need a new graphics card...

[Ness]

Having a computer upgrade done soon, and while I've got all the other specs sorted - this amounts to me telling my husband what my minimum level is and him seeing how far above that we can afford to go.  But I'm left with the awkward question of the graphics card...

The one I'm currently using (and that he used for some time) is an ATI card.  When he got a new one to replace this, he went with nvidia.

Now, I don't want to hear from those people who have only ever used ATI, or only ever used nvidia - but is there anyone out there who has used both?  How do they compare?

Ness

[idtaminger]

Nvidia doesn't seem to mesh well with TS2. ATI is the better card for this particular game. Depending on the games you want to play, performance can vary.

[Paperbladder]

I've owned mostly nVidia cards, but my first computer did have an ATI 3D Rage card.  Being an early card, it did very poorly for 3D applications.  My second computer had an nVidia TNT2, and this computer came with a Geforce 4 MX Integrated card which I then installed a nVidia Geforce 6200.  My Geforce 6200 isn't performing so well for video related things (for example, the loading screen and splash movies) but it does run the game well.  It also runs games like UT2004 well.

It's all about what you're willing to spend, I believe nVidia cards cost a bit more than ATI.  Also, nVidia tends to outsource production to other companies such as BFG and eVGA.

[jsalemi]

Now, I don't want to hear from those people who have only ever used ATI, or only ever used nvidia - but is there anyone out there who has used both?  How do they compare?

Ness

I have -- I had a ATI X700  Pro that went bad, so while it was out for warranty replacement, I used an nvidia 6600.  Nothing but problems with this game (about the only one I play consistently), unless I used the 78.01 drivers that are from 9/05.  And while they worked, they were slow -- lots of video lags.  Soon as my ATI came back, I took the nvidia out and put it back in, and no problems at all.

This was all discussed in one of the graphics corruption threads in this forum not long ago.  They may have scrolled to the second page by now, but they're worth reading.

[DrBeast]

Some threads dealing with this topic:

http://www.moreawesomethanyou.com/smf/index.php?topic=3541.0

http://www.moreawesomethanyou.com/smf/index.php?topic=3285.0

http://www.moreawesomethanyou.com/smf/index.php?topic=3151.0

I'd definitely say The Sims prefers ATi cards. I have a pretty old Radeon 9600 Pro 256MB and it works like a charm. Haven't had driver problems in more than a year. I just throw in new versions as they come out and play along without a hitch.

Joe: 3rd page 

[Li'l Brudder]

I'd have to say Nvidia GeForrce 6600, because I have it and it runs like a charm, and both screen shots on the back are from TS2U.

[radiophonic]

Ditto on the 6600.

You can't blame poor performance entirely on the video card when so many other bottlenecks exist but I'm still trying to figure those out. 

[Ness]

It turns out hubby is eyeing off the nvidia card for me - the same as the one he has in his computer - not that can figure out exactly what that is right now!

Those of you with the Nvidia GeForrce 6600 - can you compare how this card runs to how an ATI card runs?

I'm not just after suggestions of which card to get here - I'd like comparisons to take to hubby to know whether I should let him go ahead with the nvidia card he's after or stick with an ATI card.

[DrBeast]

The question is: are you playing The Sims 2 exclusively or a variety of games? If all your gaming isn't evolved around TS2, the 6600 is a very good choice (the GT version with 256MB GDDR3 memory, pay attention to this). Regarding comparisons, I've seen the game run on a machine with an nVidia 5700 and it went very smooth, smoother than on my machine actually, but that was before I replaced my Radeon 9200 I had back then, and that machine had a better CPU as well. Plus my graphics card is stumped by the stupid motherboard I have, only AGP 4x supported! Jsalemi's case is a pretty good one, he used two similar cards (the plain 6600 is at the same range as the X700 I think).

[jsalemi]

Yea, the 6600 and the X700 cost about the same, so to my mind they're similar cards -- both 256Mb ram, and the clock speeds are similar.

[Ness]

Dr Beast - turns out that thecard you mentioned is what Mr Ness has, and the one he would like to get for me.

