/05/vga_charts_vii/page4.html

My card is the X850XT PE AGP, it plays BF2 VERY well ;)

Happy hunting dude!
 
thank for the reply,i know the 9700 is gonna look crap by todays standards but as an upgrade for a few pounds i just wondered about it.i have read the spec for bf 2 and my nvidia fx5200 isnt listed but it does run the game.i just want to run the game a little better.i know that theres loads of you dudes out there with 6800/7800gt's and ati xt's but i really will NEVER own one if i live to be a hundred!!lol.to be honest im 32 in england working part time,and i love battlefild 1942,got all the add ons +map packs etc.and wanted bf2.couldnt afford a decent upgrade so i got it on my ps2 and its ok but not the same game!
 
Look up the various cards on the BF2 supported list, surely there is one at a decent price, perhaps used or ebay or something.

So you're in the UK? I know here in the US we use newegg.com and zipzoomfly.com and a few others, but I don't know any good shopping sites for the UK, there are some members here that know where you can get a good deal.

I would be careful, just save your money until you can get a better card. Because otherwise you'll spend all you got and still not play very good, then you'll wish you would have put the extra $$ in it.

Incidentally, I have a 5700 Ultra AGP I could give you if you gave me some shipping money and a few bucks in paypal :)
Not sure how much it would cost to ship though. The cooling fan on the card is starting to get louder and may need replaced, but that should be cheap, card still works fine, I just upgraded.

Anyhow, good luck!
 
A 9700 Pro is just slightly slower then a 9800 Pro, it's not a world of difference & it's much, much better then a 9600.
 
I doubt it mate, the card is likely worth upwards of 40 or 50 pounds I would think. 20 is about what a new cooling unit costs :)

It was just an idea, I think shipping would be outrageous. But keep your eyes open, I checked ebay, nothing there now really.
 
thanks very much for the kind offer anyway,not trna rip anyone just dont know much about gfx cards only ever had 4! s3>ati intergrated!>geforce3 ti(which was a MASSIVE improvement)and then fx 5200.which i didnt notice much gain.but would i notice any gain from the radeon 9700 128? you just gotta understand i have to take little steps cause my wallet is thin!lol
 
This is the specs of the FX5200
NVIDIA NV34 chipset
DX 9 supported
250mhz chip clock
400mhz ram clock
128-bit
4x1 pipes

This is the specs of the 9700
ATI R300 chipset
DX 9 supported
275mhz chip clock
540mhz memory clock
256-bit
8x1 pipes

It is clear to see the 9700 pulls ahead in every area. So it is definitely a big improvement. But really is not THAT much when we're talking about BF2. So if you find a good deal on one, it will be better, but whether it will be clearly noticeable is a question up for grabs. Double the bit depth and double the pipelines and the faster ram clock speed should be fairly significant I would think. For programs written in the age of those cards.
 
Vigilante said:
I read someplace back that BF2 "only" supports these cards:
Battlefield 2 only supports the following video cards:
Radeon X700 (PCIe)
Radeon X600 (PCIe)
GeForce 6600 (PCIe)
GeForce PCX 5900 (PCIe)
GeForce 5800 Series (AGP)
ATI Radeon X800 XT Platinum Edition
ATI Radeon X800 PRO
ATI Radeon 9800 Series
ATI Radeon 9600 Series
ATI Radeon 9550 (RV350LX)
ATI Radeon 9500 / 9700 Series
ATI Radeon 8500 Series
ATI Radeon X300 Series
NVidia GeForce 6800 Ultra
NVidia GeForce 6800 GT
NVidia GeForce 6800
NVidia GeForce FX 5950 Series
NVidia GeForce FX 5900 Series
NVidia GeForce FX 5700 Series
------------

I suppose this list would also include NEW cards since then. So your fx5200 is off the list :(
And don't even think about the 9700 either. While it does support DX9, it is right on the edge of falling off the charts as a useful vid card. Unless you get the "Pro" version of course.
Go for anything on that list or better, for BF2.

Then head over the tomshardware to see their benchmarks for AGP and PCI-E vid cards. This chart is for AGP using 3DMark 2005:
http://www.tomshardware.com/2005/07/05/vga_charts_vii/page4.html

My card is the X850XT PE AGP, it plays BF2 VERY well ;)

Happy hunting dude!
Click to expand...
Just because a card isn't listed on the supported chips doesn't mean that it won't work. I was Running BF2 on a FX5200 256MB card for a while. It wasn't great but it was running. The problem comes when you have video problems and you don't have a video card on the list they won't talk to you.

In short should you upgrade. YES!
 
That's what I read! Black and white don't lie! But I believe you! And I'm happy!
just kidding. If your primary game is BF2, your primary video card aught to be one tested to work good for it. Unless you are a "vigilante" like me. ha
 
We slapped together an AMD 2500+ and a 9700 Pro and it plays Battlefield2 wonderfully.

