Image Quality - 3D
Considering some of the improvements made with the FX5200, I was hoping to see some improved image quality over the MX440. For the most part, image quality was the same, so this was a bit of a disappointment. There are a few improvements though, notably with texture sharpening.
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No Sharpening (left), Sharpening (right)
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As you can see above, the grass textures are a bit more detailed when you turn on the texture sharpening. There isn't too much of a framerate hit, so turning it on would be my suggestion.
Overclocking
Considering the memory is "underclocked", according to specifications, we were hoping a 250MHz (DDR500) would be a simple task. Luckily for us, our assumptions played out well as cranking it up to 250MHz was no problem. Moving up another 20MHz proved to be uneventful, and we continued moving forward before hitting the ceiling at 290MHz, which is DDR580. I did get as high as 295MHz, but during the 3D Mark 2003 benchmarks, there were all kinds of missing pixels.
The core was a bit of a mixed affair. After some playing around, I was able to kick it from 250MHz to 306MHz. Anything higher than 306MHz caused a lot of image corruption. After a couple hours of benchmarks, we began experiencing lockups, so I dropped back to 300MHz, which is still an even 50MHz above spec. After a couple days, I went back up to 306MHz, and right away I was getting blue screens before even getting into the Windows logon. Dropping back to 305MHz got us into Windows, and for well over a week, things went well. Eventually, the lockups started again, so I dropped back to 300MHz. To my surprise, Windows displayed a lot of corruption, so I dropped back to 298MHz, and everything went back to normal.
The end result was a 296 core, and 285 memory (up from 250/250 stock). As you've probably noticed, this differed from our maximum OC of the core and memory accordingly. This is because one part ran stock, while we OC'd the other part. When putting the two together, we had various levels of success (or failure, depending how you view it), and the 296/285 OC was the fastest, and most stable video card overclock. We could have pushed a little harder, but the fastest OC doesn't mean squat if the card keeps crashing.
Final Words
The MSI FX5200-TDR128 is a solid card, and certainly goes a long way in helping us erase the memory of the MX release. The FX5200 does not have all FX features, but it does deserve to be part of the FX family. For a budget card, it does perform well, and the DX9 support is a nice addition.
That being said, as with most budget cards, high resolution gaming is not really an option. Start upping the image quality like AA and AF, and you're going to have serious framerate issues. It actually does alright with Quake 3 engine games, but that technology is over 3 years old. Unreal Tournament 2003 was a real killer, and it will be more games like this we'll be seeing as the year goes on.
Overclocking was also something that I felt wasn't too successful. The stock speeds are obviously what is holding the card back, and I don't feel that the OCing is going to be enough to put out better benchmark numbers.
The overall package is nice. MSI never fails to impress us with the number of extras thrown in. Plenty of software is provided, as well as a remote, which will provide some extra functionality for those building a multimedia system. This does increase the price though, so if these items are not important to you, you would be best to shop for a less "all-inclusive" card.
The card isn't a bad choice if you want to spend under 150$, but you're going to have to be aware of the limitations. It does get the job done, and it does support DX9, but I wouldn't count on it being a good choice when Doom 3 comes out.
Pros: Decent perfomance (at 1024x768) given the price, nice bundle and cooling.
Cons: Not a good choice for serious gamers, poor high resolution performance.
Bottom Line: If you're really tight on money, and would like a DX9 capable card, this wouldn't be a bad choice, but with the Radeon 9500 and 9600 for only about 30$ more, I'm going to have to say it's worth your while to spend the extra cash. If you got any comments, be sure to hit us up in our forums.
