N4 - Graphics Cards - What to do...

**** Post for FREE via your newsreader at post.usenet.com **** You know, I have a GeForce DDR (Creative ANNI-Pro), and it does ok with N4. However, at the price, the ATI Radeon 64MB, with it's features (especially the video features) and PRICE (wow) is really, really tempting. I've read the reviews. What I'd like to hear from the peanut gallery is this: How well does it REALLY stack up against the GeForce II GTS 64 cards? I don't care about the Pro, and I don't care about the Ultra. Neither one is in my price range. At $190 - $220, the Radeon 64 seems like a steal. But, how is it really in N4? Running, say, an Athlon 800? With my current Athlon 800/GeForce DDR, I get 30-45fps at most times. Will the Radeon 64 do better than this? How about the drivers for both Windows 98 AND Windows 2000? Are they mature? Do they like DirectX 8a ? Any feedback would be greatly appreciated :) TIA! -Larry -=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-= *** Usenet.com - The #1 Usenet Newsgroup Service on The Planet! *** http://www.usenet.com -=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=

"rrevved" <[email hidden]> wrote in message news:[email hidden]...

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> On Wed, 14 Feb 2001 12:23:33 -0500, "Dog-Leg" <[email hidden]> wrote: > > >Will > >the Radeon 64 do better than this? > > > >How about the drivers for both Windows 98 AND Windows 2000? Are they > >mature? > > What I have heard is that there are lots of problems with the ATI Radeon > drivers. Maybe someone else can clarify this some more.

Well, I think it is a very nice card. 2D is superb, and 3D is the equal of a GTS 2 64MB. I have tried both and I picked the Radeon. As with everything else, new cards will be available soon and you have decide if the low price of the ATI is enough of an incentive. I was one of the suckers who paid top dollar a few months ago ! Never mind. I have not played N4 yet, because us Brits are deemed not worthy enough to warrant an early release, but N3, Nascar Heat, Mercedes-Benz Truck Racing, GPL, GP3 etc all play and look, great. Then you have all the video capture stuff. Tempting.

**** Post for FREE via your newsreader at post.usenet.com **** Yeah, it's not sounding good at anandtech or tomshardware either :( -Larry "rrevved" <[email hidden]> wrote in message news:[email hidden]...

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> On Wed, 14 Feb 2001 12:23:33 -0500, "Dog-Leg" <[email hidden]> wrote: > > >Will > >the Radeon 64 do better than this? > > > >How about the drivers for both Windows 98 AND Windows 2000? Are they > >mature? > > What I have heard is that there are lots of problems with the ATI Radeon > drivers. Maybe someone else can clarify this some more. >

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"Dog-Leg" <[email hidden]> wrote in message news:[email hidden]... > **** Post for FREE via your newsreader at post.usenet.com **** > > Yeah, it's not sounding good at anandtech or tomshardware either :( >I think the guy would like some facts from users, not hearsay via rumour control.

**** Post for FREE via your newsreader at post.usenet.com **** Thanks for the info. An additional question... Can the output from the SVGA or RCA jacks send out the N4 racing screen and send it to a VCR for Recording? I was thinking that then you could re-record the video into the card from the tape and make some nice MPEG-2 movies of online racing! -Larry "redTed" <[email hidden]> wrote in message news:rgAi6.16$QU4.195@news1-hme0...

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> > "rrevved" <[email hidden]> wrote in message > news:[email hidden]... > > On Wed, 14 Feb 2001 12:23:33 -0500, "Dog-Leg" <[email hidden]> wrote: > > > > >Will > > >the Radeon 64 do better than this? > > > > > >How about the drivers for both Windows 98 AND Windows 2000? Are they > > >mature? > > > > What I have heard is that there are lots of problems with the ATI Radeon > > drivers. Maybe someone else can clarify this some more. > > Well, I think it is a very nice card. 2D is superb, and 3D is the equal of

a > GTS 2 64MB. I have tried both and I picked the Radeon. As with everything > else, new cards will be available soon and you have decide if the lowprice > of the ATI is enough of an incentive. I was one of the suckers who paidtop