While I don't play TS2 exclusively, it is the game I play most often with occasional forays into Zoo Tycoon 2, Age of Mythology and a few others (civ 3 and sim city 4 are both sitting here untouched at this stage - I intend to do something with them soon).  As best I can figure, TS2 is the most graphics hungry game of the lot (even though ZT2 gave me more overheating problems) and is the one that drives my upgrades.

Would you still reccomend the 6600 in this case?  Or is there an ATI card that someone would consider a better option for me?

Ness

[DrBeast]

Well, since TS2 occupies most of your time, I'd say go for an ATi. The X800GTO with 256MB DDR3 memory is a very good choice. Slightly better specs than the 6600GT and at the same price, more or less.
Do you have the Rush Hour expansion for SC4? If not, get it! Makes the game MUCH more playable! Before I got the expansion the game would draaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaag when the city started to grow. Now it just draaaaaaaags...

[Ness]

After some research...  it appears that the 6600 is $40 cheaper than the only think like the X800GTO that we can find on price lists...

guess what I'm getting...   

[DrBeast]

Ayie...
Good luck!

[Ness]

you are not inspiring me with any confidence in this graphics card, Dr Beast!

in fact...  it's becoming seriously tempting to chuck a hissy fit and insist on the ATI card...  I think it all stems from his weird need to have a better computer than me.

Now, seriously - is the 6600 that bad?

[J. M. Pescado]

Go for the hissy-fit. Somehow it seems Nesslike.

[IgnorantBliss]

I started playing TS2 with an ATI card, Radeon 9600 XT 128MB. It was ok, but not great. I'm sure there are higher end ATI cards out there that would be better, though. I now have an nVidia, Geforce 6800 Ultra 256MB. The extra memory makes a huge difference, and that probably has little to do with the brand of the card. Now with OFB everything seems to be running great, but there were some slight compatibility issues with nVidia cards and the University and Nightlife EPs, and I had to resort to older drivers to minimize the problems (still couldn't make object specularity work with Nightlife, or bump maps work with University), but it appears with OFB those problems have been fixed, and I have nothing to complain about now. The game looks great.

[idtaminger]

I started playing TS2 with an ATI card, Radeon 9600 XT 128MB. It was ok, but not great. I'm sure there are higher end ATI cards out there that would be better, though. I now have an nVidia, Geforce 6800 Ultra 256MB.

Comparing a 6800Ultra to a Radeon 9600XT? Come now. Hardly a fair comparison.

[IgnorantBliss]

I started playing TS2 with an ATI card, Radeon 9600 XT 128MB. It was ok, but not great. I'm sure there are higher end ATI cards out there that would be better, though. I now have an nVidia, Geforce 6800 Ultra 256MB.

Comparing a 6800Ultra to a Radeon 9600XT? Come now. Hardly a fair comparison.

I didn't say it was a fair comparison. Those were just the only two cards that I've had on my computer with TS2. Note the line "I'm sure there are higher end ATI cards out there". I never said ATI is worse. I just said my particular ATI card was worse than my particular nVidia card. The original poster was asking for input based on experience and that's the only experience I have. What else could I say? I did also say that 256MB is probably better than 128MB regardless of the brand.

[Ness]

considering I will be going from a radeon 9600 12bMb, to the Geforce 6600 - I guess I'm now feeling a little better about it.

Didn't even try the hissy fit - Mr Ness has decided and shall not be swayed - I guess it better work right, and I'd better get used to it!

[DrBeast]

Don't get me wrong! The 6600GT is a wonderful card, I'd consider getting it too if I got a new computer. What worried me was all the complaints nVidia users worded regarding compatibility with TS2. Now that the bozos at Maxis have found a way to correct this issue, I'd say go for it! Oh, Mr. Ness went for it already. Well happy gaming with the new card then! 

[Hegelian]

I started playing TS2 with an ATI card, Radeon 9600 XT 128MB. It was ok, but not great. I'm sure there are higher end ATI cards out there that would be better, though. I now have an nVidia, Geforce 6800 Ultra 256MB.

Comparing a 6800Ultra to a Radeon 9600XT? Come now. Hardly a fair comparison.

