Good for older PCs
Written: Mar 17 '04 (Updated Mar 17 '04)
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Product Rating:
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Pros: Cheap. Easy to install. TV Out. Perfect for older PCs.
Cons: PCI instead of AGP. Even though it's 128 MB, it not state-of-the-art.
The Bottom Line: Good card if you have an older PC and are looking to upgrade from an older 32MB or less video card.
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| johnbuk's Full Review: Mad Dog Multimedia Conquerer FX 5200plus 128 MB AG... |
Let me start out by saying that I am by no means a computer expert, but since I couldn't find any other reviews on this card, I thought I'd write a quick review for anyone considering buying it.
Features of the card:
128 MB of DDR Memory
Dual Display Capability
256-bit Graphics Processing Unit (GPU)
32-bit PCI Bus
250 MHz GPU Clock
Digital Video Interface (DVI) Connector
Flat Panel Display Resolutions up to 1600 x 1200
Maximum Display Resolution of 2048 x 1536 @ 75 Hz
TV-Out Resolution up to 1024x768
Support for DirectX 9 and OpenGL 1.4
Compatible with Windows 95OSR2/98/Me/NT/2000/XP
What came in the Box:
Graphics Card
Installation CD
DVI-to-VGA Adapter
RCA Cable
System Requirements:
250 Watt Power Supply or Higher
Intel PII or higher
AMD K6II 266 MHz processor or higher
Available PCI 2.0 Slot
64 MB RAM
CD-ROM Drive
10 MB available disk space (50 MB for full installation)
My reason for purchasing the card:
The only gaming I regularly do on my PC is emulators of old consol systems (Collecovision, Atari, NES, etc.) and my PC is kind of old (P3 600 with 192MB RAM), so I didn't purchase this card with the intent of playing the latest games.
My reason for purchasing this card was because I recently upgraded to Windows XP and I was having trouble with the compatibility of my old graphics card (a 8MB 2X AGP ATI RagePro card) with XP. The old card worked, but the picture from the old card was not as good as it was when I was running Windows 98SE and some of the old games that ran just fine before the upgrade ran slow and would freeze in XP.
I would have preferred getting an AGP card over a PCI, but my PC is an old Compaq Deskpro that has a non-standard AGP board. (The monitor out on the card is on the side of the AGP board that is opposite of just about every other AGP board out there. Thus a standard AGP card will not fit in my PC case and the only AGP cards I have been able to find with this funky Compaq AGP board configuration are either 16MB or less or well over $300.)
My PC also is not connected to a computer monitor. Instead I have been using an adapter to convert the VGA signal from my old graphics card to an RCA connector plugged into my 32" TV. Since I needed a new graphics card, I wanted to get one that had a TV Out that would eliminate my need for the adapter.
Installation:
Installation was extremely easy. I had one free PCI slot and XP immediately recognized the card and I didn't have to make any changes in my bios (which I had read might be necessary on a couple of different computer websites). After the new card installed, I disabled my old card in Device Manager (which probably wasn't necessary, but my thought was why keep it enabled if I'm not using it).
First Impressions:
The picture on my TV screen from the TV Out on this card shows a remarkable improvement over the picture that I got using my old card and an adapter/converter. My consol emulation games all run at full speed and look better than ever. I have a Hauppauge Win TVToGo card that I use to record TV and then burn VCDs and SVCDs. These VCDs and SVCDs play better than ever with none of the brief freezing that I would sometimes experience with my old video card. Return to Castle Wofenstein (which I picked up in a bargain bin a year or so ago and could never get to run at an acceptably speed with my old ancient graphics card) seems to run very smoothly.
Final Thoughts:
I researched this card before deciding to buy it and couldn't find anything on this specific model made by Mad Dog Multimedia. The majority of the reviews that I read of GeForce FX 5200 cards made by other manufacturers were mixed. Most people with older PCs playing games from 2 or 3 years ago liked the 5200. While most people with newer PCs who were bought the card for use with the latest generation of games hated the 5200.
Some of the complaints I've read about other graphics cards from Mad Dog Multimedia are that people have had problems with the fans on the cards going out after a month or so. I've only had this card for a couple of weeks now myself, but have not had any problems with the fan yet. However, the fan is mounted in such a way as that it appears that it would be easy to remove and replace if it does goes out.
My decision to buy this card was based on price ($90 at OfficeMax, but with a $30 mail in rebate) and the fact that my older PC would not be able to really take advantage of the newer more expensive cards.
If you have a newer PC and/or are looking to play the latest games, then this card probably isn't for you. Consider spending a little bit more money and getting one of the newer ATI cards (and if you have an AGP slot, AGP is far preferable to PCI).
If you have an older PC and are just looking to upgrade from an older 32MB or less video card and you can find this card for $50 or less, then in my opinion this card is a good deal and well worth the money.
Recommended:
Yes
Amount Paid (US$): 90
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Epinions.com ID:
johnbuk
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Reviews written: 4
Trusted by: 1 member
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