rec.autos.simulators

    I have an old P3/600 with a Voodoo video card.  I think it's
a 5500 something or other, top of the line card when I got it
years ago.  But, as you know, 3DFX is long gone and the drivers
are third party.  They work OK.

    I lost a drive and need to re-install Win 2000 and a new
version of Solaris, so perhaps this would be a good time to look
at a newer video card.

    This isn't my *** machine, but if someone comes over to the
house, it might be nice to fire this up for some multi player.  I
would like to get a card that would make it the best ***
machine it can be, and I'm thinking some of the cards that
shoulder the burden of Direct X and OpenGL could breath a little
more life into the old dog.

    These have been out a few years, and I'm thinking yesterdays
bleeding edge are probably affordable now.

    What would you recommend?

                                                         Thanks
                                                         Larry

My win98 computer is a P3/800 and I've got a Nivida 5200 FX in it.

http://www.digital-daily.com/video/nvidia-nv34/

It's run every flight simulator - European Air War, Combat Flight Simulator
2, Mig Alley and the Full Canvas Jacket super-patch for Red Baron 3D - that
the old box can handle.  Plus it's also DX9 compatible.

Hope that helps.

--
MJB

Mr. Tin's Miniature Painting Workshop:
http://web.newsguy.com/Mrtinsworkshop/

Just going to agree there. I had a 5200 for a long time, they do
struggle with some games these days, but for a "modest system" it's a
nice, modest video card.

    I didn't mention, the old PC uses AGP.

    This card seems to be going for around $30.00.

    Solaris has drivers for GeForce and Radions, text is
important.  This P3/600 isn't my primary machine for anything,
but it does work for a living.

    That's a great price, but now I'm wondering.

    While I certainly don't want to blow $500, what do I get
for a little more?  Newegg has several 6200 cards for $37.00.

    What designated by the FX, MX, XE, LE and other alpabet soup?

    Am I correct that these cards don't just support DX9 and
OpenGL, they run the interfaces?  Can I see improvements with
the 5200 and more improvement with more powerful cards?

    How far up the GeForce, or Radion, product line can I go,
and get worthwhile improvements?  At what point does my old
computer's performance become the limiting factor?

    If the 5200 is the sweet spot then that's what I want.

    It sounds like I've asked you for your advice, and now I
want to ignore it, but I do appreciate the effort you have
taken to help me.

                                                       Thanks
                                                       Larry

--
Stupot           http://insignity.blogspot.com

If you want to play some very basic (or old) games, a GeForce 6200 would
suffice. If you don't mind going second-hand (ie. Ebay), you could get an
old Radeon 9800 or 9700 for a little more. These a way ahead of the
5200/6200/9200 cards and would probably be the best bet.

If you are feeling flush, you could get a 7800GS or an X1950 on AGP - both
would cost a couple of hundred dollars probably. But in this case, your CPU
and RAM would become a bottleneck.

    Clever site.

    Sure, you can use it.

                   Larry

'Nuff said.