GeForce FX 5200 GO Game compatibility

[oneeyedhobbit]

So I've noticed that more than a few head-fiers are computer folks, and among them, more than a few are gamers--so I'll toss this out to people with much more experience/knowledge than I.

I've recently been introduced to the glory that is KOTOR: Star Wars: Knights of the Old Republic. To a D&D and Star Wars fan, this is pure bliss, at its best. Now, not having an X-Box, I've gotta make do with the PC version, though normally I much prefer console gaming. So, heres my question: The minimum/recommended specs are as follows--

Minimum System Requirements

Computer: 100% DirectX 9.0b compatible computer required.

CPU: Pentium III or Athlon class 1 GHz or faster CPU required. Pentium 4 or Athlon XP class 1.6 GHz or faster CPU recommended.

Memory: 128 MB RAM required for Windows 98, 256 MB RAM required for Windows ME/2000/XP. 512 MB RAM recommended.

Graphics Card: 32 MB OpenGL 1.4 compatible PCI or AGP 3D Hardware Accelerator with Hardware Transform and Lighting (T&L) Capability required.

Sound Card: 100% DirectX 9.0b compatible audio device required.

CD-ROM: Quad Speed IDE or SCSI CD-ROM required.

Input Device: Keyboard and mouse required.

DirectX: Microsoft DirectX 9.0b is included on this CD. You will be prompted to install DirectX during the installation of this game. Please refer to the DirectX section of this Troubleshooting Guide for more information about DirectX.


My Dell Inspiron 5150 Notebook has:

Pentium 4 3.06 Ghz
512 MB Ram
32X/24x/12x Dvd/CD-Rom
Nvidia GeForce FX 5200 GO graphics card (64 MB)
Onboard sound

Now, everything seems up to snuff, but I've heard terrible things about the Go series graphics cards (of course, I had to hear these things after I purchased my laptop). According to Nvidia, it should be compatible with the above, but do any of you know whether this is legit? Will I be able to play a lag free game with relatively solid graphics/sound?

Oh, as a side note, I'm thinking of replacing that graphics card. Anyone know if this is feasable for Dell's? Are the graphics cards on the motherboard, or seperate modules?

And as one last side note, I'm thinking I may invest in a USB soundcard for gaming (I do my music listening with a CD player, thank you very much)--anything cheaper than the Audigy worth considering?

 

[enzoferrari650]

I would be willing to bet that you'll be able to play that game with little to no lag. My 5700 ultra can handle just about any game out right now. I dont think that the star wars game is TOO demanding so I think you'll be fine for that. But for something like doom3 or upcomming halo 2 and half life 2, you'd probably be better off buying console versions

 

[bootman]

The laptop's current graphic chip (on a laptop it's not a replaceable card like a PC)
will play that game, but realize that gaming is usually not the primary design
factor for a laptop. Portability is.

You will also have to factor the resolution that you will play the game at.
That chip will play great @ 640x480 but your laptop's lcd screen will
probably look horrible at that size due to scaling. (you could get an external CRT)
Your native resolution is 1024x768 on that LCD. (15" XGA right?)
A game running @ 1024x768 with all visual options turned on, will overtax the chip quickly.

So, what is your definition of relatively solid graphics?

Game lag is also not 100% underpowered graphics.
CPU speed, memory, and HD speed can also be factors.

 

[oneeyedhobbit]

Uh-oh...my native resolution on this bad boy is actually 1600X1400...not liking the sounds of this. I don't need textures/shading/Anti-aliasing/anisiotropic filterirng all maxed, but I'd like to be able to make at least moderate seetings, prefereably with a higher resol'n--something like 1280X1024. Anyone know whether or not Dell uses replacable graphics cards? I'll try and give them a call later, just finding time has been difficult.

 

[oneeyedhobbit]

Hate to bump my own thread, but any info. would be appreciated. Nvidia, of course, won't point out weaknesses, and Lucasarts isn't able to give me a hard and fast answer on my specific card, they never tested any mobile cards for KOTOR.

 

[lan]

The FX 5200 mobile is the slowest of that that generation of video cards. I think it's about half the speed of the Ti4600. In my recollection of my overclocked Ti4400 at near 4600 speeds playing that game, I could nearly max out the graphics on 1280x1024 without antialiasing. Try 800x600 with the everything on low and bring things up slowly. Don't touch anisotropic filtering or antialiasing as those will give you the most performance hit. I think it's up to you to find a setting that works well.

