| Anyone can edit this Yeah, the GeForce FX 5200 card sucks as most of the reviews and benchmark numbers say. Im not writing this review from a gamers perspective - rather from a programmer's perspective. If you need a card for the stuff that i do - OpenGL programming, and you dont have the moolah for a meaner card, the FX 5200 is for you. Reason # 1: driver stability.
Drivers from nvidia are known for stability and this is what you need when you do graphics programming. Because whats on the screen tells you if your code is right. Any driver fcukup and you will end up bald (from all the hair pulling). Believe me, there are a lot of times i experienced this (no, im not bald). Reason # 2: shaders.
The FX 5200 supports all shader functionality that the bigger members in its class support. So you can program all the newest shaders without having to compromise. Although shaders run slower than in the higher end cards, you still have the satisfaction of seeing your very own shaders on screen! :)
Reason # 3: OpenGL 1.5 support.
Yes you get vertex buffers, point sprites, the works... need i say more?
Reason # 4: Linux support.
If you need to really beef up your opengl programs in linux, theres a cg toolkit release for linux along with stable drivers from nvidia. Reason # 5: Play games too.
This is the place where this card could have really been better, there are cards in the same price range that perform better. But for the normal everyday game play this card does just fine, turn off unecessary things like FSAA and dynamic shadows and this card can give you decent frame rates. This can also be a decent card to tide you over till the 6800 becomes really affordable. Have fun! | 