Graphics cards and 3D accelerators

[CrashNBurn]

Hey,
I am having problems running Uplink in full screen mode (yes this post is about Uplink kinda... hah)
And i am changing my graphics card.
It is not compatible with Windows XP and does not function properly.
What is the BEST 3d accelerator on the market?
what is the best buy one?
any tips and hints to consider when buying a new graphics card?
Thanks
btw is there any difference between graphics card and 3d accelerator? haha sorry i dont understand graphics hardware at all.

Thanks alot!!!
~Crash~

[Rookie One]

You do NOT need the best accelerator on the market for this game.

Still, I have a GeForce 3 and had the same problem in the demo.  I just deleted the opengl32.dll file in the gamef older and it ran fine.  

[CrashNBurn]

lol ok i know you dont need the best for THIS GAME.
I am not only referring to this game but every game on the market.

I either want the best or the best value for $$$ card.
Thanks
~Crash~

[Kadarom Douhrek]

1st For everything made within the past several years graphics card and 3d accelerator are the same thing.

2nd The best card is currently, well usually more like it, up for debate.
But it would be either  GeForce 3 Ti500, or an All in Wonder Radeon 8500DV.

My suggestion would be pick a price limit for yourself.
Then read reviews, read some more, ask questions, ignore retail personel and adjust your price limit if you see fit.
Then be happy with whatever choice you make.

[Kuroji]

A thought:
What kind of video card are you running? If it's a Voodoo3, I've got drivers that make it work quite well in XP.. other older cards have unofficial drivers out as well, for the most part, that make them run decently.
Though I thought it reverted to software mode if the card wasn't sufficient?

[Rookie One]

My VisionTek GeForce3 is pretty sweet, but Radeons are good too, as are GeForce2 MX's if you want to pay less.  

[KevinOwen]

To buy anything less than a GeForce 3 Ti 200 right now is really a waste of money unless you are really pressed for cash. (Ti 200 is less powerful than a regular GeForce 3, and Ti 500 is currently most powerful in that line). Personally I would reccommend any GeForce Ti 500 if you want the best video card available: it will be able to run pretty much anything out in the next year, it is signifigantly faster than the GeForce 3, and most tests put it as slightly faster than the Radeon 8500. There has also been some questions as to the Radeon's image quality in 3D and DVD playback, though these are most likely driver issues that will be eventually resolved.

Probably the best advice I can give you is that I just purchased a VistionTek Xtasy 6964 Ti 500 (GeForce 3 Ti 500, approx. 330-350USD) and I am loving it. It comes with just the card and drivers, and no extra games (which I don't need since I would most likely have them already or not want them )
I hope this helps. Oh, and a site I have found helpful with lots of links to video card reviews is http://www.3DGPU.com

(Edited by KevinOwen at 11:26 pm on Nov. 11, 2001)

[CrashNBurn]

ok thanks for help guys,

Kuroji: I currently have intel i740, haha and they have stopped making it and the last driver update was like june 1999, therefore i dont think anyone can help =)
but thanks anyway

[Astromarine]

well, on the budget side, if you are pressed for cash, get a geforce 2 MX or GTS. I got a GeForce 2 Titanium by Hercules for about 200 bucks, and it's a pretty good card. if you managed to live with an i740 until now, you probably will be sufficiently dazzled by the performance of a "lower that SOTA" card

Radeon 8500 is supposedly better than GeForce, but the drivers suck ATM. your choice on wether to risk it or not.

hope it helps

[Sparky]

Don't bother with the latest and greatest graphics card unless your processor is over 1 GHz.  If you do you're pissing into the wind 'cos you won't be able to take advantage of the card and lets face it, cutting edge today is bargain bin in a few months when the next best card ever is released.

Graphics cards are generally an overrated (but easy) upgrade if you already have something half decent IMHO.  Go for a nicer processor first if your motherboard can support it.  You'd be surprised how cheap they are (relatively) if you haven't been following hardware prices lately.  It'll definitely make things nicer too, unlike a new graphics card.

[Kadarom Douhrek]

I'd normaly agree with you Sparky.
But he's upgrading from an i740.
Anything else will be a huge improvement.:biggrin:

(Edited by Kadarom Douhrek at 5:47 am on Nov. 12, 2001)

[Astromarine]

yup

[Icepick]

im not sure how much the newer GF3 cards are cus ive not looked, but i got a GF2 Prophet 2 64Mb for £80 about a month ago, and it runs like a dream. Personally i thought that was quite cheap, and there isnt really much point splashing out loads on the newest card cus there will be nothing that uses it to its best just yet

[Sparky]

Oh yeah, didn't notice the graphics card there (no offence of course!)

I still wouldn't get a GeForce 3 card though, I'm guessing here that the rest of your system isn't bleeding edge and a top of the range card just isn't going to be used to it's full potential.

I'd second the GeForce 2 recommendations then, pretty cheap now but still some really nice cards.

[CrashNBurn]

hmmm
Intel Pent III 733 MHz
512MB RAM
100 Gigs

good enough? or not?
Btw anyone use overclocking?
Thanks