New motherboard recommandations

Hi Guys, I have been lurking in the group for about a month now and thought I would finally ask a question from those who have been racing for a while. The last online gaming I have done was with Decent and DecentII in the mid 90's. I've been into R/C Airplanes for the last few years and have now been afflicted with the bug for racing sims lately. I bought a MOMO Force wheel and pedals last weekusing your recommendations to others and love it. Unfortunatley I don't believe my 800mhz Dell machine is going to be up to the task. The AGP slot is the early 1.0 version and I can't get any decent video cards to fit it. I was going to replace the MOBO but saw in an earlier thread that the power supply/mobo interface for the Dells are proprietary and I think it would be easier for me to build a new machine from scratch. I need a recommendation for a MOBO/CPU combo in the 2 - 2.5 ghz range that would make a good machine for GTR2002, F12K2, N2002/2003 etc. Also Which video card would be a better fit? Something in the Geforce4 line or Radeon 9500/9700? I haven't been keeping up with developments in motherboards and processers for the last couple of years and have gotten a feel for the best bang for the buck yet. BTW: Thank for all the info Ya'll have posted. I have learned a huge amount about sim racing in the short time I have been reading the group. I've been busy downloading mods for the last week and have been amazed at the quatity of stuff available. I have amassed about 1G so far ;-) Thanks, Michael

Here is my recommendation, if your interested....... ASUS P4PE/R/L/SATA Motherboard for Intel P4 478 Retail w/ Intel Hyper-Threading Technology, SATA, Onboard LAN, Firewire IEEE1394, Serial ATA SoundMAX Digital Audio System ***1st Intel chips that TRUELY support DDR333 PC2700*** Specifications: Supported CPU: P4 Socket 478 1.4 GHz ~ 2.53+ GHz Chipset: Intel 845PE FSB: 533 / 400 MHz RAM: 3 x184-pin DDR333 PC2700/PC2100/PC1600Max 2GB IDE: 2 x UltraDMA 100/66/33 Serial ATA Slots: 1 x AGP 4X 6 x PCI Ports: 1x LPT, 2x COM, 2x PS/2, 1x RJ45, 1x 1394,4x USB2.0 and Audio Ports Onboard Audio: ADI1980 6-channel CODEC Onboard LAN: BroadCom� 10/100 Mbps Onboard Firewire: IEEE1394 interface Price around..... $152.00 ATI RADEON 9700 PRO 128MB TV/DVI 8X AGP RETAILRADEONT 9700 PRO is the world's fastest* and most advanced graphics board. Specifications: GPU: RADEONT 9700 PRO Visual Processing Unit (VPU) Mem: 128MB DDR memory 256-bit memory OS: Windows 2000,ME,XP DirectX� 9.0 support Eight parallel rendering pipelines, Four parallel geometry engines Bus: AGP 8X support 2GB/sec Bandwidth Peak Memory Bandwidth 20GB a sec (compare to ti 4600's 10.4gb) Pixel Fill Rate: 2.6 Gigapixels/Sec Resolutions: From 640x480 at 200Hz, to 2048x1536 at 85Hz Integrated TV Output support up to 1024x768 resolution 2x/4x/6x full scene anti-aliasing modes Retail Box with cables Price around...... $339.00 Intel Pentium 4 / 2.8 GHz Northwood 512K Socket 478 Processor 533MHz Processor Bus Retail Specifications: CPU: 2.8 GHz Type: Pentium 4 Northwood Cache: 512K BUS: 533 Mhz Socket: 478 Retail (Box with Heatsink and fan) At least that's what I'm doing, and it comes highly recommended by many people. Ron Price around..... $382.00 "MH Burton" <[email hidden]> wrote in message news:[email hidden]...

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> Hi Guys, > I have been lurking in the group for about a month now and thought I > would finally ask a question from those who have been racing for a while. > The last online gaming I have done was with Decent and DecentII in the > mid 90's. I've been into R/C Airplanes for the last few years and have now > been afflicted with the bug for racing sims lately. I bought a MOMO Force > wheel and pedals last weekusing your recommendations to others and love

it.

