Pirates!

[Ilwrath]

I'm not condoning Piracy here, but to be honest I usually download the game from the net before I buy it.

Yeah, same here.  Actually, also, it's handy to have the crack available, as well.  In case it's needed to get the original purchased game to run!  

(Yes, EA and Epic - I'm talking to you, ya arseholes!  Why do I need to crack NHL2005 just to get it to load?  I don't have any of the "DVD emulation software" your brilliant copy protection accuses me of.....)

[Ilwrath]

Eeek!  The Radeon 7500 is essentially a DirectX 7 hardware card.  You can probably run most DX 9 games (as they fail back to earlier standards) but essentially, you'll be software rendering a lot.  Performance is more on par with an old GeForce 2/4MX series card, rather than anything like the GeForce 3Ti/4Ti, let alone the FX lines.

The GeForce FX5200 is a (very low end) DX9 hardware card.  It renders the full DX9 spec in hardware (so there's no problem with compatibility there), but actually does it slower than most modern systems could perform it in software.  

So the end result may be similar framerate*, but for very different reasons.  :-P  

*- Framerate isn't everything in games -- the advantage of having the DX9 spec in hardware is that the CPU is under less load under actual game conditions and that may ease any bottleneck that forms on CPU time.

[Ilwrath]

Well, considering all things, the 5200 I've got is about the only thing I can afford right now.

Well, actually, I'm not suggesting anything bad by my comments.  Just because the GeForce 5200FX is the lowest end of the DX9 spectrum, that doesn't make it a bad card.  

The Radeon 7500 is in the high-end of the DX7 spectrum, and while these cards may give similar framerates, they're really not very comparable, especially in the field of compatability.  

Personally, I'd take the GeForce FX5200 over any DX7 series card, any day.

My wife's PC has a GeForce 5200FX, and while it's no powerhouse, it IS a reasonable performer and quite stable.  

I was disappointed by the fact that my GeForce 4Ti (a DX8 hardware card) gets better framerates, even on some DX9 tasks, though.

As for what card I'd recommend... Well, it all depends on what you want to spend.  

In the more budget conscious range, certainly the low end of the GeForce FX series (5200-5500) look nice, as do the DX9-based Radeon 9200-9500.  

Mid-range, nVidia doesn't really have a competitive offering - the ATi Radeon 9800 looks strong.  

On the high end, my personal favorite is the GeForce 6800 GT, though the Radeon X800 also looks nice.

[Ilwrath]

Very interesting... but will i be able to play Pirates nicely with my DX7 Radeon 7500??

Well, I'm just now installing Pirates, which is why I was avoiding this question...  I haven't seen it, yet.  It sort of depends on the game (and how well it was coded), how much of a performance hit you take by not having full hardware support.

On average, I'd suspect a system like yours (good CPU, plenty of RAM, but DX7 hardware) should be able to play a modern game at about 800x600 and medium detail.  (should look nice, but probably not stunning.)  Unless this thing is a resource hog like Doom 3, in which case, you'll need 640x480 and minimum detail.   :-o

Anyhow, I'll let you guys know my thoughts on the game in a couple hours.  ;-)

[Ilwrath]

Well, I just finished off a couple hours of starting out my Privateering career.... And I'm in total agreement with Whabang!  Brilliant game!  Sid Meier comes back with yet another great hit.  :-)  I don't know if it's better than the original, but it's surely worthy of the name.

As for it's playability on lower-end hardware... I see no reason why it shouldn't run quite well on most systems.  It was flawless at 1024x768 and full detail on a GeForce4Ti (DX8 hardware).  I don't see why a DX7 level card should have any serious issues, either.

Well, I'm off to buy the glossy box, now.  I can't support piracy unless it's against the lowly French!  Arrrrr!  Attack em' with the 14 cannon Merchantman, maties!  FIRE!!!

[Ilwrath]

Something of partial interest is that Bestbuy.com currently has the Nvidia 6800 OC with a copy of Half-life2 for $354 with a $105 dollar rebate. That means you can get a very high-end card for $249.00

Yeah, that really is quite a deal.  The 6800 is decent bit off the pace of the 6800GT (less RAM bandwidth, and fewer pixel pipelines), but for the price difference, I'd have to say that is where the sweet-spot of performance vs. bucks is right now.  $249 is an excellent price for a piece of hardware like the 6800.  (I've been complaining that I didn't really want to spend the $399 for a new graphics card...)  

And, really, I'll get tossed out of my LAN party gang if I don't pick up HL2 soon.   :lol:

[Ilwrath]

What's with all the dancing? I've yet to see any purpose in that whatsoever.

Well, the dancing is to win the heart of the girl, and then she'll give you more information or a new mission.  Of course if you dance well enough, then she'll also want a ring, as well.  :lol:  It's kind of a frustrating scene, but pretty funny, at the same time, as one foul keystroke can send you stumbling and crashing into the girl.  I end up cussing under my breath much the same way as I'd imagine my pirate would be at that screw-up.  ;-)

The swordplay gets a little repetative after a few dozen or so captures...  But I'm still playing at an easier level than I really should, just to get together a feel for some strategies on how I'm supposed to progress through my career.  I'm hoping when I crank up some difficulty the swordplay will get more in-depth.  I'm surprised that that scene ran slowly for you.  It's pretty much liquid-smooth on my rig.  (shrug)  Silly computers.