no AIW? Go for Viper II!? Help Pls Pls

[MRFries]

Yes, Savage 2000 based Viper II for $50 (used, but still) I MIGHT be able to swing a MX for $100 (NO, I don't want to hear about 'But this guys got this rebate wich makes it almost free!' then I would get a Radeon. I could use a rebate on a Savage 2000 BTW ;-?) So I want to hear no more of that (or GF DDR talk, since I CAN"T AFFORD IT!). Now that's over, I have a SS7 based K6-2+ as it has enhanced 3dnow does that give anything extra to it (Athlon owners?)? Are there known voltage probs with SS7 and S2000? Thank God, I have Via MVP, but it's still very quirky. As s3 is no more, they even changed they're name, I'm sure your words will be the last.
Oh Please (heh, in my best Skexis impression from Dark Crystal what? never seen it, great Jim Henson produced Fantasy movie)

 

[Deeko]

Are you asking if the MX is worth the extra $50? If you are, yes it is, it is by far superior.

 

[MRFries]

No, saying when $100 is a stretch (and the Radeon is considered a dream) The MX at $100+ is barely out of reach. What I remember about the VII, with the Jan. 2000 drivers it performs roughly like a GF SDR, the MX can't be more than twice as good (not more than a few frames at my targeted res of 800x600, 32bit especially since the S2000 is the best in scaling from 16 to 32bit). But how does it do on SS7? Enhanced 3dnow?

 

[vss1980]

I think in terms of your processor, whichever you get will not make as much difference as getting a faster platform. What is your current graphics card?

Even though the MX is so much more, it should still be a contender. As for the stability of the ViperII on SS7, I haven't heard of any major incompatibilities, but I wouldn't discard the possiblity. Why not go to a site that takes interest in Savage cards.

BTW, seen the 'Dark Crystal' film.

 

[Hawk]

Viper 2 is a decent card. It got me like 45 fps in UT at 1024 I think. Try the forum here.

 

[Dark4ng3l]

I sugest just forgeting that rig and saving money until you can buy a more decent video card. buying a viper2 for 50$ is a waste if you can get an mx for 100$.

 

[Auric]

It is kinda annoying when you are asking about which cheap card to buy and people say oh just get this so and so it's only $50 or $100 more or something when on a percentage basis it is two or three times the price. The Savage2000 is probably the best value for the money. You can get a brand-new retail box for $40 after the $20 rebate. Check pricegrabber and shopper and pricewatch. In full color it performs very close to an off-brand bog-standard MX and in addition has video out, superior DVD and prolly superior picture quality too (only a few higher priced MX's have okay picture quality while most suffer from cheap components). S3 Graphics (S3-VIA) is still writing drivers for Savage cards and using the cores for integrated chipsets so the support is actually good for otherwise discontinued products. I have a Savage4 which I have been very happy with on a BX board and it pretty much plays everything solid at 800x600 full color and many at 1024x768. UT MeTaL gets around 45 FPS at 800x600 with everything on. If I could have any card right now it would be the Radeon AIW also. But, on a budget I want something with video out and I can get an MX TwinView 5.5ns for $120 which featurewise combined with the extra speed when overclocked is worth it to me. Without video out the lower end Radeon's clearly beat the GeForce's in speed, features, and quality. If I could get a Radeon with video out for $120 I would but now we are in dreamland again. So, I would also recommend the link Hawk posted so you can get details and more advice from users of the S2K whether it will do what you want with what you got

 

[hans007]

the savage2000 had a lot of problems, my friend gave up on it and got a matrox g400 last year. Hes got a radeon now. If you want compatibiliy especially with just a super7. Super7 will likely conflict in some crazy way with viper2. Just go to forsale/trade forum and pick up a v3-2k for $45.

 

[sandorski]

Being a Viper2 owner and having run it with a k6-2 500/Epox mvp3g-m mobo, I would say that you would have no compatibility problems with a Viper2. The Viper2 performs almost as fast as a Voodoo3 in UT and much faster in Q3. It is slower in D3D, but it's graphics are generally much nicer than a Voodoo3.

