3D on small monitor

[Sumadin]

Hi All
I'm gonna be getting a video card next week.
I only have a 14" monitor at the moment and can't afford a new one for awhile.
Therefore, most of my 3D resolutions run 800x600.
The card I want to get must be inexpensive and have good 3D performance for my system/monitor config.
When I get around to the new monitor hopefully there will be some good price reductions in some of the better video cards as well.

900TB
A7V133
Win98
128 mushkin rev3
NEC multisync C400

My question to the community:

What's best 3D card for the above config?
I was thinking ATI Radeon LE (tweaked of course)
Thats LE , NOT VE
Thanks

<font color=red>Sumadin</font color=red>


<font color=blue>"A mind is a terrible thing"</font color=blue><P ID="edit"><FONT SIZE=-1><EM>Edited by Sumadin on 03/21/01 10:16 AM.</EM></FONT></P>

 

[lostinms]

you are better off getting either a Geforce 2 MX or a Regular Radeon not the LE ver. I heard that the G2 MX smacks the LE ver of Radeon around.

 

[phsstpok]

At 800x600, every current graphics card will give good framerates (well at least Radeon's and Geforce based cards do, even the original Geforce cards).

I don't know how old your 14" monitor is but it probably needs to support <b>non-interlaced</b> mode. I believe current graphics cards no longer support <b>interlaced</b> mode.

The Radeon LE is a good choice (especially if you are lucky enough to be able to reactivate the Hyper-Z feature using the tweak).

<P ID="edit"><FONT SIZE=-1><EM>Edited by phsstpok on 03/21/01 11:43 AM.</EM></FONT></P>

 

[HolyGrenade]

Make sure the monitor supports a minimum refresh rate of 60Hz (non-interlaced)


<i><b><font color=red>"2 is not equal to 3, not even for large values of 2"</font color=red></b></i>

 

[Sumadin]

NEC MultiSync C400
Synchronization Range (Automatic):
Horizontal:
30 kHz to 64 kHz

Vertical:
47 Hz to 120 Hz

Bandwidth:
75 MHz

Resolutions Supported:
640 x 480 @ 55 to 120 Hz
800 x 600 @ 55 to 101 Hz
832 x 624 @ 55 to 96 Hz
1024 x 768 @ 55 to 79 Hz
1152 2 870 @ 55 to 70 Hz
1280 x 1024 @ 55 to 60 Hz

Hmmm what do ya think?
A peice of crap ain't it


Oh! Bye the way Honey. I need to buy a new monitor too!
(ducks in anticipation of flying objects)



<font color=red>Sumadin</font color=red>


<font color=blue>"A mind is a terrible thing"</font color=blue><P ID="edit"><FONT SIZE=-1><EM>Edited by Sumadin on 03/21/01 01:24 PM.</EM></FONT></P>

 

[phsstpok]

I checked the NEC site and although the specs don't mention interlace or non-interlace I think you are OK. If it was an interlaced monitor you would see strange refresh rates at the highest resolution like 48 Hz, interlaced, instead of 60 Hz.

 

[noko]

At 800x600 you will be able to use FSAA which will make 800x600 look like a much higher resolution. The Radeon LE with its DDR ram would be much better at 800x600 using FSAA then the MX card. Plus the Radeon LE has better 2d sharpness and video capability as in mpeg, mpeg2 and DVD file playing. Here is a recent review comparing a Radeon LE to a nVidea MX and a few other cards.
<A HREF="http://www.xbitlabs.com/video/radeon-le.html" target="_new">http://www.xbitlabs.com/video/radeon-le.html</A>
Just remember that the Radeon LE is a more Directx8 featured video card meaning its legevity for playing future games will be better than the nVidia MX cards.

Now there is a newcomer, which is the 3d Prophet 4500 which if the price is right is also a excellent choice. Which of the three has the best FSAA, so check it out at:
<A HREF="http://www.sharkyextreme.com/hardware/previews/hercules_3dprophet_4500_kyro2/" target="_new">http://www.sharkyextreme.com/hardware/previews/hercules_3dprophet_4500_kyro2/</A>
<A HREF="http://www.anandtech.com/showdoc.html?i=1435" target="_new">http://www.anandtech.com/showdoc.html?i=1435</A>