ftp.xmission.com/2014.06.ftp.xmission.com.tar/ftp.xmission.com/pub/lists/pinsim/archive/pinsim.9812

Internet Message Format | 1998-12-28 | 18KB

From: "Thomas Lindsey" <[e-mail]>
Subject: [PS] Upgrading possibilities
Date: 12 Dec 1998 08:59:09 PST

Just a question (possibly and easy one for most to answer). I currently
have a pentium 90 Mhz chip in my computer (kind of too slow) and a real
crappy graphics card. Also I have only 16 Mb of memory. I really need to
upgrade, a lot of my pinball sims run real crappy, especially in
multiball, in The Lost Continent from Sierra for example. The action is
real choppy, and Timeshock won't even run on my computer. I also have a
small monitor (14"). I know that I need to upgrade, it's just that the
market moves so quickly that I can't figure out what I really need. I
would like to upgrade to run games better (the business applications run
quickly enough for me). I would like to know which graphics card is
suitable for modern sims, and also how powerful my CPU should be for
smooth operation (I would also consider installing a new motherboard).
Any info would definitely be appreciated!

                                Thanks!



Thomas M. Lindsey jr.
[e-mail]
[e-mail]

end


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From: Andrei Goldchleger <[e-mail]>
Subject: Re: [PS] Upgrading possibilities
Date: 12 Dec 1998 16:41:47 -0200

Thomas Lindsey wrote:
>
> Just a question (possibly and easy one for most to answer). I currently
> have a pentium 90 Mhz chip in my computer (kind of too slow) and a real
> crappy graphics card. Also I have only 16 Mb of memory. I really need to
> upgrade, a lot of my pinball sims run real crappy, especially in
> multiball, in The Lost Continent from Sierra for example. The action is
> real choppy, and Timeshock won't even run on my computer. I also have a
> small monitor (14"). I know that I need to upgrade, it's just that the
> market moves so quickly that I can't figure out what I really need. I
> would like to upgrade to run games better (the business applications run
> quickly enough for me). I would like to know which graphics card is
> suitable for modern sims, and also how powerful my CPU should be for
> smooth operation (I would also consider installing a new motherboard).
> Any info would definitely be appreciated!
>
>                                 Thanks!
>

I have an unconfirmed theory about personal computers. If you buy the
top of the line computer today, let's say something like a pentium 450
mhz well equipped  , it'll be good for playing the most recent games
released during 2 - 3 years , but i can't guarantee that, as my computer
is only two years old and i hadn't bough games for a while. My computer
is a 200 mhz pentium(no mmx), whith 32 mb of memory, with an s3 64 bit
video chip(installed on the motherboard) whith 2 mb of memory. I
particulary don't recommend s3 based video cards, as the majority of the
recent games don't offer native support for them, so maybe you should
try something 3dfx based, which is also better...There are loads of
models to choose from, an to be honest I'm  not well informed about
them.Oh, just to mention, timeshock runs  almost smoothly on my computer
at 1024X768 256colors, the only problem is that the game hangs for a
while when loading the music.Hope tha this info will be useful for
you!!!


Andrei Goldchleger

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From: Bryan Fitzhugh <[e-mail]>
Subject: Re: [PS] Upgrading possibilities
Date: 12 Dec 1998 13:37:06 -0600 (CST)

I second Andrei's scenario.  I have a Cyrix 6x86 PR200 with 2 meg of
onboard video and timeshock runs fine for me.  Also only have 32megs of
RAM. Granted I don't run it at the maximum resolution, but from the sound
of your post you'd be happy with the performance I get.  Now I'll say that
onboard video absolutely sucks, and with a 4 or 8meg 3D video card, you
can get MUCH better performance.  I opted for my setup b/c I don't do much
gaming and was on a tight budget when I bought it a year ago.

So...if you're looking to go cheap, I'd look into Cyrix or K6 setup (which
I prefer) and get an 8meg 3d video card.  Definitely get up to 64 megs of
memory...memory's so cheap these days.  I'd look into K6 3dnow300 [or
better].  I think Cyrix MII's are the comparable Cyrix line.  If you just
have to have Intel then go ahead and get a PII. Do some research and
you'll probably be happier...

So that's my $0.02.  Personally, I prefer not to upgrade to top of the
line stuff b/c I don't do much intensive gaming (Quake, etc).  I'm
guessing you're in the same boat.  My view is that if you don't mind
swapping a motherboard, why not get a really good deal on the midrange
stuff and swap it out in a couple of years when you really need to, rather
than pay a premium to ensure maximum longevity for your system?  Plus,
just think of that nice 17" monitor you could get with the money saved on
a PII450...

