Opinions about "THGC graphics card buyers' FAQ"

Spitfire_x86

Splendid
Jun 26, 2002
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Disscuss about this FAQ here (FAQ content).

IMO, formatting still needs more work. You should give me a bit more time.

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TKS

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I sent you a message earlier Spitfire and still stand behind it...I would have liked to see the Abit Siluro included on the recommended cardmakers list for their cooling solutions, noise reductions, and performance. But, that's just me...dunno if anyone had a bad experience with them. But other than that, I thought that the FAQ will help lots of new users and will probably be valid for the next month or so until everything changes once again :p Dern ATI and Nvidia won't sit down long enough to pee standing up. (try and figure that one out :tongue: )

Final Answer: I like-uh da juice...

<font color=blue>I don't have to be careful! I have a gun!</font color=blue>
<font color=green>Homer Simpson</font color=green>

TKS
 

Boilermaker

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just from looking at some of the questions that are posted over an over, you may want to make a statement or two about 8x agp 4x agp, etc.

explain what AA and AF do, and how it affects performance

include sapphire in the recommended ati cards (my opinion anyway).

btw, i have a siluro otes (ti4200 tho), and with the case cover on, noise isnt bad. biggest problem is the loss of the first pci slot.
 

coolsquirtle

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there will be a TECHNOLOGY FAQ after the High end one~~
and there will be BRAND SELECTION FAQ

but hey, i have a life (not really) so be patient my young padawan learners

Proud Owner the Block Heater
120% nVidia Fanboy
PROUD OWNER OF THE GEFORCE FX 5900ULTRA <-- I wish this was me
I'd get a nVidia GeForce FX 5900Ultra... if THEY WOULD CHANGE THAT #()#@ HSF
 

TKS

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Another thing you might point out is the fact that Video cards are compatible on any windows based PC...I know I've seen a few peoples ask if their PC can use 'such and such' video card. Would just be a good general statement to put the new guys in the right frame of mind.

<font color=blue>I don't have to be careful! I have a gun!</font color=blue>
<font color=green>Homer Simpson</font color=green>

TKS
 

eden

Champion
I am against the fact you already did it, when a real proper FAQ would take days assembling user input. This is all contradictory and probably had garnished already enough attention to avoid it next time, since most will overlook it and forget it gets updated.

I suggest you take it off, collect info, if not let anyone else help writing, (I recall GrapeApe suggested he might try to make it) and even give a copy before sticking it.

I might be the only one thinking this way, but sorry, I totally did not appreciate this "sudden" FAQ. It almost sounded like you WANTED the attention by rushing it before anyone else tried to help.

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Spitfire_x86

Splendid
Jun 26, 2002
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I've said that the FAQ is not final. What's problem with beta version? Fredi didn't mind beta version, and made it sticky.

Coolsquirtle's thread was already running for few days. IMO, enough info for a beta FAQ was collected. I made a quick release, because it will speed up the process of final FAQ.

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Spitfire_x86

Splendid
Jun 26, 2002
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It's missing the 9500 non-pro if I'm not mistaken.
Radeon 9500 (non-Pro) and Radeon 9600 (non-Pro) is coming under value card section.


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Spitfire_x86

Splendid
Jun 26, 2002
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0.9.1 version of the FAQ is out!

The formatting problems are almost fixed and included Radeon 9500 (non-Pro), Radeon 9600 (non-Pro)

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coolsquirtle

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did i have 9500 non-pro and 9600 non pro?? i thought i did

Proud Owner the Block Heater
120% nVidia Fanboy
PROUD OWNER OF THE GEFORCE FX 5900ULTRA <-- I wish this was me
I'd get a nVidia GeForce FX 5900Ultra... if THEY WOULD CHANGE THAT #()#@ HSF
 

Spitfire_x86

Splendid
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Yes, you had R9500/9600 non-pro. But I forgot to add the m in v0.9.0. Now they are available in v0.9.1

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Ganache

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Yeah, double check Shaphire, last i heard anyway, 9700 non pro weren't made by ati at all. Only Shaphire. Heard they were great card.
 

Spitfire_x86

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Coolsquirtle deserves most of the thanks

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Hey, Hey cool it has begun. Thanks for the work. Bee busy, but I have the weekend off after this morning so I'll see what I can come up with.

Sorry but I <b>HAVE</b> to be critical here so don't take it personally.

Things that need to be changed IMO;

- Less Spaces, way to much space in between stuff.

- Lose the Recommended card section, just put a comparison (put a caveat saying under most situations, blah, blah). The recomendations are too long, will change constantly based on price, and will also become obsolete with newer cards. A better example would be something that is agreed upon (more or less) like FX5200<GF4ti=FX5200U=FX5600<FX5600U-R.1<FX5600U-R.2<FX5800<FX5800U<FX5900<FX5900U.

