G400Max or AMDK6-3 - Which to upgrade?

[Himself]

My advice, do both, sell your current cpu and motherboard, get a Duron and mb for probably $100 net, then buy another video card. If price is an issue, I wouldn't wait for any G800.

[DuRaNgO]

Himself, his G400 Max is fine for now, get real
jim

------------------
P3-700e with an MC-1000 @ agiga! Check it here!
Abit BE6-2
TwinMos 256mb pc-133
G400 32mb DH
Maxtor 40gb 7,200 ATA100
SB Live!
Toshiba 12x DVD
Iomega 650cd burner
Winblows 98se & DX8
and 384k DSL!
and a 19" monitor

[jImbEam]

diuby, it is my understanding that Quake III will only use either the T or the L and not both.

I believe that Quake III has it's own lighting engine.

So I believe the correct statement would be:
---------
....QuakeIII that can not use hardware L
-------
RIGHT

-------
...Quake III that can use hardware T
-------
RIGHT


:-)

jImbEam


[This message has been edited by jImbEam (edited 25 December 2000).]

[impact]

If you really want to upgrade your G400, but you do not wish to get any nVidia product, because you want EMBM and stuff, try the Powercolor Evil Kyro (PowerVR series 3 chip)64 MB video card.

Yes it is a bit more expensive than GF2 MX (only a little bit), but

- it has EMBM, FSAA
- AGP 2x/4x
- Fast 128-bit 2D Engine & integrated DVD Decode Assist Motion compensation
- Deferred Texturing technique for only visible pixels are textured and rendered !!!

and more (Flat and Gouraud shading / Perspective texturing and shading.

Specular highlights / D3D Bump mapping.

8 Layer Multi-texturing support / 32-bit Z/Stencil buffer.

Internal True Color ™ 32-bit ARGB internal rendering and layer blending.

Full tile blend buffer / Z load/ YUV and DXT textures.

Table and per vertex fog / Palletised textures.

16-bit textures / 32-bit textures.

Point, bilinear, trilinear and anisotropic filtering.

Full range of OpenGL and D3D blend modes.

Alpha test / Full scene anti-aliasing.

Realistic Environments using 8-Layer Multitexturing.

Direct3D Environment Bump Mapping.
)


It is not as fast as the Geforce in Quake III, because it does not have the T&L, but because it uses the special PowerVR technology, it only renders visible parts of the scene, which means that it's MINIMAL fps are really high no matter how complex the scene gets. In other words, it won't score 100s fps in small rooms, but it won't go under 40fps in large areas/big fights where the geforce 2 MX drops to 16fps or less.

This would be my card of choice. It really reminds me of a G400.

[Novdid]

Well if you want EMBM and stuff like that with the same perfomance of the GF2 MX, do not get the Evil Kyro, get the Radeon SDR.

But I think it is better if you buy a Duron+ MB. It´s really cheap by the way. Get the MSI K7tpro2A.

[K6-III]

I second the vote for the MSI K7T PRO2A due to it being simply the most stable mobo on the market and being able to overclock in the BIOS as well. As for vid cards, the G400MAX should suit you fine with the new CPU. If not, Radeon SDR or DDR should do the trick. BTW, the K6-III+ is an amazing overclocker. I've got my K6-III+450@672 and it's great for the $50 I paid for it.

------------------
Gimme my Trilevel Cache!!!

[This message has been edited by K6-III (edited 26 December 2000).]

[impact]

A little bit of benchmarks
Q3A - 32bit.

resolutions
640x480
800x600
1024x768
1280x1024

G400
68,8
49,4
31,6
19

Kyro
94,1
84,1
60,9
36,7

Kyro FSAA
44,1
28,7
N/A
N/A


Kyro 66
64
61,65
54,6
36,8

GF2MX
108,6
87,4
55,1
19








UT - 32bit.
resolutions
640x480
800x600
1024x768
1280x1024

G400
44,83
40,9
30,41
17,35

Kyro
48,95
45,96
43,09
39,06

Kyro FSAA
35,45
33,71
21,88
N/A

Kyro 66
36,72
33,44
31,94
30,51

GF2MX
54,62
48,06
43,32
20,26


It really depends on the resolution you prefer...

[swr]

Impact, you list pairs of numbers separated by a comma. I would guess that the first number is the FPS, but where does the second number come from???</P>

Also, what sort of CPU did you have in the test machine?</P>

[impact]

SteveC is right "," = "."


The machine was a Celery 633@950 (100 MHz FSB), 128 MB RAM, MSI BX Master board, gr. card and SB Live! running W98. I am sorry about the text formatting, but I have yet to figure out how to put a nice looking table in here.

[SteveC]

The comma should be read as a decimal point as far as I know these people's 'odd' understanding of the english language...

------------------
Cheers,
Steve

"Life is what we make of it, yet most of us just fake"

[DosFreak]

Here's a more readable version:

Q3A - 32bit.

640x480/800x600/1024x768/1280x1024

G400

68.8/49.4/31.6/19

Kyro
94.1/84.1/60.9/36.7

Kyro FSAA
44.1/28.7/N/A/N/A

Kyro 66
64/61.65/54.6/36.8

GF2MX
108.6/87.4/55.1/19

UT - 32bit.

640x480/800x600/1024x768/1280x1024

G400
44.83/40.9/30.41/17.35

Kyro
48.95/45.96/43.09/39.06

Kyro FSAA
35.45/33.71/21.88/N/A

Kyro 66
36.72/33.44/31.94/30.51

GF2MX
54,62/48,06/43,32/20,26

Summary

Fastest performing cards per resolution


Quake 3


640X480=Geforce 2 MX
800X600=Geforce 2 MX
1024X768=Kryo
1280X1024=Kryo 66

Unreal Tournament

640X480=Geforce 2 MX
800X600=Geforce 2 MX
1024X768=Geforce 2 MX
1280X1024=Kryo

[Himself]

Durango,

My point was that it wasn't an either or situation, I upgraded to a Duron for a net outlay of $100 by selling my old system. Another $100 or so for an MX or Radeon wouldn't break the bank. Selling the G400 would likely make the video card upgrade cost nothing or you'd make money on the deal.
The guy never mentioned a need for dual head or 2D quality at super high resolutions, just games, so he would probably be better served by a gaming card. Buy the right tool for the job.

[paulcs]

I think the MSI K7T Pro2A looks like a great board as well. It's relatively cheap too!

Paul
paulcs@flashcom.net

[Seaspray]

If I read it right this guy is in the UK. We can't get stuff at those prices over here. I recently bought a KT133 motherboard and the cheapest I could find was about £80 (Gigabyte). A Duron starts at about £70 (including the fan) so thats £150 for the processor and motherboard. An OEM GF2 MX is about £100, a Radeon SDR nearly £150 and DDR nearly £200.

I'd say go for the motherboard and CPU, it will speed up everything. The video card will only speed up certain games and even then probably not by that much as your CPU will still be the bottleneck.