Radeon 64 VIVO: Should I keep or return?

[bpt8056]

I ordered a Radeon 64 VIVO from buy.com more than a month ago and decided to cancel it a couple weeks ago. However I just got back home and discovered that the Radeon will be here tomorrow and I was planning to buy a Kyro II based card. I got this Radeon for $145, but I'm not sure if I want to keep it. I've been hearing horror stories about the Radeon and rave reviews about the Kyro II. The games I currently play are:

Flight Simulator 2000
Star Trek: Voyager Elite Force
Nascar Racing 4
Unreal Tournament
Need for Speed: High Stakes
EA Sports Titles (NHL, NBA, Madden)

Plan to get:
Tribes 2
Giants
Flight Simulator 2002

Any input would be greatly appreciated. Thanks.

 

[oldfart]

$145 is quite a bargain for a 64 meg card especially if it's a retail version. I have this card and couldn't be happier with it. On the games you listed:

Flight Simulator 2000
dont have it
Star Trek: Voyager Elite Force
plays beautifully
Nascar Racing 4
dont have it
Unreal Tournament
rocks in either D3D or LOKI OpenGL
Need for Speed: High Stakes
Dont have it
EA Sports Titles (NHL, NBA, Madden)
dont have them

Plan to get:
Tribes 2
dont have it
Giants
plays great
Flight Simulator 2002
dont have it

Try it out. If you don't like it, return it. If you do try it out, I like the
7099 beta drivers. I would suggest using them along with DX8.

 

[Orbius]

If you want the VIVO features, or you have a DVD in your machine keep the Radeon.
If games are pretty much your main focus, I'd probably get the Kyro II.

Your question has now been answered.

 

[bpt8056]

It is the Retail version that I'm getting.

 

[oldfart]

$145 is a great price for that card. KyroII looks to be a killer card. Your choice.

 

[duragezic]

Things about Radeon:
Image quality (both 2d and 3d) - Unsure of Kryo 2 since it's too early
VIVO features - No Kyro2 models will have those as far as I know
Drivers - Sure they aren't the greatest and win2k performance can sometimes suck for some games, but I find the win98 drivers to be fine, no problems at all. Don't have win2k though. - Kyro2 again too early too tell.

$145 is really a nice price. To think I paid $208 AFTER a $30 coupon for mine from buy.com several months ago. NFS High Stakes played great for me on Radeon. Tribes 2 is amazing providing you have a very fast cpu. It requires a real fast rig.

The Kyro2 looks real promising. If only it was out already so we could see if it has some of the good things the radeon does.

 

[EvilDonnyboy]

I suspect Tribes 2 to run better on the Radeon, because of the T&L unit, not sure. If you got a fast CPU, itmight make up for the lack of T&L in geometry intenisve games.

Otherwise the KyroII will outperform the Radeon in almost everything thats out now. But the Kyro itself isn't out now. There are some things that we are un-sure of. Such as win2k drivers, and win9x drivers as well. Price and availability soon after launch are also in question.

Personally, I'd stick with the Radeon, since it gotten for pretty cheap.

 

[BFG10K]

The solution is quite simple really: try the card with whatever tests you wish. If you're not happy, return it. If you like it, keep it.