Supreme Cmdr Posted June 10, 2003 Report Share Posted June 10, 2003 I just hope that some of you are actually reading the products info page which has the requirements for UC. The most critical info being the pixel and vertex shader requirements for the graphics card. The game requires a card with Vertex Shader 1.1 or higher. At the very least - if you care about visuals - make sure that your card supports a minimum of VS 1.1 and PS 1.1 If the card does not support Vertex Shader 1.1, the game will NOT run. Period. If you have no idea what ps/vs your card supports, below is a guideline. If your card is not in the list below and is not the equivalent of an existing card, then its definitely not supported. If you have a no-name brand card, contact your manufacturers tech support and find out what ps/vs it supports. There is also a handy comparison chart on Beyond3D Read this if you have Intel® 82845G (or similar on-board) graphics card. quote: Shader Versions - vertex shader 1.1 (DX8.1 card) - pixel shader 1.1, 1.2, 1.3, 1.4 (DX8.1 card) - vertex shader v2.0 (DX9 card) - pixel shader v2.0 (DX9 card) Supporting Video Cards nVidia GeForce3 class cards support vs 1.1 and ps 1.1 nVidia GeForce3 MX class cards support vs 1.1 and no ps support nVidia GeForce4 Ti class cards support vs 1.1 and ps 1.3 nVidia GeForce4 MX class cards do NOT have a shader engine - nVidia used to do this using the TnL functionality of the card. They did this via drivers and it caused some problems. They have disabled this in the more recent drivers. So no, these boards do NOT support vertex shader 1.1 nVidia GeForce4 4200 GO cards (used in laptops) support vs 1.1 and ps 1.3 nVidia GeForce4 4x0 GO cards (used in laptops) do NOT have a shader engine nVidia GeForce FX class cards support vs 2.0 and ps 2.0 nVidia GeForce FX GO class cards (used in laptops) support vs 2.0 and ps 2.0 nVidia GeForce 6800 class cards support vs 3.0 and ps 3.0 *new* ATI Radeon 7x00 class cards do NOT have a shader engine ATI Radeon 8x00 and higher class cards support vs 1.1 and ps 1.4 ATI Radeon 9000 class cards support vs 1.1 and ps 1.4 ATI Radeon 9500/9600/9700/9800/X800 class cards support vs 2.0 and ps 2.0 Matrox Parhelia class cards support vs 2.0 and ps 1.3 [ 12-28-2004, 09:15 AM: Message edited by: Supreme Cmdr ] Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Eclipse Posted June 10, 2003 Report Share Posted June 10, 2003 Thank you for posting that, I was looking through the Nvidia sitw on the 4 TI series and they weren't to happy to say what versions they suported other than it was included in the Nfintefx II engine (or the like) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
quantum Posted June 10, 2003 Report Share Posted June 10, 2003 I'd just gotten off the Nividia Web page for pixel/vertex shader info. SC, thanks for the heads up. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Crush7100 Posted June 11, 2003 Report Share Posted June 11, 2003 Yeah that list is real handy... at this point I know i am totally behind the times. need a better job to afford the upgrade for bcg. working on it, man i am working on it Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Splash2k Posted June 15, 2003 Report Share Posted June 15, 2003 quote:Originally posted by Supreme Cmdr: nVidia GF4 MX class cards do NOT have a shader engine Looks like it'll be a while before i can play BCG. I just bought this card 2 months ago, can't afford a better card by the time BCG comes out. Maybe by winter time. *sigh* Thank you SC for the heads up. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
LostInSpace Posted June 19, 2003 Report Share Posted June 19, 2003 you might wanna check out ATI radeon cards. I have the radeon9000 and it rocks. I got it for only $115. Has 128mb ddr ram pixel shadding the works. The only thing this card skimps on is the rendering piplines. However the game play for BCMG, UT2k3, jk2 and Morrowind is great. They now have the radeon9200 with 4 pipelines for around the same price that the 9000 series went for. These cards don't even come close to those 200-400 buck cards but damn if I can pay 100-150 and get great gameplay and visuals none-the-less hell I say why not. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Supreme Cmdr Posted October 16, 2003 Author Report Share Posted October 16, 2003 Just an FYI, the game no longer requires a Pixel Shader as part of its minimum specs. I have revised my first post accordingly. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Extinct_Reptilia Posted October 29, 2003 Report Share Posted October 29, 2003 hmmm... What card are you, yourself, using SC? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Fernando Luis Garcia Posted November 17, 2003 Report Share Posted November 17, 2003 Hello! These are bad news. I have Geforce4 MX and don't think to change it only to play a single game. This is a great disguise! Many people here have Geforce4 MX, so you┬┤ll have many buyers lost (starting with ME). Perhaps there will be anything to do but change the Video card (forget it!)?? Greetings Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Supreme Cmdr Posted November 17, 2003 Author Report Share Posted November 17, 2003 quote:Originally posted by SR-71: Hello! These are bad news. I have Geforce4 MX and don't think to change it only to play a single game. This is a great disguise! Many people here have Geforce4 MX, so you┬┤ll have many buyers lost (starting with ME). Perhaps there will be anything to do but change the Video card (forget it!)?? Greetings Please read the thread again! And yes, your MX card is a SUB STANDARD card and won't run ANY game that requires a Pixel Shader. In UC, there are non-PS versions of planet terrain rendering features (e.g. clouds) which need it. Of course, the non-PS versions do NOT look as good as the PS version. In space, PS effects such as shields, planetfall etc will use the non-PS versions from BCM. [ 11-17-2003, 09:05 AM: Message edited by: Supreme Cmdr ] Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
