Nebula opened this issue on May 26, 2001 ยท 11 posts
Nebula posted Sat, 26 May 2001 at 3:14 PM
Hi, I am in the process of upgrading my system. Scanning this forum I noticed a lot of respect for the Nvidia GeForce video card. I looked at them eariler today and found there are several versions of them out there. Was hoping I could get your all's opinion of the card and a brand or model of GeForce I should get. I'm planning on a DDR version motherboard. Can anyone give me a model number or something specific to look for so I know which one to get. As always, I truly appricate everyones thoughts here. Thanks for your time! Nebula
Nebula posted Sat, 26 May 2001 at 3:16 PM
Just for understanding, I was wanting the number for the video card. I already have a motherboard in mind. Thanks!
whoopdat posted Sat, 26 May 2001 at 4:34 PM
Well, GeForce cards are fine, but they're more geared to high-end gaming than they are 2 or 3d graphics. If you're putting together a "top of the line" system, you'll either want a GeForce 2 Ultra or maybe if you have a lot of cash to blow, then find a GeForce 3. Brands are all opinion. A friend has an Asus GeForce 2 that seems to work great, though I've heard others are good too (Hercules cards among those). It's all opinion. :) Could always opt for some expensive Oxygen card, or go with a Matrox or ATI card. Both of those latter companies are known for being among the best for image quality in most respects (especially 2d), but they're not as fast for gaming.
jbrugion posted Sat, 26 May 2001 at 5:05 PM
IMHO the GeForce cards are the best out there for graphics in that price range ( <=$300 ) . I moved up from a TNT card to a GeForce2 64MB and I saw a big difference in rendering speed and quality. It was much faster and I thought the graphics looked crisper. If you like dual monitor there's a version of the GeForce, MT or MTS or something like that, that is double headed. I've evaluated one of the older oxygen cards at work and I thought the GeForce was better. Matrox cards were ok for 2D but lagged in 3D when the texture load got high although they were doubled headed. Although there is truth in that is primarily a "gaming" card, it is much faster for general rendering. Get as much memory on card as you can. It's cheap now and makes a big difference. If you got big bucks ( > $2000) go for a Wildcat.
Nebula posted Sat, 26 May 2001 at 5:22 PM
Thank's a bunch! I'm currently running an ATI AIW128 but it's only 16M. It seems to work fine for both Poser & trueSpace. I have since purchased a couple of the new texture maps for Victoria. It's been like trying to shred a tree limb with a garbage disposal! I figure I'm doing ok on RAM at 192M. Guessing the bottleneck is the processor, K-6III-400. Things weren't bad with the standard stuff but now that I'm getting into more of the larger files, its been tough. But to upgrade means nearly all new hardware. Anyway, the video was my real question. I don't do as much gaming as I used too. Getting more into doing my digital video. The ATI has helped a bit there too. Maybe I'll hang on for a few more days before I buy the video card and read more of what you all have to say. I sure appricate the input!
daeve posted Sat, 26 May 2001 at 7:13 PM
2 weeks ago I grabbed the ATI Radeon 64MB DDR, and it's still blowing me away. One of the first things I did with it was load up Poser and place Renapd's Andulisa (sp?) Victoria in a scene, which brought my old 16MB card to a halt, and it rendered in seconds. The price was great as well, at $350 Canadian. Check out their site for more info. Daeve
Aravenwood posted Sat, 26 May 2001 at 7:30 PM
Attached Link: http://www.teamanarchy.com/writeups.php?idx=986866324&page=0
After much searching I found this link http://www.teamanarchy.com/writeups.php?idx=986866324&page=0 Before you buy one, consider how much of the problem solving as detailed on these pages that you want to go through, personally I wish i'd stuck with my Voodoo3 which has never given me a single problem.
Schlabber posted Sat, 26 May 2001 at 8:15 PM
Ahem - maybe I misunderstood something lately but as far as I know Poser is NOT able to use Graphic card included 3D-engines (like 3DMax for example does). The normal tech-talk about Poser says that it IS more important to have enough RAM and a fast processor ... However - a good graphic card is never bad ...
jbrugion posted Sat, 26 May 2001 at 10:15 PM
On card memory gets to be important due to this simple calculation. If you're using a 1024x1024 texture that's 1 million pixels. Times 16, 24 or 32 bits of color per pixel gives 16, 24 or 32 MB of texture. As long as your textures fit on the card you'll tend to get faster rendering (if your hardware and software setup can take full advantage of the card). If the textures are larger than available memory the card will swap as needed but it will slow it down some. Can't lose by getting the most memory possible on the card. If you're going to be doing large scenes with a lot of texturing then go for more system RAM, especially now that it's dirt cheap, and then go for CPU speed. Check out the newsgroups on motherboards and videocards and search on your combinations. Helped me decide which CPU, motherboard and card combination to go with my last upgrade.
sinixyl posted Sun, 27 May 2001 at 10:20 PM
I bought an intel motherboard with a built in 810e graphic accelerator chipset the things awesome with poser 4. Didnt need a video card.
Nebula posted Tue, 29 May 2001 at 3:03 PM
Hello again, Well, you all have sure given me a bunch to think about. Maybe I'm being a bit hasty on my choices. It seems everyone you talk to has a little different opinion. But from what I seem to be hearing from everyone here as well as a few other people, the main thing I need to get is the fastest processor as affordable as well as all the RAM I can afford. The video card seems to be a lowly third decision. I sure appricate everyones thoughts here. I hope to get my new system going in the next couple of weeks. Wish me luck! Nebula