98-Guy Posted August 2, 2008 Share Posted August 2, 2008 I'm going to build several Asrock-based win-98 systems and was wondering what Nvidia-based video card should I be trying to obtain for them.I'm thinking nothing less than a 6200 with 128 or 256 mb of memory (likely DDR-2). Board must have dual monitor support (this is probably standard).The Asrock motherboards have both PCIe and AGP. My concern is that I'm not likely to find a 7xxx-based Nvidia card that's AGP, and PCIe is (in my experience) problematic for win-98.I'm also hazy on the LE/GS/GX/what-ever when it comes to nvidia. If someone could explain the differences between the various letter combinations, that would be useful, as well as if (or why) a 6200-xx board is (or is not) better than a 6600-yy board vs a 7xxx-zz board.So basically my question is:What is the best-performing Nvidia-based video card (AGP or PCIe) that I can buy today (for under $150 and preferrably under $80) that is known to work on win-98 with little or no issues (like driver availability or stability). ? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
alexanrs Posted August 2, 2008 Share Posted August 2, 2008 The Asrock motherboards have both PCIe and AGP. My concern is that I'm not likely to find a 7xxx-based Nvidia card that's AGP, and PCIe is (in my experience) problematic for win-98.I think you should be able to find a 7600 AGP.I'm also hazy on the LE/GS/GX/what-ever when it comes to nvidia. If someone could explain the differences between the various letter combinations, that would be useful, as well as if (or why) a 6200-xx board is (or is not) better than a 6600-yy board vs a 7xxx-zz board.It is simple, actually. the first number is the family and the second is the model, and the rule is, higher model, higher performance, so a GF 6600 beats a 6200, and a 6800 beats both. If I am not mistaken, a 7600 should beat a 6800, but I'm not sure.About the LE/GS/GX, well, I do not know exactly. But the thing is, AFAIK, avoid LE, and I think GS is the better one.What is the best-performing Nvidia-based video card (AGP or PCIe) that I can buy today (for under $150 and preferrably under $80) that is known to work on win-98 with little or no issues (like driver availability or stability). ?Some GF 7600 or some 6800 Xt should do the trick. Beware, though, these cards might need to be connected to the power supply using one of those cables IDE HDs use. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rjecina Posted August 2, 2008 Share Posted August 2, 2008 If you buy Nvidia 6x00 card you can use official drivers.For Nvidia 7x00 you must use non official drivers Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
98-Guy Posted August 2, 2008 Author Share Posted August 2, 2008 If you buy Nvidia 6x00 card you can use official drivers.For Nvidia 7x00 you must use non official driversI don't particularly care if the drivers are official or not. I care that I get a board that has known-working win-98 drivers - and the drivers are not a pain to obtain.And I take it that there is still nothing definative as to whether or not an Nvidia PCIe board will work with win-98 given the most modded or hacked driver available at this time.Tiger direct is offering these AGP:GeForce 6600 GT - 256MB DDR3, AGP 8x, DVI, VGA, TV Out ($68)XFX GeForce 6200 - Ultrasilent Cooling, 512MB DDR2, AGP 8x, DVI, VGA, TV Out ($74)EVGA GeForce 7600 GT Superclocked / 512MB DDR2 / AGP 8x / DVI / VGA / HDTV ($135)And these PCIe:Sparkle GeForce 7200 GS 256MB DDR2, DVI, VGA, HDTV ($37)KFA2 GeForce 7300 LE 256MB DDR2 , Supporting 512MB with Turbocache, DVI, VGA, TV Out, OEM ($41)KFA2 GeForce 8400 GS 256MB DDR2, Supports 512MB, (Dual Link) DVI, VGA, HDTV ($41)Diablotek GeForce 6600 - 512MB DDR2, DVI, VGA, TV-Out ($49)(and a lot more)Basically, a lot more PCIe, and they're cheaper than the AGP versions. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
