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NiGHTMARE

Which is the best GeForce 2 Ultra?

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I'm most likely going to be getting a new 3D card soon as I'm fed up with my crappy Voodoo 3. I've decide on a GeForce 2 Ultra, but I'm not sure which manufacturer I should go with.

The Creative Labs card is definately a no-no, because as usual with their product it's a complete rip-off (it seems to be roughly double the price of all the others).

The companies I know about that currently make GeForce 2 Ultra cards are CardEx, Creative, Elsa, eVGA, Hercules, VisionTek and of course NVidia themselves.

I'll probably go with Nvidia's own card, but if anyone can recommend a better alternative I'd be grateful :) I don't care about TV-out or radio or whatever, as I've got a decent TV and a really frickin' nice hi-fi in my room anyway.

Anyway, this is my system at the moment:

PIII-800
128 megs RAM (going to be 384 megs in a few days; only $102 US (and that includes shipping from America) on the UK EBay :) )
Voodoo 3 2000
15" unbranded monitor (it's over six years old, very crap, and the picture occassionally moves across the screen, but I'll be damned if I can afford a new one).
8 gig hard drive
9 gig hard drive
48x CD-Rom (and very, very loud it is too)
Sound Blaster Live!
An ultra sweet five speaker surround sound system (you should hear the base on this thing =p)

It runs pretty much everything that matters very fast even in 1024x768 (my monitor doesn't support anything higher) already, so I can't wait to see what it's like with a new 3D card and more memory :)

Hopefully my computer will now be good enough to run Doom 3, unless they decide to make it DVD only or something.

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As my old grandpappy said, any GeForce is a good GeForce. By the way, once you have it and want to test your abilities, go over to wxp3d.com and take a look at Dagoth Moor Zoological Gardens. It's a GeForce-only technology test for an X-Box 3D engine, and it looks fucking insane.

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Guest D|RE

I bought a Hurcules Guillemot Geforce Pro GTS 64 meg, and it is Damn Sweet. I paid 280 US (about 2 months ago) on www.pricewatch.com I get 120 70 FPS at 1600x1200x32 on Quake 3 with all the details up.

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NiGHTMARE said:

Well, I was thinking more in the terms of cost, i.e. which one is the cheapest? :)

heh. If only the money wasn't a problem :|

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Guest fragg

I know you're price-conscious, but here's a bit of info I've seen on some hardware sites (unconfirmed).....
Nvidia's new kick-butt "NV20" is now sampling with different card mfrs. It's supposed to blow away everything including GeForce2-Ultra.
First cards (Hercules is mentioned) will arrive next month. $400 price range.
One tech site said prices "will significantly drop 30 days after intro."
If you've had a Voodoo-3 this long, it says you're not a waster of money. You use a card, till its useful-lifetime is over. That's good. You're a "wise shopper".

Suggestion:
People like you (IMO) should, when you move -- MOVE BIG. I.e. NV20.
I say this because I think D3 will be out Christmas '01 or early summer '02. My reasons ....

(1) I've heard (unconfirmed) Carmack's using NV20 as "top gun" for D3 engine. That Nvidia, wanting the valuable "Carmack-Endorsement", has been letting him use one. (Just like 3DFX did with their pre-release cards, when they were "King").

(2) 2-3 years ago (Boot/MaximumPC mag) Carmack was asked "From day new Game begins design, to day it goes out the door-- How long is TOO LONG?"
He said, "To maximize market-success", not risk "tech-obsolete", it should be "Begun/Finished/Released, within the Window of Opportunity --18/24 mos." "That's the window I always aims for."
(NOTE: Carmack began D3, in early Summer '00).

