Okay, skip the title... just get in here and help me out. :-p

[bluemax]

Is the Geforce DDR (read, elsa Erazor X2, very good price at Onvia.ca!) capable of FSAA in OpenGL ***AND*** Direct3D? The V7100 I tried out had poor 2D and was only minimally capable in Ogl, no D3D support at all.

FSAA is important to me, but I'm almost getting a little scared off by the 3dfx numbers, and my rep hasn't talked to me in almost two weeks. That bugs me.
I also have $50 credit at onvia to use... that DDR card looks nice, especially since Elsa is known to have good 2D and an optional VIVO module.

[edit] Also, is there a big difference between the ErazorX2 (DDR) versus Gladiac (GF2)? They're both still 4-pipe, 2-texture, right? (I forget... it's been a while..)

Now talk!!

 

[jpprod]

In terms of available FSAA modes and quality, all GeForce line of cards (GF256, GF2 GTS/Pro/Ultra, GF2 MX) are equal barring some high resolution modes which need 64MB onboard memory.

Direct3D
1.5x1.5 "2.25 sample" FSAA: useless, horrible quality. But quite fast.
2x2 4-sample FSAA with standard mipmaps: good quality with reducing jaggies and texture aliasing, albeit there's some critical angles in which some jaggies/pixel popping will be visible.
2x2 4-sample FSAA with double resolution mipmaps: same FSAA quality as above, but with LOD bias equal that of twice higher resolution.
2x2 4-sample FSAA with hires mipmaps and gaussian blur: easily the most usable D3D FSAA setting on GeForces, as fast as standard 4-sample but with superior results. Gaussian blur does a superb work on the jaggies. Some might find the picure a tad too soft, however.
the rest of the settings: there are 9-sample (3x3) and 16-sample (4x4) FSAA modes available. They look damn sweet, but performance hit is horrendous and not very high resolution can be selected without card reverting to a lower FSAA quality setting due to excessive frame buffer memory requirements. Still, it's a mind-bogging experience to try out UT at 320x240/16-sample FSAA - it's like watching a rendered movie, pixel color accuracy is just incredible.

OpenGL
In OpenGL, three first modes from D3D are available through modifying flag FSAAQUALITY in registery (search for the keyword FSAA and you'll find it). I recommend using mode 3 (4-sample FSAA w/ hires mipmaps).

 

[DaveB3D]

Check this link for all the details

 

[bluemax]

Can anyone also add the real difference (besides power consumption) between a DDR and GF2?
Should I get the ErazorX2 when I ***might*** be able to get a GF2 like Visiontek.
(* MUST HAVE GOOD 2D! *)

 

[Tung]

gf2 gts is always better

 

[bluemax]

Hurry up guys... I want to buy one tonight... I'm sick and tired of all the research and debating everything to death.
I have these options: (I'd have more if I were American, not Canadian...)

Running off my 450A for now, possibly a Cel600@900 later...

Onvia.ca has the Elsa ErazorX2 DDR for $225CDN and I have a $50 coupon. That's very reasonable, and as Geforces go, Elsa is the only company I trust to provide good 2D as well- but how easy/good is it with FSAA?

I also have a Voodoo5 for half-price option from 3dfx directly. I could go with this, but the shop only sends to American addresses. ( :|:| )
$100 US plus shipping + taxes, would still be under $200 Canadian easily but it'll be a pain in the butt to get it. I want it for its tried-and-true FSAA, 2D, Glide, and experimental HSR... Of course, I'd have to buy a faster processor to really use it...

There's Radeon engineering samples floating around for about this price too.... I'm leery of "Engineering Samples" with no warranty, etc. Anyone agree/disagree?
This card has excellent 2D, 3D, plenty of speed, extra texture unit, blah, blah... I hear they've really improves FSAA with the latest drivers, making it equal to the Geforce cards. Still not 3dfx quality, but not bad at all.

Any other options open to me? What do you guys think....

 

[bluemax]

Great nef, Tung.
Okay, OPINIONS with some REASONS, please.

 

[bluemax]

Bump! C'mon guys... I need your help. Should I even consider a DDR or should I go for a good quality GTS, and why...
I forget if the DDR is 2pipes X 2textures like the MX, or 4x2 like the GTS... If it's 2x2, I don't think I'll buy it- even at that very reasonable price.

 

[lsd]

The visontek gf2 has the best 2d quality of the GF2 cards and is the cheapest. But since you want good FSAA you should get a Voodoo 5.

 

[drewdogg808]

bluemax..what's the half-price option from 3dfx direct? you can get the voodoo 5 for $100 US?

thanks.

 

[bluemax]

Are you a developer? I just got in on something because of a certain project I'm involved in, but it's a developers ONLY discount.

 

[nortexoid]

the geforce 2 gts is faster than a 64mb ddr....i'm sure even in high resolution....

if u don't care about straight framerate in quake, etc. then get a 3dfx for its higher quality FSAA, not to
mention good performance...even better with HSR enabled.

i personally wouldn't buy an engnieering sample radeon - besides, the radeons have crap drivers...lose major performance in win2k - well, enough nto to buy it if u're running (or planning to run) win2k.

all in all, i'd get the geforce2 gts....and use my 50 bucks.

 

[bluemax]

The Elsa Erazor X2 is a DDR card, not GTS... that's the reason I started this thread... DDR vs. GTS - what's the difference for current and future performance?

 

[Taz4158]

Get the Radeon from Above All for $189. You can't come CLOSE to it's performance. Do not waste your money on a nVidia. I can line you up if you're not in Toronto.

 

[Dark4ng3l]

If I remember aa on geforces is problematic(especialy in d3d) Rmember that the aa of a geforce will never match a voodoo5.

 

[bluemax]

Believe me, Taz, it's been tempting. I just don't know if I can trust an "engineering sample". Is that the 64MB card for $189? I wish I'd grabbed one of the $75 Radeon All-in-wonders though. I'd be willing to chance it for that price. Some lucky buggers grabbed 'em all to sell at profit...
Now that Radeon's got better FSAA options it's worth considering, although I don't want to deal with registry hacks, etc.

 

[oldfart]

bluemax, havent you been trying to decide on a video card since the Voodoo 1 came out JUST BUY ONE!!! (BTW, I say go far a Radeon).

 

[Tung]

RAdeon is the best vid card ever made!

 

[bluemax]

So sayeth Tung, the great NEF who can't keep a firm opinion!
(You just said a couple days ago- "nothing beats a GTS".)
So what is it, NEFmeister? :|

(Sorry folks.... he bugs me. "Senior member" should mean more than 200 worthless posts.)

 

[bluemax]

Oh yeah.... Oldfart, I sure have been deliberating a long time. Months... it's time to just get it over with. I was all set to order that Voodoo5 but shop3dfx.com is all out! I'll have to call them to see when they'll get more in. I'm still tempted by that Elsa Erazor X2 DDR from Onvia.ca - the price is the same as that Voodoo5 with some good 2D too... I could stand it, although I might prefer the V5. Those MDK2 numbers are pretty scary though, and I still only have a Cel450A.

All things considered- I'm on the verge of calling Onvia now. If anyone can say why I *shouldn't* buy a Geforce DDR card you'd better say so before this afternoon.
Radeon is pretty much out... the only one I can get for that price is either from the US and difficult to get, or an engineering sample that has no warranty if it ever blows up.

My 2x versus 4x pipeline question still hasn't been answered... I should post in General right now.