And The (Vid) Decision Is

... VisionTek Xtasy GeForce 4 MX 420 64MB SDR PCI Graphics Card Just called, an this is available at my regional Best Buy for $100. I will also pick up more SDRam, perhaps up to 512 MB if I can go it. Hopefully the purchasing happens sometime tomorrow. Installation? Probably tomorrow night!Thanks to each and every one of you that offered helpful insight.One last question for "chucksc":It's been six years since I've installed hardware. The installation procedure you followed... was it:A. Install the card, boot up and let XP find the new hardware, then insert the CD and finish installation.B. Install the card, boot up to BIOS, and select "PCI" for your bus, then allow XP to boot up and do the above find/install.Andre Ming

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RE: And The (Vid) Decision Is..., FozzyBear, Aug-14-02, 05:15 PM, (1) RE: And The (Vid) Decision Is..., Coonskin, Aug-14-02, 05:31 PM, (3) RE: And The (Vid) Decision Is..., Hack, Aug-14-02, 07:58 PM, (4) RE: And The (Vid) Decision Is..., FozzyBear, Aug-14-02, 10:35 PM, (5) RE: And The (Vid) Decision Is..., chucksc, Aug-15-02, 12:49 PM, (7) RE: And The (Vid) Decision Is..., IcyFire, Aug-14-02, 05:20 PM, (2) RE: And The (Vid) Decision Is..., ske2751, Aug-15-02, 02:27 AM, (6) RE: And The (Vid) Decision Is..., chucksc, Aug-15-02, 12:53 PM, (8) RE: And The (Vid) Decision Is..., ssw, Aug-15-02, 04:15 PM, (9) RE: And The (Vid) Decision Is..., chucksc, Aug-15-02, 05:51 PM, (10) RE: And The (Vid) Decision Is..., ssw, Aug-16-02, 04:16 PM, (11) RE: And The (Vid) Decision Is..., Coonskin, Aug-16-02, 04:53 PM, (12) RE: And The (Vid) Decision Is..., ssw, Aug-16-02, 11:41 PM, (13)

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>... VisionTek Xtasy GeForce 4 MX 420 64MB SDR PCIYou're going to suffer poor frame rates with an MX it's a very cutdown version of the card! hence the price. I think you're going to be very dissapointed with it. It's not really designed for high speed 3D. It's a business card for produciing good 2D. Not a good idea at all! But it's your choice at the end of the day!Best Regards,
Julian (Fozzy The Bear)

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What do I do, then, Fozzy? I have this cursed PCI mobo to contend with. I can't find anything PCI other than the GeForce MX or a Voodoo card (eBay). One fella' found a Radeon 7000 PCI (I think that's what it was?), but there's no info on it. I don't want to waste $100. I found hope in "chucksc's" experience with his MX. His system is almost identical to my hunk'a'junk, actually a tick less in CPU. He installed a GeForce MX400 and was able to run 1024xwhatever in the teens/twenties.With my system, I get 12-19 on Marias Pass 3 with the res setting at 640xsomething. That's with some details off, and the rest cut down 80% or lower. Even at that, I sometimes get below 10 FPS and the slide show begins until it's laid the next tile in place.If I tried to run 1024x? on this machine with my current detail selections... I doubt I would get 4 FPS. Thus, teens/twenties sound like heaven.I'm most certainly still open to suggestions.Andre

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As long as your stuck with that PCI mobo, you'll always be throwing good money after bad. To minimize this - at least until you can get a good AGP mobo - try the older GeForce2 MX 400 PCI card for about $50...You'll get fair performance without breaking your wallet. The performance between the G2 MX and G4 MX is too close to justify the extra $$.Cheers!
Marc - 3DTrains
http://www.3dtrains.com

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LAST EDITED ON Aug-14-02 AT 10:43 PM (EDT)

>As long as your stuck with that PCI mobo, you'll always be
>throwing good money after bad. To minimize this - at least
>until you can get a good AGP mobo - try the older GeForce2
>MX 400 PCI card for about $50...You'll get fair performance
>without breaking your wallet. The performance between the G2
>MX and G4 MX is too close to justify the extra $$. I'll second that absolutely Marc!!I have one of our machines with a GeForce2 MX400 in it, It's not really used for MSTS but I have run it on there a few times, and at best it manages to pull 60 fps off an Athlon 1200... with only a few details knocked back a bit and the res set to 800 X 600 at 16Bit. A lot of the time it runs quite OK in the mid 30's..... The GeForce4 MX is not however the same sort of card! in fact it's much more cutdown than the 2MX ever was. So the performance on the 4MX actually is worse! as far as I can see. That 2 MX 400 would be $50 well spent for the use you will get from it Coonskin.Best Regards,
Julian (Fozzy The Bear)

