# Integrated ATI Radeon Xpress 200 graphics



## donal_85208 (Nov 17, 2004)

I'm looking at buying a new computer. I need a computer that can actually play the latest games and view streaming video. Here are the specs of the computer I'm looking at:

Processor; AMD Athlon 64 3500+ Processor with Enhanced Virus Protection
Processor Speed; 2.2GHz
Cache; 512KBMB L2 Cache
Bus Speed; 2000MHz System Bus
Memory; 1.0GB PC3200 DDR SDRAM memory (2x512 for ultimate performance) (expandable to 4GB)
Windows XP Media Center 
Hard Drive; 200GB 7200RPM Serial ATA hard drive
Optical Drive; Lightscribe Double Layer 16X DVDR/RW drive with CD writer capabilities
16x DVD+R, 8x DVD-R,DVD-R, 4x DVDRW, 2.4x DVD+R DL, 16x DVD-ROM, 40x CDR, 24x CDRW, 40x CD-ROM
Includes 1 blank HP LightScribe CD-R disc
Video Graphics; ATI RADEON XPRESS 200 Graphics with up to 256MB shared video memory
Network Interface; 10/100BaseT network interface
Sound; Integrated audio, 6 speaker configurable
Fax/Modem; 56k modem
Memory Slots; 4 DIMM (184-pin, DDR) (two available)
Expansion Slots; 3 PCI slots (2 available), 1 PCI Express slot (available)
Expansion Bays; 2 external 5.25"(one available), 1 external 3.5" (one available), 1 internal 3.5" (occupied)
External Ports; Front panel 9-in-1 memory card reader supports Smart Media, xD, MultiMedia Card, Secure Digital (SD), Compact Flash I, Compact Flash II, Micro Drive, Memory Stick and Memory Stick Pro , 7 USB 2.0 port(s) (3 FRONT, 4 back), 2 FireWire (IEEE 1394) port(s) (1 FRONT, 1 back), 1 parallel and 2 PS/2 (back), Microphone/line-in/line-out (FRONT)

I don't know what half this is, so I'm asking can this computer play the latest games. I've looked at the ATI RADEON XPRESS 200 Graphics with up to 256MB shared video memory card online and it seems to be what I need. But I don't want to throw away more money on something not suitable for my needs.


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## Tumbleweed36 (May 14, 2005)

Hi,

I am assuming you are looking at the HP computer from what you have listed here. With integrated graphics and the ATI RADEON XPRESS 200 Graphics , I don't think you would be satisified with the level of games you are going to be able to play. 

First of all, I don't know of any Integrated cards that make it in the game world and the Xpess 200 isn't in my personal opinion strong enough to do what you have indicated is your preference. When you have shared memory, then this component hogs resources from the regular computer memory used for games, so you have Peter stealing from Paul for memory allocation and you need resources both ways. Most great gaming cards have their own memory and don't steal it from the computer memory allocation.

If I have misread what you have, then please inform me and I will re-evaluate my opinion on this units suitability for your needs. From what I could tell from your post, that is my opinion.

Oh, if you would in a reply, just list your CPU, your Memory, your motherboard, and the make and wattage of your power supply, and the hard drives, and then it would be easier to evaluate what you are asking.

Have a great evening.

*Addendum:*

Here is an evaluation I found on this card for your information that might help in your evaluation of what you are asking..Hope this helps by giving you more information:

On the graphics side, the RADEON XPRESS 200 is powered by a cost-reduced derivative of ATI’s RADEON X300 VPU; this gives the chipset native DirectX 9 graphics capability. The IGP sports two pixel pipelines versus the four-pipeline configuration found in RADEON X300, and runs at up to 350MHz. As an added performance option, ATI has integrated 16MB of memory for the graphics core on the reference motherboard itself; you can still use local system RAM as well, but with a performance penalty. For the best integrated performance, motherboard manufacturers can incorporate up to 128MB of dedicated frame buffer memory, but this will obviously come with a huge increase in price.

Our overall impressions of the RADEON XPRESS IGP are generally positive. We’ve run a few numbers with the RADEON XPRESS 200’s IGP at 350MHz on the following pages and found that while its performance is nothing to write home about if you’ve already got a RADEON 9500/9600 level card, it’s still more capable than anything else currently planned for the Athlon 64 market, and its DVI connection was a nice touch, outputting decent 2D quality to a Samsung 213T flat panel monitor. A VGA connection was also provided on the reference ATI board. The beta driver we were issued with our reference board had problems with DOOM 3, but we had no visual quirks with Far Cry and UT 2004.


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## Guest (Mar 1, 2006)

If you want to play the latest games with a resolution of above 800x600 then either a 6600GT or X700 Pro is in order IMO. Especially if you want your frame rate to be above 30. When you say "latest games" i would include the very latest most demanding games which would be FEAR and COD2. To run those games with more than a slideshow going on with a resolution of 1024x768 you will need at least either of the two cards i mentioned. Xpress200 will get you no more than around 20-25 FPS on FarCry with medium/low settings at 800x600 or 1024x768. You can get a 6600GT for around $100.00 these days and is considered the _minimal_ acceptable gamers card for todays games.


