I purchased the ATI Radeon 9550 AGP video card since that is the one item that needs to be upgraded to play Battlefield 2. But the readme file on the CD says ATI Radeon 9550 (RV350LX)
What does the RV350LX mean? This is a AGP video card.
How does this video card rate in providing it's output for the game? Or should I purchase a better AGP card? If so, which one?

Well, that all depends on what your other system specs are, since you have a AGP slot and its made by dell I can only guess and say that the best card for your system without your processor and such becoming a bottle neck would be the 9600 XT but the radeon 9550 is a great card for the budget user. Justmake sure its the 128 Bit memery model. And.. I have a questioN! How many questions have there been relating to graphics cards for BF2? lol I can estimate that I see about 3 posts per week on this forum about upgrading to play this game and a few others.. anyways.. As long as the 9550 has 128 bit memory on it, It will play the game. ( Cant say on high settings but it will play it for sure. )

Many postings about this game and graphics card is due to the higher requirments of the game. I am starting to wish I did not purchase the game, not becasue of what is needed, but becasue other people are saying Battlefield 1 is better then 2.
Why would you say that the PC is made by Dell be against me?
Money is not really an issue, if buying a better card would mean an additional 50 - 100.00 that's fine. I was tempted to build a complete new system, but choose not to due to time, which I really do not have anymore. 1 toddler, 1 infant and 1 wife.
What does the model in parenthesis mean?
Radeon 9550 (RV350LX)
Whats the difference between 9600 XT and ST?

For a AGP slot, what would be your best recommendation?

Thanks a bunch

Chris

Firstly in the parenthesis it looks like a model number for the 9550. Secondly, tell us what the rest of your computer is spec wise. What processor? P4? celeron? At what clock speed? And dells along with other companies that make computers are picky about power supply's they seem to only put on their computers enough power to run what is currently installed on it. So you might not be even able to run a top of the line AGP card. If you dont have the power supply for a higher end card I would strongly suggest to go with the radeon 9600 XT, XT is the higher end of the 9600 family whilst pro is slightly bellow, and plain 9600 is bellow that.. and SE is bellow all that.

It is a Intel P4 2.0 MHZ with 1.5 meg of RAM.
I would buy a complete new system but don't think the reason, just to play one game, justifies that. I would rather wait and use my current computer until it no longer makes sense to keep it. I'm not sure of the power supply, I'm not at home to take a look.

1.5 megs of ram?.. You mean GBs? And a P4 at 2.0 would bottle neck any newer AGP card you put in there. The best way to go is the 9550 for that setup.

How much longer do you think this PC will survive with the demands on the processor, memory, etc... keep going up in demand?

Would your wait before buying a new system?

"How much longer do you think this PC will survive with the demands on the processor, memory, etc... keep going up in demand?"

Unfortunately Chris, you are the only one that can answer that question! Because, depending on how you want to use your computer, it might be time to upgrade now OR your system might be sufficient for another 2 years or more.

But for the sake of argument I will assume that gaming is the most intensive function that you are using your computer for. If that is the case, then continue to use your computer until your system will not support the new games you want to play or the quality is below what you find acceptable. With the system specs you have, I agree that spending a ton of money on a great video card is unwarranted because your processor will become the bottleneck. Also, as Avun pointed out, your upgrade paths will be limited due to the "retail" box that you have. The power supply may be proprietary - if so it can not be upgraded. And, even if you could upgrade the PS and but a top-of-the line Video card, you may only be able to upgrade to a 2.4GHz processor depending on the Front Side Bus that your motherboard supports (that is the fasted CPU my board supports). All in all, any upgrade you can perform would likely be short lived. However if an upgrade to a budget video card will allow you to play BF2, then that would be a small price for extending the life of your machine.

Personally I have a P4/2.4GHz and a GeForce FX5700 w/256MB Ram (the minimum card for BF2, but with more memory). I get acceptable performance in BF2 but am currently considering upgrading to an entirely new machine.

Michael J

i have a compaq sr1420 model
Amd Athlon 64 3000+ 1.9 or 2.0
512mb ram
sis mirage intergrated 128mb graphics.
what will be the cheapest card to upgrade. would love to play battlefield 2 but i dont know what card to buy. i only have a small budget. i only had the computer for 3 months.
will the game play on the specs i have for my p.c. i downloaded the demo and the screen just went black and the desk top just came back into view.(ie. it wont load up?)
is there anything i can do to play this demo or infact play the game. i know i need a graphics card but unsure if its agp slot or pci. and what budget card can somebody suggest. please state the model number and price in sterling or euros. is there a website that i could visit where i could look at the specs of a card that is suggested

please please help my heads wrecked

JONOLIVER28

I have a P4 2.0GHz 768MB Ram and a GeForce FX5200 128Mb, and i have to say that it runs really well. And i read that my graphics card would not support the game. I am also considering upgrading to a new system.

i have a p4, 512 ram, 2.6GHz, with a 9550 ati graphics card. my question is will this play bf2 decently?
thanks in advance.

I have: MB ABIT NF7-s, (Socket A)
CPU Athlon XP 1900+ (~1.6 GHz)
ATI Radeon 9200 128MB

obviously it doesn't work because of the 9200, but my question is also on upgrading. should i bother, or just build a new system? i will continue to play games, occasionally ones with intensive graphics needs, but am happy just upgrading only as necessary. I think based on what I've read I need a new CPU AND graphics card? is that correct? and if so, should i just get a new MB also and start over? (i.e. is my MB quickly becoming obsolete also?) suggestions would be greatly appreciated.