Radeon, gf2 or kyro11

[savoyl1]

Leadtech 64M pro 5.5ns tvout (not a real pro I know)

ATI Radeon 64M DDR VIVO or

Hercules 3D Prophet 4500 64M (kyro11)

All of these cards are similarly priced in Canada. Which one gives the best bang for the buck and why. I will be running the video card on a ABIT kt7 raid with and AMD 1.1ghz Processor. ( in other words with a via chipset.)

 

[rickn]

You are gonna get different answers. I had a Radeon, I got sick of waiting for game fixes so I bought a Kyro 2 for my 2nd machine. It is a great card, has very solid drivers and would fly on a 1.1ghz cpu, and it is CHEAP price. Radeon has nice features, excellent DVD playback, the drivers are not as good as the Kyro 2's. Both Radeon and Kyro 2 has excellent 2d, the GF 2 *could* leave you blind if you do a lot of 2d work.

 

[savoyl1]

So I take it none of these cards has any issues with the via chipset?

 

[pidge]

Geforce has better compatibility with Via chipsets than Radeon. Don't know about KyroII since I never played around with one.

 

[savoyl1]

Thought there would be more opinions on this subject. I would like to buy one of these soon. Looking for informed opinions. Thanks.

 

[AppleTalking]

They will all give you about the same performance. If you're a fan of the underdogs, get the Kyro II. If you think you could make use of the VIVO capabilities, get the Radeon. If you'd rather go with the tried-and-true solution, go with the nVidia card. Any way you go you really can't go wrong.

Personally, I like the Kyro II. It's got great image quality in 2D, good DVD performance, and plays every 3D game I've thrown at it without a hitch. In Unreal Tournament at 1024x768x32 with 2X FSAA, I get close to 70fps average with 8 players in the game. And it looks perfectly smooth.

There are no compatibility problems that I am aware of between the Kyro II and Via chipsets. I have an Epox 8K7A board with the Via 686B southbridge and I have experienced no problems that I can attribute to the Kyro II.

If you're looking for my advice, get the Kyro II. But you really can't go wrong with any of the three cards.

Good luck!
Nick

 

[savoyl1]

Thanks Nick. I really appreciate the honest input. I was sort of leaning towards that card as I am only an occasional gamer and it gets good reviews on the 2d. I don't have a DVD player at the moment. If I bought this card and an OEM DVD Player would I need to purchase anything else to play DVD's on my computer?

 

[UltraWide]

I had a geforce2 GTS but could not stand the crappy 2D on my sony monitor so i decided to get the radeon. the 2D is very crisp and clear, i am running with win2k and use the whql drivers with no problems so far. i can recommend the radeon fully based on my experiences.

 

[UKtaxman]

I run my Vivid!XS 32mb Kyro2 on an ABIT KT7, so I shouldn't imagine there will be any problems there.
The Kyro2 is likely to gain mnost from future driver releases due to the relatively new nature of the chip. However the GF card is likely to be the most stable of the 3. I'm told that the ATI cards are great, but have a few problems with drivers, unfortunately I don't have one so I can't comment there.

 

[savoyl1]

How about the DVD? Would there be any need to buy any more hardware if I bought an OEM DVD player and the kyro2?

 

[AppleTalking]

You wouldn't need to buy any additional hardware to watch DVDs.

You would, however, need to get some software capable of DVD-decoding. Most DVD drives come with the necessary software, but check to make sure. PowerDVD is a good piece of software; it's what I use. Came with my OEM AOPen 12X DVD-ROM. $41 from newegg.com. Plays everything I've thrown at it.

Nick

 

[savoyl1]

Thanks again Nick. I thought VIVO just stood for video/in video/out. In other words a camera in and a TV out. Was I wrong in that assumption? Is there more to this in the ATI card?

 

[The_Lurker]

I personally have a Radeeon (albeit it's a LE flashed to DDR and etc), but it's fantastic card, i dont have the fastest gaming system but it runs all games well, good solid card with good drivers and fantastic 2d and dvd to boot, i'd definately recommend it!

