GeForce 3 Questions

[Guest]

Alright, I am intrested in buying (well upgrading from gateway, only $275, ) the VisionTek GeForce 3 64 MB, but I had some questions for anyone who has the card.

What resolutions will the GeForce 3 support?

Basically I need Widescreen (16 X 9) resolutions to work with my SGI flat panel monitor. Especially I need itto support 1600 X 1024. Can anyone confirm if it does? Tech support didn't really know.

Secondly I was reading about the NVIDA chipset at NVIDIA's site, and they were talking about how most drivers for it are backwards compatible.

Does this mean that I can use, say, an Elsa GeForce 3 driver on my VisionTek GeForce 3 if it is better. Will it work fine?

Also what is the differance between Vision Tek, Elsa, or another companies GeForce 3?

Lastly do video cards affect video editing? I don't really play many games on the PC, and therefore don't really need a $400 dollar video card, but if it affects video editing, maybe getting the $275 deal is worth it.

Thanks,
David

 

[Toejam31]

The GeForce3 <i>does</i> support 1600x1024. In fact, it supports 1920x1440.

I have used an Elsa Gladiac 920 driver with my VisionTek card with no ill effects. Switching the driver back to a reference driver was no different than upgrading the reference driver to a newer version. It wasn't even necessary to remove the driver in advance ... overwriting worked fine.

There's not a great deal of difference between the various brand-name flavors of the GF3. Some come with extra goodies, like 3D glasses, TV-out, or a nicer software bundle. It's simple enough to visit the various sites and take a look for yourself. Hey, and comparison shopping can be fun!

<A HREF="http://www.elsa.com/international/us/products/graphics_boards/gladiac920.htm" target="_new">http://www.elsa.com/international/us/products/graphics_boards/gladiac920.htm</A>

<A HREF="http://us.hercules.com/products/product.php3?id=1" target="_new">http://us.hercules.com/products/product.php3?id=1</A>

<A HREF="http://www.visiontek.com/newest_index.html" target="_new">http://www.visiontek.com/newest_index.html</A>

<A HREF="http://www.leadtek.com/geforce3/gf3td.htm" target="_new">http://www.leadtek.com/geforce3/gf3td.htm</A>

<A HREF="http://www.asus.com/products/addon/vga/agpv8200d/index.html" target="_new">http://www.asus.com/products/addon/vga/agpv8200d/index.html</A>

<A HREF="http://www.msicomputer.com/product/vga/vga_detail/Geforce3_ms8822.htm" target="_new">http://www.msicomputer.com/product/vga/vga_detail/Geforce3_ms8822.htm</A>

Note: the Gainward site appears to be freaking out, so here is a review from [H]ard|OCP.

<A HREF="http://www.hardocp.com/reviews/vidcards/gainward/cardexpert_geforce3/" target="_new">http://www.hardocp.com/reviews/vidcards/gainward/cardexpert_geforce3/</A>

$275.00 is a very good price for a GF3. The VisionTek is still going for about $375.00 retail.

I don't know squat about video editing, having never developed an interest in the subject. I install the Firewire cards; my customers have all the fun. Photoshop and scanning is more my bag ... I prefer for the object of my affection to hold still! I don't really know how the GF3 might affect the process, although I assume that it would not be detrimental to the final result. Someone else care to address that subject?

However, I wouldn't think it would be necessary to upgrade to a graphics accelerator like this if you really don't find yourself interested in gaming. I would think that a lower priced card would suffice, with the extra money going toward something else, like a Pinnacle or a Canopus editing system. Again ... any of you video professionals out there have some useful information for this fellow?

Toejam31



<font color=purple>My Rig:</font color=purple> <A HREF="http://www.anandtech.com/mysystemrig.html?rigid=6847" target="_new">http://www.anandtech.com/mysystemrig.html?rigid=6847</A>