If this is your first visit, be sure to check out the FAQ by clicking the link above. You may have to register before you can post: click the register link above to proceed. To start viewing messages, select the forum that you want to visit from the selection below. |
|
|
Thread Tools | Display Modes |
#1
|
|||
|
|||
Importance of DirectX 9 compatability
Hi,
I'll be ordering a system with the ATI All-in-Wonder 9000 Pro (http://www.ati.com/products/radeon90...pro/index.html). I like the card because it is relatively cheap, has on screen TV viewing capability, and enough memory (64 MB) to drive the somewhat low-fi games I plan on using (Sim City 4000, Age of Empires) but I am worried because it only states having DirectX 8.1 capability. Is this something I should worry about or is DirectX 9 not an issue for most users? I do plan on doing some basic home video editing if that is an issue. Thanks for the help, Steve. |
#2
|
|||
|
|||
Steve wrote in
: Hi, I'll be ordering a system with the ATI All-in-Wonder 9000 Pro (http://www.ati.com/products/radeon90...pro/index.html). I like the card because it is relatively cheap, has on screen TV viewing capability, and enough memory (64 MB) to drive the somewhat low-fi games I plan on using (Sim City 4000, Age of Empires) but I am worried because it only states having DirectX 8.1 capability. Is this something I should worry about or is DirectX 9 not an issue for most users? I do plan on doing some basic home video editing if that is an issue. Thanks for the help, Steve. If you like FPS games, the first answer that would come to my mind is Half Life 2. |
#3
|
|||
|
|||
I'd say "not an issue" unless you're gaming, and even then, most don't take
advantage of DX9's newer functions yet. -- "Steve" wrote in message ... Hi, I'll be ordering a system with the ATI All-in-Wonder 9000 Pro (http://www.ati.com/products/radeon90...pro/index.html). I like the card because it is relatively cheap, has on screen TV viewing capability, and enough memory (64 MB) to drive the somewhat low-fi games I plan on using (Sim City 4000, Age of Empires) but I am worried because it only states having DirectX 8.1 capability. Is this something I should worry about or is DirectX 9 not an issue for most users? I do plan on doing some basic home video editing if that is an issue. Thanks for the help, Steve. |
#4
|
|||
|
|||
the radeon9000 will be fine for a year at least. albeit you'll probably have
to drop the resolution on future games to keep them playable. it won't be an issue to upgrade to DX9 hardware for awhile yet, all games stating that they use DX9 will have fallback to at least DX8. Doom3 doesn't care if you have DX9 hardware, it uses the feature set of OpenGL 1.4 which all DX8 cards support. also note enter the matrix doesn't use DX9 features, it uses the DX9 sosftware from microsoft, but does not make use of the DX9 shaders, or DX8 shaders for that matter. "EGMcCann" wrote in message ... I'd say "not an issue" unless you're gaming, and even then, most don't take advantage of DX9's newer functions yet. -- "Steve" wrote in message ... Hi, I'll be ordering a system with the ATI All-in-Wonder 9000 Pro (http://www.ati.com/products/radeon90...pro/index.html). I like the card because it is relatively cheap, has on screen TV viewing capability, and enough memory (64 MB) to drive the somewhat low-fi games I plan on using (Sim City 4000, Age of Empires) but I am worried because it only states having DirectX 8.1 capability. Is this something I should worry about or is DirectX 9 not an issue for most users? I do plan on doing some basic home video editing if that is an issue. Thanks for the help, Steve. |
#5
|
|||
|
|||
On Fri, 29 Aug 2003 13:05:03 -0700, Steve wrote:
Hi, I'll be ordering a system with the ATI All-in-Wonder 9000 Pro (http://www.ati.com/products/radeon90...pro/index.html). I like the card because it is relatively cheap, has on screen TV viewing capability, and enough memory (64 MB) to drive the somewhat low-fi games I plan on using (Sim City 4000, Age of Empires) but I am worried because it only states having DirectX 8.1 capability. Is this something I should worry about or is DirectX 9 not an issue for most users? I do plan on doing some basic home video editing if that is an issue. Thanks for the help, Steve. The speed of the card will be more of an impact than DX9 support.. it's passable for today's games but only without all eye-candy, moderate resolutions, and tomorrow's games will be too demanding. Most people experienced in video editing stray away from the AIW cards, in favor of a separate PCI capture and/or tuner, and the traditional AGP video card. Don't those 9000 AIW cards still cost upwards of $150? For $150 you could get a more full-featured tuner/capture card and a significantly faster AGP card, then the next time you want to upgrade the video card the capture card is still viable. Dave |
#6
|
|||
|
|||
Could you recommend a tuner/video capture card and significantly
faster AGP board that cost less than $ 150 together? (I've had very bad luck with Pinnacle products, so I hope you're not going to recommend their capture board). kony wrote: For $150 you could get a more full-featured tuner/capture card and a significantly faster AGP card, then the next time you want to upgrade the video card the capture card is still viable. Dave |
#7
|
|||
|
|||
On Wed, 03 Sep 2003 12:20:27 -0500, Mike Berger
wrote: Could you recommend a tuner/video capture card and significantly faster AGP board that cost less than $ 150 together? (I've had very bad luck with Pinnacle products, so I hope you're not going to recommend their capture board). kony wrote: I don't know your exact needs or whether you need software with the tuner/capture card... many cards have prices reflecting the software more than the card (editing software). Otherwise the cards in this price range are quite similar, with Conexant chipsets and phillips tuner. I also try to avoid recommending particular products because these are hit-or-miss in specific situations, as you apparently found out already with (whichever) pinnacle product. As for the TV tuner function, I still haven't found an interface as clean and straightforward as the now-aged Matrox G-series, and they're more than a little too old to recommend today. The ATI AIW uses a tuner interface resembling an odd VCR front, which works but isn't as intuitive and makes worse use of the space since the video window has space "left over" on the side(s) for a vertical interface. You might try a more video-oriented newsgroup, online reviews, or read some customer feedback at online vendors like http://www.newegg.com Dave |
Thread Tools | |
Display Modes | |
|
|
Similar Threads | ||||
Thread | Thread Starter | Forum | Replies | Last Post |
help. ga-7vrxp raid trouble, compatability and warning | todd elliott | General | 0 | July 17th 03 06:50 PM |