Throwing out my GeForce2.... questions (kinda long)

I've been building a PC from scratch to replace my old paperweight P3. I
just ordered an ATI 9800 All In Wonder PRO from an online distributor, and
it should arrive any day. I have a few questions that I have not found
suffiecient answers for in my web searching.

Relevant System Info :

Lian Li Alum PC-6010 Tower
Antec TruPower TruBlue 480W PSU
ASUS P4C800-E Deluxe
Intel P4 2.8C modestly clocked to 3.2GHz
Zalman CNPS7000-A Cu
Kingston HyperX CAS2 PC3500 Dual Channel 1GB Kit
19" Elements CRT Monitor

Ok on with the questions -

How is overclocking of the card done? In the BIOS or by tweaking thru
drivers? I'm a n00b here. Is it possible to get speeds closer to the XT line
of cards?

Is the Zalman ZM80-A cooler recommended to use when overclocking? I have
read from Zalman that this cooler is compatible with the AIW version, but I
have also read about people toasting their VidCard by attempting to install
on their ATI. Feedback from people with this cooler, or another 3rd party
cooler would be appreciated here.

My system has a few extras inside that suck an unknown amount of power. The
tower came with an aquarium window kit that requires running an air pump and
cathode tube lighting. 3 case fans run on the FAN ONLY power lead from the
PSU which apparently regulates the voltage to the fans based on temp.
Finally, 2 Hard Drives, CDR/W, and 1 FDD are connected. The question is
about the Power Supply...should I expect to need an upgrade or is the Antec
480 sufficient?

The AIW does not have a DB-15 VGA-out... Will the card come with a DVI -VGA
adapter? The website mentions "YPrPb Out" adapter is included but I have no
idea wtf that is.

The website comparison for the AIW vs Non-AIW shows the cards to have no
difference in performance but one difference has me a bit boggled. The "Bus
Type" specified for the non-AIW says AGP4X/8X as well as on the XT line, but
on the AIW it shows "Bus Type" is just AGP. Is it a typo? Bottom line, does
the AIW perform same as the non-AIW during 3D gaming?

Any feedback is much appreciated here and sorry for the dumb questions...
thanks!

On Wed, 5 Nov 2003 21:48:25 -0800
"Uncooked meat prior to state vector collapse" wrote:

I've been building a PC from scratch to replace my old paperweight P3.
I just ordered an ATI 9800 All In Wonder PRO from an online
distributor, and it should arrive any day. I have a few questions that
I have not found suffiecient answers for in my web searching.

Relevant System Info :

Lian Li Alum PC-6010 Tower
Antec TruPower TruBlue 480W PSU
ASUS P4C800-E Deluxe
Intel P4 2.8C modestly clocked to 3.2GHz
Zalman CNPS7000-A Cu
Kingston HyperX CAS2 PC3500 Dual Channel 1GB Kit
19" Elements CRT Monitor

Ok on with the questions -

How is overclocking of the card done? In the BIOS or by tweaking thru
drivers? I'm a n00b here. Is it possible to get speeds closer to the
XT line of cards?

Is the Zalman ZM80-A cooler recommended to use when overclocking? I
have read from Zalman that this cooler is compatible with the AIW
version, but I have also read about people toasting their VidCard by
attempting to install on their ATI. Feedback from people with this
cooler, or another 3rd party cooler would be appreciated here.

Go with the ZM80-C, which is the newer model. Some folks have cooked
ATI boards with the original ZM-80, without the A or C, as it doesn't
quite fit some boards. This has been discussed at some length--if you
go go google groups and search at.comp.periphs.videocards.ati on keyword
"Zalman" you should find it. I believe there's more discussion at
http://www.rage3d.com, a very valuable resource for anybody who is
tweaking ATI boards.

If you're planning on overclocking, put a fan on the ZM80A or C--it will
run a 9800 fine without one if it's not overclocked, but part of the
game with overclocking is to run everything as cool as your budget
allows.

My system has a few extras inside that suck an unknown amount of
power. The tower came with an aquarium window kit that requires
running an air pump and cathode tube lighting. 3 case fans run on the
FAN ONLY power lead from the PSU which apparently regulates the
voltage to the fans based on temp. Finally, 2 Hard Drives, CDR/W, and
1 FDD are connected. The question is about the Power Supply...should I
expect to need an upgrade or is the Antec 480 sufficient?

The 480 should be sufficient.

The AIW does not have a DB-15 VGA-out... Will the card come with a DVI
-VGA adapter?

If it's a retail-boxed boad, yes--if it's bulk-pack repackaged by the
reseller then all bets are off.

The website mentions"YPrPb Out" adapter is included but
I have no idea wtf that is.

That's the component video adapter to use with a high definition
television.

The website comparison for the AIW vs Non-AIW shows the cards to have
no difference in performance but one difference has me a bit boggled.
The "Bus Type" specified for the non-AIW says AGP4X/8X as well as on
the XT line, but on the AIW it shows "Bus Type" is just AGP. Is it a
typo? Bottom line, does the AIW perform same as the non-AIW during 3D
gaming?

With the 9800 series the clock speeds for the AIW and the Pro are the
same--earlier AIW models tended to be clocked a little lower. The AGP
support is the same for all 9800s--it's feature of the chip.

Any feedback is much appreciated here and sorry for the dumb
questions... thanks!


--
--
--John
Reply to jclarke at ae tee tee global dot net
(was jclarke at eye bee em dot net)