alexanrs Posted August 2, 2008 Share Posted August 2, 2008 Tiger direct is offering these AGP:GeForce 6600 GT - 256MB DDR3, AGP 8x, DVI, VGA, TV Out ($68)XFX GeForce 6200 - Ultrasilent Cooling, 512MB DDR2, AGP 8x, DVI, VGA, TV Out ($74)EVGA GeForce 7600 GT Superclocked / 512MB DDR2 / AGP 8x / DVI / VGA / HDTV ($135)6600 beats the crap out of that 6200, even though it has less memory.... I don't think ultrasilent cooling alone is worth the price difference....Anyway, get the 7600 if you want AGP. And these PCIe:Sparkle GeForce 7200 GS 256MB DDR2, DVI, VGA, HDTV ($37)KFA2 GeForce 7300 LE 256MB DDR2 , Supporting 512MB with Turbocache, DVI, VGA, TV Out, OEM ($41)KFA2 GeForce 8400 GS 256MB DDR2, Supports 512MB, (Dual Link) DVI, VGA, HDTV ($41)Diablotek GeForce 6600 - 512MB DDR2, DVI, VGA, TV-Out ($49)(and a lot more)WTF?! An 8400 not only should beat the 6600 BADLY, but also support DX10 (if you ever need it)... I'm not sure if the unnoficial drivers work with 8x00 series cards.... anyway... if you really go for PCI-e, get a 7600 at least... a 7800 or 7950 if the price isn't much higher... don't waste your money on that 6600 or anything from that family, not for PCI-e at least... it isn't worth it, you can get better for at about the same price... now, if there are no 7600 or higher avaliable (and 8x00 cards really do not work on 98), then that 6600 is probably better than the 7300... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dencorso Posted August 3, 2008 Share Posted August 3, 2008 (edited) Whatever card you decide upon, don't buy any having more than 256 MiB of RAM or you'll run into trouble with VCache and the DOS Boxes. Read posts #160 to #179 from this thread:NVidia drivers 82.69 for more info. HTH Edited August 3, 2008 by dencorso Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Offler Posted August 3, 2008 Share Posted August 3, 2008 i have Ati x850xt. supreme performance and compatibility. i have tried nvidias, but it was not what i was seeking for. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
98-Guy Posted August 3, 2008 Author Share Posted August 3, 2008 I guess the best info regarding how to decode the various Nvidia model numbers is by looking here:http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/GeForce_6http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/GeForce_7http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/GeForce_8_Serieshttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/GeForce_9_SeriesQuestion:If I don't intend on playing any games, should I care how many pixel shader units or vertex pipelines my video card has?If I want on-screen video playback to be smooth, and for other aspects of desktop computing to be fast, are there benefits in getting, say, a 7600 GT or 7800 GTX vs a 6600 GT? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
alexanrs Posted August 3, 2008 Share Posted August 3, 2008 If I don't intend on playing any games, should I care how many pixel shader units or vertex pipelines my video card has?NopeIf I want on-screen video playback to be smooth, and for other aspects of desktop computing to be fast, are there benefits in getting, say, a 7600 GT or 7800 GTX vs a 6600 GT?I think NVidia has a PureVideo technology for playing videos, but has to be insalled (and perhaps purchased?) separatedly... and I think 7x00 cards supports more features for PureVideo. Apart from that, any crappy FX5200 is probably good enough... unles you want to use Vista! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
osRe Posted August 3, 2008 Share Posted August 3, 2008 (edited) I think the latest NV drivers for 9x only support series 6 (but it's possible that it's not supported well, not that I know of anything specific). Larger model numbers aren't necessarily better than lower ones:6600GT is most likely faster than 8400GS. I suspect even 6600 non-GT might be faster in some cases.5200 Ultra is faster than 5500.Etc.If you can buy off eBay, there are nice older gaming cards like the 4200.DirectX 10 support is, of course, completely irrelevant for Win98.Hardware video decoding is nice, but I'm not sure Win98 can support it at all, and if it can, it still needs suitable drivers and software which may not be available.And if you don't play games there's no need for a modern card. Normal video playback (software decoding) will work fine with any card from the last years (even cards from 1999-2000 might do okay). If it's just for desktop/video, you may be able to find a new passively cooled 5200 that will do just fine. Edited August 3, 2008 by shae Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
