PC BUilt but Which graphics

I have finished building my pc but am still contemplating the graphics card to use. Should I use a Viper 330 AGP or a millenium II or wait for the voodoo 2? DV My Spec: SuperMicro M/B LX 64Mb SDRam 233 Mhz PII Some crappy S3 Trio AWE 64 24x CD 4.3 Gb UDMA HD

Since I believe Voodoo2 will not have 2D capabilities, you need a 2D card anyway. Just make sure you allow some type of voodoo card to do your 3D. You will be able to then do anything the other cards do plus Glide. I hear the Viper 330 AGP is a good 2D card. I have a Diamond Stealth 3D 3000 which is also good, but is not AGP. -- Header address intentionally scrambled to ward off the spamming hordes. >I have finished building my pc but am still contemplating the graphics card >to use. Should I use a Viper 330 AGP or a millenium II or wait for the >voodoo 2? >DV >My Spec: >SuperMicro M/B LX >64Mb SDRam >233 Mhz PII >Some crappy S3 Trio >AWE 64 >24x CD >4.3 Gb UDMA HD

says... Get the Viper now and then get a Voodoo2 in a couple of months when they come out. -- Rob

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> I have finished building my pc but am still contemplating the graphics card > to use. Should I use a Viper 330 AGP or a millenium II or wait for the > voodoo 2? > DV > My Spec: > SuperMicro M/B LX > 64Mb SDRam > 233 Mhz PII > Some crappy S3 Trio > AWE 64 > 24x CD > 4.3 Gb UDMA HD

Damon, It goes without saying that if you follow this newsgroup you need a Rendition 2d/3d card with a 3dfx add-on card to go with it. The hottest new Rendition card is the Thriller 3d from Hercules. It uses the newest Verite V2200 chipset and is available in both 4meg and 8meg versions, PCI and AGP for both. This card simply smokes. It will do your regular 2d stuff as well as accelerate Rendition titles such as N2 and ICR2. It also does a pretty super job at Direct3d. I also understand the drivers are in the works for Glide, but that is the Voodoo's job. In addition, of course you will want one of the new Voodoo2 boards that should hit the streets in about a month or two. Diamond will probably be first out of the gate with the Monster II. Expect three times the performance of the original Voodoo chip. (Which of course is still a smokin' unit itself.) If you're strapped after building the new rig, pick up the Hercules first and it will do a first rate job as your main card. Go read all about it at http://www.hercules.com I would go for the 8meg even if it means beans and franks for awhile. The performance difference will be well worth the sacrifice. As an aside, I would stay away from the Riva 128 powered cards like the Viper 330. I was running a screaming fast Viper 330 AGP card and yanked it out. Although very fast, the graphic's image quality was just not up to par. Who cares if you get fifty frames per second if the image looks crappy? There is my two cents, enjoy the new beastie, all the best, Mike Davis -- Michael S. Davis Creative Media-Works Computer/Audio/Video Convergence "from Creative minds spring Creative solutions." http://www.creativemedia-works.com

On Sun, 25 Jan 1998 16:58:41 -0000, "Damon Varah" >I have finished building my pc but am still contemplating the graphics card >to use. Should I use a Viper 330 AGP or a millenium II or wait for the >voodoo 2? If you don't want to spend too much on a 2D/3D card the Diamond Stealth2 (Rendition) is good, and cheap $90-100. That should leave you enough money to put in a Voodoo also. That means ICR2 and Nascar2 on Rendition Redline and 3DFX for all the other 3D games. -- Nos http://www.cris.com/~nosfer/index.html

Before making any uninformed decisions, check out some actual screenshots produced by a RIVA card or better yet, go to some local store where you can see the card in action with your own eyes. Just be sure not to watch the show through a crappy monitor or 3Dfx-colored contact lenses. Some screenshots: - http://gamespot.com/gamespot/stories/reviews/0,10867,2592707,00.html - [link lost in import: /***/screenshots/] though I urge you to test the card yourself if you've only got a chance to. Operation 3Dfx reviewed a RIVA128 card (STB Velocity 128) giving it 95% Overall, 99% Performance, 90% Bundle, and 97% Value. Comments: Matrox 2D coupled with 3Dfx level 3D. I'll have to agree. I've got a Viper V330 and a Pure3D myself, and although I tend to use the Voodoo card for *** (that's what it was created for, and only that), most of the time Viper is able to provide equally impressive graphics in 3D games. Perhaps excluding F1RS, since the D3D version itself is somewhat lesser when it comes to effects (smoke and dust transparencies look good, though, as does the fog). I love my 3Dfx card because it's able to visualize fantastic worlds of simulation & adventure in front of my eyes and make them an enjoyable experience. On the other hand, I could say the very same things about my RIVA card. It's all about needs, priorities and resources. Everyone has a different set of those. If 2D's a question, let me tell you about my experiences. I had a Millennium as my 2D card before Viper came out. One of the best things with Mill was the rock solid display it gave me in 1280x1024 resolution. I purchased the Viper cos I wanted 3D in a window and of course, better 2D performance sounded good too. For this, I was willing to give up the Mill's great 2D image quality. To my surprise, with Viper, the 1280x1024 res was even sharper than before. Of course, I had to sacrifice some of this quality when I got my Pure3D - because of the pass-thru VGA cable, the picture appears to be slightly softer in Windows (otoh, this is only a good thing in games, imo, at least). So if you're in need of a good Windows 2D card but would still like to get your hands on the hottest 3D titles immediately without spending too much money on two separate cards now, the RIVA128 alternative should prove attractive. RIVA based cards are available from at least 6 manufacturers (Canopus, Diamond, STB, ASUS, ELSA, miro) and all those cards will also be capable of providing you with 1st class 3D *** entertainment, but don't take my word for it, see it for yourself to find out who's coloring the truth. In addition, as Michael mentioned, Hercules' Thriller is a very interesting piece of hardware, so be sure to include it in your comparison, especially if the word "Rendition" gets you going. Voodoo2 is something you might be able to interest yourself in a bit later when we'll finally see if it lives up to all our expectations. --- Antti Markus Peteri "He was a bold man that first ate an oyster." Jonathan Swift (1667-1745) Polite Conversation, Dialogue I