How much of an improvement will I see with a GF3..

[LastStop]

Don't laugh but I have used a VooDoo2 (Monster II) card for over 4 years without an upgrade. I am not that much of a hardcore gamer but I do play Half-life/Counter-Strike when I have the time. I know it may be obvious but how much of an improvement should I expect? Will it be like night and day?. I am impressed however with the quality of the voodoo2. I hardly have any slowdowns when playing CS and the picture quality is really good to my standards.

 

[AMD_Man]

Comparing a Voodoo2 to a GeForce3 is like comparing a wheel to a car! It's that much of a difference. Of course, you will need a fast processor to make use of the performance of the card. A 1GHz+ processor will fine.

AMD technology + Intel technology = Intel/AMD Pentathlon IV; the <b>ULTIMATE</b> PC processor

 

[Guest]

For GF3, U need a PII or AMD K6 of 266Mhz minimum, agp 2.0 compilant slot and 64mo of ram

I have a tri processor XP 1900+, i can say that my 'notepad' is very fast now...

 

[LastStop]

Well, I've just upgraded my system to an AthlonXP 1900+/Soltek 75drv2 so no matter what it'll be a great improvement (upgrade from a PIII450). The VooDoo2 card I have in it right now is the last original part that came off my original system that I assembled back in '98.

 

[arsend]

With that MB and Processor, you will be flying faster than a bat out of Hell!!! Compared to your older card.

If it works for you then don't fix it.

 

[Stiffler]

Erm well your specs top notch so the improvement should be fairly substantial, although HL will not push it a great deal. You will, however, have a system that will run any game you put in it without a single sign of trouble !

I am Homer of Borg ! Prepare to be... MMMhhhhh Doughnuts

 

[jihiggs]

with half life/cs you wont notice much, with quake 3, the difference is night and day.

i went to the tomshardware forums and all i got was this lousy signature.

 

[pr497]

if you're just going to play CS...i wouldnt recommend spending too much money for a card...especially since you're not a hardcore gamer.
just settle for a geforce 2ti.
that should be good enough.

<A HREF="http://gamershq.madonion.com/compare2k1.shtml?2096468" target="_new">P4 + SDRAM</A> = <b>BAD</b>

 

[Guest]

Don't Do It Man....
If your not a Major Gamer and are Happy with the Visual Quality and Performance you get with the games you do play, Don't even think about a GeForce 3 card. First off they are still exspensive and you sound pretty happy with your Voodoo 2 and what you use it for.
You should wait untill that Must Have New Game comes out and your current setup just won't cut it to buy another card. By waiting till you truely need a new card you will save Money. If you buy now, you pay a premium price for a card that supports all the DirectX 8 features which you don't need and don't use in your game of choice ( Counter Strike ). If you wait a few months nVidia will have released GF4, ATI it's RADEON PLUS line and PowerVr it's KYRO III and MATROX and it's MatroxFormula 4 ( MF4 ) line at which point the current crop of GF3 and the RADEON 8500 will drop to sub $200.00 prices.
Play the waiting game for now and put a few bucks each week away for your next card.

Take it with you, be a MobileGamer

 

[CoOLMaNX]

since i believe ya were able to play CS fine on that p3 of yours but still upgraded, why not upgrade the vid card also? i got a geforce 3 ti200 for $165 i wasn't really into gaming but since i got the card i really tried different games and found myself addicted. if they can graph my post count (not trying to say its a lot but only way to describe it right now) i bet ya would see a huge decline since i got my card. get what YOU want

didnt have one of em electronic pens so ill just type my name,<i>CoOoLMaNX</i>

 

[texas_techie]

If your not a gamer, then a Geforce 3 is a waste of money. But if you think you might get into games later, it will be worth it. What you should do is get a game that looks interesting to you. Play it with your voodoo and get some screen shots. Then load up the Geforce 3 and compare.
I reccomend the AquaNox Demo, 3dmark 2001 nature demo, and Quake3 demo with highest settings. With those demos, you will see an incredible difference bewteen the two cards.
you can get the 3dMark from madonion.com. AquaNox demo at gamespot.com Quake 3 you'll have to look around for, its old.
In another Year, there should be many games that are Geforce 3 optimized. That will be when the Geforce 3 is truly worth it. Right now there are only a handfull of games that support all its advanced functions. But it WILL improve any game... at least a little

 

[LastStop]

Thanks guys for the info. It seems that most of you come down to the same conclusion, that there isn't that much of a gain in playing counter-strike and that I shouldn't waste my money. However, since I already ordered the card for only $165 (GF3Ti200), I really don't have any regrets. I am always willing to try new games. Can anyone recommend any good games? I've been playing CS and Final Fantasy IX and X for as long as I can remember, I havn't kept up with what's out. Are there any good Myst type of games out there? I really enjoyed those puzzle type of games. Well anyways thanks again.