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## Arnivarez (Jan 2, 2006)

I actually have the card, well, not card, its integrated, but it works fine with CS:S with everything on low and the latest drivers i average about 35 FPS, usually higher, in the 40-60 range. still very playable, i have beat FarCry (that was before i updated drivers) i also play Day of Defeat: Source with, very little success, i can only play about 2 maps, all the others give me about 5 FPS. but i also have a 1.8 GHz processor and only 256 MB of RAM, so you may get better performance. with the really new games, like F.E.A.R, i wouldnt know, i'd have to download a demo or somthing, im sure BF2 probally wont work without an upgrade either.

that computer looks good, but after a little while you should look into upgrading the video, atleast. thats what im doing very quickly.

it sounds like the same computer i have, just better, i have the Compaq Presario SR1610NX, so guessing your getting bassicly the same thing, you would probally have the same Motherboard as me, it's actually suprisingly good, PCI-E Video interface, supports DDR2 RAM, so it's definetly crying for an upgrade.

Personally i love the Sound card (once again, not card, integrated), it supports the 5.1 surround sound i have great, excellent sound quality.

From the external ports that you have it definetly looks like you have the same case as me, is your's white or is it black? the white and black ones might have a different motherboard.


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## Guest (Mar 1, 2006)

Yeah you can actually get away with Xpres200 and CS or HL2 of you just lower the resolutions and settings, and even FarCry ... again if you _dramatically lower _the settings but FarCry still looks good on medium at 1024x768. The real issue is when you load up the plate with the most recent demending two games (FEAR and COD2) and i know from experience (my 3rd rig uses express200) It runs FEAR @ 800x600 on the very lowest settings at about 5-15 FPS. Not good at all, but yes, you can get away with games a few years old on lower resolutions, and i agree about the onboard sound of most ATI chipset mainboards - they use better codecs than usual onboard solutions. I just built a system with the new TUL motherboard with an ATI chipset two weeks ago and it had really nice sound.


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## ebackhus (Apr 21, 2005)

If this is an HP all I can say is good luck. I don't know any happy HP computer owners.

As for the graphics you should toss in a real card as soon as you can if you decide to go with this system. The 6600GT's and above from nVidia and the X700's and up from ATi would provide robust gaming power for you.

Personal opinion: No prebuilt machine is good for gaming.


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## Guest (Mar 2, 2006)

I probably wouldn't go that far. There is nothing wrong with gaming on an OEM pre-built. The things they lack are advanced bios adjustments, and aftermarket bios flash capability (only on some models). There are several people that i know of that use the e-machine socket 939 with the MSI motherboard and it works quite well in games if you add a 7800GT/X1800XT and an aftermarket power supply for better, more sure quality voltage regulation and clean power. What OEM's lack are total customization ability. That in and of itself isn't going to keep an OEM machine from being fast, not reliable, just not near as customizable.


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## mgoldb2 (Dec 16, 2004)

Here the problem with OEM's. If you just looking for a good work computer then you might be fine. OEM'S have decent prices on CPU's because they know that what most people are looking for. Now the problem happens when you start looking for a OEM with over 1GB ram or a good video card. Sundenly you will notice the price of the OEM computer sky rocket alot more then the acturaly cost of the ram or video card upgrade.

This is the reason why generally it is more cost efficent to build you self if you looking for a upper level gaming computer.


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## Guest (Mar 2, 2006)

Actually in my experience OEM's get good prices on CPU's because they get a bulk discount rate - i used to run a fairly large shop and i ordered bulk/direct from Directron.com (was a reseller too) so i also got a nice discount price on CPU's. Times have changed, if you look around on the emachine, HP/Compaq, and other sites you will now find 1 gig of ram is standard on most middle-high end systems and has been for about a year running, and is more or less ubiquitous. You are right about most mass/produced OEM's charging a premuim for adding ram or more storage, but botique gaming PC sites will usully offer two gigs of ram with your system for about what you would pay for it at Newegg or Directron. That said, botique/tier1 and tier2 builders do often charge a higher premuim for better overall tech support and it's usually tailored with the gamer in mind, and it 's usually better than the standard 90 day Sony VAIO, HP, or Compaq warranty.


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## Hobbs71 (Mar 6, 2006)

Just to piggyback on Donal's Topic here. I have the same computer as what he has mentioned also. 

One quick question on the X200. I have a Radeon 9600 laying around and wasn't sure if I should install it in place of the X200 integrated memory. 

Would you say the Radeon would be better than the performance I would get with the X200. I am talking for gaming purposes.

Appreciate the help
Hobbs


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## Fr4665 (Nov 18, 2004)

please stop the thread jacking  if you want to argue over OEM computers make a thread about it but dont trash some guys thread.

yes the 9600 would be alot better then the x200. if the 9600 is agp and there is a free agp slot then do it right away. but sometimes the new x200 chipsets from the OEM manufactures done come with agp or just come with PCI-e.

over all 9600>x200


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## frana14 (Aug 28, 2007)

donal_85208 said:


> I'm looking at buying a new computer. I need a computer that can actually play the latest games and view streaming video. Here are the specs of the computer I'm looking at:
> 
> Processor; AMD Athlon 64 3500+ Processor with Enhanced Virus Protection
> Processor Speed; 2.2GHz
> ...


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## smu122 (Dec 22, 2007)

The specs look great other than that card. Although the card is mediocre I would fine something that isn't integrated for the recent games!. You wont make even minimum specs for that card.(not really a card) However if your playing games like WoW or CS:S you will get around 20 fps. :wink:


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## claudiney (Apr 10, 2009)

ola!!! alguem pode me ajudar... tenho um notbook HP PAVILION ZE2000, e não tenho os drives de: audio, video, barramento sm, modem ja procurei em varios lugares e não achei, se alguem tiver e me ajudar eu agradeço


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