BTW - a great place to find the best prices for order over the net is
http://www.pricewatch.com/

Best of luck,

Bryan

On Sat, 12 Dec 1998, Andrei Goldchleger wrote:

> Thomas Lindsey wrote:
> >
> > Just a question (possibly and easy one for most to answer). I currently
> > have a pentium 90 Mhz chip in my computer (kind of too slow) and a real
> > crappy graphics card. Also I have only 16 Mb of memory. I really need to
> > upgrade, a lot of my pinball sims run real crappy, especially in
> > multiball, in The Lost Continent from Sierra for example. The action is
> > real choppy, and Timeshock won't even run on my computer. I also have a
> > small monitor (14"). I know that I need to upgrade, it's just that the
> > market moves so quickly that I can't figure out what I really need. I
> > would like to upgrade to run games better (the business applications run
> > quickly enough for me). I would like to know which graphics card is
> > suitable for modern sims, and also how powerful my CPU should be for
> > smooth operation (I would also consider installing a new motherboard).
> > Any info would definitely be appreciated!
> >
> >                                 Thanks!
> >
>
> I have an unconfirmed theory about personal computers. If you buy the
> top of the line computer today, let's say something like a pentium 450
> mhz well equipped  , it'll be good for playing the most recent games
> released during 2 - 3 years , but i can't guarantee that, as my computer
> is only two years old and i hadn't bough games for a while. My computer
> is a 200 mhz pentium(no mmx), whith 32 mb of memory, with an s3 64 bit
> video chip(installed on the motherboard) whith 2 mb of memory. I
> particulary don't recommend s3 based video cards, as the majority of the
> recent games don't offer native support for them, so maybe you should
> try something 3dfx based, which is also better...There are loads of
> models to choose from, an to be honest I'm  not well informed about
> them.Oh, just to mention, timeshock runs  almost smoothly on my computer
> at 1024X768 256colors, the only problem is that the game hangs for a
> while when loading the music.Hope tha this info will be useful for
> you!!!
>
>
> Andrei Goldchleger
>
> [ To quit the Pinball Simulation mailing list, send the message       ]
> [ "unsubscribe pinsim" (without the quotes) to [e-mail] ]
>

-Bryan Fitzhugh
[e-mail]



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From: Martin Mathis <[e-mail]>
Subject: [PS] BOS doesn't work with STB Velocity 4400!?
Date: 12 Dec 1998 17:51:03 -0700

Hi,

does anyone know how to make Balls Of Steel work with the STB Velocity 4400
16MB AGP video adapter? I recently replaced my STB Velocity 128 AGP card
with it and now BOS won't run anymore. It starts up ok into the menu but
when selecting a table, I get a black screen and need to reboot. I tried
the Video Setup but it seems the automatic SciTech detection doesn't know
how to interpret my card and I'm at a loss with the manual video settings
offered. I use the latest STB drivers, DirectX 6.0, Dell FlashBIOS A09, run
Win95 OSR2 at 1024x768, 16-bit color. Hints and tips appreciated... Best,

-Martin

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From: Joel Finch <[e-mail]>
Subject: Re: [PS] BOS doesn't work with STB Velocity 4400!?
Date: 13 Dec 1998 11:33:00 +1000

Hi,

>does anyone know how to make Balls Of Steel work with the STB Velocity 4400
>16MB AGP video adapter?

  If you have already tried the version 6.53 Scitech drivers for BOS, the
best thing I can suggest is to wait until the DirectX version of BOS is ready.

  Many recent video cards, particularly AGP cards, aren't yet supported by
the Scitech drivers - hopefully DirectX support will circumvent this problem.

  We're just about to start testing on the changes now - we plan for the
version 1.2 update for BOS to be available in January.

Seeya, Joel :)

 Joel Finch
 Wildfire Studios Pty Ltd
 http://www.wildfire.com.au

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From: Martin Mathis <[e-mail]>
Subject: Re: [PS] BOS doesn't work with STB Velocity 4400!?
Date: 13 Dec 1998 02:04:34 -0700

Hi Joel,

At 11:33 AM 12/13/98 +1000, the hands of Joel Finch typed:
>  If you have already tried the version 6.53 Scitech drivers for BOS, the
>best thing I can suggest is to wait until the DirectX version of BOS is ready.

Haven't tried that but just downloaded it. Somewhat reluctant to install it
as it's a time-limited trial only and insists on being a system-wide change...

>  Many recent video cards, particularly AGP cards, aren't yet supported by
>the Scitech drivers - hopefully DirectX support will circumvent this problem.
>  We're just about to start testing on the changes now - we plan for the
>version 1.2 update for BOS to be available in January.

OK, looking forward to that. Can wait another month. I'm surprised you
elected to go with a 3rd party driver like that in the first place.

Best,


-Martin

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From: Joel Finch <[e-mail]>
Subject: Re: [PS] BOS doesn't work with STB Velocity 4400!?
Date: 14 Dec 1998 08:48:51 +1000

Hi Martin,

>Haven't tried that but just downloaded it. Somewhat reluctant to install it
>as it's a time-limited trial only and insists on being a system-wide
change...