- I'd also prefer a link to a complete (or semi-complete) list of all/most cards <A HREF="http://www.tech-report.com/etc/comparo/graphics/" target="_new">Like This</A>.

- Brands to avoid I'd add GigaCube (or their new name or A/B) to ATI.

- Needs ALOT more technical stuff but I assume that is to come?

- Where are th main stay FAQ requests? Do I need AGP 8X? What is AGP X? What is the volage of AGP X? What is AGP 3.0/2.0/1.0, etc? (something like <A HREF="http://www.directron.com/15agpguide.html" target="_new">This</A> What is Pro vs non-Pro; Ultra versus non-Ultra (explaining there are no non-pro/ultras, that's just our term)? Which one is better ATI or nVidia or Matrox (good time to link to CoolS's post maybe)? What is all this about cheating? And all that good stuff.

- There is no mention of 2D vs. 3D quality, nor is there a description of Pro/Workstation vs Gaming Cards.

- Brief description with links to AA and AF (inlcuding methods not used by ATI & nV [ie Fragment])

- Quick Intro menu (so people can scroll to the area of their general interest/question)

- A list of good review sites (linked of course) other than THG ([H], Anand, nVnews, Rage3D, Digit-Life, xBitLabs, etc.), plus the news breaking sites, (Inquirer, Register, and Xbit again)

- a Brief description of why 3Dmk01 and 3Dmk03 are different and why Bungholio marks don't mean anything in the real world, they just help everyone get a standard judge of th 'known' universe, etc. Perhaps a discussion of why Benchmaking is under fire, or link to that info.

- a Glossar of terms or a link to a glossary of terms would be good.

- The explicit statement that the information provided from this forum is free an shoul be regarded as such and should be taken at face-value (do your own damn research if you want a guarantee!). And also a reminder that Google and Pricewatch/NewEgg all are still operating so USE them!

- Mention about the idea of buying a card in anticipation of a game (don't count on it, wait 'til the game arrives if you are really woried).

- A blurb/mention on/of Moding/Cooling (enough /'s in there?)

- Note about drivers, and the best places to find them.

- A link to go instruction on how to updat/remove/install drivers/cards would be good like <A HREF="http://www.rage3d.com/board/showthread.php?s=46238548d173a4788789f9d47329eea8&threadid=33656771&perpage=20&pagenumber=1" target="_new">THIS</A>.

Anywhoo, that's it for now. I'll see what I can come up with later and post it.

I'm going to cut and paste this in the other thread as well just for information purpose in case one becomes the unofficial 'unofficial Faq' discussion thread.

Ciaola!


- You need a licence to buy a gun, but they'll sell anyone a stamp <i>(or internet account)</i> ! <A HREF="http://www.redgreen.com" target="_new"><font color=green>RED</font color=green> <font color=red>GREEN</font color=red></A> GA to SK :evil:
 
Glad to see this emerging, you guys have got a lot of work ahead of you with graphics cards being such a broad spectrum, and competitively changing field, don't get discouraged someone had to do it. Try to use links like TheGreatGrapeApe suggested It'll save you a lot of trouble.

<b><font color=purple>Details, Details, Its all in the Details, If you need help, Don't leave out the Details.</font color=purple></b>
 

Spitfire_x86

Splendid
Jun 26, 2002
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There is no mention of 2D vs. 3D quality, nor is there a description of Pro/Workstation vs Gaming Cards.
Most people want to buy gaming cards, so this buyers' guide is gaming card based

- a Brief description of why 3Dmk01 and 3Dmk03 are different and why Bungholio marks don't mean anything in the real world, they just help everyone get a standard judge of th 'known' universe, etc. Perhaps a discussion of why Benchmaking is under fire, or link to that info.
- Where are th main stay FAQ requests? Do I need AGP 8X? What is AGP X? What is the volage of AGP X? What is AGP 3.0/2.0/1.0, etc? (something like This What is Pro vs non-Pro; Ultra versus non-Ultra (explaining there are no non-pro/ultras, that's just our term)? Which one is better ATI or nVidia or Matrox (good time to link to CoolS's post maybe)? What is all this about cheating? And all that good stuff.
There is going to be 2 stickies. One is the buyers' guide, and one is going to be Technical FAQ. All technical things will be covered in the technical FAQ. I won't tell this buyers' guide "FAQ" anymore. Since many people are getting confused. There will be a link to the technical FAQ in the buyers guide.

Infinate thanks for a long list of constructive suggestions! Will try my best to improve the buyers' guide according to your suggestions.

???

