Still fairly new to the group...and computers in general. Could
someone please tell me (E-mail or here) the difference in performance
between all the new video cards like the Screamin' 3D, Reactor,
Rendition, Diamond Stealth 3D, STB LightSpeed, etc... I am looking at
upgrading my little P-75 and Cirrus Logic 1-Meg video card to something
more appropriate. I'd like to know advantages and disadvantages between
the different cards. What does everyone recommend?
The only card to consider if you want 2D/3D combo is one of the
Rendition cards. The other 2D/3D cards on the market are either too
slow or have to sacrifice effects to keep up to speed, and really are
not worth it as a 3D solution. The main advantage to the Rendition
cards is that they are receiving major industry support (games that
utilize the 3D features of the cards like the Rendition Ready ports of
Quake, ICR2, Nascar2, Tomb Raider, Descent2, EF2000, etc.).
Additionally they are very fast at VESA modes, but VGA is very slow.
The three major cards (Intense3D 100, Screamin3D, and 3D Blaster)
perform nearly identical. They differ only in Win95 drivers (Sierra's
are a bit fastest and Creative's are slowest), software bundle
(Sierra's is best, Intergraph's is ok, and Creative's is quite awful),
price (the Intergraph is cheapest and the Sierra board is the most
expensive) and quality of technical support (Intergraph's is
outstanding, Sierra's is mediocre, and Creative's is again awful).
Those findings are based on my personal experiences, so of course your
mileage may vary.
For some more information check out:
http://www.racesimcentral.net/***/content/961115/3dwave/3dcards.html
http://www.racesimcentral.net/
--
Emory University Graduate School of Arts & Sciences
The IWCCCARS Project: Q & A Representative
Nascar Setups Page: http://www.racesimcentral.net/~ebusch/
