🚀 go-pugleaf

EvilBill wrote:
> ~misfit~ wrote:
> > EvilBill wrote:
> > >
> > > True, but I don't have any spare AGP ones, just a PCI TNT2, and I
> > > think that'd struggle just to run XP, let alone some of the other
> > > games I enjoy. <g>
> >
> > Actually, you'd be surprised. It'll run D2 in 2D mode just fine. As
> > for running XP, don't tell me you have the eye-candy turned on? The
> > first thing I do with a fresh XP install is right-click the desktop,
> > go to "Themes" and click "Windows Classic". Then right click "My
> > Computer", Properties, Advanced, Performance, Settings and tick the
> > "Adjust for best performance" box. Then a 2MB PCI Cirrus Logic card
> > (remember those?) will run XP.
>
> The last time I had one of *those*, it was January 1998 and I was
> running Windows 95 OSR2 on a Cyrix 150MHz machine with 32 megs of RAM
> and a 2 gig hard drive. LOL!

Heh! I ran a Cyrix CPU for a while until too many games didn't recognise it 
as a Pentium and wouldn't install. Swapped it for a P166. :-)

> > Ok, the TNT2 won't run a lot of other games but it *will* run D2 in
> > 2D mode (it'll give you the option of 3D when you run the video
> > test, don't make the mistake of ticking it). I find that there is
> > so little difference between the two modes in D2 that it's no big
> > deal. A Celeron 500 and a TNT2 (or one of the multiple 8MB S3
> > Virge's that I seem to have accrued) will run it just fine.
> >
>
> D2, maybe - but I'm not even sure what the impact on my system will
> be of replacing a mid-end AGP card with a truly ancient PCI one. I
> don't know if my monitor will even display anything on it! Plus the
> current nVidia drivers don't do TNT2s any more, I'd have to uninstall
> 94.24 and go back to 61.77 to even get the drivers to recognise the
> card, LOL...

Yeah, I know. I see that nVidia were taking action against a group (name 
escapes me) who were reverse-engineering their newer drivers so that they'd 
work with older cards as well.

> > Heh! There goes your excuse lad! Shame you're not more local to me,
> > I have a ti4200 and a FX5600 both sitting in boxes. My /third/
> > machine is also running a ti4200 that is a bit overkill for what it
> > does. (I made a point of spending any spare cash on any second-hand
> > AGP cards I saw at a reasonable price over the last year. I'm not
> > likely to be in a position to update my PCs soon so am trying to
> > get some "spares" before all AGP cards disappear off the market and
> > the second-hand price gets too high).
>
> I did have an FX5200 back along, unfortunately I sold it on eBay last
> year!

Foolish boy! One thing being broke has taught me; Always have a 
spare/backup. When you can't afford to just go out and buy something it pays 
to have a part 'B'. (Going to pick up a spare Speedtouch 510 ADSL modem I 
begged off a guy who upgraded in an nz computer group on Thursday).

> > Oh, I have a 32MB TNT2 Ultra AGP sitting on the shelf too. <g> One
> > of my machines, the one Shady uses as her second machine for D2,
> > runs a PCI 32MB GF2.
>
> I remember those. <g> Had a 64MB one back in the day when I was
> running an old Duron 800 rig with 128 megs of RAM. LOL

Hehee! I still have a few older rigs. Let's see... PIII 500, Celeron 900, 
1.2, 1.3, 1.4, Duron Applebred 1.6, Athlon XP2400+ as well as my main rig 
(Barton 2500 clocked to 3200 at redued vcore). All machines will run at the 
push of a button and are connected to my LAN/the internet. They're worth 
pennies to sell so I'd rather keep 'em.

> > It doesn't have an AGP slot and the on-board graphics
> > are abysmal (but will still run D2 playably, amazingly). I have
> > another mobo the same, both running 1.4Ghz Celerons. (Nice,
> > efficient CPUs. Shame I'm a bit short of RAM for them and it's
> > twice the price of modern RAM..) However, PCI graphics cards with
> > any grunt are like hen's teeth.
>
> PCI graphics cards are like hen's teeth full stop! AGP ones will be
> soon, too; I don't think anything better than a 7600GS is available
> on AGP nowadays.

I lashed out with my birthday money a couple months ago and bought one of 
those! 256MB DDR-RAM onboard. I don't need the grunt (however, I figured get 
it while I can) but Shady has some demanding dx9 games so I'm letting her 
borrow it for now. I was amazed that it has a molex for extra power but was 
passively cooled. "Was" being the operative word. I fitted a 
thermister-controlled variable-speed 80mm fan, with the sensor wedged into 
the heatsink fins. It starts off at around 900rpm in winter and stabilises 
at around 1,300rpm in Windows, Hits nearly 2,000 gaming. Gotta make it last 
longer I figure.

> Mind you, my machine's PSU and cooling wouldn't be up to taking a
> 768Mb 8800GTX anyway ;)

Hehee!! There's always that.

Cheers,
-- 
Shaun.