View Full Version : EQ2 frying video cards
I have a friend who does not want to play EQ2 because he heard that the game is so graphic intensive that it will fry older video cards. I have not seen any info on this on any boards. I was wondering if anyone has heard of such a thing?
Dimuyen
11-15-04, 05:27 PM
I have a friend who does not want to play EQ2 because he heard that the game is so graphic intensive that it will fry older video cards. I have not seen any info on this on any boards. I was wondering if anyone has heard of such a thing?
I find this highly unlikely...
Neeik,
You might want to check this http://www.thesafehouse.org/viewtopic.php?t=16615 post as a start point. There are a couple of others in the Workshop you might want to search through (there's also several place that go into depth about graphics cards if you want even more specific information).
Yes, while it is highly unlikely to just out right fry a video card playing EQ2, it is possible for older video cards to overheat trying to play with all those pretty graphics...and if you can't play with all the goodies turned on, why play? Also, there are older cards that do not support DX9 T&L, thereby making themselves very *sketchy* in newer, graphic intense games (like Doom 3).
You might want to sugget to him that he get a newer video card...
Dulben
Shotoif
11-15-04, 07:22 PM
EQ2 beta helped put an end to my already crippled card. I could survive with the failing fan in the past but it crushed it.
A graphics card is designed to push as many polygons and textures as possible regardless of the game. The game can not force polygons through the core any faster than the graphics card will allow. The less intensive the game, the higher the framerate (it's still pushing as many polygons as it can, but in a game like EQ2 there are so many polygons on the screen at once that the framerate is much lower). To blame any game for a problem with the card would be akin to blaming the road when your car's engine drops a piston.
Cards can break and wear out, but that is not the game's fault. If his card is functioning properly then he should have no problem with EQ2 so long as his card has pixel shaders (which is a requirement for EQ2).
He can play EQ2 if he has one of the following cards:
- Radeon 8500 or higher
- GeForce 3 series
- GeForce 4 Ti series (NOT the GeForce4 MX series - they lack pixel shaders)
- GeForceFX series
- GeForce 6xxx series
Popular cards he might have which will not play EQ2:
- TNT/TNT2 series
- GeForce series
- GeForce 2 series
- Geforce4 MX series (MX420, MX440, and MX460 were the three common styles)
- Rage 128 series
- Radeon 7500 or lower (including the original Radeon, the Radeon VE, and Radeon LE)
I've had no problems with my massivley-overclocked Radeon 9800, which is pretty amazing. Playing Battlefield Vietnam for an hour can make it overheat. I can play EQ2 with most settings set to high for several hours with no ill effects.
Thanks everyone. Thanks Ruccus for your clear description that even a graphics noob can understand <grin>
It's true! 2 days after buying EQ2 my graphic card died. Of course it wasn't in the machine EQ2 was installed on but sometimes the game misses and hits innocent bystanders, right? :p
hotcana wupaz
11-16-04, 02:51 PM
I was thinking about getting the following card
http://www.newegg.com/app/viewproductdesc.asp?DEPA=0&description=14-150-080&ATT=Video+Cards&CMP=OTC-d3alt1me
But is it better to get a card with 256 of ddr for EQ2?
Or the above with 128 of ddr3 and blazing 1000mhz?
Eventually I want to get an AMD 54 machine going with Dual Nvidia's running in SLI :)
Silvorn
11-16-04, 04:44 PM
Biggest tip I can give to prolong your cards life. CLEAN IT. My gforce 4 was terrible about overheating because the channels for air flow were to small.
Joonling
11-17-04, 08:49 AM
I unfortunately had to bite the big one and get new card since I was running on a GeForce 2 card (which, incidently, I first got to play EQ). I'm loving my Radeon 9600 SE...the colors ... the graphics...oh so so pretty. And also with my new 200 GB harddrive, I can take any patches or whatever SoE throws at me! *ducks*
THe posters here are correct. THe only problem you're likely to have is overheating in a poorly cooled system *if* you don't have enough fans or are overclocking your equipment. Of course, overheating can eventually fry your hardware however this isn't EQ2's fault, it's poorly designed cooling in your system that's to blame.
That being said, if you go out and buy a fancy new video card, like the X800 ATI's or the nvidia 6800 GT/Ultra be very wary if you have an older motherboard. These cards suck voltage through the AGP slot like no tomorrow. My 6800 Ultra destroyed my old Intel 865P motherboard and a 6800 GT fried the AGP slot in my friend Intel 865P as well. Had to get new motherboards for both.
Strange things happen in hardware but hey, it comes with being on the bleeding edge :)
So, it's safe to assume that if an old card gets fryed, it will get fryed no matter what software the system is running; be it EQ1, EQ2, WoW or even PacMan....right?
Yes ... except Pac man. (Unless it is a Doom 3 mod of pacman)
Joonling
11-19-04, 08:07 AM
Yes ... except Pac man. (Unless it is a Doom 3 mod of pacman)
That would be awesome!