HW suggestions/Stealth?
3 messages in this thread
I know this gets asked every week or so, but I couldn't find anything
here recently about…hardware.
I about to sink some money into a Pentium to do MM development using
Director. I also plan to continue doing graphic design and
occasional 3DS/AniPro work. I want to find a video card that can
perform well in Windows using SW such as Corel, Photoshop, Quark etc.
as well as perform well in Dos with 3DS. I have heard good things off
and on about the Diamond Stealth card and thought I might try the 2
Mb VRAM PCI version. Any problems concerns with the implementation of
PCI? Might I regret having only 2 MB instead of 4MB…to date I have
done one ambitious animation and a bunch of small bits, but nothing
that (I think) justifies the 4 Mb.
The rest the system I'm looking to put together would be 90MHz cpu,
540 and 340 Mb HDrives, 17" NI monitor, 2x CDROM, 44 Syquest (I
already have this, otherwise I'd get a bigger one!), 16 Mb RAM (for
the moment), and a tape backup.
Any major ommissions here for 3DS work? It's been a while since I've used it or
have been on this forum, so I thought I'd check with people here to get the
latest thoughts on the matter.
-The 2MB Stealth will probably do OK for you. The 64-bit version
should be faster, I'd suspect. If you need 24-bit color in
resolutions higher than 800×600, then go with the 4MB board.
-Most PCI "implementation problems" I've seen have been with the MB,
not the cards themselves. You might want to consider sticking with
the Intel/Neptune chipset, as we've heard of a few problems with
other MBs. Micron Computer has some excellent mail-order deals on
these systems.
-16MB RAM is a real minimum when it comes to 3DS, and also, I'd
imagine, for putting together presentations in Windows/Director. I
highly reccomend "breaking the bank" when it comes to getting as much
RAM as you can possibly afford. You'll save much time and money in
the long run by getting as much RAM as possible right off the bat.
All that swapping out to the HD in 3DS and Windows can really slow
you down and put a crimp in your creative flow.
Hope this helps some,
Thanks for the reply Alan. I just got a quote from Micron yesterday
and am waiting for one from Dell…there are some great deals out
there. I keep trrying to remind myself, though, that whatever I buy
won't be the best deal or product a few months from now..so it goes
<g>.