rec.autos.simulators

Hello all,
        Got a question for ya.
Am thinking of financing a newer pc after all and was wondering how they
compare performance wise on the Nascar Racing/Grand Prix Legends series of sims.

Debating between a P3 or a Cellery.

Also, anyone running these on an HP Pavillion 6535?

I know they use shared memory for video, but does it do 3dfx or what?

Like I say, I am thinking of retiring the old obsolete (17 month old) P200
with 64 ram and 16meg Diamond Monster. But don't know how these pre built
systems stack up. Is HP and them still proprietary, or can my Monster3d go
in? How about CD's can one put a CDRW unit in the brand name systems?

Have heard from some say P3 better for games, but others say Celeron is
better (scratches head).
HELP!!!!!!!!!!! <G..

Thanks!
Ron
(Sim racer since 94 and hopes to continue)

Last month I upgraded my old P166mmx (64 meg ram, voodoo2, A3D -1) with a
barebones celeron 400 (only could afford 32megs ram).  Now the Nascar sims
almost all run at 30fps, with better joystick control ( T-2)  so that my lap
speeds are 1-2 mph or better, with all details on, 7 cars ahead, and all sound
reflections at 16 bits.  Except at Talledga and Bristol, where the frame rates
sometimes went as low as hi-***s.

Last night I got my christmas present, a dell 600r, with geforce 256 (32 megs)
128 megs ram, A3D 2, with direct X only ( voodoo2 is my present under the
tree), I am getting 30 fps everywhere using directx mode.  First thing I
noticed was better joystick control...way better and at Bristol, my first time
out, I started lapping about 4mph faster with so much control even with an old
T-2...this was totally unexpected...the lap speeds were so much quicker with
the P-3 for lots of reasons, but  even comparing to a celeron 500 (64 megs, and
A3D-2) that I also just set up, I'd say go P-3 as fast as you can afford

AMD ATHALON - Alllll the waaaaaaaaaay

I'm sure I'll take some heat for this (and really don't care :) ), but...

I have compared identical speed Celerons and Pentim III's on identically
equipped computers, down to the motherboard and RAM type and...

I don't buy all the hype from Toms Hardware, ZDNet, etc... that says a
Celeron performs as well as a Pentium III at the same clock speed.  Not
after doing personal, side-by-side comparisons.  And I _surely_ don't care
what the benchmarks say.

Maybe in business applications, but not in ***.

It feels like the performance of a Celeron is more like "Ebb & Tide" than
consistant, like it is on the PIII.  It feels like it's breathing sometimes.
Performance simply didn't feel consistent.  It felt 'congested' at times.

Pentium III 450's are under $200 now.  It's a decent compromise.

-Larry

Almost bought a GeForce yesterday (The Gullimot).  First time I actually saw
one available.  I was actually handing over the plastic when the sales-guy
shook his head, and said in a low voice "DDR.  Next week.  14 of them.  $50
more... Wait".

So I did :)  Man, it was HARD to put that box back!

-Larry

Your best bet would be to build your own system...since you managed to put
in a Monster3d (unless it came with the PC), you aren't scared to open up a
PC.  Go somewhere like www.thechipmerchant.com (prices may seem higher than
others but shipping is cheap) and you can buy everything you need.  Get
stuff like an Abit motherboard (easy to set up - no jumpers!), a Voodoo3 AGP
card, a good case, a 13 GB HD, any Celeron/P3 your heart desires (P3 500 is
good), 64 MB PC100 RAM, anything else you want, and have at it.

--
Kirk Lane


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