Nonsense ( GF3 )

Finx · 06-12-2001, 01:30 AM

If anyone could tell me why the Geforce 3 is being bought by so many people when you could get an upperend GF2 for less..What are the features that make it worth it?

Darkhorse · 06-16-2001, 12:47 PM

From what I can tell it's mostly market hype & the need to have the latest & fastest.

The only feature that really seems to make it better that the GF2's is the anti-alising without much performance loss.

I run a GF2 GTS 32MB. Can't see as I'm gonna upgrade anytime soon. I could probably afford it, but don't see the gain as being worth it.

tourist · 07-17-2001, 08:24 AM

It's alot faster in 32bit especially high res. I've not seen a graphic card running at 1280x1024 maximum setting in q3 at more than 100fps, except gf3 of course. And the 2d is much better than gf2 series.

Darkhorse · 07-17-2001, 04:45 PM

Why would I need 100FPS? That is 1 frame every millisecond. 60FPS is perfectly playable. Would I even notice the difference?

If the GF3 gets cheap enough then I will probably get one just to keep my hardware reasonably up to date.

As for the 2D, I'll agree with you there. I noticed the GF2 didn't seem to handle 32bit 2D color as well as my old Matrox G400 DH.

Microsoft · 07-17-2001, 08:19 PM

cause its a better card thats why and its not a piece of shit filter issue like all the GF2's

tourist · 07-19-2001, 03:55 AM

i want 100fps because i don't want it to dip below 60fps. And you obviously forgot 4XFSAA at 30+fps, which is not enough is my opinion.

Darkhorse · 07-20-2001, 02:45 PM

So you are all prepared to pay a stupid amount of money to get 100FPS and AA?

I don't know about you guys but regardless of how smooth the edges look, the illusion is still spoilt by stareing at a glowing screen.

If you matched the GF3 to a decent pair of VR glasses then all the effort of AA and higher resolutions etc seems worth it.

Just my thoughts.

BrianW · 07-22-2001, 03:21 PM

The Asus Geforce3 ships with VR glasses...

I'm sure the effort is justified.

JasonC · 07-30-2001, 10:21 AM

The true beauty of the GF3 won't be recognized for a few more months, probably not even until Christmas.

This is because of its new nFinite effects engine, which allows the programmer to actually program in his own effects into his games, rather than having to use a predefined set of effects. While custom effects could be used before, you can imagine that if the card has never seen the effect before, its going to have to do some thinking to perform it, whereas with the new GF3s, the programmer not only codes the effect, but also programs it into the GF3 so that it can access/perform it very quickly.

Aside from this, the GF3 is about 15% faster on almost everything right now... except, oddly enough, Q3 at 640X480 (not that you should run this res if you have a GF3). At 640X480 in 16bit (i think) the GF2 outperformed the GF3. This could be a random fluke simply because of the massive fill rates that both cards can perform and the low fill rate demands that the low res requires. But it could also indicate some sort of memory bottle neck in the GF3? I don't know. Either way, the GF3 outperforms the GF2 in all other tests by a good bit. Which is all that really matters.

Personally, I think the card is too expensive right now to buy. You are correct in saying that the GF2 is a much better deal.

Good gaming,
Jason

Darkhorse · 07-31-2001, 01:49 AM

You have a good point.

Nice to see somebody come up with a valid reason, rather than "because it's fast".

mpfos · 07-31-2001, 05:50 PM

I don't think that the GF3 is really over priced. Don't get me wrong I wish it was cheaper, however I do remember buying a diamond viper 550 and a Voodo 2. The cost of both cards together cost more than the GF3 and this was a couple of years ago! So stop whining. if you don't want to buy it then don't. But some of us work really hard to buy this stuff just for bragging rights if nothing else. Why do we overclock/water-cool, put windows in our cases, buy temp probes and all the other Stuff we really don't need? BECAUSE WE WANT IT! Thats why people are buying the GF3's.

Darkhorse · 08-01-2001, 05:31 AM

I don't believe I was 'whining'. I was asking what I thought were valid questions.