 

[savoyl1]

Do you need the extra software to play DVD on the Radeon card. I had heard you did not.

 

[TechieJ]

I would recommend the Kyro II although I personally own 2 nvidia cards (Geforce2 GTS and Geforce2 GTS Pro), Radeon LE, and the G400Max for my business oriented needs. If you plan on using your system for cutting edge 3D games (like the power hungry Tribes 2), I would have to recommend either the Kyro II or the Geforce2 GTS Pro. The Kyro II has great driver support evident in their newest driver release which boosted an additional 10 frames in Tribes 2 (making it currently quicker than the Geforce2 GTS Pro in Tribes 2). The Geforce2 GTS, however, has very few compatibilty problems and usually requires much less tweaking at the price of 2D and 3D worse than that of the Kyro II. The Radeon DDR based cards have better 2D and 3D quality than both these cards but are also slower. The Radeon cards also have the best DVD playback.

1)need head spinning frame rates but at lower quality -> Geforce GTS Pro or Kyro II
2)need head spinning frame rates and great quality AND have alot of money to spend -> Geforce III (about 3 times the price of the Kyro II and Geforce2 GTS Pro)
3)need great DVD playback, 2D and 3D quality but at slower frame rates -> Radeon DDR (Radeon DDR All-in-Wonder if you absolutely need great TV output and video input)

I've only used the Kyro II (haven't owned one yet) and have never used the Geforce III, but I currently own every other recommended card in this message.

 

[savoyl1]

Other than VIVO is there any reason the Radeon DDR would be better than the LE version? I am told one can turn the Hyper Z back on the LE and the card is less than Half the price here.

 

[AnitaPeterson]

wait a second...

What you also need is a TV-out, which the Kyro2 does NOT have.
You can output DVD and other stuff to your TV - ever seen a nice Winamp visual plug-in running on a large TV set?

So you're in fact supposed to choose between the GF2 and the Radeon.

By the way, I'm in Canada as well, but I have not seen that Leadtek around (in Ottawa, that is)... my guess is that it's around $260, is that right? Where can you get it?

I have an ASUS v7700 Deluxe, which is VERY good, including 2D (maybe I was lucky!), but it's 32 MB, not 64... and I've last seen it three weeks ago retailing for $250.

 

[rickn]

There is a TV out model of the Kyro 2

 

[powervr2]

2 models
hecules and videologic I don't know if inno3d have tv out yet ...

 

[savoyl1]

Well Anita I have changed my mind due to the price differential for now. The Radeon LE will still be quite a bit better than my present TNT2 m64 and it only cost $120. I will maybe get another card with tvout when the price drops some more. The Leadtek is cheapest here http://www.atic.ca/index.htm but I would pricematch at NCIX for the better service. The price by the way is $280 Canadian. The $120 Radeon LE is here. http://www.bestopdirect.com/WeeklySpecial.asp

 

[AnitaPeterson]

rickn and powervr2



<< There is a TV out model of the Kyro 2 >>



maybe, but not in Canada...
Can't find the Radeon LE with TV-out either...

Don't know what's going on with the Canadian market.

this sucks

 

[rickn]

You can order it directly from Hercules, they are in Montreal Canada. It is $159 US, which is like $240 CDN

 

[savoyl1]

The tv out version is available here for $235 Canadian Anita.
http://www.dealsdirect.ca/catalog/mall.cfm?CATEGORY=55

 

[AnitaPeterson]

Interesting news, thanks!

Does anyone know what the TV-out quality of the Kyro2 is? Any comparison with the Geforce2 and Radeon?

 

[Archknight]

AppleTalking how is the AOpen DVD drives work, does it give good performance?
I know this is kinda not related.

Since you are a occasional gamer 2D is a great concern, I would suggest the Geforce except for its good driver.

Between the Radeon and KyroII, I would pick the Radeon for the crisp 2D and best DVD playback. But the KyroII is not bad in 2D and DVD and have a better driver support than the Radeon. They have frequent drivers updaate since their release.