Wanna buy a new graphic card ... and need help :)

[eniah]

I haven't been in Norrath for a while, am back now and ... just got remembered that I had huge graphic card problems right before my break. They look like this:<img src="http://img516.imageshack.us/img516/4653/20080406223730bq8.jpg" alt="" border="0" /><img src="http://img516.imageshack.us/img516/7374/20080406200115px8.jpg" alt="" border="0" />My card ist the GeForce 7900 GTMy System:Windows XP Home SP2AMD Athlon 64x2 Dual Core 4200 +2.21 ghz2 GB ram3D Mark 06 works fine, I turned shadows off - problems are less, but still there. I tried several combinations with the nvidia settings - still there.I'm sick of trying out <img src="/eq2/images/smilies/2e207fad049d4d292f60607f80f05768.gif" border="0" alt="SMILEY" width="15" height="15" /> and I want shadows!!!So... which graphic card should I get?which ones would be best for EQ2 ignoring the price?and which of the good priced ones would be best?

[Jal]

Shadows in EQ2 are hit and miss whether they work and sometimes they dissappear.  Its not your card its the game engine.

[eniah]

No, I can see shadows... just that the problems get bigger if I use them.Plus there are issues with my card as I have found out reading through this forum... <img src="/smilies/9d71f0541cff0a302a0309c5079e8dee.gif" border="0" alt="SMILEY" />So if anybody who's constantly reading here could help me out and let me know which card has no issues and which one would be best for playing eq2 with my system and high graphics... that would be great <img src="/smilies/3b63d1616c5dfcf29f8a7a031aaa7cad.gif" border="0" alt="SMILEY" />thank you!

[Neiuo]

<p> Many of the Nivida cards have known issues with EQ2, especially the 8800 series, this card is known for more than a few problems with the game, including crashes, blue screen, and memory errors, and now it seems the 9 series Nivida card is showing the same symptoms,  </p><p> I have recently purchased a new video card, my old 7950gs didn't have any trouble with EQ2, but it was time to upgrade,  after doing some research I realized,  if EQ2 is your primary game  and compatibility with it is an important factor in your choice of cards, your best choice is ATI, which is what i ended up getting.</p><p> I bought a Diamond 3870, it runs a little slower than the 8800gt in most games, especially if you like to pump up the AA, (which i don't) my primary concern was compatibility, and I gladly traded a few FPS for that.</p><p> I was not disappointed with my choice of cards, Ive been running my 3870 for 2 months with no trouble in any game, runs crysis and COD4 in high settings very well, and plays EQ2 in very high settings with out a hitch, I would recommend ATI for anyone who plays EQ2 and desire, stability and compatibility over a few extra frames per second, </p>

[eniah]

Thank you! Do you think the cards, that don't run well at the moment, will work with EQ2 one day... ?

[Rob89]

Im using a heavily overclocked 8800gt with eq2 and a 3.2ghz core 2 duo cpu and 4 gigs of ram, still doesnt have the raw power to push the game at extreme quality and higher... in raid its still down to very high performance and particle effects off. Back when the eq2 engine was created gpu cards werent as powerfull as the cpu's was. So it uses alot of Cpu power instead, as all the dx8 games did. However, the fact is that the engine uses more cpu then gpu. So u will the biggest boost by upgrading cpu and gpu. Personaly i got a 20-30fps boost by overclocking my core 2 duo from 2.0ghz to 3.2ghz And then another 10-15 from overclocking my 8800gt. But with a 3870,8800gt, 9600gt etc card u will get pretty good framerate

[PurpleWarri]

<p>I have an AGP motherboard, so when it came time to upgrade NVidia was out as they haven't made any new AGP boards for quite a while.</p><p>I got a Sapphire ATI HD2600XT (around UKP65/ USD120 at the time) and it runs fine with high detail shadows turned on - the water looks pretty good too <img src="http://forums.station.sony.com/eq2/images/smilies/ed515dbff23a0ee3241dcc0a601c9ed6.gif" border="0" alt="SMILEY" width="15" height="15" /></p>

[Mordies]

<blockquote>But with a 3870,8800gt, 9600gt etc card u will get pretty good framerate </blockquote>My BFG 9600's are just plan suck in eq2, The screen freez up and FPS are like 20, the more I overclock the card the worth it gets, These cards work fine in other games dont even bother turn sli on b/c if you do your get about 10 fps.... this is NOT a driver problem with nivida is an EQ2 problem. You are much better off sticking with 7xx cards..... in fact I'm going back to my old cards b/c of this, even thou the 9600's or list on the supported card list /whatever ......... soe support is no help either. stick with what works.