What vid-card do I need?

[Guest]

I currently own a Hercules Geforce 256 with 32MB SD-RAM, but since I always play at high resolutions its getting a bit slow. I'm a big fan off Need for Speed 5 and Microprose Grand Prix 3. What card is best to play these games at 1280x1024 at 32 bit color. A Geforce 3 is to expensive for me. I was thinking to get a Kyro II with 64MB. Any opinions?

My system:
Abit KA7-100
Slot A Athlon 700@850Mhz
2x128MB Mushkin PC133 Cas2
2xIBM 75GXP 30GB RAID0
Hercules Prophet SE Geforce 256
Soudblaster Live Platinum
Pinnacle Systems TV tuner = worst piece off hardware I ever bought
Plextor 16/10/40A Plextor RULES

 

[phsstpok]

I don't really know which is best but if you are sticking to 1280x1024, I'd say a Geforce 2 GTS PRO is a good bet possibly a Radeon 64MB will work. Kyro II does start to shine at 1280x1024 and higher but it prefers a more powerful CPU to really go. All the cards are available with 64MB for extra textures, a good hedge for extra detail at 1280x1024 gaming.

The real reason I am responding is a coincidence I noticed.

I installed a Radeon on a friend's computer so that he could play NFS5 and Grand Prix 3 in 32-bit color with reasonable performance. Unfortunately, his computer doesn't have an AGP slot and he has to settle for 800x600 gaming. It's a lot better than the Intel 810 graphics, though.

The coincidence is that in addition to wanting to play pretty much the same games as you he also owns an Alfa GTV. If I recall correctly, it was the very last GTV to come over to the US. He also just bought a mint Milano 3.0 liter with only 50K original miles. He installed a hot, 2.5 liter transaxle but his friend botched the installation. Now my friend's regular Alfa mechanic is making repairs, big ones. The car will be sweet, though.

p.s.
If you like racing games, and I know you do, download these demos, Swedish Touring Car Championships (1 and 2) and WarmUp! (Formula 1 racing). All the demos are available at <A HREF="http://www.avault.com" target="_new">http://www.avault.com</A>, Addreline Vault. STCC2, especially, has realistic racing feel.

I only wish these games were available in the US.
I think I will have to look for a UK exporter.

<P ID="edit"><FONT SIZE=-1><EM>Edited by phsstpok on 05/24/01 04:32 PM.</EM></FONT></P>

 

[Guest]

I will buy the Radeon card with 64MB DDR, saw it at a local pc-store for a decent price. I'm also gonna check out those demo's.

BTW Yeah I'm a real car-freak. Here in Belgium (Europe) it's still possible to drive to work at 130mph,I just pay a fine now and then but its calculated in the budget. I drive a 1998 Alfa-Romeo GTV 3.0 (they never sold them in the US). But Alfa WILL be back. (with a vengeance)
(Sorry for the crappy English)

 

[noko]

Be advised that on your KA7 you will be limited to AGP2x operation with the Radeon. Also if you don't set a few bios settings then your setup will be limited to a very buggy (periodic crashes) AGP 1x setup. Once you do configure the bios for the Radeon It will operate virtually flawless on the KA7 but still at AGP2x. Present games virtually gain nothing by going into AGP4x, don't know about the future. Here are the bios settings that work well with the Radeon on the KA7:

<i><font color=purple>Yes there are a few bios settings that make a huge difference in your combo Radeon/KA7 . From nightmare :frown: to a rather decent reliable performer to boot :lol: . Here they are, note make sure you have the most current released bios "TY" flashed onto your rom.
Set the following in bios:

. . <b>AGP Driving Control Value</b> - to manual and set value to 68. Allows a stable AGP 2x operation (AGP 4x is still unstable). This is the most important setting for Radeon/KA7 combo
. . <b>AGP 4x Mode</b>- set to disabled
. . <b>I/O voltage</b>- set to 3.4 (some have success at a higher value, others 3.4 won't work only 3.3 so be careful)
. . <b>CPU Pull Up Strength</b>- set to 3 or 5
. . <b>CPU Drive Strength</b>- set to 2
. . <b>Fast CPU Command Decode</b>- Set to normal. When in Fast it overides "I/O Voltage" settings regardless of value to ~3.2 volts. Known issue with KA7 causing your ram and cards to be underpowered leading to unstabilities. This is a rather important setting.

These settings have proven to work with a number of KA7/Radeon owners. Remember to set the via AGP driver to turbo mode if using win9x after these bios settings. Every driver release should install on your computer. Try these settings and let us know how it works out.

You can get much better performance out of a application in W2k on the KA7 by adjusting the priority of that application up. Launcher is a good program to automatically do this. I am talking about a 40% speedup in 3dMark2000 alone. Make sure you have the 4:29 or above Via 4in1 drivers installed also.

</i></font color=purple>

So you may want to consider this as well for your combo.

 

[Guest]

I didn't know there where problems with that combo. I already have the latest bios. But I also don't think AGP 2x is gonna make a difference. First I wanted to buy a Geforce 2 GTS 64MB but I can't find one here in Belgium. Went to a couple off stores, the only cards they had were GF2 MX cards and Geforce 3. But for the Geforce 3 they were asking 600$. I don't want to spend that kind off money on a video card. The Kyro 2 64MB I can buy for 170$ and the Radeon 64MB DDR for 250$. I think I will take the risk and buy a Radeon card.

 

[phsstpok]

I'm not a car freak, myself, but I appreciate Italian cars. I'm jealous of you with the GTV 3.0. It must be nice to be able to buy European spec cars.

 

[phsstpok]

Noko, I'm always amazed by your wealth of information.