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> Unfortunatley I don't believe my 800mhz Dell machine is going to be up to > the task. The AGP slot is the early 1.0 version and I can't get any decent > video cards to fit it. I was going to replace the MOBO but saw in an > earlier thread that the power supply/mobo interface for the Dells are > proprietary and I think it would be easier for me to build a new machine > from scratch. > I need a recommendation for a MOBO/CPU combo in the 2 - 2.5 ghz range > that would make a good machine for GTR2002, F12K2, N2002/2003 etc. Also > Which video card would be a better fit? Something in the Geforce4 line or > Radeon 9500/9700? > I haven't been keeping up with developments in motherboards and > processers for the last couple of years and have gotten a feel for the

best > bang for the buck yet. > > BTW: Thank for all the info Ya'll have posted. I have learned a hugeamount > about sim racing in the short time I have been reading the group. I'vebeen > busy downloading mods for the last week and have been amazed at thequatity > of stuff available. I have amassed about 1G so far ;-) > > Thanks, > Michael > > -----= Posted via Newsfeeds.Com, Uncensored Usenet News =----- http://www.newsfeeds.com - The #1 Newsgroup Service in the World! -----== Over 80,000 Newsgroups - 16 Different Servers! =-----

"MH Burton" <[email hidden]> wrote in message news:[email hidden]... > Hi Guys,.. Someone suggested the Intel route - here's my suggestion for the AMD route... - AMD Athlon XP 2700+ "Thoroughbred" CPU - Globalwin CAK4-88T Thermo Controlled heatsink & 3 pin fan - ABIT NF7-S Serial ATA150 Nforce 2 Motherboard - 2 x Corsair 512MB PC3500 CAS-2.0 memory (Dual DDR Mode) - 120GB Western Digital SE 8mb cache Hard Drive - Hercules Radeon 9700 Pro 128Mb graphics card - Creative SB Audigy Player 2 sound card - Pioneer DVD-117 DVD drive - Teac Floppy Drive - Coolermaster ATCS-210 Azure Aluminium Case - Enermax 460w AMD Compatible ATX Silent Power Supply - An OcUK Case badge! - Metal Braided Rounded Floppy Cable (0.5m) - Metal Braided Rounded Ultra ATA100/66 IDE Cable (0.45m) All up - that lost will cost you around �1400 - so about $1400 Of course - you could carry across your DVD Drive, HDD, etc etc - and you could make savings in the Ram and Case section, but that is the basis for a superb machine.. Doug

I have the P4PE w/ 2.66Ghz running at 3.0Ghz. It is a great board. I also have the Samsung PC2700 DDR333 memory running at 385Mhz. I use a Ti4600 though for now. The only problem I have with mine is a quirk about 1 in 25 times I reboot I get a hard disk error, but a reboot always works directly following. I get this O/C'ed or normal speed. I am on a beta version of the BIOS though, and didn't have this problem with the original version of the BIOS. Glen "Ron Ronchetto" <[email hidden]> wrote in message news:[email hidden]... > Here is my recommendation, if your interested....... > > ASUS P4PE/R/L/SATA Motherboard for Intel P4 478 Retail w/ Intel > Hyper-Threading Technology, SATA, Onboard LAN, Firewire IEEE1394, SerialATA

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> SoundMAX Digital Audio System > ***1st Intel chips that TRUELY support DDR333 PC2700*** > Specifications: > Supported CPU: P4 Socket 478 1.4 GHz ~ 2.53+ GHz > Chipset: Intel 845PE > FSB: 533 / 400 MHz > RAM: 3 x184-pin DDR333 PC2700/PC2100/PC1600Max 2GB > IDE: 2 x UltraDMA 100/66/33 > Serial ATA > Slots: 1 x AGP 4X 6 x PCI > Ports: 1x LPT, 2x COM, 2x PS/2, 1x RJ45, 1x 1394,4x USB2.0 and Audio > Ports > Onboard Audio: ADI1980 6-channel CODEC > Onboard LAN: BroadCom� 10/100 Mbps > Onboard Firewire: IEEE1394 interface Price around..... $152.00 > > > ATI RADEON 9700 PRO 128MB TV/DVI 8X AGP RETAILRADEONT 9700 PRO is

