About using two 3D cards...

[Sik]

I was thinking about change the 3D card... However, it's integrated in the video card, so it's change both 3D and video card, or put both cards together. I was planning this last thing, but what will happen first?

• Both 3D cards working at the same time (impossible, sure)
• Only one 3D card working
• Conflict between drivers (and crashing)
• Conflict between drivers (but scrambling pictures)
• "No 3D card found" error
• A worse thing...

What do you think?

 

[brianv]

Arent 3d card and video card the same thing?

 

[EvilCowSlayer]

Yeah, you're not making much sense there. What 2 cards do you have?

 

[Sik]

Arent 3d card and video card the same thing?

NO, THEY AREN'T. Video card is the one that shows the image on the monitor. 3D card is the one that manages 3D polygons and that kind of things in 3D games. Other thing is have both things in the same card.

ECS, I have a S3 Virge Unichrome Graphics... And the same name appears in both video and 3D cards...

 

[EvilCowSlayer]

The 3D chipset is put on the video card itself. I've never heard of a card JUST for 3D,

 

[Sik]

Really? My video card is the first that I know that have the 3D chipset inside.

 

[EvilCowSlayer]

Odd.... every card here handles 3D and 2D at the same time.

 

[Shuffle]

I'm pretty sure that Video cards and 3D cards are te same thing. :/

 

[Shadow Hog]

Looking over old game magazines, I can confirm that, at one point in time, 2D video cards and 3D video cards were different things.

Nowadays, though, either the 3D cards multitask by default or XP can display stuff on its own...

 

[EvilCowSlayer]

Yeah, because 3D without a software renderer was so radically new back then. Doom used a software renderer, meaning you didn't need a 3D card to run it.

 

[Shadow Hog]

Well, since I didn't specify, I was talking back when the FIRST Half-Life was being released (ah, good game, good game...), so it was actually pretty recent if you ask me.

Even if it's been seven-or-so years. It still FEELS recent, dangit! }:O

 

[EvilCowSlayer]

Exactly. That's why Half-Life came with a software renderer. These days, not too many games come with them. UT2004 and maybe HL2, but that's about it.

 

[SSNTails]

All modern video cards handle 2D and 3D on the same chip. The last 3D-only card was the 3Dfx Voodoo2.

You can have more than one video card in a system at a time. You just tell Windows which one you want to be the primary one.

 

[Eidolon]

Software renderers are so good when it comes to crappy computers, such as mine. If only PSOBB came with software rendering modes... and WoW...

 

[EvilCowSlayer]

All modern video cards handle 2D and 3D on the same chip. The last 3D-only card was the 3Dfx Voodoo2.

You can have more than one video card in a system at a time. You just tell Windows which one you want to be the primary one.

Right, be sure to specifically specify which is master and which is slave. I accidently set both my CD drives to master once, and the conflict slowed my whole comp down massively until I fixed it.

Software renderers are so good when it comes to crappy computers, such as mine. If only PSOBB came with software rendering modes... and WoW...

Well, you can get a good g-card for cheap. My Geforce 6600GT was $170... I think you could be happy with a 6200 or even a FX5700... they cost $90 and $70, respectively.

 

[Sik]

Guys, I don't want a new 3D card for SRB2, software render is good for me (a lot of games reaches the 60FPS in software mode), I want a new 3D card for Sonic Heroes... Actually, it runs at less than 10 FPS in my computer for that issue (and the hardware is above the RECOMMENDED, except for it). I don't know why Sega uses the same engine used in consoles for PCs... PCs needs more power than consoles for handle the same things at same speed (consoles are adapted for do specially this kind of things and run faster then).

 

[EvilCowSlayer]

No, consoles are just 128-bit and therefore a lot more efficient than 32-bit PCs. Nothing to do with the engine. For Sonic Heroes, get yourself a Geforce 6200 or FX5700.

 

[Shadow Hog]

Consoles are not 128-bit except for the PS2, and as you may have noticed, it's not exactly the most powerful of the three.

 

[EvilCowSlayer]

Yes, consoles are 128-bit. They've far surpassed their PC bretheren. How do you think Halo 2 can run on a 733 mHz modified P3? The processor was modded to support 128-bit. Why do you think they called it the N64? It supported 64-bit. Quite some time later, PCs are just waking up to 64-bit.

 

[Shadow Hog]

Or, you have no idea what you're talking about.

Let me put it this way. I recall reading all THESE stats on HowThingsWork, and I'm sure Wikipedia and the like will back me up here. These are the processors in all of our current consoles (and the DC, for the heckuvit):

DC: 32-bit
PS2: 128-bit
Xbox: 32-bit
GC: 32-bit/64-bit hybrid

It's a bad argument, man. The days of x-bit meaning a console is more powerful are WELL over. Heck, the GBA is 32-bit, but I don't see Square porting FF7 to it anytime soon, even without the movies (so as to save space).