New video card, hearing bad things...

My old computer fried so, before I got all worked up about it, just shelled out about $1000 for a new one. I went on Gateway, ordered a comp with 1.5 ghz pent. 4, 128 ram, blah blah blah, but the part I am mad about is the video card that they gave me and I didnt notice.

Well it was my fault really, because I didnt know at the time (being an old Voodoo 3 user for...ever) that there were so many Geforce 2 cards out there. All i remember seeing was Geforce 2, but what I didnt notice was the Mx200 beside it. All I thought was "hey, alright I found a comp with a Geforce 2, just what I wanted."

I've been hearing mixed things from people everywhere on the net. On this forum, there is a post below about a PCI one, and most of the comments are negative towards it and its AGP counterpart, (my card)

I know the specs of the card, and I know now that this MX200 is pretty weak compared to its other GPU bretheren, but seriously, upgrading from a Voodoo 3, how much of a performance boost (not counting my processor) will I see graphics and in visuals? Faster gameplay? or a gimmick, and I should toss this card and get a different one. I'm the kind of casual gamer that doesnt really want to spend all that much.

Mac3

If there's any way for you to get rid of that card, maybe through classifieds, I'd say do it.

Sorry bro but it's a horrible POS and I can't stand how gateway and other oems put it in a machine with a 1.5 ghz p4.

With the prices now, I'd recommend getting a Radeon 32mb DDR, or a Geforce 2 GTS if your not a hardcore gamer.

but seriously, upgrading from a Voodoo 3, how much of a performance boost (not counting my processor) will I see graphics and in visuals?

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Boost? dude, I don't think it will be a boost. Honestly, I personally would stick with the V3. The Voodoo definately has a better quality picture then an MX. I'm pretty sure the V3 will just edge out an MX200 in terms of speed.

Did you fry ALL of your components in your last system? Maybe you could salvage your V3.

-DarkArctic

I recently went from a Leadtek GF2 GTS 32MB card to a Gainward GF3 Ti200 (G/S) and I was amazed.

I also didn't know if there would be that much noticeable difference and almost stayed with my GTS, which isn't a bad card at all, but Gainward's Golden Sample is awesome.

If you can let go of $170 bucks, I don't think you'll regret it.
It'll probably even turn you into a hard core gamer.

(IMHO) A graphics card can make or brake a good system.

the reason we hate the MX200 so much more than the MX400 is the difference in memory bandwidth. The 200 has only a 64-bit SDR pipeline between core and memory, while the 400 and plain MX have either a 64-bit DDR path or a 128-bit SDR path. This is a HUGE difference. This link explains all the differences between various MX cards.

The amount of onboard RAM has nothing to do with it. Tests have shown very little difference between 32 and 64 MB cards, with the 64MB card usually SLOWER! Really!It takes a tiny bit longer to address all that RAM. Unless of course the test uses 64MB of textures!

Most games don't use even close to that tho.

Ouch, sounds like I got screwed. Well i talked to a friend, and he told me (and I didnt know) that one of his comps was running a MX200, and I have used it before, and it seemed to look good and run great. I'll guess I will see once my comp arrives, UPS scheduled to deliver today.

I also went back to Gateway.com and checked my computer purchase, and it gave me the option to change the vid card to a 400 for $35 more bucks, or for $250 more an ATI Raedon. Is that a rip off or what? Anyway, I'm pretty dissapointed now, that for one: I didn't ask around enough about cards, and two that I had more options available to me. But seriously, I was on a budget, so spending what I did was way over what I wanted to spend. Well I guess I'll check this card out, and then come back and post my thoughts. May god help me.

Oh and one more thing, I was reading an article on the very first Geforce cards that came out. These were the Geforce 256's. They interviewed a few programmers and everyone of them said that a jump from a Voodoo3 chipset or a TNT to the Geforce 256 would be faster and better. Now, seeing that my POS card, as someone said before is a Geforce 2 mx, does that mean its better than the old Geforce 256?