the

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> world's fastest* and most advanced graphics board. > Specifications: > GPU: RADEONT 9700 PRO Visual Processing Unit (VPU) > Mem: 128MB DDR memory 256-bit memory > OS: Windows 2000,ME,XP DirectX� 9.0 support > Eight parallel rendering pipelines, Four parallel geometry engines > Bus: AGP 8X support 2GB/sec Bandwidth > Peak Memory Bandwidth 20GB a sec (compare to ti 4600's 10.4gb) > Pixel Fill Rate: 2.6 Gigapixels/Sec > Resolutions: From 640x480 at 200Hz, to 2048x1536 at 85Hz > Integrated TV Output support up to 1024x768 resolution > 2x/4x/6x full scene anti-aliasing modes > Retail Box with cables Price around...... $339.00 > > > Intel Pentium 4 / 2.8 GHz Northwood 512K Socket 478 Processor 533MHz > Processor Bus Retail > Specifications: > CPU: 2.8 GHz > Type: Pentium 4 Northwood > Cache: 512K > BUS: 533 Mhz > Socket: 478 Retail (Box with Heatsink and fan) > > At least that's what I'm doing, and it comes highly recommended by > many people. > > Ron > > > Price around..... $382.00 > > "MH Burton" <[email hidden]> wrote in message > news:[email hidden]... > > Hi Guys, > > I have been lurking in the group for about a month now and thought I > > would finally ask a question from those who have been racing for a

while. > > The last online gaming I have done was with Decent and DecentII inthe > > mid 90's. I've been into R/C Airplanes for the last few years and havenow > > been afflicted with the bug for racing sims lately. I bought a MOMOForce > > wheel and pedals last weekusing your recommendations to others and love > it. > > Unfortunatley I don't believe my 800mhz Dell machine is going to be upto > > the task. The AGP slot is the early 1.0 version and I can't get anydecent > > video cards to fit it. I was going to replace the MOBO but saw in an > > earlier thread that the power supply/mobo interface for the Dells are > > proprietary and I think it would be easier for me to build a new machine > > from scratch. > > I need a recommendation for a MOBO/CPU combo in the 2 - 2.5 ghzrange > > that would make a good machine for GTR2002, F12K2, N2002/2003 etc. Also > > Which video card would be a better fit? Something in the Geforce4 lineor

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> > Radeon 9500/9700? > > I haven't been keeping up with developments in motherboards and > > processers for the last couple of years and have gotten a feel for the > best > > bang for the buck yet. > > > > BTW: Thank for all the info Ya'll have posted. I have learned a huge > amount > > about sim racing in the short time I have been reading the group. I've > been > > busy downloading mods for the last week and have been amazed at the > quatity > > of stuff available. I have amassed about 1G so far ;-) > > > > Thanks, > > Michael > > > > > > > > > -----= Posted via Newsfeeds.Com, Uncensored Usenet News =----- > http://www.newsfeeds.com - The #1 Newsgroup Service in the World! > -----== Over 80,000 Newsgroups - 16 Different Servers! =-----

"Doug Ellison" <[email hidden]> wrote in message news:BE3V9.13082$4k6.1159375@wards... > - An OcUK Case badge! Just built myself up a ninja system mostly from OcUk and I can't recommend them higher. I went the Intel RDram route and got ASUS P4T533/R P4 2.53 and 512Mb 4200 RDram with twin Maxtor 133bus 80Gbs running in raid 0 with Gainward Geforce 4600ti all housed in lovely Coolermaster aluminium case, and my god does it fly! Well worth it just to play GTR2002. Cost me quite a bit but OCUK are very competitive in price and I could of gone to PC world or Time etc and got myself a pile of shit for the same price. I went the expensive RDram route for speed's sake but I hear the Abit IT7max 2 with decent corsair 3200 or 3500 DDR ram is pretty good choice. Some Call Me Tim

"Ron Ronchetto" <[email hidden]> wrote in news:[email hidden]:

