Kyro II or GF2 MX for Duron 800MHz?

[Guest]

Which one should I get, a GeForce 2 MX or a Kyro II? The computer I'm going to buy is a Duron 800Mhz with 256MB RAM(133MHZ), and probably a KT7A mobo.

I know the Kyro II is faster in some areas but it does not support hardware T&L? The Kyro II also requires a faster cpu than the MX?

Since I'm on a thight budget, if I choose the MX which model should I get, MX / MX 200 / MX 400 and which brand, Hercules, Leadtek...?

Thanks in advance.

 

[noko]

This is a hard one here. I am getting a new 64 meg MX400 for $89 on Ebay but the same card sells for $93. I would recommend a 64meg MX400 if you go the MX route. The KYRO2 I would also recommend especially if you like flight simulators or know that you want to use FSAA. Your in the Grey area for Kyro2, still you should be able to overclock that Duron up to 1ghz in which the Kyro2 would perform better then that MX. A Radeon LE is also a excellent option for you too. The Radeon does have excellent image quality. A little bit of work to get the Radeon LE screming with its outstanding 2d and DVD quality is nothing to not think about. T&L will come much more important as time goes on. The new game by Remedy, Max Payne will be highly hardware T&L optimized so not sure how the Kyro2 will perform. Still I think it will be very playable with the Kyro2 so don't get me wrong there. At NewEgg.com the Kyro2 is now $112 in which I expect eventually it will hit $100 in a month or so.

 

[Kwonger]

I agree with noko... Do you plan to keep this videocard for a long time? If you do then GeForce 2MX or a Radeon is the best way to go. Right now when those two chipsets are dominating the market, you can expect more driver updates from them (hopefully...). The Kyro II is appealing and very tempting but if you're going for long term usage, nVIDIA or ATi is the way to go. T&L should be around for quite a long time.

 

[Guest]

i suggest a geforce 2 gts for around $130. check pricewatch.

 

[SerArthurDayne]

I'm not a big fan of the Ge2 mx's... you definately don't want the Ge2 MX 200, and the Ge2 MX 400 doesn't really have an improvement performance over the original Ge2 MX. Instead of 90 to 100 for a Ge2 MX 400, I would suggest trying to get at least a Ge2 GTS for around 120 to 130. The GTS is much more powerful than the MX and doesn't have near as much of a memory bottleneck. I have a Duron800@1G, and my Ge2 GTS performs much better than a MX of a friends that I tested before purchasing the vid card.

So really I'd suggest either the Kyro II or a GTS/Pro

 

[Guest]

I don't agree with you...
if he buys a kyro 2 then in the future he could buy a better cpu and get better T&L ...
T&L of geforce 2 mx is not that great, T&L kills the fill rate of mx/gts when using it...
only in best case scenarios (some becnhmarks) T&L is great...
but I don't play any bench...

 

[noko]

Stay away from the MX200 models, they use 64 bit memory data paths vice 128bit, they are 40-60% slower then a regular mx, priced around $50. The MX400 is basically an overclocked mx from 175mh to 200mh and gives about 10-20% increase in FPS if you get a 64meg version, priced around $90. Most of the brands follow nVidia reference design and pretty much the same. Radeon LE goes for around $70 and comes with 32megs of DDR 128 bit memory. The Radeon will have the best IQ (image quality) plus in 32 bit gaming it would be the fastest (<i>I think I worded this wrong, the Kyro2 would be faster in most cases but not all. Faster in comparing a MX and Radeon LE tweaked in 32 bit graphics only. 5/23/01)</i>. Now the GTS ($128 from newegg.com) maybe an option as well for you as well as the Kyro2 ($112 at newegg.com).

<P ID="edit"><FONT SIZE=-1><EM>Edited by noko on 05/23/01 01:29 PM.</EM></FONT></P>

 

[Guest]

I think I'm going to buy a GeForce 2 MX, because I'm on a tight budget. The card that I was offered is a PowerColor PowerGene GeForce 2 MX with 32MB (6ns) SDRAM (probably more common here in Europe than in the US).

Here is a review of the card (I'm not sure it is exactly this model I'll be getting)

<A HREF="http://www.rolotech.com/reviews/videocard/PowercolorGeForce2MX/PowerCgeforce2MX.htm" target="_new">http://www.rolotech.com/reviews/videocard/PowercolorGeForce2MX/PowerCgeforce2MX.htm</A>

I would want to be able to use this card for 1/2-1 year without having to upgrade. I don't require high FPS, just that the games are playable.

If anyone has any experience or opinions about this card or recommend another brand feel free to comment.


Thanks.

<P ID="edit"><FONT SIZE=-1><EM>Edited by CyberPsycho2000 on 05/23/01 03:51 AM.</EM></FONT></P>

 

[noko]

Since the MX and Nvidia drivers are very mature it will probably be the least problamatic. The Radeon LE would have better 2d image quality, better DVD image quality and 3d in 32 bit. The Kyro2 will have the fastest speed between the three in most cases (not all) with outstanding FSAA, 2d comparable to the Radeon and DVD play similar to the MX. Really any one of them will work well as far as I see it in your system for the next year. As soon as I get my MX and second machine up I will be able to tell people how much better Image Quality is between the Radeon and the MX and if it is even significant. The GF2 card I compared to my Radeon failed miserably in the image quality standards that I set but that was only one GF2 card, others may do better. So when are you going to buy?

 

[noko]

Here is a good article about the Radeon LE (FINALLY!!!), which you can compare the mx, Kyro2 and the Radeon LE. Lets just say the Radeon LE is HOT!!!! Look at the Kyro2 numbers too.

<A HREF="http://www.anandtech.com/showdoc.html?i=1473" target="_new">AnAndTech Excellent Radeon LE review!!</A>

 

[Guest]

I'm probably going to buy the computer in a week or two. I think I'm going to buy the Radeon LE if I can get my hands on it (I live in Scandinavia). The only models that seem to be available are Radeon DDR VIVO 32/64 MB, Radeon DDR 32/64 MB, Radeon SDR 32 MB, Radeon All In Wonder 32 MB and the Radeon VE 32 MB.

If I don't find it I'll get a GeForce 2 MX (or maybe a Kyro II if they get cheaper).

I'll let you know if I manage to get a Radeon LE.

Thanks.

 

[Guest]

geforce 2 Mx can't compete with kyro 2...
kyro 1 is the competition for geforce 2 mx...


I play with a duron 800 mdk 2 (yes with eveything max) with T&L enabled...
and at 1280x1024x32 in windows 2000 it never ever drops to less than 40 fps...

I bet you could not do that with a geforce MX

<P ID="edit"><FONT SIZE=-1><EM>Edited by powervr2 on 05/25/01 01:57 PM.</EM></FONT></P>