If everybody kept their opinions to themselves then this board would have virtually no posts at all.

I'm no different - Do I need Water Cooling? No - Do I want it? Yes. I've got lots of things I don't NEED.

The whole point of this thread was 'Is the GF3 worth it?' not 'When I bought an ZX Spectrum back in 1985, it cost the same as GF 2 Ultra does now'.

JasonC · 08-09-2001, 11:46 AM

Darkhorse,

I feel confidant that if you bought a GeForce3 right now that you would NOT be disappointed in its performace. So in that respect, yes it is worth it.

However, if you just want to play CounterStrike and don't need to worry about playing Max Payne at 1600X1200 FSAA 4X4, then you'd be much smarter to buy a GF2 GTS.

When I said that the GF3 is overpriced I meant that relative to the GeForce2. To simplify it way down... you're getting a 15-20% performance increase for a 100% price increase.

Hope this helped,
Jason

Darkhorse · 08-09-2001, 04:16 PM

JasonC

I agree with you 100% and to a degree I was playing devils advocate.

You have good solid reason's as to why the GF3 is the right bit of hardware for some and not for others.

06-12-2001, 01:30 AM	#1
Finx Foo's Been Banned Join Date: Jun 2001 Location: Glenview , Illinois Posts: 35	Nonsense ( GF3 ) If anyone could tell me why the Geforce 3 is being bought by so many people when you could get an upperend GF2 for less..What are the features that make it worth it?

07-17-2001, 08:19 PM	#5
Microsoft Cooling Savant Join Date: Nov 2000 Posts: 286	cause its a better card thats why and its not a piece of shit filter issue like all the GF2's __________________ Moderator: www.procooling.com take a pill then Aki in Leather: http://www.tenarrus.com/kcdms/akiinleder001.jpg

07-22-2001, 03:21 PM	#8
BrianW Cooling Savant Join Date: Jun 2001 Location: Desert City in California Posts: 631	The Asus Geforce3 ships with VR glasses... I'm sure the effort is justified. __________________ Water Cooled Inwin Q500 (Dual Rads: Rad1 = DTEK Pro Core \| Rad2 = Blick Ice Estreme, Hydor L30, Dangerden Maze2, Bay Res Typhoon Reservoir, 1/2 " DD Tygon Thick Wall Hose). Flow: Res, Pump, CPU watervlock, Y into both rads, both rads into res independently. Athlon XP 1800+ (@ 1731 - 150mhz fsb.), on a Asus A7N266-c, and a Radeon 9000 *waiting for RMA'd Saphire 9800 ultra from Newegg)

06-16-2001, 12:47 PM	#2
Darkhorse Cooling Savant Join Date: Jun 2001 Location: UK Posts: 103	From what I can tell it's mostly market hype & the need to have the latest & fastest. The only feature that really seems to make it better that the GF2's is the anti-alising without much performance loss. I run a GF2 GTS 32MB. Can't see as I'm gonna upgrade anytime soon. I could probably afford it, but don't see the gain as being worth it.

07-17-2001, 08:24 AM	#3
tourist Cooling Neophyte Join Date: Oct 2000 Location: Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia Posts: 17	It's alot faster in 32bit especially high res. I've not seen a graphic card running at 1280x1024 maximum setting in q3 at more than 100fps, except gf3 of course. And the 2d is much better than gf2 series.

07-17-2001, 04:45 PM	#4
Darkhorse Cooling Savant Join Date: Jun 2001 Location: UK Posts: 103	Why would I need 100FPS? That is 1 frame every millisecond. 60FPS is perfectly playable. Would I even notice the difference? If the GF3 gets cheap enough then I will probably get one just to keep my hardware reasonably up to date. As for the 2D, I'll agree with you there. I noticed the GF2 didn't seem to handle 32bit 2D color as well as my old Matrox G400 DH.

07-19-2001, 03:55 AM	#6
tourist Cooling Neophyte Join Date: Oct 2000 Location: Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia Posts: 17	i want 100fps because i don't want it to dip below 60fps. And you obviously forgot 4XFSAA at 30+fps, which is not enough is my opinion.