By the way, until Geforce 3's come way down in price or Geforce 3 MX's are available I decided to go with the Radeon LE. It's cheap and should perform well enough for my needs.

 

[noko]

Sounds like an excellent plan, I still think the Radeon LE is the best bang for the buck followed by the Kyro2. Oh by the way, I had almost the exact same setup above with an Abit KA7 700@800 Classic and a Radeon 64. Once configured right it performed very well. Anyways I couldn't resist getting the IWILL KK266 and a T-Bird. Now I am waiting for my 1.2gh T-Bird to arrive, I hope it is a AXIA stepping. The MX400 I am getting is for Linux use, of course for my old KA7 motherboard. Make sure you check out Rage3d.com if you havn't already, excellent site.

 

[ajmcgarry]

I hope u upgraded the brakes. The brakes on those Alfa GTVs are a bit spongy for my taste. I prefer a bit of bite especially at 130mph.
I've never driven faster than 115mph. If you've ever been to Ireland then you'll know that the roads are not quite built for high speed. What pisses me off is the price of cars in this country.
In the UK a BMW M5 1999 edition costs UK£55000
In Ireland the same car costs IR£80000
Whats the cost in Belguim.


My dream car has to be the new BWM M3.
343BHP from 3.2L
0-60mph in 4.8sec
60-0mph in 2.8sec
Top speed, not known yet, waiting for a respectable modifier to chip one. But probably 195mph

That's a supercar with 3 times the trimmings for UK£38000





<font color=blue>Little Miss Muffet was arachnaphobic</font color=blue>

 

[Guest]

Yes I am aware off the high prices in Ireland and even in the uk. If you don't mind left hand drive, buy one in Belgium. A lot off British people come to Belgium and buy there car here. At my Alfa dealer you can order a new Alfa with right hand drive for 10% less than in the UK. If you're serious about buying an M5 e-mail me. I have subsrictions on most European car mags. Every 2 months I travel to germany for work, there you can find one easily for a decent price with warranty.

Mathias Van Moortel
m_van_moortel@hotmail.com

 

[ajmcgarry]

Hey cheers, I'll keep a note of your e-mail. At the moment though I need more funds.

<font color=blue>Little Miss Muffet was arachnaphobic</font color=blue>

 

[Guest]

Radeon LE sounds like a good choice for now. If you haven't seen the article on it at Anandtech you really should read it, it explains how to get the most out of the card.

Here is the link:

http://www.anandtech.com/showdoc.html?i=1473

Wayne

 

[phsstpok]

Hi again, Noko. I know this not the right place but my question is not worth creating a new thread.

Did you get the new Geforce 2 MX-400 and if so how is it working out?

 

[phsstpok]

Hi, Falwynn. Thanks for the tip but I have already read the reviews.

I'm still going through the current, and some less current, crop of games. I'm just looking for a video card to hold me over until I really need state-of-the art features. Needless to say, I don't want to spend much. The Radeon LE seems to have the most bang for the buck.

 

[noko]

I just received it today, and it only has 6ns ram. Well I will see how well it overclocks latter. I should have it up and running by tonite. My second machine is pretty much together just need to add a sound card and a floppy drive in the meantime I will use my USB speakers (MicroSoft Digital Sound sys 80). I will let you know as soon as everything is configured.

 

[Crashman]

Be aware that I have NOT been able to get NSF-V to run in 32-bit color at ANY resolution with the Radeon, I get a driver error! I can run it at 1600x1200 in 16-bit color but not even 640x480 in 32-bit!

Cast not thine pearls before the swine

 

[noko]

NSF-V what game is that? Running on my Innovision MX400 64 megger. 6ns ram is the pits, with artifact tester at 166mhz it gives 1-8 artifacts. When I up it to 183mhz 200 something artifacts, at 190mhz forget it, 468 artifacts and very noticeable. Have it configure in Winme at the moment on my Abit KA7 Athlon classic 700mhz. Will go into more detail latter after I use it for awhile. Take images etc. Pretty cool the card came with WinDVD 2000 and a few other programs. Will talk more about it latter.

 

[Guest]

But remember a little note at the end of Anand's article. You're free to try to overclock Radeon LE (at your own risk), but remember that it *is* a card that *failed* to meet the specs (the very reason it was downgraded, in the first place). It failed at least *some* tests at the fab, and you never know which ones. Approach with caution.

Leo

 

[Crashman]

Need For Speed Porche Unleashed (the fifth in the series, hence the V). He mentioned that he would want to play it. Agreed that the Radeon LE is the best bang for the buck-I got the TVO version for $100, the plain version is $70. Put ramsinks and a fan on mine after clocking it to 183/183 was sucessful but got the chip and memory VERY HOT!

Cast not thine pearls before the swine

 

[phsstpok]

What's this artifact tester? Where can I get it?

Noko, thanks in advance.

 

[noko]

Jesh, you actually dug this thread up to ask me that question?? LOL

<A HREF="http://www.tweakfiles.com/diagnostic/artifacttester.html" target="_new">http://www.tweakfiles.com/diagnostic/artifacttester.html</A>

It is a pretty cool program to help you overclock your video card. Basically it runs a series of test to determine artifacts. When you overclock you card it is a very good indicator on the real limits of your card vice letting it crash, lock up or burn. My Radeon 64 can go up to 195/195 without any artifacts while my MX400 the mem sucks and gives a few artifacts at 166mhz.

 

[phsstpok]

Thanks for the link.

Actually, I didn't intentionally revive this thread I was just looking for responses to one of my other posts using the forum search function. Unfortunately, THG only emails you with replies to your own post. It does not email you when replies to replies are made. If an answer to a query is directed to the wrong person then you never know it has been done unless you look manually.