ATIi Radeon 32MB DDR vs GeForce2 GTS 32MB DDR - which is best for FS2000?

[MegaTop744]

Hi guys and gals,

I'm going back to Hong Kong in 2 weeks and obviously have to have an excuse to get some stuff from the infamous Golden Shopping Centre in Sham Shui Po....

I'm looking at a new graphics card. I've got a Matrox G400 32MB Single Head connected to a Sony CPD-100ES 15" Monitor. My system is a P3-733 with 512MB RAM and runs Windows 2000 Professional.

Now, which is the best graphics card to get of the two? Either an Asus or Creative GeForce2 GTS with 32MB DDR RAM or an ATi Radeon 32MB DDR?

I like to run Flight Sim 2000 Professional with maximum detail/density, along with some very detailed scenery. Notably, the excellent Heathrow 2000 and Kai Tak 2000 packages. I use a resoultion of 1024x768 with 32-bit colour.

Any advice here is much appreciated!

Thanks,

Neil Sherin

[spannersatcx]

I have a creative GeForce 256 annihilator, on a p3 600, gives very good frame rates, so would guess the newer cards are even better, Creative, as far as I know don't have tv out so Asus may be a better buy. Not sure I'd buy from Sham Shui Po, reasons - not that much cheaper than the UK and the warranty validity should it go wrong, I had to send my original card back due a fault developing, could you do that with one from HKG? Try Mong Kok computer centre as well, just off Aplui street. Normally quite good in there as well.
I'd look at getting a bigger monitor as well, at least 17in especially at 1024x768.
Initially there were problems with the nvidia geforce chips as they consumed a lot of power and although a lot of mob support AGP the power output on the AGP bus was not really up to it. I had to change my mob from an asus to an abit be6-11, much better in otherways as well.

[This message has been edited by spannersatcx (edited 15 March 2001).]

[MegaTop744]

Thanks Spanners for your help regarding that. I've got an Asus P34VX motherboard and find it very stable. The PC I'm replacing the graphics card for is in Hong Kong, so warranties, etc. shouldn't a be a problem. I'm pretty much set on the Creative GeForece2 GTS 32MB.

As you probably remember from Hong Kong, space is a premium, so a 17" monitor isn't really viable at the moment - my work/sleeping area isn't that big.

The Sony is only 3 years old and works fine at the moment. Thanks for the tip though!
Maybe when 17" TFT panels come down in price or I win the lottery... well we can all dream, can't we?

[Ace McCool]

Went to the Golden Ctr last week but ended up buying at the computer ctr in Mong Kok...Take the MTR to Mong Kok stn, then the 'E' exit turn to the left when the exit splits..that takes you to Nelson St..then about 80 yards on your right you will see a bld call (surprise) Mong Kok Compuer Center.

I find FS2000 runs no where near as fast on W2000 compared to ME. I bought a G-Force MX 64mb cheapie and it is outstanding expect for FS2000 where I found I got slightly better frame rates out of the old TNT-Riva 32mb...dunno why.

As for the comments that you would not trust some thief out at Sham Shui Po...I have have nothing but good service over the past 13 years. I once bought software at the right price and was not all that surprised when it did not install. Well, I had a card from the vendor and made an IDD call informing him that his software was indeed dodgy. 2 weeks later a letter of apology and replacement disks arrived in the mail...try getting that kinda service from MS. As for hardware, you normally only get a 28 days warranty so you either need to transit the joint regularly of have a contact to make a claim. I have purchased heaps of hardware and have never had a problem.

[Ace McCool]

Megatop, mate I got really bored and looked at your web page. You say you're going to Malaysia in April...well you won't have to look far to find soft/hard ware at prices that make HKG look like extortion. Genuine software copies go for about US$1 in KL & JB...this compares to about US$3 in HKG and BKK. Hardware is also about 20-30% cheaper.

[MegaTop744]

Hmm... the ATI Radeon 64MB DDR is looking tempting actually - it is $1940 as opposed the GeForce2 GTS 32MB DDR, which was $1680. I'm probably going to pay the extra for the ATI, as it's got double the RAM. It also performs better than the GeForce2 GTS in 32-bit colour - just looked at some benchmarks on Anandtech: http://www.anandtech.com . However, if you run in 16-bit colour for games, then you should stick with the GeForce2 GTS. I tend to run in 32-bit colour, so the ATI looks to be a better option, plus I believe it's got S-Video In/Out and is superior for DVD playback (which I do).

A good site for HK Hardware prices is: http://buycomp.hkgolden.com . Only trouble is, is that sometimes you get DNS errors and can't get to the site.

[This message has been edited by MegaTop744 (edited 23 March 2001).]

[MegaTop744]

Regarding Sham Shui Po and Mong Kok - most of the hardware in my PC in Hong Kong comes from there - mainly Sham Shui Po. I've had no problems with stuff from there over the years. Also, the shop keepers have got better regarding returning faulty products and helping me through some teething problems with a motherboard.

For notebooks, I recommend Notebook Collection in Star House, TST. I've bought two systems from there - an Acer Extensa 670CD (it wasn't that great a notebook) and the IBM ThinkPad X20 (the machine I use in the UK - an excellent piece of kit, very light to carry around through airports and with great battery life). Staff are actually very helpful and it's not the tourist rip-off joint I'd thought it would be.

Ace - whereabouts in Penang / Georgetown can I get software? Hardware - I'll stick to HK, as I can return stuff if there is a problem.

I'm taking your advice about WinMe - I'll see what it does. I'm just wondering how well it will handle the 512MB of RAM in my machine. I find 2000 has better memory management than Win9x, but then I've not tried ME seriously yet.

------------------
London Heathrow Terminal Three Information Center:

http://www.sherin.net/unmigrated/lhrt3/t3.htm

sherin.net: http:/www.sherin.net

[This message has been edited by MegaTop744 (edited 23 March 2001).]

[This message has been edited by MegaTop744 (edited 23 March 2001).]

[spannersatcx]

Perhaps it was because I had a bad experience a few years back in SSPo.
W2000 is an NT upgrade so doesn't support gaming as well as ME/98. I've just updated the drivers of my GeForce and ran the madonion benchmark and got an immediate 10% increase in the benchmark score, without an tweaks, so I guess as the drivers get updated the performance in the graphics card will normally get better. I read recently that the newest nvidia chip (v3)gets better the higher the resolution over some of the other cards. It may be worth looking at the MS knowledge case for any known! problems with certain graphics cards. happy shopping. I've got to go to HKG, again, in June so hopefully I'll get some bargains! then.

[Ace McCool]

Sorry Mega, Penang was a dump last time I was there and that was years ago...a good place to relax is Langkawi Is. about 100 miles north. Not much help if you're going for work though. I am sure that with the population on Penang these days you won't have trouble finding things though.