128MB GeForce FX5200 vs 2600 PRO

[lakerbob]

Hi,

I currently have a 5 yeard old Dell Dimension 4600 that has a 128MB DDR NVidia GeForce FX 5200 video card. It plays all of the games my kids play on the pc fine; Jedi Knight, Sims2, Freddi the Fish, and so on. Would the ATI Radeon HD 2600 PRO match up well compared to the Dell for this type of casual gaming, or will I need the 8800GS?

Thanks

[Eidorian]

Go for the 8800M GTS.

http://forums.macrumors.com/showthread.php?t=412931

What a coincidence. Search!

[flopticalcube]

My kids had the FX5500/128 before they went to the HD2600 in the iMacs. The difference was considerable. Having said that, if you are getting the 24", pay the extra money and get the 8800GS.

[lakerbob]

You're probably running at low-resolution with lowest settings. The FX5200 is about 3 generations of graphics cards behind. The X2600XT is a mid-range card and not a particularly awe-inspiring one, but just about anything recent will beat a FX5200. I'd guess you'd can play with medium-high quality settings. I looked at a benchmark, and apparently you'll have a hard time hitting 30 fps in Ultra quality settings. This was at 1024x768, so I don't know how you'll do if you run it at 1920x1200. The other factor is CPU - FSX is CPU-intensive, and you made a major jump, which'll help no doubt.

The above is from Mr. Sarcastic's link. Seems to suggest to me that if we're perfectly happy with the graphics in the FX5200 on the Dell, than the 2600 should be fine for us. I'd like to get the 8800, but I'm leaning towards a refurb which would be a significant cost difference.

[flopticalcube]

The above is from Mr. Sarcastic's link. Seems to suggest to me that if we're perfectly happy with the graphics in the FX5200 on the Dell, than the 2600 should be fine for us. I'd like to get the 8800, but I'm leaning towards a refurb which would be a significant cost difference.
Yep. You should be happy with the 2600. Just remember as kids get older their gaming demands increase and with an iMac the video card is permanent.

[dmw007]

The above is from Mr. Sarcastic's link. Seems to suggest to me that if we're perfectly happy with the graphics in the FX5200 on the Dell, than the 2600 should be fine for us. I'd like to get the 8800, but I'm leaning towards a refurb which would be a significant cost difference.

If you are getting by fine with a Pentium 4 (?) based machine with a FX5200, an iMac with a Core 2 Duo and a Radeon HD 2600 Pro will be a considerable upgrade for you! :) :apple:

[lakerbob]

Thanks for the good advice and info!