Wille on 19/6/2008 at 11:52
I'm getting a "new" computer for my parents and I would like to buy better graphics card for it. The computer is HP Compaq dc7100 that has P4-530 processor, 512MB DDR memory and integrated Intel GMA 900 GPU. I will get this machine practically for free but I'm ready to invest a small sum to make it run older games perfectly. My main concerns are Dark Engine games. Does anyone have experience how they run with that GMA 900? Also which AGP card would be best option?
I know there's DDfix that can fix most problems but I would like to be able to play these games without 3rd party fixes. Which ATi and Nvidia series are latest that can run Dark Engine games without problems?
Nameless Voice on 19/6/2008 at 12:04
You realise that the game actually looks better with DDFix than without, even on a card that gives it perfect rendering? Especially the sky. Back when DDFix was still buggy, I'd use it on my perfect-rendering ATI card laptop just to take screenshots because it looked so much better. :D
What can I say? I'm hooked!
Anyway, on the ATI side, the X1950XT is meant to be the latest card that can still run Thief 2 perfectly. That card has been discontinued, but you should be able to find an X1950 Pro (slightly worse). I'm fairly sure they made an AGP version, but it might not be so easy to track down. Note that it's rather expensive, though. You could easily get away with something cheaper.
With the latest drivers, pre-DX10 ATI cards give perfect rendering in Thief: perfect sky, perfect fog, the works.
I'm not as up-to-date on the nVIDIA cards, I don't think any of them have rendered Thief 2's sky perfectly in a long time. I'm sure someone else will show up soon with more information on that, though.
Wille on 19/6/2008 at 12:48
I would like to use DDfix but the current version slows game down on some systems when there's a lot of detail on the screen. My own computer however needs DDfix because it has 8800 GT. My sister's computer (my old actually) has Geforce Ti 4800 SE which can run Dark Engine games flawlessly with all features (and other games too)... hmm maybe I should take that and get her some other AGP card :D.
Nameless Voice on 19/6/2008 at 13:03
Yes, I used to have a Geforce 4, and I think that ran Thief 2 pretty perfectly. (I seem to recall it being a bit dark?)
It should be old enough to still have working sky.
voodoo47 on 19/6/2008 at 14:11
if you want a card that runs both dark engine and newer games without problems you should look for the x1650/x1950 series from ati.running a x1950pro myself,no problems with ddfix and without ddfix alike.
as for intel gma,thief will probably run fine,just slowly as hell.
pavlovscat on 19/6/2008 at 14:23
I looked but never could find the ATI x1950 in AGP format, but I was able to find the x1650 in AGP for $50. It works great with the Dark Engine and the fog is beautiful. I had never seen the fog before. I do not currently use DDfix.
Wille on 19/6/2008 at 17:49
Thanks cat, I can get X1650 Pro with 512MB memory for 50€ :). Though I have bad memories of ATi cards overheating and burning :p.
pavlovscat on 19/6/2008 at 18:17
We've been using ATI for 10+ yrs with no problems in my & my husband's computers. I'm on this computer about 12 hours a day and a lot of that is playing Thief. No problems so far. Good luck!
sNeaksieGarrett on 20/6/2008 at 05:12
This may be a stupid question, but why not just use the integrated graphics? That should work well enough, shouldn't it? Or did you already try it and it runs like crap?
Wille on 20/6/2008 at 08:09
I will get the computer next week so I haven't tried it yet. In my experience integrated chips can't run well anything but old DOS games :p. Besides I would also like to play more modern games than Dark Engine games with it :).
pavlovscat can you post screenshot how Thief 2 looks on your X1650? I'm mostly interested how it renders tga textures and ambient lighting. You should find tga textures in recent missions like Broken Triad or Rocksbourg 3, they are used in those nice looking light beams :).
