shader and pixel model?

Question

i have 2 radeon 9250,s one with 256mb (on my main p.c)and a 128mb model(on 2nd system)
they both are very reliable,but i ahve been told they are only shader and pixel model 1.0,and i should be looking at 3.0 for up-to-date quality graphics
i looked around the net and found a ge-force fx5500, for £45,which has pixel and shader model 3.0
so my question is,is that card worth getting or can anyone recommend a decent graphics card for around £40 to £90(agp)
needless to say,i can still play all the latest games(doom3,quake4,far cry,f.e.a.r),allthough only at 1024x768,but that does me
any suggestions?

Answer 1

that site seems to be a scam

the nvidia geforce fx5500 does NOT have shader model 3.0. it only has 2.0. and no that card is not worth getting because all of the geforce fx 5xxx series has broken direct x 9.0 support and will only run some games (like half-life 2) in direct x 8.1 mode.

since 90 pounds is about $160...i suggest u look at the ati radeon x1600 pro (its about $130 over here in the u.s.). it comes in both 256mb and 512mb flavors an has shader model 3.0. it is currently the best bang for the buck agp video card w/ the nvidia 7800gs rounding out the high end agp video cards.

direct x shader model 3.0 is currently only used for HDR (high-dynamic-range) lighting in certain games that allow it. generally it makes the picture look A LOT better and more realistic by adjusting the lighting to the way our eyes adjust to it. however, in most games you will not be able to enable HDR and AA (anti-aliasing, or edge smoothing) at the same time, but that is currently being fixed.

for dx shader model 2.0, you will not be able to use HDR. however, most games implement a bloom effect that doesn't look that bad. with the bloom effect you will be able to enable AA.

Answer 2

FX5500 is better then Radeon 9250! Be sure it has a transfer rate of minimum 128 and if you want to play f.e.a.r at 1024*768 with good details, at least 128 Mb!
The Pixel Shader 3.0 is used just for improving the shadow contrast (like how light is displayed, character constituion improvement..)

Answer 3

Go and get a GForce 6600 GT. Nothing less than that. That might be a bit more, but it will last you atleast a few years. Or if you like ATI Better, the x800 GTO or the x1600 Pro have gotten pretty good reviews. They should run you about $150 USD. Not sure how much they are in pounds.

Answer 4

Well, this isn't really MUCH of an answer to your question. But they have a DUAL GeForce 7800GT. The card is two 7800s in one. There are two cores, and it makes it even faster. The video memory is split between each card, lightening the load on each. But it's going to cost around $600-$700 USD.

Answer 5

A good site to visit once you think you have found your card is this test website, they benchmark different hardware against things like 3Dmark and they also look at the frames per second on the latest games, It will give you a good idea if that card you think is cheap and good is in fact just cheap.
http://www.reportlabs.com/testbed/

Answer 6

thoroughly diverse. DirectX 9 had 3 diverse minor updates. they are so minor, Microsoft did no longer even provide them numerical updates like 9.a million, 9.2, etc. instead, they are 9.0 (unique), 9.0a, 9.0b, and 9.0c. The Shader sort, on the different hand, denotes what varieties of shaders your video card helps decrease than DX9. Shaders are like effects the video card can save on with to the pixel. it is hardware characteristic.