Graphics cards?

quote:

---

Original post by Elite19
Hi, I am interested in developing a 3d game but i dont think my graphics card is up to scrarch, well to tell you the truth i dont know if i even have a graphics card

---

Brr, frightening..
Anyway, even a TNT2 would do the job if you''re learning.
I''d personally get a cheap Radeon 9x rather than a GeForce MX though.

Well I bought the computer out of a newspaper and a graphics card wasn''t one of my requirements. Graphics havent been an issue up till now cause i''ve spent all my time learning c++. It runs quakes 3 well without problem and 3d studio max 5 good as well. It was only recently i tried to switch to directx with max and at startup it said couldnt find 3d acceleated support using software rasterizer or something like that. I never noticed b4 cause i was always using it with opengl with no problems.
The info in my directx dialogue said the display driver was a Sis 650
i did a quick google on it and heres a little info from the Sis site

It integrated a high performance 2D/3D Graphic Engine, Video Accelerator and Advanced Hardware Acceleration MPEGI/MPEGII Video Decoder for the Intel Pentium 4 series based PC systems

Does that mean its a graphics card?
well everything runs well, all the nehe tuts were no problem so i''m wondering if i''m software rendering or hardware.
Thanks for your adive on the card but is it still worth getting one?
I really should learn this stuff

If you can play Quake 3 stable, you must have a graphics processor somewhere in your computer. You may not have a graphics card however, you may have integrated graphics. This means that your graphics capabilities are build right into the motherboard, and not being processed on a seperate unit. The good thing about them is they''re generally cheaper. The bad thing about them is that you can''t upgrade. Graphics cards, however, get plugged into the motherboard. There''s a port called the AGP port (Accelerated Graphics Port) which connects the two devices. If you are using integrated graphics, chances are you don''t have an AGP port so chances are you can''t upgrade your graphics card. For one, if you are using an Intel motherboard, many of their desktop boards use integrated graphics and many major companies (like COMPAQ and DELL) buy their motherboards from Intel.

A general test for if you have a graphics card or integrated graphics is if you take a look at the back or inside of your computer, see where your monitor cable plugs into. It should be blue as standard. If it''s located towards the upper section of your case (where the motherboard i/o is located - probobly also where your keyboard and mouse goes in), then you have probobly have integrated graphics. If it''s located towards the lower section, with your PCI cards (in rows), then you probobly have a graphics card. Beware, however, that if you''re going to upgrade, check which version your AGP port is. My old gateway had a graphics port that was very old, and didn''t fit new cards strangely.

---
Brent Gunning | My Site

Thanks RapidStunna, that was a great help

In XP, go to control panel->System icon. Then Hardware tab, and 'Device Manager'. Look for something like 'Display Adapters', expand this option and it should show the card you have installed.

Odds are it'll be an MX card of one variety or another, which is probably good enough for starting GL programming.

Edit: and since Q3 runs, go to NeHe.gamedev.net and download some of the tutorials. If they run then start looking at the code

[edited by - OrangyTang on August 4, 2003 10:08:40 AM]

Cool, thats good to hear, i''ll look into the max problem
Thanks everyone

Thanks AP, I''ll open it up tomorrow, i''ve never even seen inside a computer b4, hopefully i''ve got one of them ports, i didnt think graphics card were so cheap

There is no such thing computer without a graphics card you know . Even if it is a integrated one... I mean you have to see something...

"C lets you shoot yourself in the foot rather easily. C++ allows you to reuse the bullet!"

I don't really care for the geforce fx 5200. Seems to be way underpowered. Get a "geforce 4 ti 4200" or a "randeon 9500". Much better cards.

geforce4 ti 4200:
$85.00 at newegg.com and very fast

You might want to look around some more but you should find similar prices.

[edited by - OneBitWonder on August 4, 2003 1:34:17 PM]

Do NOT waste your money on a GF4 MMX card if that''s what it is. The GeForce 4 Ti4200 is probably the best low end graphics card made to date. It''s insanely powerful and it''s only like 80 bucks for a card with 128 megs of RAM. the whole GeForce4 Ti line is amazing. the 4600 (my baby) presents alot of bang for the buck (unfortunately when the card was new there was a whole lot of buck attached). The best value is the 4400, it''s a huge step up from the 4200 and is only like 20-30 dollars more. I don''t really even look at the controversial FX line as it''s only recently started out performing the radeon 9800 line. Besides, from the tone of your post you sound like you just want to get up to speed and any one of the GF4 Ti line will do the trick. I''d recommend the 4200. as i said you can find one with 128 megs of ram offering 8x AGP (i''d go with an abit, asus, MSI, or BFG if you can, but PNY would be fine as well) for $80 and that''s new. Just pricewatch it (www.pricewatch.com) or check newegg (wwww.newegg.com). Newegg often has very low prices and often free shiping as well. Plus their service and speed cannot be beat. Anyway, the 4200 card is if you just want to get up to speed (you can play any new game fairly well with it), the 4400 will get you up to speed a decent amount of leeway, and a 4400 or a radeon 9800 are the route to go if you want to start contending. As I said, i haven''t really looked into the FX line, there''s too much crap associated with it and the Ti line''s pricing will be pretty darn low, so I''d go that route if I were you (i recommend the 4200 to all my friends). Regardless I don''t think I''d go the ebay route. the card you''ve priced there only has 64 megs of ram and offers only 4x AGP and that''ll be used.