If the initial poster is still considering upgrading the 5200 to a 9700 Pro- it'll be a NIGHT and DAY upgrade.. the 9700 Pro is a 256 bit, 8-pipeline card with good clock rates, fast memory and such. It's only a few features short and a little slower than the 6600GT. I'd say go all the way to a 6600GT if you can, but a 9700 Pro is an older gen version very similar and pretty cheap nowadays.

You'll get massive improvements over your 5200... not just in Battlefield2, but in EVERYTHING. Just be sure you have enough memory if you're planning on playing BF2. I'd recommend *at least* 1 gig for this game online... and 1.5-2 gig for larger servers with higher game settings.

Tom's has a nice VGA charts thing that shows various AGP videocards here, and it includes both the FX5200 and 9700 Pro for your perusal. Be sure to check all the pages as it benchmarks a LOT of games:
http://www.tomshardware.com/2004/10/04/vga_charts_iv/page5.html
 
Why not buy the new Geforce 7800 CS AGP. Its around $300 and is as good as the GeForce 6800 Ultra (much better in some cases). It being the 7 series supports more games and techs. :slurp:
 
If you can get a 9700, stock or Pro, for a tenner, then get it. The difference on ALL games, not just BF2, will be well worth it. Then when you've got that, start saving your pennies and get a Geforce 6600 from Ebuyer.com. You should get one for around 70 quid. It's all very well you guys who can afford $300 on a graphics card, but some of us just can't throw that much money at a single component. I'm running an Athlon XP 3000 with a GeForce 4Ti 4200, which incidentally tramples all over FX5200's, and am currently saving for a X850XT. Just another £200 to go now....
 
Vigilante said:
I read someplace back that BF2 "only" supports these cards:
Battlefield 2 only supports the following video cards:
Radeon X700 (PCIe)
Radeon X600 (PCIe)
GeForce 6600 (PCIe)
GeForce PCX 5900 (PCIe)
GeForce 5800 Series (AGP)
ATI Radeon X800 XT Platinum Edition
ATI Radeon X800 PRO
ATI Radeon 9800 Series
ATI Radeon 9600 Series
ATI Radeon 9550 (RV350LX)
ATI Radeon 9500 / 9700 Series
ATI Radeon 8500 Series
ATI Radeon X300 Series
NVidia GeForce 6800 Ultra
NVidia GeForce 6800 GT
NVidia GeForce 6800
NVidia GeForce FX 5950 Series
NVidia GeForce FX 5900 Series
NVidia GeForce FX 5700 Series
------------

I suppose this list would also include NEW cards since then. So your fx5200 is off the list :(
And don't even think about the 9700 either. While it does support DX9, it is right on the edge of falling off the charts as a useful vid card. Unless you get the "Pro" version of course.
Go for anything on that list or better, for BF2.

Then head over the tomshardware to see their benchmarks for AGP and PCI-E vid cards. This chart is for AGP using 3DMark 2005:
http://www.tomshardware.com/2005/07/05/vga_charts_vii/page4.html

My card is the X850XT PE AGP, it plays BF2 VERY well ;)

Happy hunting dude!
Click to expand...

Dude that list is sooooo garbage. I had BF2 work on my 6200tc and even my 7500 all in wonder. Now that wasnt minty fresh but dam it worked. badly lol.
 
I have a 9800 pro and I can play bf2 with aa on 4x and everything else on med. settings with high resolutions and no lag. So it would probably look and play ok.
At least you would get to play. Go for it.
 
Wotrop said:
Dude that list is sooooo garbage. I had BF2 work on my 6200tc and even my 7500 all in wonder. Now that wasnt minty fresh but dam it worked. badly lol.
Click to expand...
They aren't saying these are the only cards that the game will work with. Just means that these are the ones that they have tested on and know it works. Therefore they will only give you tech support on cards that show up on this list.
 
EAGames has updated their video requirements. Now instead of a list, they just want this:

Video: DirectX 9.0c compatible
Video card must have 128 MB or more memory and one of the following chipsets:
NVIDIA GeForce FX 5700 or greater
ATI Radeon 8500 or greater
-----
 
Vigilante said:
EAGames has updated their video requirements. Now instead of a list, they just want this:

Video: DirectX 9.0c compatible
Video card must have 128 MB or more memory and one of the following chipsets:
NVIDIA GeForce FX 5700 or greater
ATI Radeon 8500 or greater
-----
Click to expand...
It is so much nicer when just they just spell out the requirements like this. Although this still doesn't meand you ahve to have this to be able to run the game. When I first installed BF2 I did it on a GeForce FX5200 with 256MB. Didn't look the greatest but it still ran.
 
I say bro save up a little for a 9800kuz its one of them golden oldies and one of the best of the golden oldies. :zzz:
 
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