RoadWarrior
asked on
Vid Card Purchase
After poking his grubby mitts in the exotic hardware of friends for seemingly endless envious years, Road Warrior has finally got hisself a PC that could be vaguely described as "cookin", a K6 300 on an Octek board if'n you must know. (Soon to be o/c when I get everything installed, got with it a humungous CoolerMaster:- " jet turbine sitting atop the cylinder head off a porsche carrera" :-) my ears pop when that baby fires up. )
Well now it has come to my attention that my venerable Trident TGUI 1mb video card ain't exactly cutting it, sweating along as it is right now. So, on the ever opulent shoestring budget what I is always on, I want to find something a little speedier in the daubing pixels on the glass department.
I haven't been a gamehead these past couple of years due to a serious lack of cpu horsepower, so kind of missed out on being aware of what is (was?) around.
I am looking for a 4-8mb PCI 3d card in the sub (sub sub sub) 50 dollar price range that supports OpenGL and direct X, and also has good support in linux and XFree86.
I am not likely to want resolution in excess of 1280x1024 and have no need for multi monitor support or tv out or anything like that.
PCI only! (Go on someone spoil my day by telling me I could have got a mobo/cpu combo with AT power connectors, SIMM sockets AND AGP for less than 50 bucks)
Oh, and I'd like one that doesn't have complaints about running on an overclocked PCI bus, like 37.5 or 41.5ish, I have a few 486 HSFs lying around if that is what it takes.
I done been browsing 3d benchmark results online but most of them ain't a lot of use when the cpu etc is different.
So guys, what's the cheapest/fastest/best supported card I can get?
Well now it has come to my attention that my venerable Trident TGUI 1mb video card ain't exactly cutting it, sweating along as it is right now. So, on the ever opulent shoestring budget what I is always on, I want to find something a little speedier in the daubing pixels on the glass department.
I haven't been a gamehead these past couple of years due to a serious lack of cpu horsepower, so kind of missed out on being aware of what is (was?) around.
I am looking for a 4-8mb PCI 3d card in the sub (sub sub sub) 50 dollar price range that supports OpenGL and direct X, and also has good support in linux and XFree86.
I am not likely to want resolution in excess of 1280x1024 and have no need for multi monitor support or tv out or anything like that.
PCI only! (Go on someone spoil my day by telling me I could have got a mobo/cpu combo with AT power connectors, SIMM sockets AND AGP for less than 50 bucks)
Oh, and I'd like one that doesn't have complaints about running on an overclocked PCI bus, like 37.5 or 41.5ish, I have a few 486 HSFs lying around if that is what it takes.
I done been browsing 3d benchmark results online but most of them ain't a lot of use when the cpu etc is different.
So guys, what's the cheapest/fastest/best supported card I can get?
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ASKER
Thanks for that guys, I think I am looking for price support speed in that order. I have been looking at a 2nd hand buy, but nothing tempting has turned up yet. I think I am facing something of a case of the owners who bought these at $200-$300 a couple of years ago not being realistic about what they are worth now.
You've all seen the typical "P200 32 Mb ram, 4 gig hdd 32x Cd rom, all boxes and manuals, hardly used, mint condition, lots of software, cost over $3000 new, will accept only $1500" ...... yeah right!
I have come across a card known as the Magic Video 3d by iomagic at www.iomagic.com
the 8mb version supporting direct3d and open GL and having a 230Mhz dac is only $49.99 in their store, however, I can't find any details of the chipset therein, anybody know anything?
thanks
Road Warrior
You've all seen the typical "P200 32 Mb ram, 4 gig hdd 32x Cd rom, all boxes and manuals, hardly used, mint condition, lots of software, cost over $3000 new, will accept only $1500" ...... yeah right!
I have come across a card known as the Magic Video 3d by iomagic at www.iomagic.com
the 8mb version supporting direct3d and open GL and having a 230Mhz dac is only $49.99 in their store, however, I can't find any details of the chipset therein, anybody know anything?
thanks
Road Warrior
ASKER
ohhhhhhh niiicccccccccccccce, downloaded the manual and it would appear to have a 3d Labs permedia 2 chipset!
Hello this wayne from Sydney Australia
I would say with the money that you have available if you can get one you must try the Diamond viper 330 pcI but use the updated drivers from the net If the money stretches try and get the diamond viper 550.The cheapest bet is the viper 330 as this card is the best 2d 3d combo card and must be cheap at this time. 4mb cards must be getting hard to get but the diamond products are
very relliable dating back to the old vesa bus days
I would say with the money that you have available if you can get one you must try the Diamond viper 330 pcI but use the updated drivers from the net If the money stretches try and get the diamond viper 550.The cheapest bet is the viper 330 as this card is the best 2d 3d combo card and must be cheap at this time. 4mb cards must be getting hard to get but the diamond products are
very relliable dating back to the old vesa bus days
ASKER
Come on guys, I am not getting enough detail here to be helpful, I need some "whys" not just names. Leaving this going another few days and if I am still in the dark, I will accept Otta's answer with a B since I seem to be hanging round e-bay a lot looking for bargains.
ASKER
Okey doke,
Otta gets the points with a B.
Otta gets the points with a B.
ATI Xpert@Work 4MB (ATI Rage II Chipset)
Diamond V550 4MB
As 4MB PCI video cards are getting rare, it would probably be easier to seek a local newsgroup for anyone selling 4MB PCI video cards.