To answer your question of whether not you even have one, just crack open your case. What you''re looking for is called an AGP slot. Often it is brown and is above your PCI slots (those are the white ones all your other cards go into) and is offset a bit towards the center of the board. If there is a card in there then you have a video card, my friend. If not, you most likely have a proprietary display setup. Another thing you can check is to see if your monitor plugs into one of the display ports on the motherboard (in that little rectangle where your mouse and stuff plug in) or if it plugs into what looks to be a separate card. If it''s in a card then you have a vid. card. If not, you''re looking at a proprietary setup. The third option (if your box is a little older) is a PCI video card.

Hope this helps!

When you find yourself in the company of a halfling and an ill-tempered Dragon, remember, you do not have to outrun the Dragon...

The Radeon 95 Pro is faster than the GeForce Ti 4600. I have ordered a GeForce FX 5600 Ultra, a very good card I think. You can find those for approximatly $200.

"C lets you shoot yourself in the foot rather easily. C++ allows you to reuse the bullet!"

Integrated video cards are bad. That means the video card is on your motherboard. Instead of using its own memory, it sucks up your RAM. I would reccomend something decent, but don''t overdo yourself. I have a GeForce 4 MX card. You don''t need something super powerful, so a GeForce 3 or GeForce 4 Ti would be good. Anything Radeon 8x00 or 9x00 is good. It doesn''t really matter that much. If you have 32-bit color support, 64MB of video RAM, OpenGL 8.1 support, and OpenGL support, you are okay. Bonus points if it has DirectX 9.0 support. But DX 9.0 isn''t big yet. So hold off on it for now. A GeForce FX card is cheap, and awesome.

Scott Simontis
C++ Programmer

as a game player, yes the Geforce TI-4200 - 4600 are the best buys right now ...

BUT NOT FOR A DEVELOPER ...

as a developer, you want a card that supports all the newest features, and don''t really need to run at 1600x1200 resolution or whatever ...

so in that case, you want a DirectX 9 capable video card - which means it MUST be a Geforce FX series, an ATI Radeon 9500 or higher, or a 3dLabs Wilcat VP series ...

the GeForce FX 5200 is too much money for the amount of speed/power .. BUT it is the cheapest DX9 part you can buy ... and for everyone out there with 15-17" monitors, it has all the power one needs ...

Basically, look at what monitor and resolution you use, and that will determine how much horse power you need ...

Any monitor at 1024x768 or less (15-17" CRT or 15" LCD) - Geforce FX 5200 is enough ... ANY DX part you want.

To run at 1280x1024 or so (19" CRT, 17-18" LCD), a Geforce FX 5600 or ATI Radeon 9500 is plenty.

To run at 1600x1200 or higher (21" CRT, 18"+ LCD), a Geforce FX 5600 or ATI Radeon 9500 will do, but an ATI Radeon 9700 or 9800 would be better, as would a GeForce FX 5800 or 5900.

I do not know how the Matrox Permedia and the 3DLabs Wildcat VP''s compete on performance, except that the Permedia is lower than the Radeon 9500 and GeForce FX 5600 ... and that the Wildcat VPs may have worse gameplaying / fillrate performance, but they have better 3D Studio Max Rendering Performance ... because they offload more of the work onto the card ... and also have multithreaded drivers (primarily usefull for Dual CPU Workstations).

BTW, if you are never going to use DX9 features ... especially if your target market is using older machines ... then a Geforce 2, a Geforce 4 MX, or a Radeon 7000 or 8000 series is fine to test with (because if it runs well on those cards, it will run well on your customer''s cards) ...

For cheap non-DX9 parts, my favorite cards right now are the Radeon 9000 - 9200. Of course the Geforce TI-4200 is really nice too ... but if you monitor is mid resoltuion (1024 or less), I still say a Geforce FX 5200 is a better forward looking option (allowing you to play with DX9 Pixel and Vertex shader technology if you ever want to) ...

Wow, I just woke up and had like 11 emails about this, thats all the info i could want
Thanks everyone