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> Here is my recommendation, if your interested....... > > ASUS P4PE/R/L/SATA Motherboard for Intel P4 478 Retail w/ Intel > Hyper-Threading Technology, SATA, Onboard LAN, Firewire IEEE1394, > Serial ATA SoundMAX Digital Audio System > ***1st Intel chips that TRUELY support DDR333 PC2700*** > Specifications: > Supported CPU: P4 Socket 478 1.4 GHz ~ 2.53+ GHz > Chipset: Intel 845PE > FSB: 533 / 400 MHz > RAM: 3 x184-pin DDR333 PC2700/PC2100/PC1600Max 2GB > IDE: 2 x UltraDMA 100/66/33 > Serial ATA > Slots: 1 x AGP 4X 6 x PCI > Ports: 1x LPT, 2x COM, 2x PS/2, 1x RJ45, 1x 1394,4x USB2.0 and > Audio > Ports > Onboard Audio: ADI1980 6-channel CODEC > Onboard LAN: BroadCom� 10/100 Mbps > Onboard Firewire: IEEE1394 interface Price around..... $152.00

Good board, I only have complain about audio, in GPL in particular. If you hit something or get clock smash sound usually skips and start to sound somehow differently. Not a big deal but it's somewhat annoying. Btw, it runs DDR400 just fine.

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> > > ATI RADEON 9700 PRO 128MB TV/DVI 8X AGP RETAILRADEONT 9700 PRO is > the > world's fastest* and most advanced graphics board. > Specifications: > GPU: RADEONT 9700 PRO Visual Processing Unit (VPU) > Mem: 128MB DDR memory 256-bit memory > OS: Windows 2000,ME,XP DirectX� 9.0 support > Eight parallel rendering pipelines, Four parallel geometry > engines Bus: AGP 8X support 2GB/sec Bandwidth > Peak Memory Bandwidth 20GB a sec (compare to ti 4600's 10.4gb) > Pixel Fill Rate: 2.6 Gigapixels/Sec > Resolutions: From 640x480 at 200Hz, to 2048x1536 at 85Hz > Integrated TV Output support up to 1024x768 resolution > 2x/4x/6x full scene anti-aliasing modes > Retail Box with cables Price around...... $339.00 > > > Intel Pentium 4 / 2.8 GHz Northwood 512K Socket 478 Processor > 533MHz > Processor Bus Retail > Specifications: > CPU: 2.8 GHz > Type: Pentium 4 Northwood > Cache: 512K > BUS: 533 Mhz > Socket: 478 Retail (Box with Heatsink and fan)

If you plan to overclock and want to save some money you may opt for lower rated CPU. Faster CPUs tend to overclock less. So with 2.8 you can realistically expect to run 3.0-3.2 without extreme overclocking (without changes to voltage and cooling system). With 1.8 you should run around 2.7 and with 2.0 - around 2.8. Alex.

MH Burton wrote:

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> Hi Guys, > I have been lurking in the group for about a month now and thought I > would finally ask a question from those who have been racing for a while. > The last online gaming I have done was with Decent and DecentII in the > mid 90's. I've been into R/C Airplanes for the last few years and have now > been afflicted with the bug for racing sims lately. I bought a MOMO Force > wheel and pedals last weekusing your recommendations to others and love > it. Unfortunatley I don't believe my 800mhz Dell machine is going to be > up to the task. The AGP slot is the early 1.0 version and I can't get any > decent video cards to fit it. I was going to replace the MOBO but saw in > an earlier thread that the power supply/mobo interface for the Dells are > proprietary and I think it would be easier for me to build a new machine > from scratch. > I need a recommendation for a MOBO/CPU combo in the 2 - 2.5 ghz range > that would make a good machine for GTR2002, F12K2, N2002/2003 etc. Also > Which video card would be a better fit? Something in the Geforce4 line or > Radeon 9500/9700? > I haven't been keeping up with developments in motherboards and > processers for the last couple of years and have gotten a feel for the > best bang for the buck yet. > > BTW: Thank for all the info Ya'll have posted. I have learned a huge > amount about sim racing in the short time I have been reading the group. > I've been busy downloading mods for the last week and have been amazed at > the quatity of stuff available. I have amassed about 1G so far ;-) > > Thanks, > Michael

