Is a Gforce3 really worth the price difference?

[PropNut]

Im thinking of updating my TNT2 vid card in my system. Question is ....is the Gforce 3 really worth double the price of the Gforce 2 Pro 64? I do like flight sim games etc . but twice the price makes you wonder. on average what would be the frame rate percentage increase with the G3 over the G2 pro 64? my system = P3 1Ghz 100fsb, 768MB ram, soundblaster live ,currently Viper TNT2 ultra
Thanks

 

[edjam]

From a TNT2, you will see a massive difference. I would hold on in case of a price reduction after the GF3 Ultra is released. Also, most games don't support many of the GF3's functions and features, if you ar ehappy with your present card, stick with it.

 

[TheGrandHooHa]

edjam hit the nail on the head. "Worth the price" really depends on what card you are upgrading from. In your case, I'd really recommend upgrading to a 3 if you have the money. However, someone with a Geforce 2 PRO, Ultra, or even GTS may not see enough of a difference to warrant an upgrade.

TGHH

 

[nealh]

I would wait a little longer as the new radeon are due out in month or so and you know Nvidia will ower there price on the Geforce3....

 

[Athlon4all]

There's only 2 advantages to going GF3 right now, 1. If u are into image quality, GF3 can run FSAA as playable fps, that GF2U can't. 2. If u will be playing newer games that use GF3 features, if none of those apply, then get the GF2 Pro. It's da best buy right now, but I do agree, wait 'til the GF3 MX and GF3 Pro/Ultra that is coming out in the next week to see what the pro does to prices, and to see how the MX performs compared to the GF2 Pro.

 

[Beerinator]

Hey I would buy a geforce2 gts 32 ddr visiontek from compgeeks.com they are selling it for 80 bucks. Thats what I saw a few days ago so go check that out.

 

[Beerinator]

UPDATE:

Heres the actual website
http://www.compgeeks.com/details.asp?invtid=NV897

 

[s0ccergoof]

Hey when I put my new computer together I went ahead and bought one, I looked at it this way: Directx8 games will be coming out soon, I could pay (then) $175-199 for a Geforce2 Pro and upgrade in a year or 2, probably paying another $200 for a 3 or better, or I could pay $350 now and use the card for 3-5 years (hopefully) but those guys were right, wait a month or 2 and then the prices will drop and then the price difference will not outweigh the graphic difference.

 

[flight23]

What are you planning on doing with your computer?
If youre not worried about the latest games spend $70 now and get the Radeon LE then change in 4-5 months when prices have dropped on the new Radeon.

 

[Nintari]

Just out of curiocity wha os are you running? If it is win9x or me get rid of the 768 and put it down to 512. Don't know if you have had any problems or not but that can realllllly help out. In fact MS has posted a known issue with more than 512mb mem at thier site. None of the fixes work I have tried on several systems and even tried to run memory programs to help but none worked. Now if you are running win 2k your golden cause that bug was fixed with that OS.
As to your video card question....
I have to agree with everyone else. Going from a tnt2 to a gfpro will show a huge leap up in performance and image quality. gf3 is overpriced right now and will drop soon in price (i hope). I thnik it is ridiculous to sell graphics cards for over $300 retail. Sure you get nice performance but c'mon, in 6months it will be out done by another card, and drop in price and will still work well for a few more years. I have been running a gf2gts 32mb since it was released and havent really found any games yet that give me a big problem, if any problem. That may change when doom 3 or retrn to wolfenstein is released but then I'll proboally just drop to 800x600x32 and still be good to go. Max payne gives me absolutely no problems and I runn it with everything maxed and 1024x768x32. oh well just my 2 cents on that.

 

[BFG10K]

Wait until the final Radeon 7500 & 8500 reviews are released. By that time prices should have dropped on existing cards and you'll have a much better idea of what card to get.

 

[Pingjockey]

Hey Propnut who likes flight sims!! Aces High I bet!! This is one of your old squadmates.

Anyways I am building a new machine and am the proud owner of a MSI GeForce2 PRO 64M. I got it at a good price. Would a GeForce3 be nicer? Most likely, but I cannot see paying $140-150 more for a video card that might only make a slight difference in the noticable performance. What I mean is if you are fighting in a furball at 45-53 FPS with a GeForce2 PRO or Ultra does the extra 10-15 FPS that a GeForce 3 will give you make a noticable difference?

I haven't finished the system yet but it should get me through the damaged airfield smoke very nicely. But then with a GeForce3 you'll be ready for the next generation of flight simulations. For me, until GeForce3 prices come down alot, I can do without!

Good Luck in your selection!