If this reasoning's correct, your NV20 card'll be fully able to run Doom3, with its most advanced game-engine on the market.
fragg

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fragg´s right NIGHTMARE, don´t move to an Gforce 2 now because the NV20 is supposed to kill it. Gforce and Gforce2 architecture are pretty much the same, except that the GF2´s loaded with more raw power.
Remember that Carmack said that, while he´s using GF2 as development base, the game will be so heavy that most users will play at lower resolutions and dropping some features.
Keep your money, go for the NV20, and when DooM3 comes, you´ll be one of those son of a bitch lucky bastards to play at 1024x768 100 fps.

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Guest fragg
fragg said:

BTW, unless I'm greatly mistaken, Nvidia does not make cards. Only, chips.
They don't want to repeat 3DFX's fatal error of "competing with card mfrs".

3DFX, by getting cocky with their big success -- and entering BOTH "card mfrg" AND "chip mfrg" --- used up precious $$ n'resources that HAD been going to "improving Voodoo chips".

Also, it "p----d off" ALL the card mfrs, who were buying 3DFX's Voodoo chips.
These card mfrs now changed from "loyal 3DFX friends/allies" (happily buying 3DFX voodoo chips for their cards) into outright enemies.
Especially "p---- off" were Diamond and the huge Creative Labs. They had been 3DFX's "original/first/biggest" Customers.

So, these guys turned to Nvidia. Which promised them straight out "We'll never pull that stunt on you guys -- we'll NEVER compete against you. We'll just make you the chips, you make the cards."
The rest is history.
fragg

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Guest fragg
Lord FlatHead said:

As my old grandpappy said, any GeForce is a good GeForce. By the way, once you have it and want to test your abilities, go over to wxp3d.com and take a look at Dagoth Moor Zoological Gardens. It's a GeForce-only technology test for an X-Box 3D engine, and it looks fucking insane.

Lord, I've also heard same thing (Zoological Gardens is "terrific demo" of GeForce power).
Imagine, how an NV20 would run it.
BTW, I also hear (I think, Tech Report) that Bill is reaching into his bottomless pockets, and having Nvidia make a special NV20 chip for XBox.
Bill wants it to be the powerhouse that drives XBox, and wants it "fully tested, tuned, and in XBox" the day XBox is launched.
(Like Maonth says, "It's nice to have money", huh?)
fragg

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fragg said:

Well, i was on a voodoo2 until recently, when i got me a Geforce 2 MX, wich i figure is gonna do very nicely until i get a job in about 10 months.
A voodoo3 should still cut it nicely. Q3; no prob.
Of course, higher FPS never hurts ;)

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Lord FlatHead said:

As my old grandpappy said, any GeForce is a good GeForce. By the way, once you have it and want to test your abilities, go over to wxp3d.com and take a look at Dagoth Moor Zoological Gardens. It's a GeForce-only technology test for an X-Box 3D engine, and it looks fucking insane.

I got my GeForce 2 GTS for the price of a plain old GeForce when i got my comp custom built (order messup hehe...)

but anyway...the Isle of Morg as it was included with the software with my GeForce was supposed to be a tech demo, but supposedly it will be a full production game.

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Zaldron said:

fragg´s right NIGHTMARE, don´t move to an Gforce 2 now because the NV20 is supposed to kill it. Gforce and Gforce2 architecture are pretty much the same, except that the GF2´s loaded with more raw power.
Remember that Carmack said that, while he´s using GF2 as development base, the game will be so heavy that most users will play at lower resolutions and dropping some features.
Keep your money, go for the NV20, and when DooM3 comes, you´ll be one of those son of a bitch lucky bastards to play at 1024x768 100 fps.

Oh shit! I've moved to a GeForce 2 GTS, like Amanichen. But it's because I was sick of the Voodoo 3 2000. The new drivers were shitty (as an example, it made Doom legacy hang), and the performances were history compared to GeForce's power. But I will get a job for this summer, and I'll work much longer than I did last summer, so I can earn more money, and maybe I'll be able to buy a NV 20. But if a GF 2 GTS is enough (I don't think it will be, actually :( ), I'll keep it.

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