I just put this system in , and would highly recommend it. Asus A78NX deluxe mb, Athlon XP 2400+ The motherboad is a little pricey, but it is well worth the bucks. More tweaking options than you can shake a stick at. Plus it will support the faster chips, I like to wait till they come down in price a little. I am running my 2400+ at 2.1 ghz, with the memory dual ddr memory synched with the fsb of 140 mhz. -- Don Burnette

Hi Don: Your machine is plenty fast enough to run Grand Prix Legends, just pick up an old Voodoo5 card from ebay or some other site (~$50) and you will be ready to race the best online roadracing sim in existence. (Not that I am trying to talk you out of your upgrade ;-) JimF "Don Burnette" <[email hidden]> wrote in message news:[email hidden]... > MH Burton wrote: > > Hi Guys, > > I have been lurking in the group for about a month now and thought I > > would finally ask a question from those who have been racing for awhile. > > The last online gaming I have done was with Decent and DecentII inthe > > mid 90's. I've been into R/C Airplanes for the last few years and havenow > > been afflicted with the bug for racing sims lately. I bought a MOMOForce > > wheel and pedals last weekusing your recommendations to others and love > > it. Unfortunatley I don't believe my 800mhz Dell machine is going to be > > up to the task. The AGP slot is the early 1.0 version and I can't getany > > decent video cards to fit it. I was going to replace the MOBO but sawin > > an earlier thread that the power supply/mobo interface for the Dells are > > proprietary and I think it would be easier for me to build a new machine > > from scratch. > > I need a recommendation for a MOBO/CPU combo in the 2 - 2.5 ghzrange > > that would make a good machine for GTR2002, F12K2, N2002/2003 etc. Also > > Which video card would be a better fit? Something in the Geforce4 lineor

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> > Radeon 9500/9700? > > I haven't been keeping up with developments in motherboards and > > processers for the last couple of years and have gotten a feel for the > > best bang for the buck yet. > > > > BTW: Thank for all the info Ya'll have posted. I have learned a huge > > amount about sim racing in the short time I have been reading the group. > > I've been busy downloading mods for the last week and have been amazed

at

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> > the quatity of stuff available. I have amassed about 1G so far ;-) > > > > Thanks, > > Michael > > I just put this system in , and would highly recommend it. > > Asus A78NX deluxe mb, Athlon XP 2400+ > The motherboad is a little pricey, but it is well worth the bucks. More > tweaking options than you can shake a stick at. Plus it will support the > faster chips, I like to wait till they come down in price a little. > I am running my 2400+ at 2.1 ghz, with the memory dual ddr memory synched > with the fsb of 140 mhz. > > -- > Don Burnette > >

Thanks Jim, but I think it is Michael that will appreciate the advice, GPL does indeed run very well on my system. :) Don Jim F wrote:

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> Hi Don: > > Your machine is plenty fast enough to run Grand Prix Legends, just pick up > an old Voodoo5 card from ebay or some other site (~$50) and you will be > ready to race the best online roadracing sim in existence. (Not that I am > trying to talk you out of your upgrade ;-) > > JimF > > > "Don Burnette" <[email hidden]> wrote in message > news:[email hidden]... >> MH Burton wrote: >>> Hi Guys, >>> I have been lurking in the group for about a month now and thought I >>> would finally ask a question from those who have been racing for a >>> while. The last online gaming I have done was with Decent and >>> DecentII in the mid 90's. I've been into R/C Airplanes for the last few >>> years and have now been afflicted with the bug for racing sims lately. >>> I bought a MOMO Force wheel and pedals last weekusing your >>> recommendations to others and love it. Unfortunatley I don't believe my >>> 800mhz Dell machine is going to be up to the task. The AGP slot is the >>> early 1.0 version and I can't get any decent video cards to fit it. I >>> was going to replace the MOBO but saw in an earlier thread that the >>> power supply/mobo interface for the Dells are proprietary and I think >>> it would be easier for me to build a new machine from scratch. >>> I need a recommendation for a MOBO/CPU combo in the 2 - 2.5 ghz >>> range that would make a good machine for GTR2002, F12K2, N2002/2003 >>> etc. Also Which video card would be a better fit? Something in the >>> Geforce4 line or Radeon 9500/9700? >>> I haven't been keeping up with developments in motherboards and >>> processers for the last couple of years and have gotten a feel for the >>> best bang for the buck yet. >>> >>> BTW: Thank for all the info Ya'll have posted. I have learned a huge >>> amount about sim racing in the short time I have been reading the group. >>> I've been busy downloading mods for the last week and have been amazed >>> at the quatity of stuff available. I have amassed about 1G so far ;-) >>> >>> Thanks, >>> Michael >> >> I just put this system in , and would highly recommend it. >> >> Asus A78NX deluxe mb, Athlon XP 2400+ >> The motherboad is a little pricey, but it is well worth the bucks. More >> tweaking options than you can shake a stick at. Plus it will support the >> faster chips, I like to wait till they come down in price a little. >> I am running my 2400+ at 2.1 ghz, with the memory dual ddr memory synched >> with the fsb of 140 mhz. >> >> -- >> Don Burnette

