geforce or better voodoo5?

[projectb]

hi
some time ago i installed some odler games (1999-2000) on an athlon 900 with a geforce2 mx vidcard... most of them ran only in software or didn't recognize the mx as a valid 3d accelerator...
now i'm at the point of buying me a new pc (athlon/duron 800)
should i go with the voodoo5 5500 (better support for older games but very low support for hard/software...)
or should i go with an 2mx or 2gts ... (although older games are then no more playable...

thanx guys!
<PB>

[Wilan Wong]

Go with the Geforce2 gts.. it offers far better performance than the Voodoo5 can, and the price of the GeForce2 gts is cheaper than a Voodoo5.. also 3dfx is ceased to exist, and therefore you wouldn't have much of a driver support anymore.

[projectb]

hmm... but i heared some of 3dfx programmes continue driver support...
and what about the probs of the geforce with older games...?

<PB>

[Starmaster5]

As far as I know, the Geforce has no problem with older games. I haved played Jedi Knight and Quake 1 and 2 just fine on my Geforce and GLQuake was on of the first major 3d acellerated titles. It is probably your configuration that is causing the problems, not the card.

[Dputiger]

There are certain games that perform very well with a V5--specifically, legacy games that use Glide, and any of the following:

Diablo II (looks fabulous with V5 FSAA)
Unreal Tournament
Deus Ex
Ultima: Ascension

If these games (or legacy games from circa 97, 98) are your kind of games, the V5 will do better for you.

The card is stable with current drivers, though the lack of warranty support is an issue you should consider. Also, while its not as fast as a GeForce2, you're still looking at high frame rates in 1024x768x32 color in games like Quake 3--and the V5 will look far better in a game like UT.

The GTS is probably the overall better choice--but like I said, if you're more of a specialty gamer, the V5 may do better for you.

[projectb]

well thanx so far people

@dputiger: hmm... i play ut very often... (just as often as deus ex or the fallen and q3)
but what about games like sacrifice or halo or max payne (when released) ... for this games it would be better to have a gts, right?

why do games look so diffrent on the cards... even when the same api is used... (i understand the differences of between using glide with only 16bpp and direct3d with 32bpp... but there are differences, too between voodoo's d3d and nvidias d3d ... )

in my opinion the 4x fsaa of the v5 is unbeatable... http://sysopt.earthweb.com/forum/wink.gif

<PB>

[Dputiger]

Alright.

If your a big FSAA fan, AND play UT/Deus Ex, I recommend a V5.

As to D3D looking better/worse, the truth is, the Hardware T&L of a GeForce2 is NOT really used much. Now, 3DMark uses Hardware T&L (which is why GeForce2 really whomps on the V5 in this benchmark) but if you look at gaming D3D benchmarks, the difference is much less.

I've played a variety of D3D games with my own V5, including No One Lives Forever, Star Trek: Armada, and System Shock 2. They all look quite good to me.

If you're a big UT player, stick with a V5--the Glide mode looks better than the D3d, and you can get 32 bpp by setting the V5 to force 32-bit rendering.

[Mykex]

It aint the fast graphics card,its big and ugly and out of business. You still cant beat the V5 for compatability though,I have yet to have a problem with mine. I play a lot of diferent games FlightSim2000/NHL2k/AW3/DS9The Fallen/Unreal to name a few. I even tossed the floppy version of A10-Tank Killer at it and no problems. http://sysopt.earthweb.com/forum/biggrin.gif

[projectb]

well...

@dputiger
i can force 32bpp rendering with 3dfx glide? (cool... didn't know that http://sysopt.earthweb.com/forum/wink.gif )

and the only game i know using hardware t&l is mdk2 ... (but there's almost no difference when playing it without hardware t&l)

but what about the upcomming games i mentioned above like 'halo' ... then the geforce2 gts would be the better choice right? (especially when nvidia doesn't develop voodoo drivers...)

cu!
<PB>


[This message has been edited by projectb (edited 02-15-2001).]

[Dputiger]

Well, Nvidia IS going to develop 3dfx drivers until February of 2002, so no need to worry there.

As to games like Halo, I have no idea what hardware it will run best on. I doubt the V5 will run it badly, because the card is still powerful enough to compete today, but I've got no benchmarks or anything. http://sysopt.earthweb.com/forum/smile.gif

Based on your interests, I'm still recommending the V5. I've been using one since September--no complaints.