3D card for Win2k help me out which one ?

[ComputerMan 0]

Hello everyone, I want some help in making a hard choice, I have tracked down this 3D cards at my local vendor, and those are:

 

Asus V6800 Ge-Force 256 32MBytes AGP,

Voodoo 3 3000 16MBytes AGP,

ATI All in wonder 128 32MBytes AGP,

Matrox G400 MAX 32Mbytes AGP,

ATI RAGE Fury Pro 32Mbytes AGP,

(Sorry ATI RAGE Fury MAXX 64Mbytes will not have any win2k drivers from ATI !!!!).,

Savage 4 (this one seems no good),

TNT and TNT2 are available but kinda oldie !!!.

 

I will appreciate information like, drivers problems, performance, etc.

 

No i have no access to other cards from here.

Just in case you wonder.

 

Thank you very much.

 

Yours 'Puter...

 

 

[When I said I have no access to others cards from here now, i really mean it, its not a cash problem, but sadly its a question of availability in this place...]

 

 

 

[This message has been edited by ComputerMan (edited 09 August 2000).]

[Kyosho46vr 0]

I love the ATI Radeon cards, go for one of them!!!! Read the reviews, 32 Bit hi-res the ATI card kicks ass!!!

 

Ned

[pmistry 0]

A GeForce and GeForce2 are the fastest and if you can afford them then get it.

 

Voodoo 3 3000 16MBytes AGP

[nope]

 

ATI All in wonder 128 32MBytes AGP

[if you need the video stuff]

 

Matrox G400 MAX 32Mbytes AGP,

[nope]

 

ATI RAGE Fury Pro 32Mbytes AGP,

[nope]

 

Savage 4

[forget all S3 video cards]

 

TNT and TNT2

[i think a TNT is a waste of money now, but a TNT2 Ultra is still fast and won't cost too much]

 

It depends on what you want to do, if you just run Windows and Win32 applications like MSOffice then any card is fine, except S3! If you want games then I would work this way

Voodoo3 3000 > TNT2 Ultra > GeForce > GeForce2 / Voodoo5 5500

The G400 and Rage 128 are fast under Windows but there gaming performance is kind of poor.

[BladeRunner 0]

Depends totally on what you need.

Nothing can touch the NVidia cards for pure fps.

The ATI cards are looking nice, but after previous fun with ATI and their 'amazing' driver releases I wouldn't ever touch another one.

I'm very happy with my Matrox G400MAX.

OK so it doesn't have the pure fps that the NVidia cards can offer, but it is over a year old now.

Windows 2000 drivers are good and don't seem to have the same kind of problems the NVidia ones have.

The Diablo II Direct 3D slow downs look NVidia related (I don't have them) GTA2 runs (Many NVidia owners can't get it to run)

Bottom line, if you want pure speed look at the Geforce & Geforce 2 - However, expect whatever NVidia card you buy to be replaced by something faster in about 3 months time, that does seem to be the average shelf life before they release something new.

If you want something nice and new, then look at ATI, but from a personal view I wont.

The Matrox is a great little card that plays all the games I want to play with no visable slow-down's and pretty stable drivers.

 

------------------

PIII 650 Coppermine, ABit BE6-II, 640MB PC100 RAM (Hyundai), Matrox G400MAX, SB Live! Value, Intel 10/100 NIC, Adaptec 2940UW, IBM 7200 ATA66 22GB HD, IBM 7200 ATA66 20GB HD, Pioneer 32x/6x SCSI DVD, Yamaha 4416 SCSI CD-RW, Iomega Zip 100 SCSI Internal, Iiyama Vision Master Pro 410.

Windows 2000 Only

[DosFreak 2]

Out of the cards you posted the Geforce is the newest/fastest/best. That's not an opinion. IT'S A FACT.

[devils advocate 0]

out of the list, the 6800 is the best bet, but if a 64 meg radeon comes that way, snag it...I've tried every damn card out there, but this takes the cake...but since it isn't on the list, go w/ the geforce...unless you have an athlon w/ an irongate chipset...and don't buy into all the hype surrounding the various cards...just try see each card in action so you don't fall prey to the geforce is god syndrome, besides i think you should gear the card more around games that you play...also the kind of processor you have, b/c you need power to back the card up...for me depending on your system, either v3000 or the asus 6800...just do some research on your options...

[wind 0]

The asus v6800 geforce is definately the best on that list. A lot of people have no problems what so ever with nvidias drivers with windows 2000, people that do have problems can be caused by something else. Most people that do a fresh reinstall seem to get the drivers going ok.. If the raedon card comes your way, sure thats a better option, but once again, if a geforce 2 gts (asus v7700) comes your way, its even better.

Nvidia seem to release the most drivers out of any hardware manufacturer ive ever seen, which is good

[ComputerMan 0]

Thanks, now i am pointing in the right direction.

Your input is really welcome.

You guys rock.

[Nervous 0]

Just curious...

 

If you can get out on the internet and get to this board, you can get to various hardware web sites that will gladly sell you any card you've got the money for. ;-)

 

Try and avoid buying video hardware at local hardware outlets such as Best Buy, CompUSA and such. Visit pricewatch.com, and you will see FAR FAR better deals on a wider variety of equipment than you can ever find locally.