Is the Geforce 2 GTS not worth it if you don't play Quake 3?

[SilentBoB]

I play Thief, UnReal, NFS: High Stakes, NFS: PU, Descent 3, Forsaken, GTA 2, Evolva, Half-Life and I watch DVDs on my Computer. Also, I might buy UnReal Tournament after I get my new video card. My favorite settings are 1024x768x32. Do you think the Geforce 2 MX will be enough for people like me who don't play the most Hardware intensive games like Quake 3 or do you think I should still go for a higher end gamers card like the Geforce 2 GTS? Thanks for advice.

 

[HannibalX]

Absolutely.

 

[LXi]

Looking at the games you listed, I dont really think a GeForce2 is necessary at all. Heck, I play NFS series with a 3dfx Velocity 100 and it's smooth as silk. In my opinion, anything thats not a first person shooter or fillrate hungry will not need a GeForce2. The GeForce2 MX is a great buy, it's cheap and it plays every game blazing fast, including Quake3.

 

[wonder mike]

hell 250 is not worth it, just wait for the geforce mx due out next month at 120

 

[Prodigy^]

nah it's not worth it......try the Geforce MX....

 

[vinayag]

You know what ? Your games are very similar to my coices. All games are driven by fabulous graphics and need some good speed in the card. The choice is automatic !!! Just go and get a G400 MAX. You will be able to play all these games very well and the graphics will stun you.

Better still, you can watch great DVD on either your computer or on the TV via the s-video out on the G400 !!! The MX will get nowhere near the dvd quality that the G400 provides.

 

[OS]

"The MX will get nowhere near the dvd quality that the G400 provides."

Can you really say that in the light of the fact that the MX isn't even out yet?

 

[vinayag]

I could probably say "yes" with some degree of confidence !!!

There is no fundemental architechture change in the MX in order to claim that the TV output or DVD decodng would be vastly different from their previous offerings. I absolutely believe that ATI and Matrox are way ahead in DVD clarity at this point in time.

 

[cobain]

Matrox arent anywhere with DVD decoding. Its ATI, S3 and then Nvidia.
I would think the MX would be better as the G400 has no hardware decoding, unlike the MX.

Also what about the ATI Maxx as its dirt cheap now and great for DVD. Not sure about drivers though.

 

[KarsinTheHutt]

Using a G400 Max equiped system at work. The image quality is quite good.

 

[SilentBoB]

I think Anand should do a comparison of the performance (games and DVD) and Dualhead/Twinview features of the G400 Max (and maybe the G450 if he can get his hands on one) and the Geforce2 MX.

 

[LXi]

The GeForce2 MX is not only cheaper than G400MAX, it will also slaughter G400MAX in 3D. Granted, Matrox has superior 2D, but by no means GF2 MX's 350MHz RAMDAC is inferior 2D. And if you dont watch DVD movies on your monitor, it's all moot.

 

[steelthorn]

Forget the Geforce, go with the new Voodoo 5 5500. I have it and it's and excellent card!

 

[snow patrol]

The only leg Matrox zealots have to stand on is a flimsy 2D one. The 3D performance is not good enough to match the current 3D cards on the market, and frame-rate wise, seems to be surpassed by even the TNT2 or Voodoo 3.

If you're even semi-serious about playing a few 3D games, and want a 3D card - you probably shouldn't get a G400. Unless you're really turned on by the idea a double header (haha sorry).

BTW: Here's what Mike said in the review:

<< if you want the fastest frame rates possible, go with the GeForce 2 GTS. For the best price / performance ratio, the current leader appears to be the GeForce 2 MX. Once again, the trump card that 3dfx currently holds is their higher quality FSAA implementation. >>

 

[damocles]

My friend has a G400 (albeit on a lowly P3 650). The graphics do seem a bit better than on the Nvidia cards i have seen (just a little sharper.
However it stutters a bit on some games (UT especially) and i would guess is about on par with my TNT2 Ultra for framerates .
G450 may be a stunner but i like the look of the MX, it cant be beaten for value.

 

[LXi]

steelthorn: V5 5500 doesnt even perform as well as GeForce2, and it cost just as much. So it's even more worthless than GeForce2 already is(in case if you dont play Q3). The best performance for the money is GeForce2 MX.

 

[Tom]

Dear SilentBob,


What a video card is &quot;worth&quot; is all up to the individual. For me a video card isn't worth more than about $100 even if it could massage me to sleep every night. :Q

For quite a bit less than $100 the Voodoo3 does the job just fine. I'm like you in that I play lots of different kinds of games, strategy, racing, flight sims. The Voodoo3 has always been rock solid for me and fast enough too. Personally I favor the pci version because if someday I want to get a super duper agp card, I can still use the pci Voodoo3 as a second card and for Glide games. The GeForce MX is intriguing, but I wouldn't put too much stock in pre-release hype.

 

[zippy]

I dunno, but my G400 MAX is kickin the GeForce2GTS and Voodoo5 5500's ass all over the place. I average 52fps in D3D in UT with my p3 550e@733 (can do 825...no need) at 1024x768x32 with everything on HIGH. Don't ask me, it just does it! And I am NOT complaining!!!

Plus it looks absolutely amazing!

 

[Mikewarrior2]

i'll check my UT scores later on, but are you using the same benchmark as in Anand's review? If not, you can't compare your scores to his.


Mike

 

[zippy]

Anyone know where I can get the test he used for UT?

 

[Mikewarrior2]

its his personal test... its not UTbench anymore...

what are the settings you play with, i'll try it now(ie, map, number of bots, etc...)



Mike
Also, what is the command to show FPS?

 

[OS]

hit the &quot;~&quot; key and type &quot;timedemo 1&quot;

 

[Mikewarrior2]

thanks... downloading the 4.20 patch before i play around with it...

 

[Packet]

the G400Max is a 3rd generation card
The geforce MX is a 4th/5th

of cource the G400 is not going to be as fast as a geforce

Its on par with the other 3rd generation cards (TNTU/V3,etc)
For its price, it is very nice. Good image quality, runs 3D games fine. Has good DVD image quality.

While I love my Geforce2, it doesn't have any DVD Decoding... it, like most cards, has DVD Motion compinsation, which just takes some load off of the CPU which is doing software decoding.

 

[Mikewarrior2]

WEll, here are my settings from the last couple of games I ran...

Geforce2 Default Clock
1024x768 UT Max detail on everything.
Everything RUn on 4.20 D3d


Detail Textures Off
DM_Morpheus 66FPS Avg
DM_Gothic 69FPS Avg
DM_Tempest 76FPS AVG

Detail textures ON
DM_Morpheus 62FPS AVG
DM_Gothic 65FPS AVG
DM_TEMPEST 71FPS AVG

8 Experienced bots, let me know if am not listing any other possible settigns.



Mike