[Evinyatar]

I haven't slept in days now. I keep on pondering on which 3D card I should buy for my G4, even though there are so few options for the Mac. Should I get the Radeon or the Voodoo5? Or should I wait for an AGP Voodoo5 for the Mac or a Mac version of the GeForce? I've seen the GeForce in action on a Compaq in a nearby computer store and it looked stunning. Is the Voodoo5 anything like that? 'course there's the lack of fps on the Voodoo5 for PCI. And how many games actually support that geometry engine in the Radeon?

[Misha]

I personally would go with the Voodoo... I know that the RADEON gets better frame rates, but FSAA is very sweet. Plus, since its PCI you'll be able to add a second monitor to your Mac if you ever desire (I love multiple-display set ups).

[Gregory]

It you are going to use two video cards, make sure that they get along (or the drivers) as it seems ATI and 3dfx drivers can cause performance problems - not sure if V5 and ATI. Was posted on xlr8yourmac forum for video cards.

What do you have now? The AGP Radeon is out, the V5 is now $210 (PCI). 3dfx still has a lot of work to do with their drivers right now, so I'd wait until January and see what's what.

Gregory

[imacman11]

I would definitely wait until the AGP version of the Voodoo5 comes out before making a decision...becuase some of the noted slowdows from the VD5 is that it's on the PCI...Definitely wait until the AGP version comes out (either it's right around the corner or already out...i think it isn't though)

Anyway...I feel your pain...

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Thou shalt go forth and spread the iWord.
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imacman11@bigfoot.com
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www.themacgod.com

[Evinyatar]

But what about the GeForce?

Originally posted by Evinyatar:
But what about the GeForce?

The key word here is "if" .

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Hey everyone: Think Different

[Cipher13]

Well... personally I'd wait for the next generation GeForce using the NV20 chipset - Mac compatible.
I'm sure Mac drivers will be released...
That or the Radeon 2. But if you want it now? Radeon.

Cipher13

[Fyre4ce]

You guys should check out http://www.firingsquad.com/ The site is exclusively PC, but it does have reviews and performance comparisons for popular graphics cards with are finally coming to the Mac. Here is what I understand about the three main graphics cards in the PeeCee world:

ATI RADEON: When using 16-bit colors, this card gets clobbered by both the Voodoo5 and the GeForce2, especially at high resolutions (1280x1024 and higher, and maybe even 1024x768). However, using 32-bit colors, it really shines, soundly defeating both other cards, with its margin of victory actually increasing with resolution. This is why ATI is pushing this to be a 32-bit gaming card.

3dfx Voodoo5: The jewel in this card's crown is FSAA, or full-screen anti-aliasing, which greatly reduces jagged edges that can sometimes form. Besides FSAA, this card does not have a whole lot to offer, although at high resolution/16-bit color it will defeat the RADEON. Make no mistake, though: many hard-core gamers consider this the best card out now only because of FSAA.

nVidia GeForce2: In terms of frame rates, this is probably the best all-around card, easily beating the other two in 16-bit mode and low-res 32-bit mode. This card was defeated in high-res 32-bit mode by the RADEON, however the match-up was between the RADEON 64-DDR (the highest-level RADEON card) and the GeForce2 GTS (the mid-range GeForce2 card). If there were a matchup between the RADEON 32-DDR, the kind that comes in today's G4's, and the GeForce2 Ultra, I am sure the GeForce2 would win at all resolutions/bit depths. This card is not available for the Mac... yet.

Hope that helped.
Fyre4ce

[This message has been edited by Fyre4ce (edited 12-01-2000).]