rec.autos.simulators

"Just when I think you have said
the stupidest thing I have ever
heard...you keep talking." - Hank Hill
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======================

As for V3... right now it is probably NOT worth it for N99, IMHO. What
are you using now??

In fact, I would recommend waiting until N3 comes out. That will most
likely require a better card. By waiting, you also should be able to get
a better price on the V3 when demand/prices go down.

--Dave

What ever video card that came in my Compaq computer. I don't have a 3dfx card
and the V3's are selling for $129.00 at Best Buy.

Is the V3 better than none at all for NR1999?

They had some RivaTNT cards for $99.00, but they are sold out of them.

"Just when I think you have said
the stupidest thing I have ever
heard...you keep talking." - Hank Hill
======================

======================

Isn't the V3 a bit dated when N3 arrives? Christmas 99? Sorry to say
that, but I would think so... (It could be a helluva nice price tho :-)

JoHS

But if you want GPL or N3, then you will want a V3 or something similar
when you're ready for those games.

And as for the Riva... I don't know if I'd buy a TNT now, because the
TNT2 is supposed to be a BIG improvement over the old one... and
possibly all other cards. If you can wait just a bit, check out
Http://www.tomshardware.com
for updates and possible reviews of the video cards. Then you can select
the one you like best, and shop around for it.

Another hint, you can often find MUCH better deals at
http://www.shopper.com
than at Best Buy or CompUSA. Just type in the name of the product in the
search box and you'll have a whole list of vendors and prices.

-_Dave

-_dave

www.anandtech.com
www.agn3d.com
www.sharkyextreme.com
www.riva3d.com (yes a Riva site, that had a non-biased review of the V3)

And tons of others, best thing to do is read a lot of 'em and you gain a
better view.

And take ANYTHING you read on any of them with a grain of salt.  They
usually are testing unreleased versions of the cards with unfinished
drivers, which means they could perform way under what the actual card can
do, or can be a "ringer" that is not representative of a retail card.  My
knock on Tom is he uses one Shogo benchmark of his own making, that no one
else can verify, and ONE of the many timedemos from Quake2 that could be
used, and probably the least useful for video card speed - and using beta
hardware at clock speeds that aren't determined yet for the TNT2, and plain
wrong on the Voodoo3's vs. what the shipping V3 cards are at.  Hardly
in-depth to me, although it get's bandied about the 'net quite often as
gospel.  There ARE better reviewers.

I don't know that I'd go out and get a V3 just for N99, but it'll do more
for it and GPL, etc. than the TNT2, that isn't really supported yet in
Papyrus games.  N99 won't ever be, and GPL just has the beta Open GL patch
that doesn't work that great.  We'll have to see with N3.  Voodoo2's are
$100 new now, and less used - these and the V3 deliver a lot of bang for the
buck.  They should run N3 very well, based on how well it runs GPL, though
of course both are probably more reliant on the processor speed than
anything.

--
Ken's Sig 2.01

"Strange women lying in ponds distributing swords is no basis for a system
of government.
 Supreme executive power derives from a mandate from the masses, not from
some farcical aquatic ceremony."

Go #43 and #44!

volksy (at) geocities (dot) com
volksy (at) yahoo (dot) com

I don't like the framerates as it seems like I am driving into nowhere and then
all of a sudden, it pops into view...and that sucks. I think if I knew how to
adjust the frame in NR1999, I might be happier with that. But since somebody
else is buying the V3 for me, I won't ***.

Yup, and all four sites pretty much have said the same thing.  Btw, there is
an interesting interview with the CreativeLabs' boss on sharkyextreme. :)

As for the TNT2s, you must seperate them into the TNT2 and the UltraTNT2.
But the CL boss touches on that too.

My biggest complaint about 3dfx is not the V3's shortcomings, althought
there are quite a few, is that they didn't make an add-on card in addition
to their 2D/3D!  I'd of gladly replaced my 2 V2s with a single V3 3000/3500
add-on card and sold my V2s to friends.  Oh well.

I agree with you on tomshardware.com's reviews.  I don't follow
hardware like I used to, but when I do take some time to see what's
going on, there are better sites.

That's a shame, because I used to respect tomshardware for the site's
excellent info.  Now, some of the things he is doing with benchmarking
seem  to be adding confusion to an already confusing situation.

Brett

183mhz:

V3 got 57fps, TNT2 got 45fps, and the TNT2 dropped to 34fps when running
32-bit color.

So the TNT2 Ultra looks slower than a V3-3500 (or an actual retail 3000
overclocked), AND has a 25% performance penalty to run in 32-bit color,
which goes against the "pretty much agrees with Tom's" bit.

riva3d.com said the V3 was faster, and they were impressed with the
card.....

My point was not to buy anything based on just a few reviews, or to seek out
ones that support your view.  Many people who LOVE the TNT2 point everyone
to the Tom's thing, which just isn't accurate.  Notice this, and several
others, haven't updated their results using shipping V3's?  The better thing
to do would be to look at newsgroups when both cards are out and see what
real-world reports are....

And I think it's been extremely well established that you don't want a V3.
Fine.  I don't think you need to interject into EVERY thread on this.  When
you buy your TNT2, let us know how it runs.  I own a V3 and am happy with
it, so I'm gonna recommend it to someone wanting a card now, especially if
they need Glide support - unless they already have SLI.

--
Ken's Sig 2.01

"Strange women lying in ponds distributing swords is no basis for a system
of government.
 Supreme executive power derives from a mandate from the masses, not from
some farcical aquatic ceremony."

Go #43 and #44!

volksy (at) geocities (dot) com
volksy (at) yahoo (dot) com

I am not a video card expert, but the Vodoo3 3000 I bought to put in my
new system runs very well, I get 36 fps in GPL with all cars and all
graphics on. I got a few free games with it that are 3dfx enabled and
they look stunning.

OF course I am just an outdated guy when it comes to vid cards, I still
like Rendition .. hehe.
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