I own this board and although it has great features. But it took me 2 weeks to make it run.. The company that sold it to me could not tell me the bios settings, asus technical didnt no. Turned out I had to use some input from asus forum and there was about 200 people there that had problems. not saying this isnt great board will ton of features and i hope you experience is better than mine.. During that time I also went and bought a Dell 2.54HZ INTEL wiht ATI 9700 Pro. So see what works best with PAPY 2003 Don Wlishe

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> I just put this system in , and would highly recommend it. > > Asus A78NX deluxe mb, Athlon XP 2400+ > The motherboad is a little pricey, but it is well worth the bucks. More > tweaking options than you can shake a stick at. Plus it will support the > faster chips, I like to wait till they come down in price a little. > I am running my 2400+ at 2.1 ghz, with the memory dual ddr memory synched > with the fsb of 140 mhz. > > -- > Don Burnette > > >

"MH Burton" <[email hidden]> wrote in message news:<[email hidden]>... > Hi Guys, >Which video card would be a better fit? Something in the Geforce4line or > Radeon 9500/9700? If money isn't an object, the latest reviews I've seen put the Radeon 9700 Pro somewhat ahead of the current Geforce4 lineup, especially when you are running high anti-aliasing and assuming you have at least a 1.5Ghz processor. (Under other cirumstances, the Geforce4 may be a better choice.) > I haven't been keeping up with developments in motherboards and > processers for the last couple of years and have gotten a feel for the best > bang for the buck yet. If want to go "really cheap but fast", try an Athlon XP 2000 and ECS K7S5A upgrade combo. You can't beat the price (only about $140 for mb, cpu, fan) and it supports both PC-133 and DDR RAM, and should offer a NOTICABLE improvement over an 800Mhz PIII. If you've already got some good PC-133 RAM around, you won't have to spend a single penny more to get both a decent CPU boost and an AGP 2.0 (4X) slot. Should be good for at least a year or two of gaming fun. But if you have more money to spend, I would suggest one of the new Nforce2 motherboards with dual-channel DDR333, AGP 8X, etc.- like the Asus A7N8X, Abit NF7, Epox EP-8RDA, Leadtek K7NCR18D, Soltek Sl-75FRN, or MSI K7N2L. I am thinking about getting one of those myself. Not be confused with any of the first-generation Nforce boards, which are much slower, the NForce2 motherboards should hold up, performance-wise, for several years, because they can support both AMD's next-gen 333FSB processors as well as todays "value" CPUs. - Ted

That's strange, I haven't had any problem with this board from the get go. Matter of fact, I updated with the latest beta bios today which unlocked my XP2400+, changed the fsb to 166 and the multiplier to 12, still running stock at 2ghz but my 3dmark benchmark went up over 500 pts due to the increased bandwidth. Guess I have been one of the lucky ones. Don Burnette Don Wilshe wrote:

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> I own this board and although it has great features. But it took me > 2 weeks to make it run.. The company that sold it to me could not > tell me the bios settings, asus technical didnt no. Turned out I had > to use some input from asus forum and there was about 200 people > there that had problems. not saying this isnt great board will ton of > features and i hope you experience is better than mine.. During that > time I also went and bought a Dell 2.54HZ INTEL wiht ATI > 9700 Pro. So see what works best with PAPY 2003 > > Don Wlishe > > > >> I just put this system in , and would highly recommend it. >> >> Asus A78NX deluxe mb, Athlon XP 2400+ >> The motherboad is a little pricey, but it is well worth the bucks. More >> tweaking options than you can shake a stick at. Plus it will support the >> faster chips, I like to wait till they come down in price a little. >> I am running my 2400+ at 2.1 ghz, with the memory dual ddr memory synched >> with the fsb of 140 mhz. >> >> -- >> Don Burnette

