[hudihoo]

I currently have a pc im working on getting setup. The video card is an ati all in wonder Radeon 9200 128mb agp graphics card. the pc isn't done yet but is this video card able to handle fairly new games or do i need to upgrade. Mainly Half Life 2 and Counterstrike Source. I just need something that can handle those while i save for a new card. Also I have an AMD sempron 2600 cpu 768mb ram

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The pc is a bit slo for gaming, the 9200 was a slow card when it was releaseda few years ago, and the sempron cpu isnt up to much. To play games like the new ones you want you are looking at you are looking at a cpu from the athlon range and i would say at leasst an x700 the source engine is pretty scalable but it has its limits with a slightly better gfx card it would run ok but done expect anything near good performance youll get pwned on CS:S because of the low fps and low res.

[warriorscot]

The pc is a bit slo for gaming, the 9200 was a slow card when it was releaseda few years ago, and the sempron cpu isnt up to much. To play games like the new ones you want you are looking at you are looking at a cpu from the athlon range and i would say at leasst an x700 the source engine is pretty scalable but it has its limits with a slightly better gfx card it would run ok but done expect anything near good performance youll get pwned on CS:S because of the low fps and low res.

[hudihoo]

i was also looking an athlon xp on ebay but didn't say if it was socket a or socket 754. i said sempron in the previous post because thats what was the best match for my needs and budget the sempron will do fine with a good graphics card and lots of ram. as soon as the pc is done being built i am gonna buy another gig ram so i will have almost 2gigs. plus about an hour ago i found out that a friend is gonna sell me is geforce 6600gt vid card for $100 so i will have the sempron with almost 2 gigs ram and the 6600 vid card. i think that could handle most games. I have run cs source on a sempron 2400 and it ran fine. I was just curious about the 9200 running it. i know the ram and cpu can. but it doesn't even matter anymore

[warriorscot]

Yeah $100 is a bit steep for a used 6600, wouldnt really pay that for a new one they cost alot to buy new but thats because they are overpriced for what they are.

9200s are pretty pants i would only use it for its TV capture capabilities or running a second monitor.
Just dont load it up with expensive ram as its not worth the expense something like corsair value with a decent performance level but still quite cheap would be a good choice,

[Hammm]

usually the gfx card only comes into play at higher resolutions, as such if you run CS S at 800x600 you actually slow the game down with a sempron. my advice is to stick with the sempron and get the 6600. that way, run the game at 1280x1024 or your max res(not higher than the res i gave you) and it'll actually be smoother than running at 800x600. i have a athlon XP and when running source at 800x600 res i get like 25 FPS but at 1280x1024 with my trusty 9550 i get more than that, it's rather surprising.

[hudihoo]

well for $120 i found that i could get 512mb ram and an athlon xp 2600 plus i have a few graphics card choices i have my 9200 a friend is selling is 6600 (he is upgrading to pci-e) and i have another friend looking to sell a radeon 9600. All around the same price for the vid cards. My final decesion was to get the athlon xp 2600 512ram and the 9600. all got all that for around 180. that 180 also includes an 80gig hd

[Hammm]

i would take the 6600, it is slightly better but 9600 should be ok

[warriorscot]

Yeah but youre getting a good price on that as long as the HD is up to scratch and the memory is good that is, if its generic ram and cheap HD then you could actually buy those parts new for less, but i owuld get your friend with the 6600 to go down a bit its really not worth a $100 i would barely buy one new for that price let alone a used one.