Usually laptop's graphics are upgradable but call them to make sure.

 

[GokieKS]

Knights of the Old Republic, besides being the best SW game since TIE Fighter, is EXTREMELY system-demanding. I would be SHOCKED if you could run it at something close to your native resolution (1600x1400? Not 1600x1200?) decently. On my Desktop P4 2.4C @ 3.0 with a 9800 PRO and 1GB of memory, 1280x1024 is about the maximum it'll run at decently (2xAA/2xAF is playable most of the time, but grassy areas can bring some pretty hefty slowdown). Thankfully, that's the native resolution of my primary LCD.

The 5200 GO, based (loosely) on the desktop 5200, is an utterly incompetent card. (Sorry to put it like that, but it's the truth.)

You can probably run it at 800x600, with medium settings. I wouldn't count on anything higher than that if you want it to be more of a game than a slideshow.

~KS

 

[oneeyedhobbit]

Quote:

Originally Posted by GokieKS The 5200 GO, based (loosely) on the desktop 5200, is an utterly incompetent card. (Sorry to put it like that, but it's the truth.) \ ~KS

I was well aware of that, my friend. Time to be doing some upgrading, if is possible. Any recommendatinos in the portable arena?

 

[skitlets]

if you want pure power, theres a just released 9800 mobility. First mobile graphics card with 8 pixel pipelines, i think. The 9600 should be good too, and the 9700 is just an overclocked 9600. I have no idea about nvidia mobile graphics cards, however. On the desktop, the 5700 competes very well the the 9600 xt.

 

[GokieKS]

Quote:

Originally Posted by oneeyedhobbit I was well aware of that, my friend. Time to be doing some upgrading, if is possible. Any recommendatinos in the portable arena?

ATI's Mobility Radeon 9600/9700/9800s are all excellent and not much slower than the desktop counterparts. There's just about no chance you can upgrade to one of them if you're using an nVidia mobile GPU though, so they're only an option if you're willing to get a new laptop.

For your current one, if it's upgradable, about the most you can hope to upgrade to would be the GFFX Go 5700, which is somewhat slower than a MR9600.

~KS

 

[pedxing]

Remember about power consumption if you need to use it with batteries.

 

[oneeyedhobbit]

Dammit--I'm liking this whole laptop thing that seemed so wise last summer before school less and less...thanks for the input, I'll see what I can dig up, mainly concerning prices.

 

[lini]

Though I'm pretty sure you won't be able to dig up an upgrade for the graphics module, the game should run quite alright nevertheless, especially if you switch it to 800 x 600 (I'm also pretty sure your screen is 1600 x 1200 and not 1600 x 1400, btw...). I've successfully ran it on my notebook (2,4 GHz P4 & ATI Mobility Radeon 9000 (64 MB)) in XGA resolution, and your GF FX5200 Go should be ~ in the same performance class...

Greetings from Hannover!

Manfred / lini

 

[oneeyedhobbit]

Quote:

Originally Posted by lini Though I'm pretty sure you won't be able to dig up an upgrade for the graphics module, the game should run quite alright nevertheless, especially if you switch it to 800 x 600 (I'm also pretty sure your screen is 1600 x 1200 and not 1600 x 1400, btw...). I've successfully ran it on my notebook (2,4 GHz P4 & ATI Mobility Radeon 9000 (64 MB)) in XGA resolution, and your GF FX5200 Go should be ~ in the same performance class... Greetings from Hannover! Manfred / lini

Yeah, I'm finding that Dell doesn't have upgradable graphics card modules. But, its reassuring to hear that I can play the game, hopefully at a bit higher than 800x600, but I'll take what I can get. Though I am tempted to put up a for sale thread....

 

[lini]

More than 800 x 600 probably won't make much sense, as integer fractions usually work best - though it might be worth a try with 1024 x 768: Maybe the hardware interpolation of the display compensates for not being able to use anti-aliasing due to a certain lack of graphics performance.

But, of course, if gaming is an important part of your applications, then it might indeed be wiser to sell that Dell and get something with a Mobility Radeon 9700 or maybe even a 9800 (which basically is a down-stripped X800, but delivers about the same performance as a desktop Radeon 9800 Pro; availability is limited to the Dell Inspiron XPS in the US and the Inspiron 9100 over here throughout August, though...).

Greetings from Hannover!

Manfred / lini