Is there a consensus on which is the best and why? (I'm ready to
buy!) Specifically, is there a limit on clock speed adjustment (150,
200 400? for my next cpu ?)
Hey Randy,
The ACM card is the best , it is hardware adjustable for
the speed of your CPU whereas the Gamecard 3 is software speed adjustable.
I have both and find the ACM to give me better control in my driving sims.
Good Luck Steve
>Is there a consensus on which is the best and why? (I'm ready to
>buy!) Specifically, is there a limit on clock speed adjustment (150,
>200 400? for my next cpu ?)
Buy the ACM, I own both and originally had the CH Gamecard 3, it has some
documented problems with both Apache and Need For Speed, wouldn't
calibrate. After many headaches with it I finally went out and bought an
ACM, have had no problems since, the ACM is much better and it also has
a manual adjustment knob for speed compared to the CH software settings.
I recommend the ACM much better. But then again that's my opinion,
no flames please.
Cheers.
--John
--
Note: my real e-mail address is below. Delete the asterisks.
------------------------------+--------------------------
Seattle, Washington USA. | http://www.cool.com/~jsilva
Part II, where I detail the installation of my ACM.
I called around town and only Egghead had the ACM on their shelves.
Well, I have been boycotting Egghead ever since they instituted their
"no return" policy on opened software. Since they do have a 30-day
return on hardware, I thought I would give them a shot. Besides I
wanted to see if the ACM would really help me out.
When I got home I opened my machine and attempted to install the ACM
(which is an 8-bit card). It would not fit in any of the slots on my
board. As it turned out the mounting bracket was too thick and too far
away from the card. The edge would not line up with the connector.
When I examined the anti-static bag I noticed that it had been opened
before (greasy finger prints on the tape). Thank you Egghead for re-
shrink-wrapping a product which was obviously returned because it would
not fit!! Of course it was Sunday and Thrustmaster's support was
closed. Since I wasn't going to let Egghead put my "defective" card back
on the shelf for another unsuspecting customer, I decided to wait until
Monday and give Thrustmaster a call.
Monday morning I called Thrustmaster and told them my plight. They
said, no problem we are aware of this problem and will send you a new
one. They didn't even ask for the serial number or anything to verify
that I really had their card. They also didn't ask for a credit card
number to bill me in case I didn't return the defective card.
Wednesday the replacement card arrived. Tear open the machine only to
find that they sent me a card with the identical problem.
I happened to be off Thursday and am also lucky enough to live 25
minutes away from Thrustmaster's HQ. Called Tech support, explained my
problem and asked if I could swing by and pick up a card that would fit.
No problem, got directions and drove out to HQ. There I talked to one
of their Techs and learned that the latest batch of cards were made in
Taiwan and were all bad. He took the 2 cards I had and tossed them in
the waste bin and handed me one of the earlier cards which were made in
the USA.
Got home and installed the card in my machine. The fit was a little
snug, but did fit. The PAS has no jumper to disable the joystick
port (this is done via a software switch when loading the DOS driver).
Worked fine in DOS, now for Win95. Oh joy, Win95 won't give up the
PAS joystick, even if I check the disable joystick in the settings for
the PAS. Conflict resolution time... Well to make a loooong story
short, I finally discovered the trick. In the System Device Manager
under the properties for the joystick device, I simply unchecked the box
for usage during Current Configuration. Now my ACM and PAS can live in
perfect harmony.
IMPORTANT: If you do happen to buy an ACM and it does not fit because
the card is "too long", make sure that the person you are talking to at
Thrustmaster understands that you need to receive a replacement which
was either manufactured in the USA or at least matches the specs of the
USA card. Thrustmaster is known for their excellent support, but they
have been plagued in the past by poor quality control.
Am I keeping my ACM, you bet. From everything I have heard from people
who have tried both the CH & Thrustmaster game cards, ALL have said
forget the CH and spring for the Thrustmaster.
--
**************************** Michael E. Carver *************************
Upside out, or inside down...False alarm the only game in town.
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