is my geforcefx a 128bit memory interface?

tecate428766 · 02-23-04, 07:04 PM

how do i know if i screwed my self over by buying a geforce fx 5200? i got a PNY agp 8x model with 128mb, i just got it. but..how do i know if it has 128bit memory channel? also, its on a linux machine with a 2.0GHz celeron and only 128 ddr ram. i run play ut2k3 on it, and it runs pretty dismal for my proc speed. it shuold be faster shuoldnt it? while playing the game, i get around 10-30fps depending on whats on screen.

**saturnotaku** · 02-23-04, 07:37 PM

I would partly attribute your poor performance to the video card, but also to the fact that you're only running 128 mb of system memory. Upgrading to at least 512 will improve UT2003 performance drastically.

tecate428766 · 02-23-04, 07:40 PM

any video card you can suggest that would be better then a geforcefx 5200??

Quote:

Originally posted by saturnotaku
I would partly attribute your poor performance to the video card, but also to the fact that you're only running 128 mb of system memory. Upgrading to at least 512 will improve UT2003 performance drastically.

**saturnotaku** · 02-23-04, 07:43 PM

Depends on what you want to spend. For about $179 or so you can get a GeForce FX 5900SE, which is really good. Or for about $149 (and if you're willing to overclock) some folks are getting really incredible results with a GeForce FX 5700 non-ultra. Since you're running Linux I won't mention ATI.

Buy the best card in your price range, however make sure you keep some money set aside for the purchase of more system memory. You can buy 512 mb kits (2x256) of quality RAM for less than $100.

tecate428766 · 02-23-04, 07:47 PM

what about getting a geforce3 ti 500? or possibly a geforce4ti series, used ofcourse. would that be better then waht i have now? and in anyone elses opinion or experiance, besides my system memory bottle neck(128mb ddr 2100) is it really my video card thats holding my system back? and should i return it for something els(this is what im considering).

Gator · 02-23-04, 07:59 PM

I'm gonna go along with what Sat said... 128megs of memory simply is NOT enough for today's computers. Even non-gaming machines shouldnt have less than 256megs with 512megs recommended. 128megs simply doesn't cut unless you wanna run Windows 95/98

Get yourself 512megs of ram as a first priority and see how the FX5200 runs. It's not that great of a card, but at 1024x768 with no AA/AF it might be decent provided you get 512megs of RAM. If that's still not enough, I donot recommend anything less than an FX5700NU for you, they start at $137us

tecate428766 · 02-23-04, 08:07 PM

what about getting a geforce3 ti 500? or possibly a geforce4ti series, used ofcourse. would that be better then waht i have now? and in anyone elses opinion or experiance, besides my system memory bottle neck(128mb ddr 2100) is it really my video card thats holding my system back? and should i return it for something els(this is what im considering).

Gator · 02-23-04, 08:25 PM

yes, return the FX5600XT and get yourself a GF4TI, FX5700NU, or better

GF3TI... ya it's probably better than a FX5600XT too. The FX5600 competes with the GF3TI in most benchmarks, so I can only imagine that the weaker XT version is probably worse than your average GF3TI. But I don't think you should get a GF3TI since it's showing it's age.

And trust me, everyone will tell you that 128 RAM is not enough to game

**saturnotaku** · 02-23-04, 08:46 PM

You still haven't said what your budget is. We can't recommend good cards if we don't know what you have to spend. But we can tell you what not to get, which would be a GeForce3 Ti or anything lower. A Ti4200 is kind of iffy, I would go with a GeForce FX 5200 Ultra before a Ti4200. But honestly, I would go with a 5700 non-ultra if you're in a cash crunch. There are overclocking utilities that work under Linux so you can push the card that way.

ragejg · 02-23-04, 09:06 PM

Quote:

Originally posted by saturnotaku
I would go with a GeForce FX 5200 Ultra before a Ti4200.

omg it's been said...

...or did you mean 5600 ultra?

Quote:

Originally posted by saturnotaku But honestly, I would go with a 5700 non-ultra if you're in a cash crunch.

Great card, great value, definitely seconded...

tecate428766 · 02-23-04, 09:20 PM

wow, i completely forgot about that. I got around 100-150 maxxxx to spend on my system at the current moment. so basically, the gffx5200 is a peice of junk if you want performance? other then my video card, my system ram is my biggest bottle neck. but, does anyone have "decent" performance with the gffx5200?. thats probably a stupid question.
So basically, should i upgrade my system ram first? or just dump my video card completely and buy more ram AND a different card?

Gator · 02-23-04, 09:23 PM

Quote:

Originally posted by tecate428766
wow, i completely forgot about that. I got around 100-150 maxxxx to spend on my system at the current moment. so basically, the gffx5200 is a peice of junk if you want performance? other then my video card, my system ram is my biggest bottle neck. but, does anyone have "decent" performance with the gffx5200?. thats probably a stupid question.
So basically, should i upgrade my system ram first? or just dump my video card completely and buy more ram AND a different card?

Well RAM is definetly the first thing you need... and yes an FX5200NU does stink, but I'd say try your games after the RAM upgrade first. If you're still disatisfied, only then should you do the video card as well

Remember, with that card I wouldn't go higher than 1024x768 if you want good FPS

If it DOES turn out to be a 64bit card though... ditch it without hesitation

02-23-04, 07:04 PM	#1
tecate428766 Registered User Join Date: Feb 2004 Posts: 36	is my geforcefx a 128bit memory interface? how do i know if i screwed my self over by buying a geforce fx 5200? i got a PNY agp 8x model with 128mb, i just got it. but..how do i know if it has 128bit memory channel? also, its on a linux machine with a 2.0GHz celeron and only 128 ddr ram. i run play ut2k3 on it, and it runs pretty dismal for my proc speed. it shuold be faster shuoldnt it? while playing the game, i get around 10-30fps depending on whats on screen.