kneecaps Posted November 18, 2003 Report Share Posted November 18, 2003 Hehe with that said SC...i'm off to purchase a nice Radeon 9600 or such..i want to see ALL the glorious effects on offer, i love what pixel shaders can do and how great they look! (my Geforce 2 GTS only has good old vertex shaders!) Peter Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Supreme Cmdr Posted November 18, 2003 Author Report Share Posted November 18, 2003 quote:Originally posted by kneecaps: Hehe with that said SC...i'm off to purchase a nice Radeon 9600 or such..i want to see ALL the glorious effects on offer, i love what pixel shaders can do and how great they look! (my Geforce 2 GTS only has good old vertex shaders!) Peter When you see the pixel shader effects in the movies I'm going to start releasing today, you'll be glad you did. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
LostInSpace Posted November 18, 2003 Report Share Posted November 18, 2003 quote:Originally posted by SR-71: Hello! These are bad news. I have Geforce4 MX and don't think to change it only to play a single game. This is a great disguise! Many people here have Geforce4 MX, so you┬┤ll have many buyers lost (starting with ME). Perhaps there will be anything to do but change the Video card (forget it!)?? Greetings If you do change your video card, you would not be doing it for one game but hundreds that have a pixel shading(PS) option. Take for example Morrowind, the front end launch box has an option box that allows you to turn PS on or off. I've tried it off and always clicked it back on immediately. My cousin, who has a geforce 2 (no PS either), constantly runs over here to see what the games him and I play look like with Pixel Shading and he constantly says he's gotta upgrade his card. People who own the Geforce 4 MX should have done their research before purchasing that card because it's basically just a souped up Geforce 2. Not that I'm telling you to upgrade or anywhing. If you are happy with the GF4 MX that's great, but you don't know what you are missing without Pixel Shading (or other functions the GF4 MX doesn not support). Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Fernando Luis Garcia Posted November 18, 2003 Report Share Posted November 18, 2003 quote:Originally posted by LostInSpace: If you do change your video card, you would not be doing it for one game but hundreds that have a pixel shading(PS) option. Take for example Morrowind, the front end launch box has an option box that allows you to turn PS on or off. I've tried it off and always clicked it back on immediately. My cousin, who has a geforce 2 (no PS either), constantly runs over here to see what the games him and I play look like with Pixel Shading and he constantly says he's gotta upgrade his card. People who own the Geforce 4 MX should have done their research before purchasing that card because it's basically just a souped up Geforce 2. Not that I'm telling you to upgrade or anywhing. If you are happy with the GF4 MX that's great, but you don't know what you are missing without Pixel Shading (or other functions the GF4 MX doesn not support). Hello! The Geforce4 MX came with my new computer (two months ago only) and I didn't know anything about what you say. I┬┤m happy with it at present but if it┬┤s really like you say, and it could be much better, perhaps I'm on time to change it. Thanks Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
kneecaps Posted November 18, 2003 Report Share Posted November 18, 2003 Graphics card is probably the most important part of a system for a gamer. Example, i have a 2 year old self built Athlon 1ghz machine (640mb ram etc etc), Geforce 2 GTS (very fast card for the time!). I recently built a Athlon XP 2400 (512mb DDR ram) etc for my wife, and purchased a Nvidia FX5200 to go in it. After 10 mins of using the new computer with new games like halo etc I could tell something was wrong. It seemed slower than my 2 year old graphics card. All the tests benchmarks, games etc told me that the new computer (FX5200) was performing worse on the same games than the (GF II GTS). So I went back to the shop and promptly exchanged the FX5200 for a Radeon 9600. The new Radeon 9600 card blew the FX5200 out of the water, i'm talking a increase in framerate of sort of 85% - 95% !! Right, sorry that this is a bit rambling. But i'm trying to illustrate that many graphics cards 'sound' great, but are actually grossly under-powered. Also commerical computer brands tend to come with a cheaper graphics card than they really should due to relative expense of good graphics cards. So in short! If you are going to buy a new graphics card to play UC (or any other modern game!) your entry level should be Nvidia FX5600 (not 5200) or Radeon 9600. Peter Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
