First post, by E.Garak
I am planning to build a new computer for Windows 98 SE. This will be the first PC I’ve ever built for Windows 98 and I have no experience using video cards with this operating system. I need help selecting the right video card to suit my needs.
Notes:
1. I plan to use this system to play both DOS and Windows games. The video card’s stability and performance in DOS and Windows are very important.
2. The Windows games I plan to play on this PC require DirectX versions up to 8.1b
3. I do not really plan to play any games with this system that require DirectX 9.0 or later.
4. A few Windows 98-compatible games that I plan to play on this PC: Battlefield 1942, Deus Ex, Fallout, Fallout 2, GTA III, Half-Life, Medal of Honor: Allied Assault, Silent Hill 3, Silent Hill 4 and Star Trek: Deep Space Nine - The Fallen.
5. Other pertinent hardware: Pentium III-S 1.40GHz, 815e Tualatin-compatible motherboard, 512MB PC133 memory (2x256MB), SB Audigy 2 ZS, 7200rpm IDE HDD.
6. I do not plan to dual-boot this PC with another operating system.
7. I do not plan to add a second video card to this PC.
I have narrowed down my options to the following three Windows 98-compatible video cards:
GeForce4 Ti4600 128MB AGP
GeForce FX 5900 Ultra 256MB AGP
Radeon 9800 Pro 256MB AGP
Which of these three specific cards best suit my needs? I need this card to be stable in both Windows 98 and DOS. It also needs to provide the best performance playing 3D games in Windows (Pre-DirectX 9). I was leaning towards the GeForce FX 5900 Ultra, but I’ve heard conflicting things about the FX-series performance in Windows 98. I would appreciate recommendations from people who actually have experience using any or all of these video cards in Windows 98. I would also like suggestions for the best drivers for the card that you recommend. Thanks all for your help!