Cat3.1 Worth using or not?

[BoomAM]

Hi,
Ive been reading up on the Cat3.1 on rage3d, and have failed to come to a conclusion on it.
Some posts say that it reduces performance, some say it increases performance and some say that it increases in some games, and decreases in others.

So whats the conclusion on them then?
Good or Bad for performance.

I run a 9700PRO w/cat 3.0a & XP BTW.

 

[WaTaGuMp]

I got a lower score in benching but not much, as for the individual tests in 3DMark nature was higher and lobby was lower so mixed results. I still cant use them cause I cant shutdown when I try anything but the 2.5. :disgust:

 

[BatmanNate]

There's another thread on this already..my guess is that it differs greatly depending on what card you have. I will test them out with a 9700 Pro later this week and post results.

 

[BFG10K]

Yes the are worth it. They fix a few bugs that the 3.0s had and they also run UT2003 and Unreal II a bit better.

The only game I've had lower performance in so far is Quake III (210 FPS vs 212 FPS) but that's so minor I don't worry about it too much.

 

[clicknext]

No actual noticeable difference if you don't look at the fps counter. It's supposed to fix that HP2 but where Radeons crash, so that is definately good. I'll try HP2 later on.

 

[Duvie]

I think it is worth it if you had any of the highly reported bugs with the 9000x series...I have no issues with my 8500DV so I will hold still...I don't game alot so I can care less about sythetic benchmarks like the unreal demo and 3dmark2001 or 2003.

 

[rbV5]

Theater Mode works correctly viewing DVD's via component output and 480p, so definately worth it.

 

[BoomAM]

Originally posted by: rbV5
Theater Mode works correctly viewing DVD's via component output and 480p, so definately worth it.

What do you mean? Does that mean that i dont have to lower my desktop resolution every time that i want to watch a DVD on my TV, and get the full picture?

 

[BoomAM]

By the way, forgot. I installed them last night.
Its lowered my 3D Mark score from 10202 to 10160, but im not too bothered, my games still run super smooth.

 

[rbV5]

Does that mean that i dont have to lower my desktop resolution every time that i want to watch a DVD on my TV, and get the full picture?

Using YPbPr, thats what I mean Prior to Cat3.1 DVD's would have a weird "zoom" mode when using "theater mode", so I would have to clone the TV and drop my desktop down, or use DVDidle and output using MyHD card (at 1080i, works nice)

With Cat3.1, Theater mode works proper, and my desktop can stay at my normal res/refresh.

 

[BoomAM]

Thats sort of what im on about as well. Thanks for the info.