Is it worth upgrading to

[Yarbles]

My set up is limited to PCI not PCI-E. Currently I have a Nvidia Gee Force 5200 card with 256 card memory (I have 2 GB of ram). I get around 35fps with default video settings. For very little money I can get a Nvidia Gee force 6200 card but will there be any noticeable increase in performance? 

I may get a new PC in the next year but I am not sure of that.  

[wabbit]

How much is 'very little money'?

Depending on how much the cost is, it might be worth giving it a shot. I suspect you won't see any appricaible difference, but giving it a shot depend totally on the cost of the new card.

If you're planning on buying a new system this year, it probably would be better to save the money for the new system and live with what you have for now.

Do a search on how the 5200 compares against the 6200 series and see if there's any articles, or comments by owners of the cards on that issue.


Wabbit

[Fulmar]

Boy I can't find it, but I read an article saying that some company is making some Geforce 8 series for PCI slots (yes you read that right).  It would be their lower end models and it's generally geared towards people building HTPC's with small motherboard limited to only PCI slots.

That aside, if you can find a 6200 for in your budget, I'd pick one up I guess.  The 5xxx series was pretty much a bust for Nvidia.

[StarOfAfrica2]

The 6200 is a budget card, dont expect much.  It does have more modern shader tech than your 5200, and its a DX 9 card, but the GPU - memory bus is a tiny 64 bits.  Also I've yet to see one with a fan on it, and it will run HOT.  Every one of the 6xxx series cards did.  You could fry an egg on my 6800 Ultra, and that was with aftermarket cooling.  You will also want to stay far away from any 6200 that says TC or TurboCache on it.  Those cards will probably slow you down from  your current setup rather than speed you up.  The 6200, regardless of what anyone may have done with one, was never intended as a gaming card.  It's a desktop graphics / multi-monitor / TV-to-PC type card.  That said, as long as you stay away from the TurboCache models and at least get the 256MB model, it should give you some improvement.  Newegg has a nice EVGA model for 45 bucks, but I'd invest in a fan for it.  At least if that one overheats, EVGA has a great warranty.

[Getback]

Sure can't answer that one for you. I used a 5200 or something like that for 4 years. I would say look for a 7000 series or wait until you build a new computer (Build - Keyword).