Startup Crash (just bought BioShock)

[Cuja]

Just bought and installed the game. After the BioShock splash, my screen goes black (as if to start the game) then crashes and wants to send an error message to Microsoft.

System Specs:
Operating System: Windows XP Professional (5.1, Build 2600) Service Pack 2 (2600.xpsp_sp2_gdr.070227-2254)
Language: English (Regional Setting: English)
System Manufacturer: INTEL_
System Model: D865PERL
BIOS: BIOS Date: 05/20/03 12:21:56 Ver: 08.00.09
Processor: Intel(R) Pentium(R) 4 CPU 2.60GHz (2 CPUs)
Memory: 1022MB RAM
Page File: 369MB used, 2091MB available
Windows Dir: C:\WINDOWS
DirectX Version: DirectX 9.0c (4.09.0000.0904)
DX Setup Parameters: Not found
DxDiag Version: 5.03.2600.2180 32bit Unicode

Video Card
Card name: RADEON 9200 SERIES
Manufacturer: ATI Technologies Inc.
Chip type: RADEON 9250/9200 Series AGP (0x5961)
DAC type: Internal DAC(400MHz)
Device Key: Enum\PCI\VEN_1002&DEV_5961&SUBSYS_40181458&REV_01
Display Memory: 128.0 MB
Current Mode: 1280 x 1024 (32 bit) (75Hz)
Monitor: Plug and Play Monitor
Monitor Max Res: 1600,1200
Driver Name: ati2dvag.dll
Driver Version: 6.14.0010.6614 (English)
DDI Version: 9 (or higher)
Driver Attributes: Final Retail
Driver Date/Size: 5/3/2006 12:51:00, 258048 bytes

Sound Card
Description: SoundMAX Digital Audio
Default Sound Playback: Yes
Default Voice Playback: Yes
Hardware ID: PCI\VEN_8086&DEV_24D5&SUBSYS_A0008086&REV_02
Manufacturer ID: 1
Product ID: 100
Type: WDM
Driver Name: smwdm.sys
Driver Version: 5.12.0001.3580 (English)

Any help would be great!

[Tech Dan]

Unfortunately, your video card is under the minimum requirements. You will need a Radeon X1300 or better (excluding the X1550).

[Cuja]

That makes me sad. Any recomendations for something that will do the job well and won't break the bank?

[Quanta]

Video Card
Card name: RADEON 9200 SERIES

I would say that your video card is ridiculously out of date. It doesn't even support Shader Model 2.0, which is the unofficial minimum needed to play BioShock (the official being Shader Model 3.0).

[Cuja]

my computer is fairly old (5 years, whoah) and i'm upgrading it piece by piece as a go. What would be a recomended card?

[Quanta]

my computer is fairly old (5 years, whoah) and i'm upgrading it piece by piece as a go. What would be a recomended card?

That's modern and economical? Not sure, to be honest. Any of the NVidia 8000-series cards will run BioShock no problem, but you'd need a motherboard with PCI-Express slots, as AGP is officially dead.

As for ATi cards, I'm not even sure what they have out at the moment. I think the Radeon HD series is their latest offerings, but I could be wrong.

My best advice is to hit up NewEgg and check prices.

[pbc]

my laptop is doing the same thing i have a nvidia 8400m gs and i download the currennt driver for it

[Dtmech]

I saw some patch to make pixel shader 2.0 on bioshock. But i think everything will look like ****. But you can try.

[Tirisfal]

Sapphire makes some pretty good ATI agp cards. I just got a 1950 pro, but that'll set you back a couple hundred dollars. However, seeing as it runs Bioshock on the highest settings, I consider it a pretty good investment.

The real question to ask yourself is do you plan on playing any new computer games in the next couple of years. Shader Model 3.0 is becoming the new standard, so you're going to want to get a card that can last you a bit. As I said before the 1950 pro by Sapphire's a good bet, but I'm pretty sure all of the ATI x1xxx series are available in an AGP variety. Obviously the higher up you go in number, the better the card. The new HD cards are also available in AGP but unless you're planning on upgrading to Vista without getting a new computer, the HD cards are just going to have a bunch of stuff (namely DirectX 10 support) that you're not going to use.

I would try checking out the Sapphire brand of cards since they're pretty reliable and tend to run cheaper than the standard ATI ones.