Zuck Gou :) said:

With the prices now, I'd recommend getting a Radeon 32mb DDR, or a Geforce 2 GTS if your not a hardcore gamer. [/B]

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I have a Geforce 2 GTS and it works great for gaming.

Zuck Gou :) said:

With the prices now, I'd recommend getting a Radeon 32mb DDR

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A friend of mine just bought a new Dell with a 1.6 P-4 and it came with a Radeon 32m.b. DDR ram. She over paid but you know how it is when you buy instead of build.

xCarne_Asada said:

I have a Geforce 2 GTS and it works great for gaming.

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Oh yea for sure it does rock in gaming, thats why I recommended it. I'm just saying hardcore gamers buying new are probably gonna go for the Geforce3 or 8500, which are quad the cost.

xCarne_Asada said:

I have a Geforce 2 GTS and it works great for gaming.

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Oh yea for sure it does rock in gaming, thats why I recommended it. I'm just saying hardcore gamers buying new are probably gonna go for the Geforce3 or 8500, which are quad the cost.

Now, seeing that my POS card, as someone said before is a Geforce 2 mx, does that mean its better than the old Geforce 256

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eh, probably not. I would take the old 256 over an MX personally. The MX has better, newer tech in it, but it's also heavily crippled to keep it from competing with the GF2/3 cards. The 256 has no such limitations- it's just old. The 256 will still most likely be faster at higer resolution, and also be much better at AA.

Don't sweat it TOO much- yah, the 200 is not too great, but it's better than a lot of what's out there. If I were you I'd just chalk it up to a learning experience and start saving for something better to replace it.

Well I got my computer and here is what I think:

The card itself, despite what most of you said, has exceeded any bad thought I had of it. It ran many games (Q3, CS, MOH) extremely well, and very sharp, detailed and fluidly. A HUGE improvement visual and performance wise over my old Voodoo3. Sure it may be a low end card, but I am happy with it, and I will use it at least until I can get enough cash for a GTS. But i can rest easy now that I know it runs better than I thought.

You could also get NVMAX, and overclock the card for a little more performance. It's a freeware program, and it really boosted the performance of my old TNT-2.
Just do a Google search, they have their own site. If it is down for some reason, there are other sites out there that have it.

Okay m8 - if you are on a budget and/or nto a hardcore gamer - you probably wont be able to justify the price of the GF3, Sure its an AMAZING piece of kit, but it is a lot,a GTS is damn fine for games - you dont need a GF3 to play Unreal Tournament now do you? The price gap betweeen the MX400 and the GTS is very small - so go out and get yourself a GTS if you can afford it. On the other hand - you havent tried the MX200 yet - it may be enough for you. (but probably not)


Peace Friend.

Right on Mac3, I'm glad it gets the job done for you. But just so you see what we are talking about- try playing Q3 in a resolution higher than 1024x768, in 32 bit color, with all the graphics options turned to max.

With a 200, you pretty much can't. No chance of AA at any res, either.

Of course, if that's not something you do anyway, then who cares? If it works for you, that's all that matters. Enjoy your new card man!

IMHO, my voodoo3 had a nicer picture than my old Hercules MX- but that's just my opinion. It wasn't a big difference anyway. Plus I still have a soft spot in my heart for poor, much-lamented 3DFX.

Well, thanks everyone for posting their input. I will stay with this card for awhile, but someday its gotta go But for now, it gets the job done.


Now I just gotta figure out this dang IRQ error I keep having at start up. Stupid Win XP, already having errors, its brand new!

Mac3 said:

Now I just gotta figure out this dang IRQ error I keep having at start up. Stupid Win XP, already having errors, its brand new!

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What's your system composed of? (pci cards and mobo most importantly)

ACK, it keeps doing it, and I even got the newest windoes update for xp. Man this is seriousy making me mad. Everytime i start my computer with the modem plugged in it does this.

I don't know much about my comp inside it, I only opened it once to check if it had one RAM chip or not. But thats all I did, nothing else at all. Maybe some games or programs I installed are screwing with my computer...