Graphics comparing video cards

[RadioNails]

I've been reading threads for week what kind of system runs PS. But here's a question: I have AthlonXP 1700+ with 512Mb of RAM and currently a GeForce2MX 32Mb.

I understand that I could buy top of the line card and get great graphics, but I'm not a millionaire so I need to make sure every penny is worth it. I'm also not a huge gamer, I just know I'll play a lot of PS.

I was simply wondering what kind of graphics card I would need to get the game with the details we see on the PS-U website screenshots in general with "tolerable" fps (ie not 120, more like 30), with the trees that look nice and everything... I was first thinking about simply buying a GeForce4MX but I'm afraid it might be too little. Would a Radeon 9100 do the trick?

So I'm not really looking for an answer like: "buy a radeon 9500 Pro" like in all the posts, I'm talking about what is worth it in terms of graphics. I don't want to play PS at 30fps with the graphics looking like quake3 on low details.....

Thanks for your opinion.

[Mydis]

Originally posted by RadioNails
....in general with "tolerable" fps (ie not 120, more like 30)...

I don't want to play PS at 30fps with the graphics looking like quake3 on low details.....

It's kind of hard to tell what your shooting for here.

[RadioNails]

well, I look at the screenshots on PS-U and they're really nice. You can see the plantson the ground with details, the trees, the player models etc.

But if I look on some other sites, I see screenshot that are obviously in low-res, the trees are basically a cylinder and a few polygons (� la Quake3 low detail), the textures are faded and without details, the wheels aren't so round etc.

I want to upgrade my video card to get graphics like the screenshots I see on PS-U, beautiful graphics, but with a "tolerable" frame rate, which would be around 30 to 40 for me. I was wondering if a geforce4mx would give me the boost I need to get that or if the only way to get that is by buying a very expensive (here in Canada) Radeon9500 or some GeForce latest generation...

[Daleon]

Well when your talking about screenshots and extremely good image quality its usually from turning on Anti-Alias or Anisotropic Filtering. Nvidia and ATI sometimes have different names for both of these and have additional IQ parameters you can play with to really make things look great. Each also has a varrying degree, like 2x, 4x, 6x, etc. The higher you raise it, the better it looks and the slower you go. There is normally a middle groud point where you can't really tell the difference in IQ so you shoot for that.

Most of the time just turning one or both on to 2x or 4x can make a very large difference in IQ. You also generally get some basic selections like 'Performance' 'Quality' and 'Application.' These will set your visual quality to pre-determined settings to let you judge and then you can tweak further.

Now as to what cards can do this at playable 30 fps? Your mx2 will not, the G4mx line will not. Turning on AA or AF on even a G4MX 440 128 DDR will prolly cause it to choke to death. It might hit 15-20 fps but defintely not in heavy situations like PS can get into. The 9100 Pro 128 is a beefed up 8500 core and gets very playable frames with AA/AF turned off. Generally also ATI does not take as bad a hit in fps when you turn AA/AF on. The 9100 Pro may be able to do 30 fps at 2x AA/AF on. If you set it to Quality it will look great, but I don't think it will maintain 30 fps for long. Maybe if someone here has the card can post what they get.

The 9500 Pro 128 stands a much better chance of maintaining 30+ fps with Quality visual settings turned on. Your best bet is to buy the card from a place that has liberal returns and no re-stocking fees and try and see.

[RadioNails]

Exactly what I was looking for, thanks!

[OmnipotentKiwi]

To get the image quality around the same as what is on PSU you will need at absolute minimum either an ATI 9500 Pro (or higher) or Nvidia GeForce 4 Ti4200 (or higher), and most importantly:
Most likely 768MB of RAM.

Otherwise, no, you will not be able to get the quality seen in those shots with 30+ FPS.

[SpaceDrake]

If he's looking to add some anti-aliasing, it's all about the Radeon 9500 PRO, no question.

[OmnipotentKiwi]

Originally posted by SpaceDrake
If he's looking to add some anti-aliasing, it's all about the Radeon 9500 PRO, no question.

Agreed, but I would go for the 9700 Pro for this game, simply because it IS a system killer.