07-20-2001, 02:45 PM	#7
Darkhorse Cooling Savant Join Date: Jun 2001 Location: UK Posts: 103	So you are all prepared to pay a stupid amount of money to get 100FPS and AA? I don't know about you guys but regardless of how smooth the edges look, the illusion is still spoilt by stareing at a glowing screen. If you matched the GF3 to a decent pair of VR glasses then all the effort of AA and higher resolutions etc seems worth it. Just my thoughts.

07-30-2001, 10:21 AM	#9
JasonC Cooling Neophyte Join Date: Jul 2001 Location: Huntsville, AL Posts: 43	The true beauty of the GF3 won't be recognized for a few more months, probably not even until Christmas. This is because of its new nFinite effects engine, which allows the programmer to actually program in his own effects into his games, rather than having to use a predefined set of effects. While custom effects could be used before, you can imagine that if the card has never seen the effect before, its going to have to do some thinking to perform it, whereas with the new GF3s, the programmer not only codes the effect, but also programs it into the GF3 so that it can access/perform it very quickly. Aside from this, the GF3 is about 15% faster on almost everything right now... except, oddly enough, Q3 at 640X480 (not that you should run this res if you have a GF3). At 640X480 in 16bit (i think) the GF2 outperformed the GF3. This could be a random fluke simply because of the massive fill rates that both cards can perform and the low fill rate demands that the low res requires. But it could also indicate some sort of memory bottle neck in the GF3? I don't know. Either way, the GF3 outperforms the GF2 in all other tests by a good bit. Which is all that really matters. Personally, I think the card is too expensive right now to buy. You are correct in saying that the GF2 is a much better deal. Good gaming, Jason

07-31-2001, 01:49 AM	#10
Darkhorse Cooling Savant Join Date: Jun 2001 Location: UK Posts: 103	You have a good point. Nice to see somebody come up with a valid reason, rather than "because it's fast".

07-31-2001, 05:50 PM	#11
mpfos Cooling Neophyte Join Date: Jun 2001 Posts: 29	I don't think that the GF3 is really over priced. Don't get me wrong I wish it was cheaper, however I do remember buying a diamond viper 550 and a Voodo 2. The cost of both cards together cost more than the GF3 and this was a couple of years ago! So stop whining. if you don't want to buy it then don't. But some of us work really hard to buy this stuff just for bragging rights if nothing else. Why do we overclock/water-cool, put windows in our cases, buy temp probes and all the other Stuff we really don't need? BECAUSE WE WANT IT! Thats why people are buying the GF3's.

08-01-2001, 05:31 AM	#12
Darkhorse Cooling Savant Join Date: Jun 2001 Location: UK Posts: 103	I don't believe I was 'whining'. I was asking what I thought were valid questions. If everybody kept their opinions to themselves then this board would have virtually no posts at all. I'm no different - Do I need Water Cooling? No - Do I want it? Yes. I've got lots of things I don't NEED. The whole point of this thread was 'Is the GF3 worth it?' not 'When I bought an ZX Spectrum back in 1985, it cost the same as GF 2 Ultra does now'.

08-09-2001, 11:46 AM	#13
JasonC Cooling Neophyte Join Date: Jul 2001 Location: Huntsville, AL Posts: 43	Darkhorse, I feel confidant that if you bought a GeForce3 right now that you would NOT be disappointed in its performace. So in that respect, yes it is worth it. However, if you just want to play CounterStrike and don't need to worry about playing Max Payne at 1600X1200 FSAA 4X4, then you'd be much smarter to buy a GF2 GTS. When I said that the GF3 is overpriced I meant that relative to the GeForce2. To simplify it way down... you're getting a 15-20% performance increase for a 100% price increase. Hope this helped, Jason

08-09-2001, 04:16 PM	#14
Darkhorse Cooling Savant Join Date: Jun 2001 Location: UK Posts: 103	JasonC I agree with you 100% and to a degree I was playing devils advocate. You have good solid reason's as to why the GF3 is the right bit of hardware for some and not for others.

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