N4: Graphics card upgrade to improve performance

Can anyone advise me on what sort of improvement I could expect to see by adding an AGP 64MB Geforce2 MX card to my system? My current system specs are: Pentium II 450 (DELL), 128MB ram, 12MB Voodoo II (PCI). Nascar 4 at the 'default' settings (800 x 600, 43 cars, 12 ahead, 3 behind, Mirrors medium, World detail 50%, etc.) currently runs from 14-24 fps (occasionally dips down to 7-9 fps). The graphics upgrade is temporary until I upgrade the whole system next year. I am happy with the performance of GPL on my system (but of course hope to have improved performance with the new card), but N4 definitely pushes the system far more. My only other option is to try and source a PCI Voodoo 5 card. Would I achieve better performance in Nascar 4 & GPL with this upgrade in comparison to the Geforce upgrade? Any advice (except telling me to upgrade the entire system!) would be appreciated. TIA. -- Rob.

You are stuck in between. your cpu can't push enough info through your system to get a real improvement from a vid card. Choosing a V5, which I own, is a short term solution at best. It too needs a stout cpu to maximize framerate. Since you are planning on upgrading, do you plan on completely replacing your system, or building it up a piece at a time? For the 2nd method you should choose a video card now, that you can carry to your new system. So A Geforce 2 pro would be a good choice. There are Geforce 3's but with your current system, you most likely would see little gain especially compared to a GF2. Both have Tnl which will help your N4 framerate. dave henrie "Rob" <[email hidden]> wrote in message news:9jhj4q$bpa$[email hidden]... > Can anyone advise me on what sort of improvement I could expect to seeby

"Rob" <[email hidden]> wrote in message news:9jhj4q$bpa$[email hidden]... > Can anyone advise me on what sort of improvement I could expect to seeby > adding an AGP 64MB Geforce2 MX card to my system? My current system specs > are: Pentium II 450 (DELL), 128MB ram, 12MB Voodoo II (PCI). Nascar 4 atthe > 'default' settings (800 x 600, 43 cars, 12 ahead, 3 behind, Mirrorsmedium,

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> World detail 50%, etc.) currently runs from 14-24 fps (occasionally dips > down to 7-9 fps). > The graphics upgrade is temporary until I upgrade the whole system next > year. I am happy with the performance of GPL on my system (but of course > hope to have improved performance with the new card), but N4 definitely > pushes the system far more. > My only other option is to try and source a PCI Voodoo 5 card. Would I > achieve better performance in Nascar 4 & GPL with this upgrade in

comparison

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> to the Geforce upgrade? > Any advice (except telling me to upgrade the entire system!) would be > appreciated. TIA. > > -- > > Rob. > >

Running an AMD Duron 850 with 512 megs of ram I was getting around 20-35 fps using a ASUS V3800M 32m version (TNT2). I recently put in a GeForce 2 card 32 meg version and now running anywhere from 40-110 fps depending on traffic. I run 43 cars, car detail on high, 50% world drawn, drawing 32 cars ahead and 12 behind. I would definitely go with the GeForce2 card, you won't regret it. I find I get a faster frame rate running OpenGL opposed to D3D. Max

Hi Rob, I have a PIII 450 with a GeForce 2 MX. I used to have a V3 previously. If Nascar 4 is your game, then the GeForce is the way to go. This is so because your system isn't as fast in processing power, and the hardware T&L on the GeForce really speeds things up in Nascar 4, in comparison to the Voodoos 4/5 that do not have an on card T&L unit. Another problem with the Voodoos is that they aren't properly supported anymore and that may cause driver issues in the near future. In non T&L games, though, the V5 might prove faster and more beautiful (FSAA) than the GeForce. I remember doing some comparisons a while ago in the demo of Nascar 4 once with T&L turned on/off, and it was something like 25 fps vs. 38 fps on my machine (no cars). A more powerful processor wouldn't see such a dramatic difference (on an extremely powerful PC the T&L could actually be slower). You will not see a dramatic improvement in performance in racing the AI in Nascar 4, though, as that part is more processor than graphics card limited. But in online play and practice mode there should be an improvement. It's hard to say what will happen with GPL, as the GeForce does not support Glide (which is faster), but you can still keep the Voodoo for Glide games as it should in principle be able to coexist with the GeForce. I didn't notice any drops in GPL performance from the V3 myself, but no improvements either. Also, the Vooodoos before 4 and 5 do not support textures larger than 256x256, and in this respect switching to any new graphics card would improve image quality in Nascar 4. All in all, a GeForce MX card should be a nice match to your processor and should give you quite a boost in Nascar 4 and other newer games. It kept me from a major upgrade, which can be delayed now until the next big thing comes out :). -Gregor Rob wrote:

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> > Can anyone advise me on what sort of improvement I could expect to see by > adding an AGP 64MB Geforce2 MX card to my system? My current system specs > are: Pentium II 450 (DELL), 128MB ram, 12MB Voodoo II (PCI). Nascar 4 at the > 'default' settings (800 x 600, 43 cars, 12 ahead, 3 behind, Mirrors medium, > World detail 50%, etc.) currently runs from 14-24 fps (occasionally dips > down to 7-9 fps). > The graphics upgrade is temporary until I upgrade the whole system next > year. I am happy with the performance of GPL on my system (but of course > hope to have improved performance with the new card), but N4 definitely > pushes the system far more. > My only other option is to try and source a PCI Voodoo 5 card. Would I > achieve better performance in Nascar 4 & GPL with this upgrade in comparison > to the Geforce upgrade? > Any advice (except telling me to upgrade the entire system!) would be > appreciated. TIA. > > -- > > Rob.

I run a V5 and 1.12 ghz p3. With a field of 30 AI and all the eye-candy turned on in d3d@1280x960, I get 30-65 fps. with Omega 1.03 drivers.

"Rob" <[email hidden]> wrote in message news:<9jhj4q$bpa$[email hidden]>... >currently runs from 14-24 fps (occasionally dips > down to 7-9 fps). A bit off your topic but...how do you drive at those frame rates? I can't steer the car if it gets less than 24 fps. Good luck getting the frame rate up. Patrick