Video card FAQ?

Sorry for the intrusion, but all the talk about the new CART sim has got me wondering about video cards - anywhere I can get an FAQ of all the different stuff out there... I'm pretty ignorant on most every aspect of the 3D cards, so even a pointer to the most basic info would be great... If anyone wants to field some questions, here's some things I've been wondering about: 3dfx - does this refer to hardware (specific cards) or software (specific games/versions of games)? I mean, do you buy a card to support your favorite 3dfx sims, or do you hope your favorite game supports your 3dfx card? (Sorry if that's not clear... I'm not even sure what I'm asking!) DirectX - same as Direct 3D? All Microsoft? DirectX3? DirectX5? Glide - no clue on this one, just heard the term today! Open GL - again, pretty clueless on that "Rendition ready" - any card, or just specific cards? Outdated? Still supported? Is hardware acceleration a universal thing or can you just use it on some cards? like 3D cards only? What are the different "flavors" of 3D hardware and supporting software? (Or - at least - how many are there?) Can you buy a card that supports everything? Or, when you decide on a card, does that give you great performance on some sims, while leaving you screwed for other sims? Which card will give me the best performance for MS CART? How about for Papy's sims? (ICR2/CART2, N2) GP2? Flight sims? Sorry to expose my ignorance to you all, but people here seem to know quite a bit about this stuff... Thanks in advance for any help/pointers... - Mike. ==================================================== Mike Holthouse - Indianapolis, IN I'm sick of spam!! To e-mail me, remove the "x"... ====================================================

Check out Tom's Hardware guide for info on video cards. http://www.tomshardware.com/video.html It won't tell you which card is best for which specific game but it will answer a lot of your questions. Jeff snip

Ok, I've found some info on the video cards and drivers, but one thing escapes me, and I suppose this is my bottom line question(s): Is there 1 single card that will give me great performance on DirectX games (such as CART PR) AND rendition games (such as ICR2)? If so, what *is* that card? If there is no one card to beat all cards for *all* types of 3D games, what's a good compromise? What should I look for when I go to buy a new card? Thanks in advance for your opinions... - Mike. ==================================================== Mike Holthouse - Indianapolis, IN I'm sick of spam!! To e-mail me, remove the "x"... ====================================================

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> Ok, I've found some info on the video cards and drivers, but > one thing escapes me, and I suppose this is my bottom > line question(s): > Is there 1 single card that will give me great performance on > DirectX games (such as CART PR) AND rendition games (such > as ICR2)? If so, what *is* that card? > If there is no one card to beat all cards for *all* types of 3D > games, what's a good compromise? What should I look for > when I go to buy a new card? > Thanks in advance for your opinions... > - Mike. > ==================================================== > Mike Holthouse - Indianapolis, IN > I'm sick of spam!! To e-mail me, remove the "x"... > ====================================================

Mike, Yes, there is a one card solution, but... As far as I know it's not out yet. The new Hercules Thriller 3d uses the Verite 2200 chipset. It is as much faster than the 2100 as the 2100 is faster than the original Verite 1000. In the November Boot magazine they had one of the developer cards are were drooling on their keyboards. In the article they did not name the card, only the chip but it was obvious to me they were playing with the new Hercules. Direct3D performance is unbelievable, as the card can render the Direct3D 12 attribute pixel in a single cycle. This 128 bit screamer can address up to 16 megs of video memory. Oh, and did I forget to mention Composite and S-video TV out? I plan to buy one as soon as they become available. They may talk about it on their website at http://www.bootnet.com The Other place to check out is the Hercules site, go to- http://www.hercules.com/presale/release/thrill3d.htm and drool a little bit for yourself <ggg.> All the best, Mike Davis -- Michael S. Davis Creative Media-Works Computer/Audio/Video Convergance http://www.creativemedia-works.com "From Creative Minds spring Creative Solutions."