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> dollar a few months ago ! Never mind. > > I have not played N4 yet, because us Brits are deemed not worthy enough to > warrant an early release, but N3, Nascar Heat, Mercedes-Benz Truck Racing, > GPL, GP3 etc all play and look, great. > Then you have all the video capture stuff. Tempting. > >

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**** Post for FREE via your newsreader at post.usenet.com **** Red Ted, I AM the guy... :) -Larry "redTed" <[email hidden]> wrote in message news:0vAi6.18$QU4.218@news1-hme0... > > "Dog-Leg" <[email hidden]> wrote in messagenews:[email hidden]...

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> > **** Post for FREE via your newsreader at post.usenet.com **** > > > > Yeah, it's not sounding good at anandtech or tomshardware either :( > > > I think the guy would like some facts from users, not hearsay via rumour > control. > >

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**** Post for FREE via your newsreader at post.usenet.com **** We seem to have gotten off track here... I AM the guy asking about the Radeon :) -Larry "rrevved" <[email hidden]> wrote in message news:[email hidden]... > On Wed, 14 Feb 2001 18:53:16 -0000, "redTed" <[email hidden]>wrote: > > > > >"Dog-Leg" <[email hidden]> wrote in messagenews:[email hidden]...

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> >> **** Post for FREE via your newsreader at post.usenet.com **** > >> > >> Yeah, it's not sounding good at anandtech or tomshardware either :( > >> > >I think the guy would like some facts from users, not hearsay via rumour > >control. > > > > I agree. Do you have an ATI Radeon?

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"rrevved" <[email hidden]> wrote in message news:[email hidden]... > On Wed, 14 Feb 2001 18:53:16 -0000, "redTed" <[email hidden]>wrote: > > > I agree. Do you have an ATI Radeon? Yes. I have the Radeon 64, but I don't have N4 !!

"Dog-Leg" <[email hidden]> wrote in message news:[email hidden]... > **** Post for FREE via your newsreader at post.usenet.com **** > > Red Ted, I AM the guy... :) > > -Larry >SORRY !! It's been a long day . Urghhh. :-(

**** Post for FREE via your newsreader at post.usenet.com **** Hehe :) I know what you mean. I'm on my 15th or so service call today... -Larry "redTed" <[email hidden]> wrote in message news:fEAi6.20$QU4.158@news1-hme0... > > "Dog-Leg" <[email hidden]> wrote in messagenews:[email hidden]...

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> > **** Post for FREE via your newsreader at post.usenet.com **** > > > > Red Ted, I AM the guy... :) > > > > -Larry > > > SORRY !! It's been a long day . Urghhh. :-( > >

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As a 32mb DDR Radeon owner, all my games (racing/flying) run fine. -Cheers!

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> > > >Yes. I have the Radeon 64, but I don't have N4 !! > > > How does it run in other games? Could you give some examples and > which drivers you use, etc.? > > Thanks. >

I think this was meant for me. I'm using the 7072 drivers that are on the ATI site, but un-supported. I don't know which games you are interested in, but I will give you a small list of games that run perfectly well in D3D and/or Open GL. The only issue I have with these drivers is the gamma value is not reset when you exit to desktop from some D3D/DirectX8 games. The earlier, supported drivers did not have this problem. It's not too bad, all you need to do is click the colour setting in the display properties to reset it. Nascar3, Nascar Legends, Nascar Heat, Mercedes-Benz Truck Racing, Superbike 2001, GP3, GP500, GPL, NFS Porsche Unleashed, Rally Masters, Rally Championship, Colin McRae Rally 2(menu's are too bright), Screamer 4x4, Motocross Madness2. All look fantastic and play well with very good FPS. Other, non-driving sims include: NHL 2001, NBA 2000, Unreal Tournament(nearly perfect), Quake 3 Arena,etc, etc. The list is pretty long and boring really. As I mentioned about Colin McRae Rally 2, the gamma in the menu's can appear to be too much in a couple of games. N.O.L.F has this problem, as well. If there are any games in particular that you are interested in, let me know.

