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Does the brand of the GF2 32MB MX matter?

H

H8tank

Banned
The jatons and others are under $100, while the asus and others are well over $125.

Is there really any difference? I would expect the more expensive already have fans/heatsinks, but don't they all use the same drivers?

Or can't you use reference drivers like with 3dfx products?
 
That is pretty much the difference. But, I bought a "cheapo" VisionTek MX and have had no complaints. I even have the 6ns ram. Also, VisionTek has made boards for Elsa and maybe a few other companies, so their level of "cheapness" might be a little less than other off brands.
 
What I mean is if you buy a better brand name, you are less likely to get poor 2D image quality. I'm not saying that all unknown brands suck.
 
Heh, BFG, I know you're not. 🙂 I'm just pointing out that VisionTek has been a pretty good company to me so far.
 
Since all Nvidia cards have poor 2D image quality to begin with, I would hate to see what "poorer" looks like. Heh!
 
Oh yeah, I just thought of one other thing: the cheapo brands will often put slower RAM (7 ns) on their boards so they won't overclock as well. I hear that Hercules and MSI are using 6 ns RAM so they overclock a bit better than the rest.

I personally don't overclock anything but I know a lot of people do, so this info might influence your decision.
 
I am not sure where the poor 2d video for the Geforce 2 MX cards comes from. I am perfectly content with the 2D on both of mine, a Creative Annihilator 2 MX DDR on a Viewsonic A70 17", and an A-Open Geforce 2 MX on a KDS AV7-T 17", both run at 1024x768. There may be a problem with 2D at resolutions higher than mine, but on a 17" monitor it would be too small for me to read anyway. I suppose it is also possible that some of the cheaper generic type cards may suffer from poor 2D performance, but my cards are just fine!😎
chuck
 
The "poor 2D" is coming from the people who switched from nVidia to either 3Dfx, ATi, or Matrox. Generally, nVidia's 2D looks fine at resolutions at 1280 x 1024 or lower. 95% of computer users that visit my websites don't have their monitors set to anything higher than that resolution, so, the argument over "which card has better 2D" is moot -- unless you're a perfectionist!

BFG10K:

<< The cheapo brands usually have poorer 2D image quality than the more expensive brands >>



Where's the evidence?

 
Don't underestimate the potential for quality gaps in 2D. I have an ATi AIW 128, ATi have a good rep but I don't like the image quality, whereas my V3 is perfect. Yes, way.
 
I`m using a cheap Geforce2 MX card &quot;Sparkle&quot; however it gives a good 2/3d picture on my 19&quot;,the only problem is it does not overclock as high has some well known brands but apart from that I cannot fault it,being it`s a stop gap until the NV20 comes out,I got a good buy.

🙂
 
Yes, the brands do matter. Three examples come to mind.

1. Creative Labs DDR version has a slightly lower clock speed which makes it slightly slower.

2. Visiontek uses 7 ns SDRAMs, so your likelyhood of o/c it more is limited.

3. The Hercules card comes with a faster clock speed. Out of the box it is faster, but you won't be able to o/c it as much (since it is slightly o/c already).

Me? I went with the Radeon 32MB DDR for $150. I have nothing against the MX however, as I considered it as well.
 
I had determined to get a GF2 MX, but I've been hearing people complain of image quality.

I currently have a V3 3000, and am looking for a slight upgrade in the $100 range.

95% of my time is spent in the windows environment, but I want good image quality and fast play in 3d games... hhmmmm. I might have to reconsider.
 
I just got the CardEXpert Geforce2 MX twin view gold from KDComputer and am very happy with it, but before you go and buy it, there is one card that may be better, seems to have all the same (yet I can't find if it has the 5.5ns RAM) but also has a S-VHS out as opposed to the coaxial video out. Check out the Leadtek website for thier MX Pro... I've seen it on pricewatch for $133 (cheaper than the CardExpert) and free shipping (tax of 8.25% in Cal.).
 
H8Tank, I just did the same upgrade (Voodoo 3 3000 to Geforce 2 MX) and I was shocked at how much better the games looked in 32 bit color. I went for the &quot;slower&quot; Creative Labs Annihilator 2 MX with the DDR memory and it was fast enough for me. I have now overclocked the memory to 150 and it is a little faster, but not so much as you would notice. I certainly have no regrets. I do think the A-Open SDR Geforce MX on my Celeron system might be faster and also looks very good, too. The Voodoo 3 is a very solid fast card, but the MX seems just as fast and looks much better. I think you would be happy with the upgrade. For around $100 or so, it was awesome.
Chuck
 
Thanks for the personal input, I'm tempted to try it, especially since I'll be over 900mhz come monday with my new Duron, replacing my SlotA 600.

 


<< Don't underestimate the potential for quality gaps in 2D. I have an ATi AIW 128, ATi have a good rep but I don't like the image quality, whereas my V3 is perfect. Yes, way. >>



I purchased an All In Wonder card once too, and returned it due to the poor image quality (fuzzy fonts).... wasn't near as sharp as my Matrox card.

Although from what I have read, the new ATI Radeon cards are supposed to have much better 2d image quality.
 
Below is a link to help all of you suffering
would-be MX buyers sort out which one has
the best 2D:

http://www.deja.com/=dnc/[ST_rn=ps]/dnquery.xp?ST=PS&amp;QRY=%282d+%7C+text%29++%26+%28blurry+%7C+fuzzy+%7C+horizontal+%29++%26+elsa&amp;DBS=1&amp;format=threaded&amp;LNG=english

In the search form, I used ELSA, for others replace it by
Visionek, Hercules, etc....or just buy Radeon.
 
----UBB friendly version of last post----

Below is a link to help all of you suffering
would-be MX buyers sort out which one has
the best 2D:

link for help on 2d issues

In the search form, I used ELSA, for others replace it by
Visionek, Hercules, etc. What is interesting is what comes
up if you leave it blank or put in the name of a card
with good 2D quality such as Radeon or G400.
 
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