Thank you for being a valued part of the CNET community. As of December 1, 2020, the forums are in read-only format. In early 2021, CNET Forums will no longer be available. We are grateful for the participation and advice you have provided to one another over the years.

Thanks,

CNET Support

General discussion

Video Cards for DX9 (Halo especially)

Feb 15, 2004 2:15PM PST

Ok here is my question/problem.
I have a GeForce FX 5200 w/256 MB of RAM (I know it isn't great) and it claims full DirectX 9.0 or better.
It will play Tomb Raider: Angel of Darkness (Which is a game I really didn't want, it came bundeled with something so I just installed it to see what it was) but my FX 5200 wont play Halo, I know Tomb Raider is DX9 (At least that is what i have found on tomshardware.com) So is there either a problem with my card (which I doubt since it does everything else 100%) is the version of Halo corrupt (which I again doubt since the Auto play works it loads and then just goes to I am assuming a main menu but I only see blue and black screens and hear the music, which has no distortion) so do I just need to upgrade to a better graphics card (Like a 5700 ultra or a 5900se)
or do I need to just realize a bought a screwed up game and send an email to microsoft customer service.
any ideas

PS
if the case is that I need to upgrade my graphics card does anyone have any suggestions, and will a GeForce FX 5600 Ultra work for my needs (the most advanced game I wish to play is Halo, and Half-Life 2 when it eventually goes up for sale)

Discussion is locked

- Collapse -
Re:Video Cards for DX9 (Halo especially)
Feb 15, 2004 4:27PM PST

Your FX 5200 Video card should play any game that is currently out there including the forthcoming Half Life 2 and others coming down the pike this year. Course' if you have a computer with low power MHz and low RAM then it will not live up to your cards capabilities.

A lot of new games are coming out with DirectX 9.0b which if you don't have on your computer from other games or MS, then the game CD will have it for you to select and intall on your PC.

I do not have the Halo game, but from what I have read you should review the 'Readme' file. It tells you not to enable AA and AF in your graphic card, get the latest card drivers, and download patches.

The blue/black you are seeing happens with some of the newer games on some computers/graphic cards (including my GeForce 4 TI4600). Try to find the 'Brightness' (or Gamma) bar for adjustment, it is usually under the 'Options' in the game. Also, search around on your FX card for a lot of adjustments like
brightness/Gamma/Contrast etc.

Here are some sites to review:
{GameSpot is a CNET Networks Media Property}

http://www.gamespot.com/pc/action/halo/readers.html

Halo discussions at Gamespot:
http://forums.gamespot.com/gamespot/board?board.id=291594

Several patches to the Halo game:
http://www.gamespot.com/pc/action/halo/downloads.html

PC GameSpot Forum:
http://forums.gamespot.com/gamespot/board?board.id=basic_pc

PC GamesSpor Hardware Forum:
http://forums.gamespot.com/gamespot/board?board.id=pchardware

JR

- Collapse -
i play halo on mine
Aug 1, 2005 9:04PM PDT

halo runs fine\great on my geforce fx go5200 (64mb)

- Collapse -
did u not realize..
Aug 2, 2005 12:20AM PDT

that this is a year old???

man, as I look at this, I just realized how far Ozos has come in a year...he goes from asking that to being on of the most knowledgeable and helpful ppl here

- Collapse -
Since then, I have purchased
Aug 2, 2005 2:30AM PDT

Halo, Half-Life2, Doom3, Battlefield 1942, FarCry, and just about all the new PC games out and they play very well on my older tech Nvidia TI4600. The latest Battlefield 2, supposedly will not play on my card.

Yes, Ozos has learned an awful lot in the year + he was gone from the forums.