aqcww Posted August 4, 2008 Share Posted August 4, 2008 ati x700 or 800gto is the best for win98.it is perfect to run on win98. i'm using 800gto,256mb,256bit~ Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
alexanrs Posted August 4, 2008 Share Posted August 4, 2008 (edited) I think the latest NV drivers for 9x only support series 6 (but it's possible that it's not supported well, not that I know of anything specific). Larger model numbers aren't necessarily better than lower ones:AFAIK, the support is good.6600GT is most likely faster than 8400GS. I suspect even 6600 non-GT might be faster in some cases.5200 Ultra is faster than 5500.Etc.Honestly, I doubt a 6600GT is faster than a 8400GS. I have both a 6800Xt (AGP) and a 8600GT (PCIe), and the 8600 beats the 6800 like a train vs a toy car: I can run Overlord in 1440x900, high settings, with the 8600 with good constant fps, I can only run with my 6800 in 960x720, Medium settings and I have bad fps drops in intense scenes.If you can buy off eBay, there are nice older gaming cards like the 4200.DirectX 10 support is, of course, completely irrelevant for Win98.A 4200 can be better than a 5200 in some cases...Hardware video decoding is nice, but I'm not sure Win98 can support it at all, and if it can, it still needs suitable drivers and software which may not be available.I think it is supported, but I'm not sure...And if you don't play games there's no need for a modern card. Normal video playback (software decoding) will work fine with any card from the last years (even cards from 1999-2000 might do okay). If it's just for desktop/video, you may be able to find a new passively cooled 5200 that will do just fine.Passively cooled = no noise at all [], take this into account when buying a card! Remember to use someting like CPUIdle if your CPU cooler speed can be adjusted dynamically.... even less noise!!!! Edited August 4, 2008 by alexanrs Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
98-Guy Posted August 4, 2008 Author Share Posted August 4, 2008 6600GT is most likely faster than 8400GS. I suspect even 6600 non-GT might be faster in some cases.5200 Ultra is faster than 5500.Etc.Honestly, I doubt a 6600GT is faster than a 8400GS. I have both a 6800Xt (AGP) and a 8600GT (PCIe), and the 8600 beats the 6800 like a train vs a toy car: I can run Overlord in 1440x900, high settings, with the 8600 with good constant fps, I can only run with my 6800 in 960x720, Medium settings and I have bad fps drops in intense scenes.Peak pixel fill rate:6600 GT -> 2.0 giga-pixels/sec8400 GS -> 3.6 giga-pixels/secPeak texture fill rate:6600 GT -> 4.0 texel/s8400 GS -> 3.6 texel/sBandwidth:6600 GT -> 16.0 GB/s8400 GS -> 6.4 GB/sNumber of texturing units:6600 GT -> 88400 GS -> 8Memory bus width:6600 GT -> 128 bits8400 GS -> 64 bitsJust a quick comparison between the 6600 GT and 8400 GS - I don't see any clear advantage to the 8400 GS, and in some cases it definately is inferior to the 6600 GT. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
glocK_94 Posted August 4, 2008 Share Posted August 4, 2008 You can check this little chart out.However, if you don't wanna play at all, just buy a cheap 5200 / 6200 with dedicated memory (avoid Turbo cache), less than 512mb of VRAM and passive cooling. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
alexanrs Posted August 4, 2008 Share Posted August 4, 2008 Just a quick comparison between the 6600 GT and 8400 GS - I don't see any clear advantage to the 8400 GS, and in some cases it definately is inferior to the 6600 GT.Interesting, didn't know 6x00 cards had some juice left ;-)According to the chard, a 8600 GT IS superior to a 6800 GT (6800 GT>Xt, soooooooo), but an 6600GT is superior to an 8400GS. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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