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Sorry I confused 'Buyer's Guide' with just PLAIN FAQ. Ooops, long freakin' (13hrs) LAST day at work (was running around packing crap up and backing crap onto CD (yeah I'm only moving nuildings, but I bet they'll wipe my 'virtual drive' none the less. Anywhoo, in my blurry haste (~1 hr to read and post during lunch) I missconstrued the concept.

>> Ciaola!

- ???

Well that's one of my personalized au-revoirs. It's a combo of CIAO and OLA! Like Goodbye-Hello. Anywhhoo (which I said long before it became popular [my dad used to hate that!]), the only other thing I'd add to a buyers guide is to divide your fav. re-seller up as much as possible by region (US, Canada, Euro. Parts of Asia, etc); for Canada I will nominate NCIX.com (Burnaby/Vancouver BC nased) and TigerDirect.ca (based in Toronto; used to be MISCO, I've known them since they sent giant catalogues to my house [long time] when I lived in T.O.).
I'd like to see Matrox in the Buyer's guide, and no snide comments about them Sucking (they excel in certain specific areas), and still don't suck in general gaming, they're just expensive when compared to a GF4ti or R9500P/9600P. Check <A HREF="http://" target="_new">HERE</A> for a good review.
You might also want to make most references to companies like <A HREF="http://www.ati.com/products/gamer.html" target="_new">ATI</A> , <A HREF="http://www.nvidia.com/page/powerof3d.html" target="_new">nVidia</A> , <A HREF="http://www.matrox.com/mga/3d_gaming/home.cfm" target="_new">Matrox</A> , <A HREF="http://us.hercules.com/products/index.php3?t=1" target="_new">Hercules (Guillemot)</A> , <A HREF="http://www.gainward.com/c.html" target="_new">Gainward</A>, clickable links to their graphics/gaming card sections.

Anywhoo, just another 2 frames worth on that.


Ok since there are 2 stickies; <i>who's doing the 'Technical' one?</i>



- You need a licence to buy a gun, but they'll sell anyone a stamp <i>(or internet account)</i> ! <A HREF="http://www.redgreen.com" target="_new"><font color=green>RED</font color=green> <font color=red>GREEN</font color=red></A> GA to SK :evil:
 

eden

Champion
Technical one, is one whom I think has great explaining skills, should do it.

We'll suggest, but we need someone with very good comprehensive skills, because the average user needs to learn it on the fly, it's a FAQ to quickly answer your inquiry, thoroughly, without sounding like an article.

I don't excel much at explaining crap (regulars in the OTHER forum will notice I've had a few very bad explanations on the body physics during sex!).

But I'd be glad to try to pitch in if possible. I still would nominate you to make edit the Technical FAQ, you really do spend time researching articles everywhere, and you probably can do the same for linking to detailed articles on X function. And you got good humor to tie with the FAQ, which IMO does better. Ars Technica does that a lot, and it's nice.

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Site has now even more sexy members, for your pleasure.<P ID="edit"><FONT SIZE=-1><EM>Edited by Eden on 08/16/03 04:47 PM.</EM></FONT></P>
 

eden

Champion
Speaking pf Cialoa and Chicken Pizaiolla, Slvr_Phoenix says VIOLA, and being a very fluent in the French language, I must wonder if he isn't trying to say Voila, but he keeps screwing it up every time.

Just what DOES Viola imply, and in what language is it in reality?

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Site has now even more sexy members, for your pleasure.<P ID="edit"><FONT SIZE=-1><EM>Edited by Eden on 08/17/03 02:34 AM.</EM></FONT></P>
 

Spitfire_x86

Splendid
Jun 26, 2002
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Your Matrox link doesn't Work

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Works for me and I'm using Mozilla (secured up the ying yang) and IE (med./lite security applied [allow cookies etc.]). Try it again, it may have been congested when you tried last time.

You can also go to their home page;

<A HREF="http://www.matrox.com/mga/home.htm" target="_new">http://www.matrox.com/mga/home.htm</A>

and click on 3D gaming.

should take you to the same place;

<A HREF="http://www.matrox.com/mga/3d_gaming/home.cfm" target="_new">http://www.matrox.com/mga/3d_gaming/home.cfm</A>

You must see the link, BE the link.


- You need a licence to buy a gun, but they'll sell anyone a stamp <i>(or internet account)</i> ! <A HREF="http://www.redgreen.com" target="_new"><font color=green>RED</font color=green> <font color=red>GREEN</font color=red></A> GA to SK :evil:
 

coolsquirtle

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I am the LINK!! lol

hey Grape what are u doing here! go sign up for the technical FAQ NOW!!

Proud Owner the Block Heater
120% nVidia Fanboy
PROUD OWNER OF THE GEFORCE FX 5900ULTRA <-- I wish this was me
I'd get a nVidia GeForce FX 5900Ultra... if THEY WOULD CHANGE THAT #()#@ HSF