LostInSpace Posted November 18, 2003 Report Share Posted November 18, 2003 quote:Originally posted by SR-71: The Geforce4 MX came with my new computer (two months ago only) and I didn't know anything about what you say. I┬┤m happy with it at present but if it┬┤s really like you say, and it could be much better, perhaps I'm on time to change it. Thanks That's why I have never bought a pre-configured computer but build my own. I at least know what's being put into the computer case. quote:Originally posted by Kneecaps: Graphics card is probably the most important part of a system for a gamer. Example, i have a 2 year old self built Athlon 1ghz machine (640mb ram etc etc), Geforce 2 GTS (very fast card for the time!). I recently built a Athlon XP 2400 (512mb DDR ram) etc for my wife, and purchased a Nvidia FX5200 to go in it. After 10 mins of using the new computer with new games like halo etc I could tell something was wrong. It seemed slower than my 2 year old graphics card. All the tests benchmarks, games etc told me that the new computer (FX5200) was performing worse on the same games than the (GF II GTS).Very true, I've always said that a video card can make or break a system. My current video card is a Radeon 9000 pro it was an upgrade from my VOODOO 3000 (which just wasn't hacking it anymore with the current games) so I did my research and it came down to NVIDIA or ATI boy am I glad I picked the ATI to all the NVIDIA budget cards it's the most bang for the buck as compared to NVIDIA even at 1600x1200 (since I just got my new 19" monitor from a 15") 90% of my games run baby smooth. I never base my decision on company name alone but the features and performance of the target card. Alot of people, I've notice, base most of their decision on brand name. They see a system with say an "NVIDIA" card and they go "WOW NVIDIA IT MUST BE GOOD." Don't believe it! Check the specs of that particular model first. Just because it's tagged with the name "NVIDIA" means diddley-squat and this holds true for even "ATI". Say you are looking in a certain price bracket and see that NVIDIA does indeed have a card that is slightly better than an ATI for the same price then go for the NVIDIA. Well you get the idea. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
awdougherty Posted November 19, 2003 Report Share Posted November 19, 2003 Not sure if SC will answer this one, but after reading some of his past Soapbox articles, specifically the one concerning video drivers, I was wondering what he thought of the Geforce FX series and the ATI 9500 and up series. There's been a lot of talk about NVIDIA's 52.xx drivers and how they potentially improve DX9 performance at the expense of quality. I don't really care about too many details, but has the Universal Combat experience been good with both lines? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Supreme Cmdr Posted November 19, 2003 Author Report Share Posted November 19, 2003 All drivers have glitches; as a result, I don't have an opinion either way about either of those cards as it relates to the drivers. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Fernando Luis Garcia Posted November 24, 2003 Report Share Posted November 24, 2003 I have decided to purchase one Radeon 9600 (best quality/price rate). I hope it will be a good idea, you have interested me about it Strange, I didn't think about change my video card but... c'est la vie! Greetings Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
damnet Posted November 24, 2003 Report Share Posted November 24, 2003 thanks for the info, you got me convinced to upgrade my shity puter, but rigth now i cant aford much so i was thinking about radeon 9600 as well, can someone tell me the main diferences between 9600pro and non-pro? cuz the pro is like 150 bucks more money Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
damnet Posted November 24, 2003 Report Share Posted November 24, 2003 hehe just found a saphire radeon 9600xt for U$262,00 i think its at agood price, what do you guys have to say about saphire? is it any good?reliable? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
almostpilot Posted November 24, 2003 Report Share Posted November 24, 2003 I don┬┤t Know about saphire, but "sauda├º├Áes" I started to think, that i┬┤m the only from Brasil in this foruns !!!! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
damnet Posted November 24, 2003 Report Share Posted November 24, 2003 hehehe "sauda├º├Áes" for you to, we cant speak portuguese in here can we? , i found that saphire card in mercado livre hehe, i think im going to buy this one, i found a radeon 9600 pba non-pro for R$570,00 and the xt is like 750 something i think its worth the extra bucks Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Supreme Cmdr Posted November 24, 2003 Author Report Share Posted November 24, 2003 You don't need a 9600XT. Just pure 9600 is just fine. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
almostpilot Posted November 24, 2003 Report Share Posted November 24, 2003 If you "prefer" you can find in São PAulo a GEFORCE FX 5200 for a lower price (R$ 300,00-> Brazilian money), that´s works with a pixel and vertex shader. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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