On Thu, 04 Sep 2003 08:53:19 -0400, Frustrated
wrote:


Putting an extra load on the power supply was also a concern.
I have an extra fan installed on the Voodoo card, so I'm not worried
about heat.

The budget-end cards "probably" wouldn't be a problem, they're not
very power hungry compared to the high-end cards.


Now for many people a separate PCI tuner/capture card is a better
alternative, because they're more flexible and can be used independent
of the video card. ATI's multimedia software can also be
hit-or-miss.. if it works it works but if not you may have a lot of
hasstles with it.

Which would mean doubling up the cards on an interrupt. I already have
the Voodoo and modem doubled up on an interrupt.

You may be overly concerned about this, after all plenty of people do
have capture cards and modems in their systems, working fine.



http://www.techspot.com/tweaks/voodoo3/index.shtml

I checked out the third party pages for drivers. I couldn't really
find anything for the Voodoo3 3500tv card.

I've not used a Voodoo3 3500TV, but wouldn't it be the same as any
other Voodoo3, same driver, just the multimedia suite software is what
it has beyond any other Voodoo3? Perhaps it's irrelevant if you feel
you've outgrown the card.

Another factor is video memory. Mine only has 16mb and I really should
go to at least 64mb.

For 3D gaming yes, but for other uses it's extremely rare to need
64MB... one benefit might be seen when editing very large images in
zoomed mode.


I hate to make changes when a system is working well, but then it does
prevent me from running some newer software.

This new software won't run because you lack DirectX8? Did you try
installing DX8?


I wouldn't be opposed to a separate card for video capture. I don't
use the TV or FM functions that often.

So based on that, what cards would you recommend?

The majoriy of cards are more similar than different, primarily
differing in the I/O ports available and software. The
Conexant/Brooktree chipset cards have and are still the standard
configuration for a PC capture card, are offered as essentially the
same card with minor differences from many brands. You might go to an
online vendor like http://www.newegg.com and browse their selection,
noting ports offered (in the pictures if not the descriptions) and
read the user reviews. The software can be a user preference, the
same features are common but if you're accustomed to a particular
software (like that with the Voodoo3) then your productivity might be
best with a similar interface. Since I don't know what the Voodoo
software is like I don't even know where to begin there, but online
reviews often show screenshots so that might be helpful.


Dave