rec.autos.simulators

I see that the new 5.30 drivers for NVidia are supposed to provide D3D FSAA
support for the GeForce based cards (specifically the GTS II)

My Question is...

When running GPL and other games that (now) support D3D how does the GeForce
stack up visually against the Voodoo 5 5500 ?

I was planning on going with the V5 due to it's FSAA support, but just
picked up a 19" Viewsonic PF790 monitor and now would like to take advantage
of the higher resolution that it can provide, so I'm now thinking GeForce
however.... I've heard that the FSAA on the GeForce doesn't come close to
the V5 5500..

Anyone have any experience with these cards and the latest Nvidia drivers?

Thanks for the help!
Jay J

I don't have both cards myself, but a guy in the flight-sim group does
and he says the V5 is far superior to FSAA than the Geforce2. I have a
Geforce2 and FSAA doesn't work in all games on that card because it
screws up the 2D interface or 2D***pits in some games. If it's FSAA
you want then a V5 is the way to go. I ran GPL with FSAA at 800x600,
1024x768 was too slow (should be OK on a 64mb Geforce though), and
although it made a difference to the jaggies it wasn't something I
found a necessity to my enjoyment of the game.
--
Nos

Full-scene anti-aliasing has been supported by the NVIDIA drivers for the
GeForce2 GTS since revision 5.22. The upcoming 5.30 drivers have simply
refined it and given more speed.

I'm running GPL at 1024x768x16 (16 for 16-bit color) and getting a solid
36FPS on a 450MHz machine. In Motocross Madness 2 with FSAA enabled, I get
good framerates at 800x600 with detail notched back 2 notches. That's par
for the course with that game on all systems. You will find that without
FSAA, the GeForce2 GTS cards will all get higher framerates at higher
resolutions than the Voodoo5's every time. I also have found that colors are
brighter than the Voodoo cards and less "washed out".

With a 19" monitor, you won't want to play games at 640x480 and with FSAA,
there are times that's the best you can do on either card. I recommend the
GeForce2 because it has support for transformation and lighting on the board
and if you're a NASCAR fan, you'll want that support this Fall when Papyrus
releases N4. Those that don't have it (all Voodoo card owners up to and
including V5 owners) will probably be crying the blues.

I have yet to find a game that just doesn't work with the 5.22 drivers. The
menus in Motocross Madness 2 when using FSAA are holding the previous screen
in display while allowing you to select from the next one after "rubbing"
out the button you want. Without FSAA, the menus are fine. In game, both
FSAA and no FSAA are fine. Everything else I've tried including Viper
Racing, GPL, Superbike 2000 and various games outside the sim racing genre
have all run better than ever and worked in both FSAA and non-FSAA modes.

--
Dave Long

             One Gamer's Voice
Industry Opinions and Game Impressions
        http://ogv.gamestats.com/

Full-scene anti-aliasing has been supported by the NVIDIA drivers for the
GeForce2 GTS since revision 5.22. The upcoming 5.30 drivers have simply
refined it and given more speed.

I'm running GPL at 1024x768x16 (16 for 16-bit color) and getting a solid
36FPS on a 450MHz machine. In Motocross Madness 2 with FSAA enabled, I get
good framerates at 800x600 with detail notched back 2 notches. That's par
for the course with that game on all systems. You will find that without
FSAA, the GeForce2 GTS cards will all get higher framerates at higher
resolutions than the Voodoo5's every time. I also have found that colors are
brighter than the Voodoo cards and less "washed out".

With a 19" monitor, you won't want to play games at 640x480 and with FSAA,
there are times that's the best you can do on either card. I recommend the
GeForce2 because it has support for transformation and lighting on the board
and if you're a NASCAR fan, you'll want that support this Fall when Papyrus
releases N4. Those that don't have it (all Voodoo card owners up to and
including V5 owners) will probably be crying the blues.

I have yet to find a game that just doesn't work with the 5.22 drivers. The
menus in Motocross Madness 2 when using FSAA are holding the previous screen
in display while allowing you to select from the next one after "rubbing"
out the button you want. Without FSAA, the menus are fine. In game, both
FSAA and no FSAA are fine. Everything else I've tried including Viper
Racing, GPL, Superbike 2000 and various games outside the sim racing genre
have all run better than ever and worked in both FSAA and non-FSAA modes.

--
Dave Long

             One Gamer's Voice
Industry Opinions and Game Impressions
        http://ogv.gamestats.com/

I think it might be, if only to extend the life of the card, and to provide
support at higher resolutions. The Viewsonic monitor I picked up last night
will support up to 1600x1200 resolution so i'm sure I'm going to want to
take advantage of that.

Anyone else have anything to add or re***to Dave's choice on the GeForce
over the V5 5500 with regards to FSAA ?

Thanks again for all the advice/help!
JJ

If you are interested in the FSAA capabilities, then the 64MB version would
be a good bet.  Simply put, the FSAA technique used by Nvidia uses up video
RAM, and many of the higher quality / resolution settings are not available
with a 32MB card.

For the full technical detail, see the excellent article on
http://www.racesimcentral.net/

Ian

Ian Riches
Bedford, UK

Yea, Nvidia's FSAA does not work on all games.I know that from
experience. If you have F1 2000 or SCGT then forget about using FSAA
in those games. The highest FSAA setting on a Geforce2 does not equal
the quality of FSAA on a Voodoo5.If you want FSAA then get a V5,
otherwise get a Geforce2. With that being said, I have a Geforce2 so
I'm not being biased.
--
Nos

Chris H.