MX400 does not support DirectX 8 pixel shaders, you need GeForce 3 and above for that (Or Radeon 8500 and above)

As far as I remember all the "GeForce MX" cards do not support "Shader Model" whatsoever, so the special water effects do not function without that support. They're a "budget line" of cards after all.

Even when I tried running original PC port of Halo: CE nearly every graphical option is grayed out when I tried it on a MX variant of the GeForce 4 series cards.

Hiddenevil wrote on 2023-08-25, 07:58:

Could someone please confirm with me , should I be seeing normal water effects with a MX400 GPU? Only what I'm getting is more like a cloudy shaded texture.

That's normal. Morrowind was one of the first games to make use of programmable pixel shaders which are not available on GeForce 2 cards and below. This was one of the reasons why many people (myself included) upgraded to a GeForce 3 back in the day. Contemporary gaming magazines often showcased the differences between older and newer GPUs using this game.

I made a few comparison screenshots some time ago. Here's an example:

Guys, thank you! Really appreciate the feedback. Ok so now I need to look for a GPU upgrade 🤣
Is Geforce 3 my only option?

Hiddenevil wrote on 2023-08-25, 08:52:

Guys, thank you! Really appreciate the feedback. Ok so now I need to look for a GPU upgrade 🤣
Is Geforce 3 my only option?

No, Geforce 4 (non-MX) as well as ATI Radeon 8500, 9000, 9100, 9200 series will also do the job.

Hiddenevil wrote on 2023-08-25, 08:52:

Guys, thank you! Really appreciate the feedback. Ok so now I need to look for a GPU upgrade 🤣
Is Geforce 3 my only option?

Any card supporting DX8 or above.
For period correct ones :
nVidia Geforce3 / 4 / FX
Radeon 8500 / 9XXX
Matrox Parhelia (yes !)

If you're on a low budget, i would go with a Fx5200 / 5500 or a Radeon 9200/9250/9600 as that are cheaper than GeForce3/4 and Radeon 8500.
Radeon 9600 should give you good performances for <20$/€

Hiddenevil wrote on 2023-08-25, 08:52:

Guys, thank you! Really appreciate the feedback. Ok so now I need to look for a GPU upgrade 🤣
Is Geforce 3 my only option?

Anything newer than a GeForce 2 will work.

Except for GeForce 4 MX cards, those don't support programmable pixel shaders either.

FX5200/5500 are usually 64-bit and way slower than even GeForce 3 Ti 200; it is difficult for someone not in the know to pick up anything from this line that won't end up disappointing so I would in general not advise in favor of buying a GeForce FX card slower than a 5600.

Similarly for the Radeon 9000 series, there are a lot of 64-bit 9550/9600 cards (some of these are properly marked as 9600SE but there are also a lot of unlabeled 64-bit 9600PRO and 9600XT cards) which would be highly unadvisable. For this series sticking to 9000/9100/9200/9500/9700/9800 would be a good rule of thumb for someone who doesn't know what they are getting into..

FX will result in 15 fps in Morrowind, even on a fast CPU. GF6 or higher, or be a normal person and play it on your modern win10/11 PC.

Morrowind is quite demanding in DX8; I remember trying to run it on a relatively fast PIII at the time and even with a Radeon 8500LE I couldn't run it at 1024x768 for example.

Thanks guys, I probably should have mentioned my setup

Dell Dimension 4300, P4 1.6ghz, 256mb ram, Geforce2 MX400, Creative Ensoniq, Win98se

Yes, I’d like to keep it around the 98 - 2001 era.

GeForce 3 would be the most period correct for that era, but if you're willing to use a card from 2002, a GeForce 4 Ti would give you higher performance with solid compatibility.

Personally I'd go with a GeForce4 Ti 4200 or 4600 if you can find one.

A friend suggested a Riva TNT2 M64

Hiddenevil wrote on 2023-08-25, 14:46:

A friend suggested a Riva TNT2 M64

That's a weaker card than your current GeForce 2 MX400 and it doesn't support programmable shader model either.

I think your friend may be pulling your leg.

Hiddenevil wrote on 2023-08-25, 14:46:

A friend suggested a Riva TNT2 M64

That would be a lot worse.

Hiddenevil wrote on 2023-08-25, 14:46:

A friend suggested a Riva TNT2 M64

Maybe he mean for TES Arena?

Probly best to leave as is, it's not that big of a deal especially if you are already playing on such an old system.

I played it and the expansions when it first came out. Can't imagine playing it again without 100+ mods.

Well I'm looking at Geforce 3 or possibly a 9000 series.

I don't actually own the expansion packs 😮

Joseph_Joestar wrote on 2023-08-25, 08:23:

This was one of the reasons why many people (myself included) upgraded to a GeForce 3 back in the day. Contemporary gaming magazines often showcased the differences between older and newer GPUs using this game.

I remember agonizing over whether it would be worth spending the money to upgrade or not. Ultimately decided it wasn't worth it just for a single game, but in hindsight I've always wondered what could have been.

I've been meaning to recreate my old build from that era and stick a GeForce 3 in it just to see what it would have been like if I'd sprung the cash at the time. 😁