I own an ATI AIW. I bought N4 today and it runs perfectly. What a great game. I am running the game in the next graphics level above 600x800 (1024x768?) 32 bit color. I have a 43 car field and high graphics details. My computer is a P3 600 or 700 MHz. I am also using the latest drivers from the ATI web site. Zero computer crashes. Again, what a great game and wonderful graphics. "Dog-Leg" <[email hidden]> wrote in message news:[email hidden]... > **** Post for FREE via your newsreader at post.usenet.com **** > > You know, I have a GeForce DDR (Creative ANNI-Pro), and it does ok withN4.

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> > However, at the price, the ATI Radeon 64MB, with it's features (especially > the video features) and PRICE (wow) is really, really tempting. > > I've read the reviews. What I'd like to hear from the peanut gallery is > this: > > How well does it REALLY stack up against the GeForce II GTS 64 cards? > > I don't care about the Pro, and I don't care about the Ultra. Neither one > is in my price range. > > At $190 - $220, the Radeon 64 seems like a steal. > > But, how is it really in N4? Running, say, an Athlon 800? > > With my current Athlon 800/GeForce DDR, I get 30-45fps at most times.

Will

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> the Radeon 64 do better than this? > > How about the drivers for both Windows 98 AND Windows 2000? Are they > mature? Do they like DirectX 8a ? > > Any feedback would be greatly appreciated :) > > TIA! > > -Larry > > > > -=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-= > *** Usenet.com - The #1 Usenet Newsgroup Service on The Planet! *** > http://www.usenet.com > -=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=

**** Post for FREE via your newsreader at post.usenet.com **** Rats! I didn't see N4 listed :) That's a pretty good list. Thanks for the info! BTW... Is this on an Athlon system with a VIA chipset? I've read there were some problems here... -Larry "redTed" <[email hidden]> wrote in message news:55Ei6.253$QU4.3073@news1-hme0...

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> > > > > > >Yes. I have the Radeon 64, but I don't have N4 !! > > > > > How does it run in other games? Could you give some examples and > > which drivers you use, etc.? > > > > Thanks. > > > I think this was meant for me. > I'm using the 7072 drivers that are on the ATI site, but un-supported. I > don't know which games you are interested in, but I will give you a small > list of games that run perfectly well in D3D and/or Open GL. The only

issue > I have with these drivers is the gamma value is not reset when you exit to > desktop from some D3D/DirectX8 games. The earlier, supported drivers didnot > have this problem. It's not too bad, all you need to do is click thecolour > setting in the display properties to reset it. > Nascar3, Nascar Legends, Nascar Heat, Mercedes-Benz Truck Racing,Superbike > 2001, GP3, GP500, GPL, NFS Porsche Unleashed, Rally Masters, Rally > Championship, Colin McRae Rally 2(menu's are too bright), Screamer 4x4, > Motocross Madness2. All look fantastic and play well with very good FPS. > Other, non-driving sims include: NHL 2001, NBA 2000, Unreal > Tournament(nearly perfect), Quake 3 Arena,etc, etc. The list is prettylong > and boring really. As I mentioned about Colin McRae Rally 2, the gamma in > the menu's can appear to be too much in a couple of games. N.O.L.F hasthis > problem, as well. > If there are any games in particular that you are interested in, let me > know. > > > -=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-= *** Usenet.com - The #1 Usenet Newsgroup Service on The Planet! *** http://www.usenet.com -=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=

"Dog-Leg" <[email hidden]> wrote in message news:[email hidden]...

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> **** Post for FREE via your newsreader at post.usenet.com **** > > Rats! I didn't see N4 listed :) > > That's a pretty good list. Thanks for the info! > > BTW... Is this on an Athlon system with a VIA chipset? > > I've read there were some problems here... > > -Larry >

No, it's just a Dell 733r with 128MB RDRAM. All standard issue stuff I'm afraid. Intel chipset, no overclocking, 1024x768 resolution(easily goes up to 1280x1024 with no discernable degradation), blah, blah, etc..