Stirling,
NR99 has two 3D implementations, 3Dfx (Voodoo) and Rendition.
3Dfx has offered 4(?) levels of cards: the Voodoo1, the Voodoo2,
the Banshee, and the Voodoo3, in increasing order of performance. The
Voodoo 1 & 2 are add-on cards, which do 3D, while your current video
card does normal 2D Windows. The Banshee (basically a Voodoo2 with
added 2D chip) and the Voodoo3 are single card solutions, which
replace your current video card. 3Dfx (also referred to as the Glide
API) is quite popular for ***. The current Voodoo3 looks to be a
capable 2D/3D card, although they are still ironing out video driver
problems. For more info see http://www.racesimcentral.net/
BIG CAVEAT: I'm not a 3Dfx maven and this is what I've picked up
just reading the newsgroups. I'm sure Jack will correct any wrong
info. Heck, he corrects me when I'm talking about the Thriller, which
I know something about. :)
The Thriller is the Hercules Thriller, a video card based on the
Rendition V2200 chip. It has higher performance than the Screamin' 3D
card you mentioned (V1000), but can run many of the same games the
V1000 can (Papyrus sims ICR2/CART, SODA, GPL, and N2 through the
current NASCAR titles use it). 8 meg version (versus 4) is
recommended, available as PCI or AGP (your preference). As far as
compatability, the Thriller runs Direct3D (but not as fast as your
TNT) and Rendition ports (rare aside from Papyrus), but does not run
3Dfx/Glide. See http://www.racesimcentral.net/ for further info.
The "PacMan" point that I was trying to make is that NR99 is a
fairly trivial (not CPU- or video-intensive) program to run for a
system such as yours with one of the video cards mentioned above. So
other factors (such as 3Dfx/Glide compatability or keeping your
current video card (V1/V2) in the case of the 3Dfx, or compatability
with current and past Papyrus racing sims in the case of the Thriller)
may well be more important to your decision. Since you mentioned you
don't play many games, but are asking specifically about NR99, some of
us are hypothesizing you may have an interest in Papyrus sims and thus
the Thriller might be of interest to you. In general, the Thriller is
around the Voodoo2 on the performance scale (slower than the V3 in
absolute performance, although, as I am trying to make clear, similar
NR99 performance).
Obligatory Rambo plug: The Voodoo3 is particularly good at higher
resolutions (1024x768 and over) if you have a large monitor and are
running GPL (or wait six months for the next Papyrus NASCAR sim). I
have a Thriller and a 15" monitor and have to take his word for it.
OTOH, you *do* have the machine for it (once you get your video card
straightened out), so you should give GPL (Sierra/Papyrus' Grand Prix
Legends) a whirl. And then this paragraph might be relevant. :)
Your turn Jack...
"But in a way, fear is a big part of racing, because if there was
nothing to be frightened of, and no limit, any fool could get into
a motor car and racing would not exist as a sport." -- Jim Clark
