Help selecting a new Video Card

[GNY]

Looking to upgrade Video card. I have a p3 933 have a g400 max and I would like to upgrade. Getting tired of waiting for Matrox. Play Flight sims and Racing games. Also do Photography work. Need good 2 D any help appreciated. Thanks in advance

 

[BFG10K]

It sounds like the V5 5500 may be your ticket. You can also try the Radeon which has slightly better 2D but its FSAA is worse than 3dfx's (subjectively). Avoid the V4 which is overpriced and lacks features and performance.

 

[Goi]

The V5 is a good choice for you. It has great FSAA for flight sims and racing games, and superb 2D performance and image quality too.

 

[Gandalf90125]

I will 3rd that. The 5500's 4XFSAA looks beautiful in flight sims. You'll like it.

 

[Cpt. Duke]

Maybe I'm just cheap when it comes to video cards, but I would get a GeForce2 MX. The frame rates are in the same ballpark as the top cards, and they're a good value. Unless you highly value FSAA, I would stay away from the Voodoo 5500, at least until they get well below $200.

 

[AMDfreak]

I'll add my agreement here, I was planning on getting a V5-6k for the FSAA but got tired of waiting and went with the Radeon (thx Hawk!) I will say that if you have any use for video editing or DVD you may want to consider the Radeon as an excellent compromise of various features. Just depends on what's important to you.

 

[legion88]

You did not mention how much money you are willing to pay.

If money is no object, you can get both. The Voodoo5 5500 comes in a PCI version as well.

If you play flight sims, etc. then the V5 5500 (with its FSAA) would be the better choice. If you do not care for FSAA, then the V5 5500 would be the better choice because it has better stable drivers.

Then again, you could get lucky and find out that every single game you play runs well without crashes on the Radeon while the V5 is the one with the stability problems. You won't really know for sure until you purchase both cards and compare.

For 2D work, the Radeon is the better choice (if you choose high resolutions on a pretty good size monitor 19+ inches). G400 and the Radeon are the best 2D cards you can get today.

If you do any sort of professional 3D work (apparently you don't since you didn't mention it), neither the 3dfx cards or the ones from ATi should be used at all. Their drivers stink in comparison to NVIDIA cards like the GeForce2 MX, etc. You do not want to have your work ruined because of idiotic drivers from 3dfx or ATi. Too risky.

 

[Comp10]

<< If you do any sort of professional 3D work (apparently you don't since you didn't mention it), neither the 3dfx cards or the ones from ATi should be used at all. Their drivers stink in comparison to NVIDIA cards like the GeForce2 MX, etc. You do not want to have your work ruined because of idiotic drivers from 3dfx or ATi. Too risky. >>


Should you decide to get a Radeon (which would be my top pick if you didn't care about FSAA) do not let such talk about poor drivers scare you away. ATI did indeed use to have crappy driver support, however, with the Radeon that has all changed. Since the Radeon has been released they have had numerous driver updates, and for me each has been rock solid. I have yet to have any driver issues with this card. Secondly, ATI's official DirectX 8.0 drivers are right around the corner. So do not worry about this &quot;problem&quot; if your thinking about the Radeon.

 

[Quino]

3DFX just released new drivers and they increased performance by a good margin. The 4500 AGP gives me 59.3 fps on my machine on q3 at 1024*768 with 32 bits and high quality sky. I have a Thunderbird 900 and I am running win2k. I would say that the 4500 has become a good choice now with the new drivers. Also, the 5500 has received a good improvement. I get 89 fps at the same resolution and the FSAA is good. If you play flight simulators and racing games then it is a great choice. I have owned most of the cards (geforce SDR, DDR, GTS, ATI radeon). They all perform the same now that they all have somewhat mature drivers. However, the radeon has some issues in win2k. It looks like it is flikering no matter what. At first they said it was with trinitron monitors but I got a shadow mask and it is doing ythe same. If interested on a cheap voodoo card I have several for sale at good prices. Voodoo 5500 AGP for $175 shipped and 4500 AGP for $105 shipped. If interested please email me here:

email

 

[Taz4158]

Agreed. ATIs driver issues are a thing of the past. And the card can't be beaten right now.