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Matrox will have more memory (2-4MB), S3 since its integrated probably only 1MB. Age of cards is similar, so usefull only for 2D. Matrox might have also better image quality....

See this old article: https://books.google.nl/books?id=FTbctntiaHgC … o64V%2B&f=false
It depends a bit on what you do. The 'V+' means it has enhanced video decoding capabilities compared to a regular Trio64.
The Millennium was the benchmark at its introduction, but it is somewhat older (the Millennium II would be a better match for a Trio64V+).
It's a high-end card with VRAM (dual-ported, allowing simultaneous reading and writing), where the Trio64 has cheaper DRAM, which is slower.
As you can see, the Millennium is at the top in some of the Windows acceleration tests, but it can't match the V+ in video.
I would think that for DOS/DirectX games, the Millennium would be the better choice, since you benefit from the VRAM with software rendering. But if you only stick to 320x200/240 resolutions, it won't matter much.

This system is a gaming rig for mid-late 90's games (after that I think my Pentium III takes over). I'll stick with the Millennium for now.

If it's a 2d gaming rig the trio is more compatible with games. The matrox isn't a bad choice and as said it probibly has better image quality but I believe it has issues with fog tables in games where the trio is basically the standard for compatiblity.

soviet conscript wrote:

If it's a 2d gaming rig the trio is more compatible with games. The matrox isn't a bad choice and as said it probibly has better image quality but I believe it has issues with fog tables in games where the trio is basically the standard for compatiblity.

Fog tables are a 3d acceleration issue.
The S3 Trio64V+ does not have any 3d acceleration at all. The Matrox Millennium has some 3d acceleration, but nothing that is compatible with Direct3D or OpenGL, so you won't be able to play many games with it (just a few that Matrox has specifically patched, such as Nascar).
Neither card supports fog tables.

So what would be a good (but affordable) card for this time period then? Like I said, this system is only a Pentium 200 so I'm not going to be playing a lot of heavy 3D games anyway. My memory is a bit fuzzy, but I think I had a similar system from 96-2000.

Both are good 2d cards for the period.
If you want a 3d accelerator for that period, you probably can't escape the VooDoo.

Tempest wrote:

So what would be a good (but affordable) card for this time period then? Like I said, this system is only a Pentium 200 so I'm not going to be playing a lot of heavy 3D games anyway. My memory is a bit fuzzy, but I think I had a similar system from 96-2000.

For a Pentium 200 you don't want to go overboard with a GPU since the CPU will bottleneck it anyhow. I think something like a TNT2 would offer both excellent DOS speed/compatibility AND good 3D acceleration for Win98. They are pretty easy to find and inexpensive too. If you have the budget, you could also pair it with a Voodoo 😀

So something like this? http://www.ebay.com/itm/262433219968

I may have some 'newer' video cards in my spare parts box, I'll check tonight. But like you said, I wonder how much is too much in a older system like this.

I would get something at least with a heatsink, if not with active cooling. That looks like an M64, which is signficantly slower than a regular TNT2. There are many types of TNT2: Ultra, Pro, standard, and M64.
Phil did a good breakdown here:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EiqgbInPYZA

Tempest wrote:

I may have some 'newer' video cards in my spare parts box, I'll check tonight. But like you said, I wonder how much is too much in a older system like this.

Tell us what you have and we can tell you what would be a good fit for your rig. 😀

I'll do that tonight. I have several cards that I picked up from various old PCs. Some look newer (fans and heatsinks) some look older. I do believe I have some sort of Millennium II or whatever Gateway was putting in their PC's in the late 90's.

I've got to admit, this is fun.

Ok this is what I have available:

Dell NVIDIA 32MB VGA AGP
Geforce2 MX400 64MB PCI VGA
Some sort of Matrox MGA Millennium card (looks like this but without the extra board on top: http://www.recycledgoods.com/matrox-vidpc1007 … ory-module.html) - Chip says IS-Storm R2 on it.
Some kind of Dell Trio64V+ card (says 1995 STB Systems Inc on it)

Do you have any more info on the Dell Nvidia AGP? Either that one (depending on what model it is) or the MX400 are the best options from what you listed. The other question is, does your IBM PC 350 have an AGP slot?

I don't believe it has an AGP slot. Bummer.

The MX400 PCI should be a good fit. In 2001 it's not such a great card, but for a 1995-era PC it will be plenty fast. It has about the same memory bandwidth as a TNT2 and almost double the fill rate. 😀

Scali wrote:

Fog tables are a 3d acceleration issue. The S3 Trio64V+ does not have any 3d acceleration at all. The Matrox Millennium has some […]
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soviet conscript wrote:

If it's a 2d gaming rig the trio is more compatible with games. The matrox isn't a bad choice and as said it probibly has better image quality but I believe it has issues with fog tables in games where the trio is basically the standard for compatiblity.

Fog tables are a 3d acceleration issue.
The S3 Trio64V+ does not have any 3d acceleration at all. The Matrox Millennium has some 3d acceleration, but nothing that is compatible with Direct3D or OpenGL, so you won't be able to play many games with it (just a few that Matrox has specifically patched, such as Nascar).
Neither card supports fog tables.

Ok, you right. Got confused. The trio is still more compatible across the board though a little boring.

I had posted this in another thread recently, but it may be pertinent to this subject, so I'll repost it:

Just wanted to mention, there is one game I found that doesn't like S3 Virge cards. Alien Logic. The game works, but has strange shimmering pixel artifacts on most screens in the game. I tried this with a Diamond Stealth 3D 2000 Virge DX and an STB Velocity 3D Virge VX, both had the same problem. Installing a Matrox Millennium surprisingly made the problem vanish.

If anyone else could test this game with a similar card, play it for a bit and let us know if you see these glitches.

Not sure if this applies to the Trio64V as well.