Last month, I mentioned that for my January Article I would be running an "Ask Michael" column where I would answer any hardware questions (problems, upgrades, etc.). It went very well, and here are two of the e-mails and responses. I thought that both of them had some good general advice.
I don't know if I'll be doing another "Ask Michael" column, but feel free to e-mail me with a question that you might have. I may not use it for a column, but I will try to respond to your question quickly.
Dear Michael,
I currently have a VL486DX4 100MHz with 8MB RAM; 540MB IDE Hard Drive and am planning an upgrade. This is my home workstation. I use it for accessing the 'Net, Microsoft Office, and some games. I'd like to run the latest browser, Office '97, and Windows '95 (and update each as available).
My question is, should I go with an upgrade to my existing system: Pentium MMX 200 CPU/Motherboard; 32 MB RAM; 2.6GB Hard Drive (I'd need to be happy with it for a year and a half).Ora whole new system: Diamond Series Pentium MMX 200; 32 MB RAM; 2.6GB Hard Drive (I'd need to be happy with it for 2 and a half years). Or jump up to a Pentium II 233MHz, Intel mainboard, 440FX chipset (I'd need to be happy with it for 3 years).
Response:Overall in almost all situations, I would suggest getting the cheapest but most powerful upgrade you can afford at the time. So in your case I suggest upgrading to a 200 MMX, 32 MB ram and 2.6 GB HD. This is because the computer industry is changing so rapidly that in a year and a half or two you won't want to still be in debt for your computer. If at all possible, you will want to leave your future upgrade options as open as possible. For example, next year many new chips are expected to hit the market, including a new Pentium-II chip from Intel and two new K6 chips from AMD. With all the new technology to come, you won't want to be stuck with a Pentium II 233 for 3 more years. I would definitely suggest a P200 MMX with 32 MB of ram. It should last you about 1.5 years with the programs that you run on it. A Pentium II 233 is faster, but not too much faster than a 200MMX and definitely will not last a year and a half longer
Dear Michael,
Hi. I was just wondering what graphics card to buy. Right now I don't have anything but a 2D card and it really sucks. I'm getting a Monster 3D but I want to get something else. Also do you know anything about the Stealth II 220? I think that's what it is. Is it any good, I mean compared to the top card which ever it may be? And would it be better just to go out and buy a 2D card and a 3D card? If so, what would be a good 3D card. And what is the Stealth II 220? Would it be of any use if I got that with my Monster 3D?
Response:Right now, a good choice for a video card solution is to pick the Nvidia 128 2D/3D chip. It is in a few different cards, but the main ones are the STB Velocity 128, the Diamond Viper 330, and the Canopus Total3D 128V. Its 2D performance is one of the fastest on the market, and the 3D performance is also a very fast Direct3D performer. A downfall to the Nvidia chip is that is doesn't have OpenGL support in Windows 95. The OpenGL support in Win95 was supposed to be ready by the end of this year, but it's January and it's not here yet. Additionally, even though it is has fast 3D, the picture quality is not close to that of other 3D cards. The support was supposed to be ready by the end of this year, but I don't think it'll make that deadline.
As for a 3D add-on card, your best bet would be a 3Dfx card. There are other good 3D add-ons that are cheaper, but performance-wise, 3Dfx will be the best choice. If you can afford to wait a few months, you may want to wait for the Voodoo 2. It is the next 3Dfx chip and will be very fast. On a P2 266, it benchmarked Glquake in 640x480 at about 103fps! Many manufacturers will be making Voodoo 2 based cards, including Diamond, Orchid, Jazz Multimedia, and Canopus. However, the Voodoo 2 cards aren't expected to hit the market until March '98.
The Stealth II S220 is another new 2D/3D-video card from Diamond Multimedia with a Rendition chip. It looks to be a less expensive video card option than the Viper 330 (Nvidia 128 chip). I can say for a fact that it is not as fast, but if you want to save money and plan to get a 3Dfx or Voodoo 2 card as an add-on, you may want to save a little money here. The Direct 3D performance is very good for its low price, but its 2D performance is not quite as impressive.
Prices on these cards are as follows:
- Stealth II S220 has a MSRP of $119
- STB Velocity 128 or Viper 330: MSRP of $199 but can be found for around $180 mail order and I've even seen it in some places down to $150 or $140
- 3Dfx (i.e. Monster 3d): Retail: $199, can be found anywhere from $150-170
- Voodoo 2: It has been announced as "under $300"
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