There are two basic chipsets right now that determine your "choice"
for a 3d card. In the OLD DAYS...like 6 months ago, you could keep your
2d card and add another video card into your system. But the latest
2d/3d combo cards are so fast in all respects, you don't need to worry
about putting in a separate card for 3d.
I'll talk about a 3rd card in a-bit, but the two main contenders are
cards made with the 3dfx chipset or the Nvidia brand. 3dfx calls there
cards Voodoo and you really should only be concerned with the latest
offerings, the Voodoo3's. They have three price ranges, all are fast
the V3 3000 is the middle ground in price and performance and runs GPL
very VERY well. 3dfx cards have their own 3d language which some
programmers use, it is called Glide. 3dfx also runs the Windows9x 3d
called Direct X or Direct 3d(D3D) and OpenGL which is used by many
games like Quake II and Halflife.
Nivida calls their cards either Riva or TNT. The TNT2 Ultra is the
fastest Riva card available at the moment. They should have a brand new
card out soon that is even faster. The TNT's run all the same 3d modes
EXCEPT Glide(there is an glide emulator, but I try and avoid anything
that uses the word emulator) TNT2's can also display a higher color
setting than current Voodoo cards, up to 32bit, although that will
change when the next Voodoo4 hits the shelves in 2000. Tnt's do D3d
very fast, openGL very fast but they have a problem with GPL which
wasn't designed for OpenGl. Papyrus released a patch that allows TNT
users to run GPL but in the***pit, if you set the mirrors to a normal
setting, the frame rate crashes. There are some workarounds but in
"General" the Voodoo3 outperforms the TNT2's in GPL. I should add that
most TNT users will stand up and shout that their cards might produce a
sharper image and in some titles coded in say D3d that may be true.
A-lot of that depends on personal preference.
Now the extra color that the TNT's can pump out will really make a
difference in the upcomming games like Quake III but for most flight
sims, and racing sims, they still use 16 bit color so that really is
irrelevant....down the road that may change.
The 3rd chipset is based on Rendition architecture and it too runs GPL
Really Really Well. BUt....it is an older design, it is limited to 8
megs of video ram at this time, and the main company that builds these
cards has gone out of business(Hercules) You could probably find a used
or closeout Hercules Thriller3d with 8 megs of video ram fairly cheaply
and for GPL, you'd be getting a great card, but for just about anything
else, you would slowly be falling behind the performance curve.
Rendition was the first true 3d card to hit the gamming scene but 3dfx
pretty much stole their thunder.
So the recomendation is this...and here is where EVERYONE has a
different oppinion. Right now...this INSTANT....3dfx Voodoo3 3000's or
3500's are your best choice for Sim ***. As more titles take
advantage of 32 bit color, and the latest greatest Nvidia card makes
it's way into the mainstream, that may change. But for GPL, Nascar
Racing3, Falcon4.0, you'll have greater flexibility with a 3dfx based
card. If you prefer other types of *** you may see better results
with the Nvidia TNT2's or the newer card, but for the here and now, 3dfx
is a solid compatible choice.
Right after you read this a 1000 guys will post my choice is full of
*&#$ so be warned, Everyone has an oppinion :)
dave henrie
here endeth the lesson
> [via email and newsgroup]
> >Could someone please email me (preferred) describing what sort of video
> >cards are needed for games that use hardware 3D accelleration. I'm a bit
> >confused because most cards claim "3D", but I'm being told that not all
> >of these "3D" cards are suitable for flight simulators, and therefore I
> >assume not suitable for GPL, etc.
> GPL needs either a 3Dfx card (eg Voodoo) or a Rendition card. Other 3d cards
> (eg Direct3D) are not supported and will not enhance the graphics beyond the
> "software" mode.
> regards
> http://www.racesimcentral.net/; http://www.racesimcentral.net/
> http://www.racesimcentral.net/~ianhill