XFX GeforceFX 5200

[1m4g1n3]

When I got this card, I knew it was cheap (that's why i got it), this brand in particular - it only came with a big aluminum heatsink and no ram cooling. However, what i didnt know is that they put CHEAP ram in it, which is only at 333 mhz. It is vdata vdd8616a8a (-6b). I looked on the fact sheet for this, and it said it was 133mhz in the ordering information (which makes 333 mhz effective) however, it did not tell me the MAXIMUM speed that it can attain. I just wanted to make sure, but i am almost certain that these guys did not underclock this thing, as they did in the MSI version with the samsung ram.

I will get a Vantec Iceberq4 cooling kit with a good active cooler and 4 aluminum ramsinks - i was wondering if i could reach 325/425 from 250/333 with this kit easily.

[CaptNKILL]

Originally posted by 1m4g1n3
When I got this card, I knew it was cheap (that's why i got it), this brand in particular - it only came with a big aluminum heatsink and no ram cooling. However, what i didnt know is that they put CHEAP ram in it, which is only at 333 mhz. It is vdata vdd8616a8a (-6b). I looked on the fact sheet for this, and it said it was 133mhz in the ordering information (which makes 333 mhz effective) however, it did not tell me the MAXIMUM speed that it can attain. I just wanted to make sure, but i am almost certain that these guys did not underclock this thing, as they did in the MSI version with the samsung ram.

I will get a Vantec Iceberq4 cooling kit with a good active cooler and 4 aluminum ramsinks - i was wondering if i could reach 325/425 from 250/333 with this kit easily.

133Mhz = 266Mhz effective DDR speed

Most manufacturers dont make cards for overclocking, especially low end cards, so unless the card comes with RAM sinks or is advertised as being overclockable, dont expect to push it even 1Mhz over the rated speed (most will go a little bit, but its all luck unless they advertise overclockability.... even then its not a guarantee).

BTW, why are you buying such nice cooling for such a cheap card???? You could have spent the extra $20-$30 on a better card

[Kev1]

I have some GF2 GTS's in backup computer's I might mess with. Maybe my extra GF3's too.

It is kinda fun getting stuff to work better than intended no matter what the price point is. I think in some ways inexpensive video cards can be a lot more fun than their more expensive counterparts in that respect

Your right sometimes its not the most economical way to go about things, but its enjoyable none the less. Kinda like putting a 1.6 ghz celeron FC in a slot 1 440bx mobo using a powerleap adapter. You don't do it to be economical really, you do its cause its fun

[1m4g1n3]

It can't be 266 mhz effective though, it is 333 mhz somehow. Also, i overclock the memory to 390-400 mhz (even though there is no cooling on the memory) and i do not experience any artifacts whatsoever and the card has never crashed yet. I may be stressing the ram i guess, but when i get aluminum ramsinks this will be fixed. Also, I got this card for $90 cdn, which is $60 cdn cheaper than the msi version with samsung ram and vivo, and i would LIKE to return it and get the msi, but it has been almost 2 months since I bought it and I am not sure if futureshop will accept it back If they do though, I will be sure to get the msi version, as i have not been able to find the 'ultra' version anywhere in canadian stores.

[ragejg]

tell you what...

Before you go all out on this card, run 3dmark2k1 with that card... I'd like to know if you get ~4k or ~7-8k...

If you get ~4k, you have a 64 bit version which you will not have fun OC'ing with, and would not gaming wiuth it either... compared to the true 128 bit variety at least...

If you do have the 128bit version, then you have some headroom for improvement...

If you have the 64bit version... well, um, you could probably get $50 bucks for it, turn around and buy a GF3 for $50 and enjoy twice the performance and much better shader capability...

My $0.02...

[Johnmcl7]

Originally posted by 1m4g1n3
It can't be 266 mhz effective though, it is 333 mhz somehow. Also, i overclock the memory to 390-400 mhz (even though there is no cooling on the memory) and i do not experience any artifacts whatsoever and the card has never crashed yet. I may be stressing the ram i guess, but when i get aluminum ramsinks this will be fixed. Also, I got this card for $90 cdn, which is $60 cdn cheaper than the msi version with samsung ram and vivo, and i would LIKE to return it and get the msi, but it has been almost 2 months since I bought it and I am not sure if futureshop will accept it back If they do though, I will be sure to get the msi version, as i have not been able to find the 'ultra' version anywhere in canadian stores.

If it has 6ns memory, then it's rated for 166Mhz(333Mhz effective)

John

[1m4g1n3]

Ran 3dmark2k1, and i got 3536...this thing is a piece of ****. I want to return it and get my money back if I can. I mean, I will if i can. This thing was full of false advertising. It said it had 128-bit memory and it doesnt. What a disappointment.

[Malfunction]

Originally posted by 1m4g1n3
Ran 3dmark2k1, and i got 3536...this thing is a piece of ****. I want to return it and get my money back if I can. I mean, I will if i can. This thing was full of false advertising. It said it had 128-bit memory and it doesnt. What a disappointment.

Out of curiousity... how much did you pay for it?

Peace,

[1m4g1n3]

Actually, I paid $120 cdn, and i was SUPPOSED to get a $30 mail-in rebate, which hasn't come yet in 8 weeks, and if i go to the rebate status it says my check is void. I will contact the customer support tommorow. In other words, this company sucks. The cooling sucks, and the ram sucks, and there is a bunch of false advertising all around this product. I want to get the MSI GeForce FX 5200-VTD for $150, which has vivo, a bunch of cable converters for s-video, etc, and a bunch of software. Also, it has ram that is 400mhz, but is underclocked, so it can go up to 500mhz without stressing it at all. Also, it has a super good gpu cooling which is more than enoguh for my needs. However, I am thinking of waiting for the price to come down, and also if futureshop will accept this card back. I will try to do some sort of exchange or something. Anyways, tell me what you think of the msi version as a version of the 5200, not comparing it to the higher versions which i know you will say this is a piece of crap.

Thanks.

[ragejg]

If you have a 17" monitor and enjoy gaming @ 10x7, and want to use some AA and AF, and you don't wanna kick details down in the newest games, get (in order of performance) a GF3 for ~$50, a GF4ti 64mb for ~70, a fast GF4ti for around $90-100, an evGA 5200 Ultra for $107 shipped from Xtreme Gear, a real 5600 for around $110, an ultra for around $125, a rev2 for around $140, or IMO a VERY spankin deal, an eVGA 5700 for ~145...

I think you'd basically be a ripped-off customer if you spent $150 on a 5200 when you have all these other cards that are more powerful.. some of them costing only a third of what whoever's askin for that MSI VTD series card...

... my $0.02..

[ragejg]

BAH!!! Canadian money? Dang it, I didn't see that... grrr... oh well, my statement still basically stands as is though...

Ok, $150 cdn = how many USD?

[ChrisRay]

Rough estimate but 150 CD is around 100ish-110ish USD.