Chaintech Fx 5700LE 256 mb

J

jman15

Member
i was looking to get this video card, it seems to be a very reliable and up to date one for running games and cheap in cost. However it seems like everywhere i go they are out, is it not made anymore?
 
They are out because they are quite competively priced; not because they are stellar or anything .... to my knowledge they havnt been discontinued yet :) As for "ability to running games"... that depends on your performance requirements as the 5700LE is a far cry from the 5700 and 5700U
 
from teh reviews i have been reading, it ran things liek far cry and half life 2 fine. I am looking to spend a max of 130 on a new vid card. What is the best possible card i could get for games?

More than likely i won't be running much above Unreal 2004, battle for middle earth etc
 
from teh reviews i have been reading, it ran things liek far cry and half life 2 fine. I am looking to spend a max of 130 on a new vid card. What is the best possible card i could get for games?

More than likely i won't be running much above Unreal 2004, battle for middle earth etc
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UT2K4 should run well on virtually any card due to the nature of the engine (DX8) and sheer efficient coding of the developers

BoM is a DX9 game and is fairly intensive. Not to say the 9800Pro cant handle it of course -- just not to the degree of the X800.

For $130 its a tossup between the 6600 and the 9800Pro and i think the 9800Pro is the better choice.
 
Unreal doesn't run well on my current computer with the onborad card. Sorry to be a pest, but last 2 questions (and thank you so much for the quick replies). Do i need anything special for the 9800pro? I know i have an agp slot (not sure if it is 8x or 4x) and 3 pci slots. Is an ati an agp card? I have always heard the geforce cards were better, but at this point any card is :) I also don't need to run the games on the highest quality settings. And i know some computers don't turn of the onboard card whenyou install a new video card. How would i do that manually if that came up?

Thank you so much once again for the replies praetor.
 
Unreal doesn't run well on my current computer with the onborad card
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I meant card (onboard and card are not the same). :) Even then I probably should have said "UT2K4 runs well on any card that its compatible with" -- if I can run it at medium on a P3-800 with GF4MX and get good framerates, id say its fair to say its an "easy" game graphically

Do I need anything special for the 9800pro? I know I have an agp slot (not sure if it is 8x or 4x)
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If you have a AGP4X or AGP8X slot than you'll be find. You do need however a free 4pin molex as such
brian-pwm-molex.jpg

Prefereably the rest of the connectors on that cable with the molex are not busy powering "heavy" things like harddrives and such

I have always heard the geforce cards were better
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Nah thats usually just fanboyism :)

I also don't need to run the games on the highest quality settings. And I know some computers don't turn of the onboard card whenyou install a new video card. How would I do that manually if that came up?
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1. 99.9% of mobos (actually every single one ive ever seen or head) automatically disable the onboard so you dont have to worry about it (in fact in the bios the options are "enable" and "auto" hehe)
2. The 9800Pro is prolly the more realistic card for you :)
 
Thanks for the help, if you have alink to a good priced ati 9800pro that would be sweet, otherwise ill eb looking around the net! Thanks again.
 
Thanks for the help, if you have alink to a good priced ati 9800pro that would be sweet, otherwise ill eb looking around the net! Thanks again.
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Glad to help, sorry cant help with links as I dont buy much online
 
i found those 4 holed plugs for the vid cards, i have 2 open, one is connected to my cd drive and the other to the hard drive. I know you aid it would be bad if i connected it to the hard drive on right? And will i need a proc upgrade for the new vid card. (just making sure i don't buy something that doesn't work).
 
i am running direct x 9.0 if that is what you are wondering by DX
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Yes but HL2 can be played using the DirectX8 code path ... and since the 5900Ultra can barely push 30fps at 1024x768 in DX9 mode, its highly "suggested" all GeForceFX users use the DirectX8 data path ... since you've got a 5700LE which is nowhere near a 5900Ultra and you suggest that you have good framerate, i wonder whether you're running DX9 or DX8 mode ...
 
i am not the one running half life 2 :) it was the guy who posted above me. If i am going to use geforce fx, shoudl i downgrade to direct x 8.0?
Also, i found those 4 wired things you amde the picture of, one is connected to my hardrive and the other to my dvd drive, i know you said i shouldn't connect it to the hard drive so is the other one safe?
And willi need apower supply upgrade? i only got a 160w....just checked it now and i heard some cards require like 300w.

big reason why i am thinking geforce is because of price, i cannot find anything priced in my range that looks as though it can run welle except the geforce cards of fx5700, or ati radeon x600 which requires pci express, i think i have that but not sure so i go the safe route.
 
If i am going to use geforce fx, shoudl i downgrade to direct x 8.0?
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No. You will need DX9 to install HL2. However HL2 can be played using DX8 mode (via an ingame command)

Also, i found those 4 wired things you amde the picture of, one is connected to my hardrive and the other to my dvd drive, i know you said i shouldn't connect it to the hard drive so is the other one safe?
And willi need apower supply upgrade? i only got a 160w....just checked it now and i heard some cards require like 300w.
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Absolutely a new PSU is in order.
 
Alrighty, thanks praetor again! All i need nwo is a PSU and i know what card im getting. I am learning a lot too which is great!
http://www.computerforum.com/showthread.php?t=10468
that is the link to the post i amde about my pwoer supply. Should eb able to upgrade it since everything else in my comp seems upgradable. I am just not sure on the size of it. Took a ruler to my comp and got these dimensions
17cm(170mm) wide, 41cm(410mm) long and 39 cm(390mm) high
someone said they were too small for most PSU.
 
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