I didn't say it was a fair comparison. Those were just the only two cards that I've had on my computer with TS2. Note the line "I'm sure there are higher end ATI cards out there".

Indeed; the Radeon 9600 series is about three generations old. The current top-end ATi cards are the X1000 series; the mid-range (formerly the top range) is the X800 series. There are some lower-end cards in the X line (X700, X600, etc.), and then there are the 9000 series cards, which I gather are still in production to meet the (shrinking) demand for AGP cards. For the sake of comparison, the low mid-range X800GT AGP is about the same price as a 9800 Pro (at one time the best you could get in a gaming card), but about 25% faster across the board.

As a general rule, the minimum you should demand when buying a new video card is DirectX 9 in hardware, including hardware support for the pixel shader 2.0 and vertex shader 2.0. The other thing you want is 256 MB of video RAM, with a 256-bit memory interface (budget and OEM cards usually have a 128-bit memory interface). In the ATi line, about the "lowest" you should go is the Radeon 9550. although these days the lower-end cards are not a good value compared to what you get in a Radeon 9800 Pro or X800GT for about 170 USD. Given the escalating technology of 3D video (and TS2 is just as demanding as any front-line first-person shooter) and the rapid obsolesence of AGP, if buying a new AGP video card today, be sure to get the best one you can afford (or possibly a little better), because the next time you want to upgrade, it will require a new motherboard, CPU, and RAM.

Keep in mind that although having an up-to-date video card can certainly improve the look of your game, TS2 is still largely CPU-limited, so for the best improvement in game performance, a CPU upgrade is the thing (although an old video card can limit the improvement provided by a CPU upgrade—it's all connected). More RAM helps too (1 GB+).

FWIW, I avoid nVidia products like the plague. Partly it is because of their corporate attitude—for one, I didn't like the way they handled the takeover of 3dfx—but also because of their long-standing reputation for lousy "2D" image quality (once described in print as "knife in the eyes") and crappy drivers. The company has always only seemed interested in benchmark performance, and I've never seen Wndows on any machine running an nVidia video card that looked better than mediocre. FWIW.

[laylei]

I had a 6600Gt in my old computer, and I relly liked it. it looked great, and I never had any problems with it. The only reason I don't use it in the new comp is that the card was AGP, and this new comp only has a PCIe video card slot.

Seriously, the 6600GT was great for me. Looked fantastic.

[Ancient Sim]

Rather than buying a new PC, I am considering getting a new graphics card.  There are loads on EBay, but I have no idea what is the best to get and I don't want to spend too much or I may as well get a new pc and have done with it.

What bothers me most is that my tower case has 230V on it and I read somewhere that you need at least 300 (or maybe 350) to run a decent graphics card.  Anyone know anything about this?

It's hard to ask for advice because prices are so different here to what they are in the US, but if someone could tell me the sort of card I should be aiming for with my pc specs, that would help a lot.  I have an AMD Athlon 2000+ 1600 MHZ (overclocked to 2000) with 512MB RAM.  I don't mind doubling the RAM if that would help.

The PC runs very smoothly and TS2 is actually very fast overall.  I just want to be able to see the cinematics and have everything on high.  I can have up to around 20-25 Sims on a lot before there is any noticeable slowing-down, but I do have problems with slowness on very large lots with a lot of Sims and a lot of custom content.  Currently I have most things on high but I don't really get enough detail.  As far as I know, I only have an AGP slot (the PC is 3 years old), not a PCI-Express.  Don't know about the other PCI kind.

Currently, I am considering 3 cards, all of which are very cheap on EBay (all new).  Assuming they will work with my system (esp. the wattage part), which would be best for TS2.  Going by what I've read I would say the Radeon, but I'd appreciate confirmation.

ATI Radeon 9600 XT 256MB AGP
nVidia GeForce 6200 8xAGP 256MB
nVidia GeForce FX5700 AGP 256MB

[nikita]

From what I've read from other Sims 2 sites and gaming sites in general, graphics card isn't really all that important when it comes to the Sims 2.  Any moderate graphics card with 128mb can will deliver great display, it's your CPU and amount of ram you have that really enhance gameplay.  Is this true?