rec.autos.simulators

=> Hiya All......
=>
=> I'm very soon to upgrade my aged Dx2 to something with a little more
=> beef. I know that this should really be placed in a more hardware
=> based Usenet forum, but as the main reason for the upgrade is to get
=> good performance out of titles like ICR2 and GP2, I figure information
=> gained around these parts is likely to be a more practical. Anyway,
=> there are a few points which I'm not sure on, and wonder if anyone out
=> there can give me a little advice on a few things:

Wait for intel's mmx [multi media extension] chips if you can

=> Firstly the Cyrix 686 chips. Due to the relatively cheap price of
=> these chips, I'd much rather pay out for one of these than an
=> equivalent Intel. I understand though that they have a slower floating
=> point unit than Pentiums, does this have a negative effect within DOS
=> games, especially the Papyrus racers? When looking at these chips,
=> woud it be safe to totally rely on their 'P' rating when comparing
=> them to Intel chips?
=>
=> Next is the MB. Basically Triton 1 or Triton 2? What are the
=> performance advantages with Triton2, worth the extra cash?
=> Also is it worth spending the extra cash for 512k or pipeline cash
=> instead of just going for 256K, what performance advantage can I
=> expect?

You will need Triton 3? [VX430] in order to install SDRAM

=> I've just started seeing machines with Sdram instead of the usuall Edo
=> or standard Simms? I know absolutely nothing about SDRAM. Firstly how
=> much is this new type of memory and also what peformance advantages
=> does it give?

FPM      x-444
EDO      x-333
SDRAM x-222

=> Next is the video card. Right away I want a cheap card that is ideal
=> for DOS games, later on I'll be investing in an expensive 3D
=> acclerator card, but now I just need something that will run GP2 well.
=> AFAIK brand names aren't important when it comes to selecting a card,
=> so which chipset should I opt for? Also, is there a big differernce
=> under Dos between Vram and Dram or EDO for that matter? Anyone
=> recommend a cheapish card?

choose EDO RAM based video card, it has higher performance in DOS than VRAM.
It perhaps faster than WRAM in DOS?

=> Any information with respect to any of the above will be much
=> apreciated.
=>
=> Cheers.
=>
=>
=>
=>                        
=>    /Spencer Stapleton/

=>  /London, Great Britain/  
=>                        
=>

writes

The main difference will not be seen for a year or so. EDO-DRAM can
support motherboard speeds up to 66Mhz, whereas SDRAM will manage 75-
100Mhz motherboard speeds.

Right now manufacturers don't seem too convinced, and many plans to
convert all or part of DRAM capacity to SDRAM have been postponed until
the market settles down. If you're buying now, go for SDRAM, but it's
too early to benefit from it.

I'm not sure if WRAM is faster than EDO-DRAM, I only know the WRAM
_card_ (Matrox) is faster. Best at present is the MDRAM based card
(Hercules Dynamite 128 with ET6000/MDRAM).

Cheers!
John
                     _________________________________
         __    _____|                                 |_____    __
________|  |__|    :|           John Wallace          |     |__|  |________

  \    :|  |::|    :|        Team WW Racing TSW       |     |::|  |     /
    >  :|  |::|    :|_________________________________|     |::|  |   <
  /    :|__|::|____/       * Sim Racing News *         \____|::|__|     \
/______:/  \::/ http://sneezy.dcn.ed.ac.uk/simnews/index.htm \::/  \._____\
               http://www.math.ohio-state.edu/~harmon/simnews

I'm currently using the S3 Virge chip with 50ns Edo-DRAM (single cycled)
and it's quite fast...  Even without the accelerated 3D functions, the
card is visually a lot faster than the S3 trio 64V+ for example...  
under dos & windows!!

greets,

Yves