GeForceFX 5200 Ultra for $75? Good deal? Other recommendations?

[XanderF]

So I have a chance to buy a GeForceFX 5200 Ultra for $75. That is the Ultra, so it's not the crappy 64-bit version, and has 128mb ram.

Since I toasted my 5900XT :retard: this is about all I can afford for a few months.

The reason I'm considering this over a GeForce4 Ti is because when any anti-aliasing is applied, it seems to pull well ahead of that generation of card (even the Ti4600). The games I play mostly - Starfleet Command, Tribes 2, Sub Command - are all in the 'older' variety and are perfectly possible to anti-alias even on this card with minimal performance hit.

Right *now* I had picked up a FX5200 at a local PC shop for $70 (needed a card NOW), but can return it. It's a 64-bit non-Ultra. Amazing crap, but, believe it or not, can still play Tribes 2 great....with no anti-aliasing at all. Which is something I want to fix.

$75 is really as high as I can go for the time being - is this a good card for that, or should I shop around more? (As knowledgeable as I am about the high-end cards, I know jack squat about budget cards, as I haven't had to buy one in a LONG time)

[Edge]

Hmm, for an FX5200u that's not bad, but I'd definatly pick the Geforce4ti first. AA *should* be almost the same speed, the only FX cards with the enhanced AA engine is the FX5600 and up. What benchmarks show the FX5200 pulling ahead with AA? All the ones I saw put the ti4200 ahead in pretty much every settings (unless you're using 12xAA or something maybe ;))

Hey if you're *really* hurting for a card, I might be able to loan you my GF3 (with collateral, of course). It should give roughly FX5200 performance, and overclocks quite well. It just seems kinda wasteful to have to buy a new card when you're probably just going to replace it soon (well, from the sound of it, I couldn't imagine someone who likes high AA living with a pre-GFFX/9x00 card!).

[Gator]

Well, my father has an FX5200Ultra in his Athlon64 PC. He doesn't game, but just for the hell of it I tried UT2k4 in it and it worked very well. Of course I didn't test any AA/AF, but the raw speed seem fine and with high details too.

$75us is a good deal for that card, but I think you should check the refurbished section at Newegg.com first, and try to get a refurb FX5700 non-ultra, or maybe an FX5600Ultra (not much better than 5200U, but still better)

[XanderF]

Well, I found a Newegg refurb 5600 (not Ultra, just plain-Jane) for $80 shipped.

That's actually a better deal than the 5200 Ultra I was looking at before (it was $75 + $7 shipping). Since all tests I've read (especially the excellent roundups at xbitlabs) show it to be notably faster than a 5200 Ultra, I decided to give it a shot. It is actually playable (30fps) in UT2K4 at 1024x768 with 4xFSAA and 4xAniso applied. Pretty impressive for $80, IMHO, and, of course, I'm going to pop that heatsink right off and put it on my watercooling loop.

*Hopefully* I'll be able to bear this thing until fall! Ideally, I won't be stuck with it for longer, but it does have a couple cool features - dual DVI, for example.

[Edge]

Ahh, yeah the 5600 is a much better deal if you're planning on using lots of AA. It actually has the AA engine from the FX5800+, so AA only has about half the performance hit it would on an FX5200 or lower.

[Geforce4ti4200]

are we talking color compression or the way aa is applied? I tried aa on my fx5200 and it took a 67% performance hit with 4x aa! anyway that fx5600 is a much better choice even if its slower without aa, it pulls ahead with it

[Gator]

...It is actually playable (30fps) in UT2K4 at 1024x768 with 4xFSAA and 4xAniso applied...

eh? 30fps playable? Well yes I supose it is but that's assuming it stays at 30fps, especially in big fire fights while playing online. If I may make suggestion... on my FX5900XT I found the AF turned up and AA turned down yeilds faster frame rates while still giving a quality picture. AA seems to really eat at the NV3x's performance :kill:

And I'm still a little shocked you consider 30fps playable, I don't like my fps below 50. But whatever floats your boat, I hope you enjoy the FX5600 it's really not that bad a card. Performs on par with a GF3TI but with better AA/AF and DX9 support. My friend has one and he's pretty satisfied with it.

