What is the minimum video card I'll need for WindLight?

What is the minimum video card I'll need for WindLight?

I prefer nVidia based stuff if possible and I am still using XP.

So far, I haven't needed to upgrade, as I can live without ripple water and a few other minor effects.

But I recall that when I was in the WindLight FirstLook, things were seriously ugly and I suspect I won't be able to avoid an upgrade if I care about how things look.

Many thanks for your info.

What are you using now? Do you have AGP or PCI-Express? (Hopefully not just PCI). There's some decent cards even in the $50-$90 range that should do ok, and will probably greatly improve performance just in general.

A nice little $65 7600GS (after rebate) that should handle Windlight and most any game without much trouble:
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16814130075

For $48 you could also get a little 8400GS, performance would not be as good as the 7600, but it also will "future-proof" you for DX10 down the road:
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16814127296

Between those two, I would choose the 7600 even though it is an older model. PCI-express cards are cheaper than AGP or PCI, so if you have the latter things will cost more, it can be very hard to find a decent PCI card cheap, especially NVidia. Stay away from any of the older GeForce MX 4 or FX 5 series cards, as performance on them is generally much poorer than other models and they generally have dificulties with any modern 3D effects. You might also be able to find a cheap secondhand 6600GT at EBay, they were good little cards though since replaced by newer models, but should still handle Windlight just fine.

I'm not sure what the minimum for Windlight is, but either of those two cards should cover it ok plus let you enjoy more of the fancy effects in the game.

The official blog Q&A on WIndlight also has this:
___________________________________

My graphics card isn’t very good, can I see WindLight?
We’ve coded optimizations and CPU fallback so you should be able to see some of the effects, depending on your system. It won’t be as high-quality and clouds will be missing, but it’ll still be noticeably better than what you’ve got today.
___________________________________

Thank you for the info, that's very helpful

I'll be starting to shop very soon.

If you can get a low end 8600 series Graphic Card that might be even better. Check prices.


Usagi

Yes, an 8600 would be a great choice -- decent gaming performance plus future DX10 support. Best deal I could find was a PCI-express 8600GT with faster GDDR3 memory for $99 after rebate (you're out of luck on these if you are AGP/PCI):
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16814130085

If you have PCI-Express and are going to spend $50+ anyway, it's well worth it to scrape up the extra for this card as it will last you many years with its future support of DX10. Also, don't get confused into thinking a lowend 512MB 7300GT or something is better than a faster card with only 256MB. None of these cards have the higher bus interface of the premium big money cards, and extra memory provides zero benefit if it comes on a slower card. Also be sure it has the newer and faster GDDR3 instead of the slower GDDR2. Get the very fastest card you can afford first, and let the amount of memory on the card be a secondary issue.

Anything less than a 6600GT will not only not let you see Windlight, but it will also not let you see ripple water. I'm not too sure about the lesser 8000 series (8400, 8500 and 8600). While they are DX10 cards, everything I've read says that they are slow. Unless you are on a budget and must have a DX10 card, go for the 7600 or 7900 cards.

Agree, espeically for SL ( which uses OPENGL.. it is EXTREMELY unlikely it will ever support DX10, in fact I'd say it never will given it has Apple and Linux clients ), just go for the best, DX9.0, card you can afford and you'll be fine ( anything above a 6600 should be plenty ).

the 8600 series should be fine..........

I have a 5200 and can see ripple water fine .

Never did bother with WindLight though.

I could have been wrong. I had a 5600 and a 5700 die on me long before the "modern" version of ripple water was introduced, so I really have no idea how the 5000 series handles ripple water. On the other hand, I hear that the 6000 series handles ripple water better, hence my earlier recommendation.

There was an earlier version of ripple water that was removed from the client back in 2004 if I recall correctly. The newer ripple water is much better.

5200? I had 5500 GT and that was bare. But for windlight? etc i don`t think so..I don`t think the 5000 could handle the rippled water........maybe a little ripple hehe.........

My FX5200 is tossed into my "old computer parts box", served us fine on lesser games but poops out on anything really demanding. Though on paper it supports DX9 features, in practice it does so poorly or not at all. However -- it did fine for us on many years for undemanding things like WoW etc. On the other hand, we have a smattering of computers with old 9600pros that still handle fine anything we throw at them (lesser settings, but hey they run fine and look ok).

Even though SL only uses OpenGL so won't need any DX10 functions, if you are on a windows platform, you never know what will be coming out in the next year and I am assuming from your post, you really cannot afford frequent upgrades. An 8600 would be better future investment, but if SL is really going to be your only demanding software or you are on linux/mac and never likely to use DX10, then an older 6600GT should do fine, and probably can be found very cheap secondhand. A 7600GT or 7800/7900GS would be even better (I just assumed from the OP's post they were hoping for a cheaper option, under <$100)

In some cases (and the FX5200 is one of them), shopping in the sub-$100 range can be very expensive if you invest in a card that turns out to be little better than onboard, and then need to replace it again soon after.