VOGONS


First post, by softerimage

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Have a Pentium 4 2.8ghz, 2GB RDRAM PC laying around and I've taken to the idea of turning it into a Win NT/2000 PC for old 3D software, mainly Softimage as I have a soft spot for it. I know 3D software mostly benefited from OpenGL cards so I'm wondering what suggestions people would have for that. I could get something appropriate to the era (like 1997~1999), but since it's a Pentium 4 PC I also thought I may as well get something that can go as high as I can so that hopefully render times could be significantly improved.

I know 3DLab cards were king back then and often Softimage certified, but there's so many of the things I can't make a good decision. Originally considered the Oxygen GVX420 before I realized it's apparently not Pentium 4 compatible, so next best is Oxygen GVX210 I suppose. Any other suggestions?

For the record, the PC has an Nvideo GeForce 2 MX400 in it at the moment. I heard this might suffice, but it's not OpenGL dedicated nor is it the best I can probably put into this thing, so gimme any suggestions you got. Anything from the Wildcat series, maybe?

Reply 2 of 11, by softerimage

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You pretty much hit the same conclusion I did after spending the past few hours looking into this. I originally was considering something in the Wildcat III/4 series, but found a blog of the time stating that those only take motherboards that are Intel 7205, 7505, or 875. My board is Intel 850 afaik, so I'm now stuck wondering if the Wildcat II series will work since I have nothing specifically saying which Intel series boards work and which don't, besides knowing I only have a standard AGP slot and not AGP Pro 50. This isn't a workstation system, so that also has me wondering.

I'm mainly avoiding anything Nvidia since my impression is an OpenGL card is best, especially for Softimage.

Reply 3 of 11, by GL1zdA

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A Wildcat II 5000 might work in an non AGP Pro slot with parts of the connector outside. I think the others need an AGP Pro slot.

Quadros were Softimage certified, so they should work without problems. Here is a list of Windows 2000 certified graphics cards and certified workstations

getquake.gif | InfoWorld/PC Magazine Indices

Reply 4 of 11, by softerimage

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Well, I ordered the Wildcat II 5000 since I really want a dedicated OpenGL card, so we'll see what happens. I really need to just get a new retro setup in the near future since having at least dual core would be nice. I'm half expecting the board won't even fit in the casing for my Dell Dimension 8200 😵

Reply 5 of 11, by oeuvre

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Those cases D: they're easy to work on but you can't really reuse them for other stuff.

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Reply 7 of 11, by softerimage

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oeuvre wrote:

Those cases D: they're easy to work on but you can't really reuse them for other stuff.

Still waiting on an HDD I ordered before I see if the graphics card fits inside. Sucks to hear the old Dells aren't too reusable. I'd hope to prove wrong but now you got me worried 😐

Reply 8 of 11, by Schyz

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Look for information about RivaTuner and SoftQuadro. I remember using it for 3D Studio (with some fancy Elsa 3D glasses) in 2001-2002. Performance in games is the same, but 3D design software wouldn't work without the mod.

Reply 9 of 11, by misterjones

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I have a 512MB Geforce 8400GS PCI card that I was using in an old Gateway P4 (e4000 IIRC) that had nothing but PCI slots and a 2GHz processor. The only change I made was to bump up the PSU to a 400W unit because the OEM 235W PSU simply couldn't cut it.

I used the same card with a 2.8GHz Northwood P4 (non HT) in another build and posted the Q3A framerate results here: Quake III Arena Benchmark Thread

Reply 10 of 11, by oohms

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A geforce or quadro card will have no problem with openGL

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