02-23-04, 07:59 PM	#6
Gator Unreal Tournament Gamer Join Date: Jul 2002 Location: New York Posts: 2,279	I'm gonna go along with what Sat said... 128megs of memory simply is NOT enough for today's computers. Even non-gaming machines shouldnt have less than 256megs with 512megs recommended. 128megs simply doesn't cut unless you wanna run Windows 95/98 Get yourself 512megs of ram as a first priority and see how the FX5200 runs. It's not that great of a card, but at 1024x768 with no AA/AF it might be decent provided you get 512megs of RAM. If that's still not enough, I donot recommend anything less than an FX5700NU for you, they start at $137us __________________ Athlon64 3200 Clawhammer / Asus K8N-E Deluxe / 1GB Crucial DDR400 / Geforce 6600GT 128MB AGP / Windows XP Pro

02-23-04, 08:25 PM	#8
Gator Unreal Tournament Gamer Join Date: Jul 2002 Location: New York Posts: 2,279	yes, return the FX5600XT and get yourself a GF4TI, FX5700NU, or better GF3TI... ya it's probably better than a FX5600XT too. The FX5600 competes with the GF3TI in most benchmarks, so I can only imagine that the weaker XT version is probably worse than your average GF3TI. But I don't think you should get a GF3TI since it's showing it's age. And trust me, everyone will tell you that 128 RAM is not enough to game __________________ Athlon64 3200 Clawhammer / Asus K8N-E Deluxe / 1GB Crucial DDR400 / Geforce 6600GT 128MB AGP / Windows XP Pro

Similar Threads
Thread	Thread Starter	Forum	Replies	Last Post
GPU memory consumption, back buffer, Quadro	tdsussman	NVIDIA Linux	5	08-14-12 09:14 PM
Video: For HPC Energy Efficiency, Samsung 20-nm Memory Fab Makes a Difference	News	Latest Tech And Game Headlines	0	06-26-12 06:00 AM
Measuring card memory usage	peter_ga	NVIDIA Linux	0	05-24-12 08:07 PM
new memory tech QBM (Quad band memory)	sebazve	Rumor Mill	9	09-24-02 09:38 PM
X takes up 188 MB of memory	luke	NVIDIA Linux	5	08-12-02 04:34 PM

02-23-04, 07:37 PM	#2
saturnotaku Apple user. Deal with it. Join Date: Jul 2001 Location: The 'burbs, IL USA Posts: 12,502	I would partly attribute your poor performance to the video card, but also to the fact that you're only running 128 mb of system memory. Upgrading to at least 512 will improve UT2003 performance drastically.

02-23-04, 07:43 PM	#4
saturnotaku Apple user. Deal with it. Join Date: Jul 2001 Location: The 'burbs, IL USA Posts: 12,502	Depends on what you want to spend. For about $179 or so you can get a GeForce FX 5900SE, which is really good. Or for about $149 (and if you're willing to overclock) some folks are getting really incredible results with a GeForce FX 5700 non-ultra. Since you're running Linux I won't mention ATI. Buy the best card in your price range, however make sure you keep some money set aside for the purchase of more system memory. You can buy 512 mb kits (2x256) of quality RAM for less than $100.

02-23-04, 07:47 PM	#5
tecate428766 Registered User Join Date: Feb 2004 Posts: 36	what about getting a geforce3 ti 500? or possibly a geforce4ti series, used ofcourse. would that be better then waht i have now? and in anyone elses opinion or experiance, besides my system memory bottle neck(128mb ddr 2100) is it really my video card thats holding my system back? and should i return it for something els(this is what im considering).

02-23-04, 08:07 PM	#7
tecate428766 Registered User Join Date: Feb 2004 Posts: 36	what about getting a geforce3 ti 500? or possibly a geforce4ti series, used ofcourse. would that be better then waht i have now? and in anyone elses opinion or experiance, besides my system memory bottle neck(128mb ddr 2100) is it really my video card thats holding my system back? and should i return it for something els(this is what im considering).

02-23-04, 08:46 PM	#9
saturnotaku Apple user. Deal with it. Join Date: Jul 2001 Location: The 'burbs, IL USA Posts: 12,502	You still haven't said what your budget is. We can't recommend good cards if we don't know what you have to spend. But we can tell you what not to get, which would be a GeForce3 Ti or anything lower. A Ti4200 is kind of iffy, I would go with a GeForce FX 5200 Ultra before a Ti4200. But honestly, I would go with a 5700 non-ultra if you're in a cash crunch. There are overclocking utilities that work under Linux so you can push the card that way.

02-23-04, 09:20 PM	#11
tecate428766 Registered User Join Date: Feb 2004 Posts: 36	wow, i completely forgot about that. I got around 100-150 maxxxx to spend on my system at the current moment. so basically, the gffx5200 is a peice of junk if you want performance? other then my video card, my system ram is my biggest bottle neck. but, does anyone have "decent" performance with the gffx5200?. thats probably a stupid question. So basically, should i upgrade my system ram first? or just dump my video card completely and buy more ram AND a different card?