Don Burnette wrote:

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> > That's strange, I haven't had any problem with this board from the get go. > > Matter of fact, I updated with the latest beta bios today which unlocked my > XP2400+, changed the fsb to 166 and the multiplier to 12, still running > stock at 2ghz but my 3dmark benchmark went up over 500 pts due to the > increased bandwidth. > Guess I have been one of the lucky ones.

I believe there where some problems with some of the early boards not delivering enough voltage on the AGP bus when set to "auto" or something, the easy fix was to up the AGP voltage a couple of notches, which is not something you should have to do of course, but.... Beers and cheers (uncle) Goy http://www.theuspits.com "A man is only as old as the woman he feels........" --Groucho Marx--

[email hidden] (Ted D.) wrote in news:[email hidden]:

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> "MH Burton" <[email hidden]> wrote in message > news:<[email hidden]>... >> Hi Guys, > >>Which video card would be a better fit? Something in the Geforce4 > line or >> Radeon 9500/9700? > > If money isn't an object, the latest reviews I've seen put the Radeon > 9700 Pro somewhat ahead of the current Geforce4 lineup, especially > when you are running high anti-aliasing and assuming you have at > least a 1.5Ghz processor. (Under other cirumstances, the Geforce4 may > be a better choice.) > >> I haven't been keeping up with developments in motherboards and >> processers for the last couple of years and have gotten a feel for >> the best bang for the buck yet. > > If want to go "really cheap but fast", try an Athlon XP 2000 and ECS > K7S5A upgrade combo. You can't beat the price (only about $140 for mb, > cpu, fan) and it supports both PC-133 and DDR RAM, and should offer a > NOTICABLE improvement over an 800Mhz PIII. If you've already got some > good PC-133 RAM around, you won't have to spend a single penny more to > get both a decent CPU boost and an AGP 2.0 (4X) slot. Should be good > for at least a year or two of gaming fun. > > But if you have more money to spend, I would suggest one of the new > Nforce2 motherboards with dual-channel DDR333, AGP 8X, etc.- like the > Asus A7N8X, Abit NF7, Epox EP-8RDA, Leadtek K7NCR18D, Soltek Sl-75FRN, > or MSI K7N2L. I am thinking about getting one of those myself. > > Not be confused with any of the first-generation Nforce boards, which > are much slower, the NForce2 motherboards should hold up, > performance-wise, for several years, because they can support both > AMD's next-gen 333FSB processors as well as todays "value" CPUs. > > - Ted >

I wanted to thank everyone for all the info. First post and I get LOTS of good stuff. This group is as active and informative as rec.models.rc.air (another good group). I have been tinkering with my machine at home and can get GTR to run much better than I thought I could. The frame rates still suck at 22fps, but it is enough that I can at least control the car whilst I scheme on new hardware. ;-) I have an Nvidia GeForce2 32mb card. I ended up having to get older Nvidia drivers oddly enough. I loaded the v29.42 drivers and get much better frame rates than the new 4x.xx ones. I guess the new drivers want more CPU power. I ordered GLP fom Amazom for about $10US and am waiting for it to get here so I can try it out. One thing I wanted to do also is thank the SBDT for their incredible work on the GTR Mod. It is obvious these guys do it for the love of racing sims. I ponied up some dinero for the server expenses and have unkind thoughts for those that would download a 256mb file and not send at least a buck or two to pay for the bandwidth let alone the time it takes to develop the app. I thought about letting the SBDT use my domain to mirror files in the US but when I got to thinking about bandwidth issues. (I have an 8Gb/month limit with 4$/gb over the limit) I realized it could cost some major dollars just to provide the bandwidth. I haven't given up on the idea though. Anyway I am starting to ramble, Thanks again, Michael