Need help with video card

[Vbeserk]

I have a GeForce4 MX 440 with AGP 8x and it has 64 mb and i have Star Trek Legacy but the game don't want to run it always give unhandled exception so i'm going to ask a crazy question over here, could someone give me a help in how to fool or avoid this problem?

[Bones]

Shader Model ... I expect GeForce 4 to have SM 1.0... if it has any SM at all if I recall correctly you need at least Shader Model 2.0 to run Legacy ;)

I can't make it run smoothly on my notebook which is quite good - AMD Turion X2 ZM-82 2,2 GHz, 4gb DDR2 ram, ATI Radeon mobility HD 3470 (uses Shader Model 3.0)

[Vbeserk]

But this will make the game at least run because it crashes 15 secs after i open it i haven't saw the menu yet only to begin. Do anyone knows where to get Shader Model 2.0?

[majormagna]

The shader model compatability is built in to the hardware, sadly it's not something you can just download. A new graphics card is the only option if you want to play the game, or, judging by the age of 4th generation nVidia Graphics cards, it may be cheaper and better to buy a brand new PC alltogether.


If you bought this PC less than 5 years ago, I'm afraid you may have been ripped off... Most likely even replacing the graphics card won't be enough, there'll be something else that is too old to run Legacy.

[Vbeserk]

Ok that my PC has 10 years old but i have refited it with some new HD and memory all of the system requirements are met but this graphic card is giving me a hell of a trouble, so there is no other way to make the game work? as i have said before there is no way of fooling the game and make it run? Which is the best video card?, an Nvidia one not ATI this things

[majormagna]

Some of the best nVidia graphics cards are the newest ones, the GeForce GTX460 is the cheapest GTX type of the new generations.

The Cheapest option I would go for is the nVidia GeForce GT220, this is the one I have, it runs most games at playable graphics at decent framerate, but I am considering upgrading to a GTX460. When you upgrade your graphics card do not forget to check your Power Supply Units power output.

My GT220 works fair on a 250 Watt PSU, but the GTX460 requires me to upgrade the PSU to at least 450 Watts.

[Vbeserk]

ummm ok i will see if i buy this one out, now i have a little trouble on mym hands i have GTA San Andreas and sometimes when i'm in the middle of the game it freezes and crash to the desktop the same thing happens with the Star Trek BC but only when i'm in the Galaxy Charts War Sim, can you help me out?

[Bones]

ok ok ok hold on dude, first make sure your motherboard has PCI Express slot cuz 10 years ago AGP was still in use but it's no longer supported by any GFX card up to date.

Also even if you get new card, 10 years old CPU won't be good enough so I'd say it will be a waste of money, better save some cash for new MoBo and CPU ;) there is yet another catch tho ... what type of RAM do you have ? DDR or DDR2 ?

[Vladko1]

ATi are still manufacturing some of their models for AGP. You can find HD3***, HD4*** and HD5*** series for AGP. Cheap and fast new video cards ;)

[Vbeserk]

I don't know about the ram type but my processor is Intel Pentium Class 4 and Windows XP I'm thinking in buying another PC which things do you recommend to have in a latest class PC? I'm want to buy one with very good stuff but i'd like you to give me some "lights in this tunnel".

[Bones]

that depend on what type of PC you're interested in ;) if you want something with kick then I recommend building one piece by piece, step by step ;)

If you want your PC to be up to date for a little bit longer than ussualy then you should consider getting motherboard supporting dual channel RAM and have 2 PCI Express slots (for dual GFX cards), Intel i7 CPU or AMD Phenom x4, for a GFX card I would recommend you Radeon HD 5870, it's pretty decent with directx 11, I'm using it now and can't complain.

Pentium 4 will run Legacy ... barely, as I mentioned my laptop can barely run it while I can play Mass Effect 2 on it smoothly, Legacy is strange game and has some sick requirements with bad graphics in return

[Vbeserk]

Yes i think that has some sick requirements too i was seen a ATI video card that was preety decent and about that RAM thing i have discovered it's DDR2 i don't know if it's good or bad.

[King Class Scout]

I may have some help for you in this department (and for your comp in general).

i picked up something called "driver Max" a long time ago.  it scans the computer hardware and points you toward updated versions of the drivers the hardware uses.  it's taken a while (and a new driver for every piece of hardware inside this thing), but I've finally seen an overall performance increase, including a major drop in hesitation when my old GC is trying to run BC (something about the IO processor on the graphics card needing two hefty driver updates)

[Bones]

I may have some help for you in this department (and for your comp in general).

i picked up something called "driver Max" a long time ago.  it scans the computer hardware and points you toward updated versions of the drivers the hardware uses.  it's taken a while (and a new driver for every piece of hardware inside this thing), but I've finally seen an overall performance increase, including a major drop in hesitation when my old GC is trying to run BC (something about the IO processor on the graphics card needing two hefty driver updates)

yeah but it won't turn geforce 5700 into geforce 7800 with pixel shader 2.0 it does make your PC faster but it's not gonna do miracles ;)

[King Class Scout]

having even the SLIGHTEST upgrade in performance in this thing helps.  i had to DL a 17 MEG driver update for my graphics card.  you never know, bones, when the comp needs an update in the software FOR the hardware.

[Vbeserk]

I have already done all the possible and impossible upgrades to my hardware but i continues giving me headaches as i said before i'm thinking about buying a top line PC but i have a doubt about a thing that is which processor do i buy a Intel I7 or a top line AMD? Which video card a Nvidia or ATI?