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Actually Fozz & Co. the G4/mx is noticably better than the G2/mx when you are using the PCI cards (especially for only $99 as opposed to $59)(especaially as opposed to $99/mobo and $199/GF4-ti42/4400)(Remeber he has a 1.2 GHZ celery CPU also).... I tried with my grandson's PC(Which also is pure PCI and no AGP - Its an Intel 810 mobo w/1.2gig celery) and it went up a couple of FPS..... Still not up to an AGP implimentation (especially to a GF3/4-ti card) but a lot cheaper than a Mobo/AGP card combo.... IMHO he would be happy with either... Still get jerks when crossing tile boundaries but the 64mb makes for bigger screen buffers to hold that down.... Adding the extra memory will help also...
Remember he will see a very noticable jump in performance when he does all this... Even if in the purest sense it won't be up to Geek" Standards.... LOLChuck Schneider
Chief Cook and Bottle Washer
North American Locomotive Works

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On the install part.. I did this, Went to windows and removed all drivers for existing device first, shutdown, drop the new card in, I didn't even have to fuss with the BIOS, booted up and windows slapped some new drivers on it and it wad good to go, Strange thing for me tho, windows also reinstalled the drivers for my onboard video chipset, so now I can run 2 monitors if I want, and even stranger, There's no option in my BIOS to really disable the onbaord, But it's all good, every game has run without problem, let me know if something weird like this happens for you

Shawn "IcyFire" Kenselaar
Here, Shake my Knuckle Coupler! err.. I mean hand

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It was a Good Decision.I have the same Card which didn't cost me no 100 bucks wish it were that cheap here in CANADA.If you are a game player other MSTS you could go looking for a file called NVHARDPAGE.ZIP which is a tweaking program for all Nvidia cards including your new card.I find it works great with Windows XP Pro and MSTS seems you can get a bit more out of this card that what was expected by the Manufacture.

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OK here is what I would do to install it(on XP)...
1. go into controll panel and set monitor and adapter to standard VGA
2. Powerdown and install new card.
3. powerup and let XP install default Nvidia drivers.
4. install cpu driver set from CD.
5. download and install latest detonators from NVidia website.If you are using ME then follow the installation instructions in your documentation as some cards may want you to preinstall their drivers prior to step 2 and some others will want you to select the <have disk> option when you powerup and install drivers that way....With out a major transplant I think you are doing about the best you can on your system given the limitations of your existing hardware...Chuck Schneider
Chief Cook and Bottle Washer
North American Locomotive Works

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Ok, now for my question.. I'm stuck with a PIII 933mHz chip with Intel 810 integrated graphics.....Will a PCI card help me?

Bradley Linda

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Probably ,,,,,
Since it will take the graphics processing load off your CPU....
I'd buy the GF4/mx and not screw around with the GF2/mx in your case....Chuck Schneider
Chief Cook and Bottle Washer
North American Locomotive Works

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LAST EDITED ON Aug-16-02 AT 04:20 PM (EDT)

Thanks a bunch, chuck, as I think you just saved me a new case, mobo, processor, and a GF4TI4400! (Not to mention some money to build ME! a new rig!)This one now is the family 'puter. It didn't need that Athlon XP anyway! I'm going to check with my local Best Buy.. I have this feeling that I'll have a GF4MX PCI card soon.EDIT- I wonder, after reading this, if I will be able to kick my settings up to full? I am running on less than 1000 visib, and the graphics slider is about 3 clicks off "Best performance, with world stff at 2, and train at 3, no rail(just the head) and no cars. If not to full, then almost full?

Bradley Linda

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I didn't see where you mentioned the res setting for your anticipated results, but you can use my FPS rates that I posted in my "Vid Nightmare In Oklahoma" to give you an idea of what you might expect.If I were guessing, and this is only a guess, I would say at 1024 res and 16 bit you would be able to have almost all features maxed.

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Whoops, I accidentally omitted that. I have to run 640 just to keep my rates acceptable. A full VIA consist from Gaetan will get me 0-1 frames/sec. I'd like to go 1024 at least.

Bradley Linda

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