[XanderF]

And I'm still a little shocked you consider 30fps playable, I don't like my fps below 50. But whatever floats your boat, I hope you enjoy the FX5600 it's really not that bad a card. Performs on par with a GF3TI but with better AA/AF and DX9 support. My friend has one and he's pretty satisfied with it.

Well, if the benchmark shows 30FPS at a mild overclock and with no volt-mods or watercooling....*I* will be getting higher enough over that for it to be playable. (crazy)

[Pantherman]

Unless you can get a 59xx, the FX series is garbage. I'd get a GF4 Ti 4600 over a GeForce FX 5200 Ultra ANY DAY. I'd even go for a Ti 4600 pver a GF FX 5600 Ultra. The FX series is trash in DX 9 games. If you can get a Ti 4600 for under $100, grab that card. STAY AWAY from the 5200 Ultra!!!!!!! :lol2:

[Geforce4ti4200]

is the fx5600 NON ultra really better than the ti4200? someone says its iq is much better, especially in farcry. I told him to sell the fx5600 and buy a ti4200, was I right or not

[ragejg]

a 5600NU feels absolutely less confident and steady... vs a GF3... so make your own conclusions on the GF4ti thing...

an overclocked 5600U or an overclocked 5700NU are the lowest possible cards that feel anywhere near as steady as a GF4ti...

Bar charts may show a different story, but sit down with alll these cards and you'll see... The 5600NU's slow memory PLUS it's pipeline setup really make it chug where other cards remain steady...

[DSC]

What about 5700LE (250MHz core, 400MHz mem, 128bit mem bus versions)? Those should be pretty decent also, with 3 VS units just like the bigger brothers, 5700 and 5700U.

[ragejg]

DSC: not enough raw bandwidth however to actually be able to make use of light AA/AF @ moderate resolutions... I believe the 5700LE to be about the same strength as... hmm, well, prolly a stock, non OC'ed GF3 ti200... which I guess isn't too bad... ;)

That's why I said "OC'ed 5700NU" at the bare minimum... 5700NU's OC a lot better than 5600NU's did. ...and they benifit greatly from it.

[Gator]

is the fx5600 NON ultra really better than the ti4200? someone says its iq is much better, especially in farcry. I told him to sell the fx5600 and buy a ti4200, was I right or not

Well the FX5600NU will handle AA/AF a little better and give DX9 compatibility... however I compared benchmarks for a R8500, TI4400, and FX5600NU in an AXP1700 & K7S5A motherboard. In 3dmark2k1 at 1024x768 @ 32bit color @ 85hz w/ no AA/AF:

TI4400 about 11000
R8500 about 10000
FX5600NU about 9000

So the FX5600NU isn't that bad a card, but clearly it's behind in the times. It will get the job done but don't expect miracles from it. In your case, I'm afraid it was bad advice, the TI4200 will out perform the FX5600NU in most games except DX9 ones, and even then it's DX9 capability is limited unless you're willing to play at 800x600.

[takuma]

yo ethier get a ti or a radeon 9000 pro. My ti 4200 played farcry on medium at 50fps avarge

[XanderF]

In your case, I'm afraid it was bad advice, the TI4200 will out perform the FX5600NU in most games except DX9 ones, and even then it's DX9 capability is limited unless you're willing to play at 800x600.

And, with FSAA on, the 5600NU pulls ahead of the Ti4200-8x nicely.

XBitLabs has done a recent roundup with both cards in it. 5600NU wins the DX9 tests and the tests with FSAA on them unless it's a pure DX8 game with VERY simple shaders (which actually counts for a lot of them).

In any case, I don't think I'd like that card. In fact, I'd probably hate it after a while. And I just can't see spending $80 on a card I know I'll hate. Either I have to scrape together the funds to get a REAL card (and probably forgo upgrading ANYTHING at ALL this year as a result), or just get some cheapo $40 GeForce4 MX. I mean, if I *know* I'm going to hate it either way, I'd rather have spent only $40 on it instead of $80.

[Edge]

If you're going to spend $40 on a graphics card, at least get a Geforce 3. It will serve you much better than a GF4mx will.