GeForce 256 DDR for vintage pc

[Xray1281]

While building my old pc it seems this graphics card has been practically unobtainable. Does anybody know where it might be possible to find one?

[Unknown_K]

No idea outside of ebay when they show up or from a collector. You could try the original Quadro which used the NV10 chip also.

[Phreeze]

as always: save your ebay search. also save searches for particular models like "creative annihilator". Many sellers don't know the chip and don't put "geforce 256" in the titel. first learn how to ebay, then you will be successfull Also use local groups on facebook and just look for "pc parts" "old pcs" etc. ! Collecting doesn't mean you can just "shop" your stuff together it's hard work

[SPBHM]

there is a seller with 3x Elsa Gloria II Pro for $50 each on ebay

[ph4nt0m]

Why are you looking for this card? Unless you want it for your collection, a GeForce2 GTS or Ultra or Ti offers much better performance and less trouble.

[appiah4]

Just buy a GF2 MX400. I have 2 in my collection but when I need to use these cards, I just buy another cheap MX400 instead.

[SpectriaForce]

I have an Asus SDR version for sale if that's good enough for you (I don't sell on this forum and it's not cheap though).

[Pabloz]

last year i was able to find one, DDR version for 20dollars. I am so happy, it was the chance of a lifetime.
during that era there were many brand from taiwan that are no longer with us, i got one of those but i dont care as the chip is geforce256. Probably i will never use it and die with me

[The Serpent Rider]

I think the rarity of GeForce 256 is "slightly" exaggerated, at least for 32mb cards.

[rasz_pl]

there is a seller with 3x Elsa Gloria II Pro for $50 each on ebay

"RETURNS: Returns are not accepted. All sales are final. Buyer pays for returning the item if allowed by Ebay as a result of a dispute. All shipping charges are not refundable.
DISPUTES: This item is sold As-IS with all faults and imperfections if any. It is non-returnable. We make every effort to make sure the description is as accurate as possible. Any errors or omissions in the listing shall not be grounds for returning the item. It is sold As-IS and Non-Returnable. If Ebay permits the buyer to return the item to the seller as a result of a dispute, the buyer agrees and shall pay a 25% restocking fee. In addition, the buyer agrees and shall pay the return shipping charges including insurance. Buyer also agrees that the all shipping charges are not refundable."

Conditions of this listing are against Ebay rules.

"sealed static bag, All Sales are final. There are no warranties. Sold AS-IS "

= broken cards. All it takes is a clothes iron and bam, sealed "new" card.

I agree on MX400, same performance at a fraction of the price. 256 is a collectors item, was originally sold during a very narrow window. Nvidia was shitting out new generations of products every couple of months during 3dfx fight!
Riva 128 (April 1997) to TNT (June 15, 1998) took 14 months, TNT2 (March 15, 1999) 8 month, GF256 (October 11, 1999) 7 months, GF2 (April 26, 2000) 6 months, | 3dfx dies here |, GF3 (February 27, 2001) 9 months, GF4 (February 6, 2002) 12 months, FX (March 2003) 13 months, etc ...

[swaaye]

NV15 is the NV10 that works right.

MX400 is a nice chip too.

[Fusion]

Back in '99 The GF256 was THE card I wanted. I still do!

[greasemonkey90s]

I lucked out on offer up on hercules ddr 256 for 20 and 1 creative annihilator ddr 256 for 25 on facebook marketplace. My sdr visiontek i found in a bin full of cards i bought for 10 bucks on craiglist. I had better luck finding gems hunting them down off of ebay. Then i again i live california .

[SPBHM]

there is a seller with 3x Elsa Gloria II Pro for $50 each on ebay

"RETURNS: Returns are not accepted. All sales are final. Buyer pays for returning the item if allowed by Ebay as a result of a dispute. All shipping charges are not refundable.
DISPUTES: This item is sold As-IS with all faults and imperfections if any. It is non-returnable. We make every effort to make sure the description is as accurate as possible. Any errors or omissions in the listing shall not be grounds for returning the item. It is sold As-IS and Non-Returnable. If Ebay permits the buyer to return the item to the seller as a result of a dispute, the buyer agrees and shall pay a 25% restocking fee. In addition, the buyer agrees and shall pay the return shipping charges including insurance. Buyer also agrees that the all shipping charges are not refundable."

Conditions of this listing are against Ebay rules.

"sealed static bag, All Sales are final. There are no warranties. Sold AS-IS "

= broken cards. All it takes is a clothes iron and bam, sealed "new" card.

I agree on MX400, same performance at a fraction of the price. 256 is a collectors item, was originally sold during a very narrow window. Nvidia was shitting out new generations of products every couple of months during 3dfx fight!
Riva 128 (April 1997) to TNT (June 15, 1998) took 14 months, TNT2 (March 15, 1999) 8 month, GF256 (October 11, 1999) 7 months, GF2 (April 26, 2000) 6 months, | 3dfx dies here |, GF3 (February 27, 2001) 9 months, GF4 (February 6, 2002) 12 months, FX (March 2003) 13 months, etc ...

I'm not recommending the seller at all, no idea, but he does have 100% record (but not a lot of activity), and if his "rules" are against paypal/ebay rules, wouldn't those be the rules that stands in case of a dispute?
the cards are nice I think, NV10, 64MB DDR


anyway, isn't the MX400 clearly slower than a 256 DDR?

I know it does fine against the SDR model, but most MX400s have 166 ram and not 175 like the specs, also some are actually more like MX200s (64bit SDR) always be careful with that, there is also the MX400 DDR but it runs with 64bit bus, still if it can clock higher than the SDR it's probably better

also, if you are going MX400, is there a really good reason to stop there and not go NV17? AFAIK it has good 98 drivers and all.

[appiah4]

anyway, isn't the MX400 clearly slower than a 256 DDR?

Nah. Pretty much on par with a 256 SDR, and overclocks rather well.

[ph4nt0m]

GF 256 has 4 pixel pipelines with 1 TMU each @ 120MHz
GF2 MX400 has 2 pixel pipelines with 2 TMUs each @ 200MHz

Not much difference especially vs. the SDR version.

GF2 Ultra or Ti has 4 pixel pipelines with 2 TMUs each @ 250MHz

It was much faster than GF 256. So fast that most of the time its performance was memory bandwidth limited. Could be overclocked to 300MHz, too.

[SPBHM]

I can find some tests where the 256 DDR looks clearly better than the MX (this is the classic MX, so 175/166, most MX400s are 200/166, officially it was 200/175, but I don't think it would change enough of this graph if the result is mostly memory bandwidth limited)

https://www.anandtech.com/show/570/18



(the problem with this result is that it's with a higher res than one would normally use I would think, but, most of the other results I find are too CPU limited it seems)

oh well, I totally cannot disagree that the MX400 for a lot less money delivers a similar experience, but then again, why stop there and not go for a MX440? it's basically a cheap geforce 2 GTS+ (be it Ti/Ultra), if the model is decently clocked... both the 400 or the 440 are not NV10, from 1999, or anywhere near the best when they were new.

[appiah4]

At 1600x1200 the fillrate/bandwidth will bottleneck the MX400 but seriously who will play at 1600x1200 on these hardware? Anyway, even in this scenario it's 10% or so behind the GF256 SDR, so yeah.

[ph4nt0m]

It's funny how V5 5500 is the same to V4 4500 in this graph. SLI is clearly not working. V5 5500 was way faster than GF 256 DDR and about as good as GF2 GTS. Probably even better with the current drivers.

[appiah4]

Seems to be a testing error; it's fast as hell in Quake 1600x1200 and UT 1280x1024.