What is the best 3d card for win2k

[lukehodge 0]

Ive just upgraded to win2k only to find that my 3dfx2 card wont work properly....

 

Im looking to change this card to a new 3d/2d card as it seems that a lot has happened since 3dfx2 was the don!

 

I currently have a

PII 350

abit BH6

128MB

SBLive

Matrox g100 2d card

 

Im looking to change the 3dfx2 and g100 for a 3d/2d card maybe with dvd hardware support?

Ive seen the S3 Savage 2000 around and it seems good although the geforce also seems good as it is fast irrespective of the processor speed.

 

Im not looking for the fastest card but one that gives the best performance to cost ratio as im a poorper at the moment!

 

Thanks people

[JimmyK 0]

as most of the people here know Im a 100 percent nvidia man, heck I got a tnt2u and a tnt1 in this box and a riva 128zx in my otehr 2 box's. But in ur situation Id recommend a cheap 2d/3d Voodoo3, for that processor and everything the best BANg for the BUCK is 3dfx v3 2000.

 

I think u can get a retail v3 2k for like 70 bucks compared toa retail tnt2u which is around 160+ thats more then twice the price.. and mind u Im talking about retail.

[jonny 0]

If your looking for smp support dont get a voodoo3. Plus the drivers arent that good either. Supposedly the tnt cards made good drivers for win2k and actually outperform win98. Plus smp support. Thats my 2 cents.

[lukehodge 0]

is the vodoo3 more of the same and will i actually see that much improvement?? does my processor mean every card will be bad?

[Reaper_uk 0]

I don't think you've mentioned how much your willing to pay for your card! yes you want the best cost/performance ratio but you idea of a cheap card might differ from other peoples.

are you planning on upgrading your system within the next 6months?

If you don't play o upgrade your system for a long while then i would go for the voodoo3 3000, it may be about £20-£30 more expensive but once you've clocked it up to max (183mhz is mine) you'll notice the different from the v3 2000 (which can only go to about 166mhz, v3 3000 starting point)

If you're thinking of upgrading your computer in the near future either go for the TNT2 ultra or if you can spare it the geforce pro. although the nvidia cards don't hav ethe best drivers out yet they will soon.

anyway, thats what i think.

[Damien Green 0]

I'm a very long term Matrox user - Milennium- Milennium II, G200, G400 Max, so it will come as little suprise that I would reccommend that you use a G400 or one of its varients under Win 2K. In fact I find (as do many others) that the Matrox drivers are some of the most stable, running most applications and games under both direct3d and open gl.

[Seldzar 0]

For your situation I would recommend the voodoo3 2000. Cheap/value for your dollar and good performance. Not to mention excellent drivers in win2k. Oh yeah and having that extra API(Glide) makes it handy if a game doesn't like running in d3d on win2k.

 

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§E£DZÅR

http://www.win2knews.com

[APV_SAV 0]

Matrox has (to my surprise) solid W2K driver for their G400, other than Matrox, Nivida has solid driver too.

[SHS 0]

lukehodge just make sure you get one with at less 16mb or more on board.

 

My list

3dfx Voodoo3

Very Fast 2D, Fast Glide, Good D3D, Good OpenGL, Good DVD

 

ATI Rage 128

Good 2D, no Glide, Good D3D, Good OpenGL, Danm Good DVD

 

Matrox G200 or G400

Very Fast 2D, no Glide, Good D3D, Good OpenGL, Good DVD

 

nVida Riva TNT 1, 2

Good 2D, no Glide, Good D3D, Fast OpenGL, OK DVD

 

S3 Savage 3D & Savage4

Fair 2D, no Glide, Good D3D, Good OpenGL, Good DVD

 

S3 Savage 2000 "No drivers not recommend"

[JimmyK 0]

Hes got a good comptuer 350 is fine, I wouldnt upgrade till 1 gigahert comptuer came out.

 

yes a v3 is much faster then a v2, double if not more.

 

Obviously there is no smp mentioned in his comptuer description, but that was a good point Johnny, but since only 1 game SEMI supports it it doesnt matter much right now.

 

I think ur mistaken, the v3 drivers are supposed to be better then the nvidia ones.

 

The tnt cards do not outperform 98 box's with exactly same hardware, not yet actaully they are slower.

 

I dont htink ull get enough performance out of a g400 with ur current processor. ACtaully Im positive compared to a v3 2k at 166+ it will outperform a g400 in everything(most probably any tnt1,2,2u as well).

 

V3 does not have a actual opengl ICD, so no windowed opengl for u. None of the advanced 3d graphical programs ie Maya, 3d studio max, softimage can take advnatage of the opengl acceleration like u can from a tnt.

 

Once again Im trying ot show u the pros and cons. Like I said I have ALL nvidia cards, but from ur system specs and the fact u dont want to waste money I recommedn a v3 2k. Heck only reason I got my ultra was because I paid 75 dollars for it retail. But I love the thing and my tnt1 and my 128zx, they are all great cards for my use, and I got excellent deals on all 3 of them.

[Syncope 0]

If you are a gamer, then get the card that supports most of your games--only you can answer that question. The only two [chips] that really compete are 3dfx and NVIDIA.

 

If you're not a gamer, I'd recommend a Matrox G400. The G400 probably has the best image quality, and the DualHead feature can actuallly be very useful (pick up a 2nd monitor cheaply somewhere).

[lukehodge 0]

So it looks from u people that the Vodoo3 takes the biscuit??

Ive seen a 3dfx3 2000 at www.insight.com/uk for about 48 quid and the 3000 is about 80 is it really worth the difference do u think?? I know someone mentioned the overclocking potential but ive never really seen a massive increase in speed when overclocking - i know lets start an overclocking debate!!

 

Cheers for all your replies and if u can suggest a cheaper place for the 3dfx3 card in the uk then shout ahead!!

 

P.S anyone wanna buy a G100 and a 3dfx2 card - they work great in win2k....

[APV_SAV 0]

SHS,

 

I agree with your list, especially on the "Damn good ATI DVD", i have a AMD K6-300 (not k6-2) 64 meg ram machine with an ATI fury, DVD playing is very smooth and good. Tried an TNT2 and G400 on that box, DVD playing was no where near as good.

[Mark W 0]

What do you mean when you say the Voodoo 3 is not good for SMP?

[Reaper_uk 0]

ok, when i brought my v3 3000 before it was clocked i couldn't really play games in 1024*768 nice a smooth (eg quake2/3,half-life) when i put the clock speed up to 183mhz i noticed a fair amount of change, games now ran nice and smooth and i was happy. thats was with a amd k6-2350 so becuase you have a PII you might getaway with a clock speed of 166mhz, in which case you can get the v3 2000.

I would still recommend getting the v3 3000 though.

I gather your from the uk so also check out www.dabs.com and www.novatech.co.uk also www.msquared.co.uk (not sure about graphics but you can pick up 64mb sdrampc100 for £40 inc.vat and also a sblive 1024 for the same price!!)

anyway thats my thoughts.