Knar Posted August 13, 2005 Hey guys, So I have an old graphics card, woop de doo. Anyhow, I tried to run Psychonauts on my computer but it said it couldn't because my graphics card doesn't support Pixel Shader 1.x or higher. However, when I tried searching for said support, I found a dismal lack online. So my question is, where/what do I need to download? Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
tabacco Posted August 13, 2005 Pixel shader support is built into the GPU, so you need at least a DirectX8 compatible a newer video card. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Knar Posted August 13, 2005 Dammit, I really don't want to buy a new video card. I heard something about using a program called "3d-Analyze" but so far, I haven't quite figured what settings I should use to run the card. If I can still play Warcraft 3, Frozen Throne, I should be able to play Psychonauts too!! dammit Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
tabacco Posted August 13, 2005 Warcraft 3 != Psychonauts. You might not think it, but Psychonauts is really tough on a system. Maybe you can cheat the requirements, but the game is going to be nearly unplayable anyway. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
SiN Posted August 13, 2005 there are some really cheap pixelshader 1.x cards out there ... the geforce fx 5200 comes to mind ... i bought one a year or two ago for less than C$ 100 ... i played psychonauts on a card worse than it (GeForce FX 5200 Go ... the laptop version of the card) and it worked fine on the lower settings. it's well worth the investment to get a slightly more expensive card though, seeing as most (if not all) next gen games will need some sort of pixel shader compatibility. SiN Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Thrik Posted August 13, 2005 Yeah, I really can't advise playing it without pixel shading -- something which pretty any recent game will demand. If the card isn't even new enough to come with it on the GPU, then the chances of the card being able to run Psychonauts at a reasonable framerate are very slim. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Knar Posted August 13, 2005 Aw hell. So okay, my next question is what video card I should get. My current specs for my computer is a 2.8 Ghz Pentium 4 with 800 FSB Abit Vt7 motherboard 1 gig of RAM Considering that I don't plan to upgrade my computer much in the future, what video card should I get that should last me a while? And isn't too pricey. Thanks a bunch! I plan to order it off of newegg or something. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Ryam BaCo Posted August 13, 2005 Dammit, I really don't want to buy a new video card. I heard something about using a program called "3d-Analyze" but so far, I haven't quite figured what settings I should use to run the card. If I can still play Warcraft 3, Frozen Throne, I should be able to play Psychonauts too!! dammit you can emulate a lot of stuff with 3d-analyze. in theory. but i only know a few games, where this 3d-analyze emulation thingie worked out (i was able to emulate t&l on nolf2 with a graphics card, which had no t&l-support). and i don't think that it will work with psychonauts, because it's "newer" and optimized for directx9 and stuff. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Knar Posted August 13, 2005 Warcraft 3 != Psychonauts.You might not think it, but Psychonauts is really tough on a system. Maybe you can cheat the requirements, but the game is going to be nearly unplayable anyway. I know Warcraft 3 != Psychonauts || Warcraft 3 <> Psychonauts || (Warcraft 3 (isPsychonauts) = false) But I don't like to buy things unless I need to. I'm on the frugal practical side. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Steve Posted August 13, 2005 What's your price point? I never buy a video card that's over $200. I have an ATI Radeon 9700 w/ 128mb of video ram right now that I bought maybe 9 months ago, and it runs everything nicely at high/highest settings, but it's going to have trouble with stuff that comes out this christmas/next year. You could get a Radeon 9800PRO or Radeon X800, either w/ 256 megs of video ram, for less than $200 on newegg right now. The X800 is the newer variant, so it may support more graphical bells/whistles. I'd go with that. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Knar Posted August 13, 2005 What's your price point? I never buy a video card that's over $200. I have an ATI Radeon 9700 w/ 128mb of video ram right now that I bought maybe 9 months ago, and it runs everything nicely at high/highest settings, but it's going to have trouble with stuff that comes out this christmas/next year.You could get a Radeon 9800PRO or Radeon X800, either w/ 256 megs of video ram, for less than $200 on newegg right now. The X800 is the newer variant, so it may support more graphical bells/whistles. I'd go with that. So you don't think the GeForces are the way to go? I basically want something that would last me for a while. I think 200 is my limit. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Thrik Posted August 13, 2005 From a Geforce perspective, the most affordable card would be either a 6600GT or a 6800GT. The latter is more expensive, in that it is both a 256mb card and will run pretty much anything flawlessly. The 6600Gt on the other hand is only 128mb, but will run pretty much anything flawlessly otherwise. The catch being that the 128mb less of memory means you won't have as much bandwidth for textures, which in turns means that there's a high possibility of you having to lower your textures in the most recent games such as Battlefield 2 to medium rather than high. The 6600GT is however cheap, with me getting mine for only £140 when it was brand new, around a half year ago -- it'll be more around £100 ($180) now. Since the 7th series of Geforce cards has just started retailing, the 6th series will see a price drop -- it's a good time to invest in one. While I do get along fine with my 6600gt, if you can spare the extra finance I'd recommend going for the 6800gt instead -- that extra 128mb of memory will guarantee your smooth running of any games for a good while, at least until games start demanding 8th series technology. I get Psychonauts running totally flawlessly, silky smooth, and with smooth anti-aliasing to remove all those horrible jagged edges with the following setup: AMD Athlon XP 2800+ 1gb ddram Geforce 6600gt (128mb) ATI or Nvidia, totally up to you! Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
pupsti Posted August 14, 2005 i bought a new graphics card especially for psychonauts. although it was used and cost me only 60 bucks, i now run psychonauts with max details, anti-aliasing on and reso at 800x600. i bought a used 128bit 128mb ati radeon 9600xt. i used to have 64bit 128mb nvidia geforce fx5200 which totally sucked bums. i have an amd athlon xp2500, with abit an7 mobo and 512mb of ram (not in dual channel). Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Steve Posted August 14, 2005 So you don't think the GeForces are the way to go?I basically want something that would last me for a while. I think 200 is my limit. Thrik's advice above re: Geforce is also sound. I'd definitely invest in a 256 card right now if you're buying. In my own personal experience I've been happier with my ATI cards than my Nvidias, but they're roughly equivalent. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
SiN Posted August 14, 2005 Yeah, don't really bother arguing over which one better ... everyone has their own opinion. I'm definitly an nVidia guy, but whichever way you go, I'm sure you'll end up with a solid video card. SiN Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