There is one major problem with the Viper2 though. Every D3D game will have some texture corruption. Most OpenGL games will have corruption as well, except Q3. UT runs great and looks fantastic using the Metal drivers. If you want ease of use and no textrue corruption, save yourself from stress and get a Voodoo3.

Geforce2 mx. Don't know if it will perform better, but the chances for incompatibility is probably higher with the Geforce than the Viper2.

As for enhanced 3dnow, I don't know of any video card that takes advantage of it. Most drivers do have some 3dnow enhancements however.

 

[Auric]

The deal just got better. Outpost now has it for $59.99 also, but with free overnight shipping (and prolly a free yo-yo) - $20 rebate - 5% and it's $37 net. Practically irresistible. If you really wanna go crazy you can wrangle $15 of Flooz for sending $50 (techbargains.com) and could prolly get it for $21. I bet all you Radforce 9000 Supra owners are secretly going to buy one for the second box! Savage ownz you!!

 

[novice]

Good Luck with the Savage 2000 chipset. I have heard of people having a ton of trouble with it. And with no future driver support, it would not be my choice. Bestbuy just had the Voodoo 3 2000 card for $69.95, and the V3 3000 for $79.95, and they are excellent cards for the money. I have 2 of the PCI 3000 versions, and they have been great. I only just now upgraded to the Creative Geforce 2 MX card, so I am selling one of my V3 3000's. Just keep in mind, there is probably a very good reason why it is possible to get a Viper so cheap. It is because no one is willing to pay more for one.
Chuck
PS Check Anand's recent article about upgrading the K6-2 K6-3 systems, it was very enlightening.

 

[john433i]

Actually, novice, some new viper II drivers came out just a few days ago, so it is still being supported. Besides, I got one last week for a computer I was building for my aunt. It had good 2d, and I got 50fps with S3TC on in UT. It is a very nice card for $60, plus it has TV-Out.

 

[Auric]

As already discussed the core is still in use in new and upcoming integrated chipsets so driver development continues. Voodoo is limited to low color, low resolution textures and has no DVD and also no video out in lower end models. I personally do not see a reason to buy one. Savage2000 is cheap for a reason, because it did not live up to hype as far as T&L and it took a long time for decent drivers and now the division has been sold so they are blowing out inventory. I would not be surprised to see them virtually free by xmas with rebate. I got myself a sweet deal on a Rendition V2200 that way. That was another under appreciated chip that nevertheless had a long life. Based on my experience with the Savage4 I doubt the Savage2000 is as problematic as it seems. Most of the trouble reported with the S4 was probably due to bad motherboard chipsets and that sort of thing. Mine has been flawless and top quality on an Abit BH6 BX board. Even now, a year and a half old (and reportedly delayed by a year) it does very well with the latest games. I would gladly replace it with a Geforce2 MX if given to me, but I would not "downgrade" to a Voodoo feature and quality wise just for a little more potential speed.
/ramble

 

[MRFries]

Hey, guess what? I have an S4, it's nice if not a bit slow! I then got a Trident Blade3d (much like the S4) then a Velocity 100 (V3 8mb, what I have now). I geuss you can call me a bit of a collector ;-? and I always wanted a V2x00 even now! But... See I look for these things. So I guess I can deal with my V3 and wait for the after Christmas sales. Thanks alot!
MRFries
PS And yes, I just HATE all those N'Vidiots who bring up the MX (except those voodoo/ mx guys, they provide a choice)

 

[MRFries]

Hey, guess what? I have an S4, it's nice if not a bit slow! I then got a Trident Blade3d (much like the S4) then a Velocity 100 (V3 8mb, what I have now). I geuss you can call me a bit of a collector ;-? and I always wanted a V2x00 even now! But... See I look for these things. So I guess I can deal with my V3 and wait for the after Christmas sales. Thanks alot!
MRFries
PS And yes, I just HATE all those N'Vidiots who bring up the MX (except those voodoo/ mx guys, they provide a choice)