  There's a version of the 6.53 drivers on our website which is
specifically for BOS, and isn't time limited:

  http://www.wildfire.com.au/projects_downloads.htm

>OK, looking forward to that. Can wait another month. I'm surprised you
>elected to go with a 3rd party driver like that in the first place.

  When we first started the project, some years ago now, it was going to be
a DOS game, and Scitech looked like a great package to use. Things have
changed! ;) Also, at the time, the Scitech drivers were the only ones that
would give us the scrolling screen we were keen to have.

Seeya, Joel :)

 Joel Finch
 Wildfire Studios Pty Ltd
 http://www.wildfire.com.au

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From: "Gregory A. Swarthout" <[e-mail]>
Subject: RE: [PS] Upgrading possibilities
Date: 13 Dec 1998 16:48:58 -0700


A relatively cheap option is an Overdive chip, something like an Evergreen
will take your P90 to P200MMX or P240MMX fro around ú100 & ú125 in the UK,
RAM is also pretty cheap nowadays, I know I have surplus 4mb 72pins doing
nothing if you live in the UK and want a couple let me know. Your other
point about what graphics cards, is almost like asking how long a piece of
string is, practically any graphic card with 2mb of memory will suffice,
obviously if you have a 17"+ monitor and want to play games at 1600x1200
resolotion then you will need something that is above the norm, otherwise
any basic graphics card will do the job. You probably have a certain amount
of limitation with a 14" monitor, the early VGA adn SVGA 14" cannot display
above 800x600 no matter what your graphics card, so that is probably
something you might need to look at. I always advise people to go for the
very best monitor they can afford as that is what they will spend most of
their time looking at, irrespective of how good your PC and peripherals are,
the monitor counts for a lot !.
Hope that helps some.
Rob
[e-mail]

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From: Martin Mathis <[e-mail]>
Subject: Re: [PS] BOS doesn't work with STB Velocity 4400!?
Date: 13 Dec 1998 17:23:31 -0700

Hi again Joel,

At 08:48 AM 12/14/98 +1000, the hands of Joel Finch typed:
>  There's a version of the 6.53 drivers on our website which is
>specifically for BOS, and isn't time limited:

Thanks for pointing it out. I tried but it says "No supported SuperVGA chip
detected". Oh well, was worth a try... At least it tells you rather than
just crash later.
Thanks also for the SciTech background. Interesting. I guess you have to
work with the tools available at the time. It's good to hear you're
dedicated to still updating BOS.
Best,
-Martin

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From: <[e-mail]>
Subject: [PS] Brusa-Airballs
Date: 15 Dec 1998 09:01:57 +0100 (MET)


What are those "airballs"?

-Carsten




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From: Andy Fielding <[e-mail]>
Subject: Re: [PS] Brusa-Airballs
Date: 16 Dec 1998 01:28:50 -0800

>What are those "airballs"?
>-Carsten

Let me guess... They're what British cats cough up?


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From: "Dan Arkkelin" <[e-mail]>
Subject: Re: [PS] Brusa-Airballs
Date: 16 Dec 1998 07:35:13 -0600

"airballs:"  pertaining to the anatomy of a man playing air guitar (not to
be confused with "mouth organs").
Daniel Arkkelin, Ph.D., Professor of Psychology
Valparaiso University, Valparaiso, IN 46383
Tel: [phone] / Fax:  [phone]
mailto:[e-mail]
----- Original Message -----
Sent: Wednesday, December 16, 1998 3:28 AM


>>What are those "airballs"?
>>-Carsten
>
>Let me guess... They're what British cats cough up?
>
>
>[ To quit the Pinball Simulation mailing list, send the message       ]
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From: "LittleWing Online Shop" <[e-mail]>
Subject: [PS] Special offer for Golden Logres
Date: 19 Dec 1998 18:13:11 +0000

Dear Customers,

Hello! We hope everything is going well with you.

**** SPECIAL OFFER!! *****
Today we are happy to announce you our special offer for Golden Logres Internet
Edition.
Now you can get the registration License at 3,000 Yen! ( About US$25.00 at
recent rate ).


***** You can send your order by air mail! *****
We accept your order by fax, fax modem and air mail. If you would send the order
by air mail,
please send it to;

LittleWing Co.LTD.
P.O. Box 30, Toyama Minami, 939-8691 Japan

Please revisit to LittleWing website soon!

On-Line Shop
LittleWing Co.LTD.

FAX:[phone]
http://www.littlewing.co.jp/eng/
[e-mail]


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From: Sam Gabrielsson <[e-mail]>
Subject: [PS] timeshock offer
Date: 29 Dec 1998 17:00:24 +0100

this is a little of a commercial post I suppose, but since it was
troublesome to set up so the product could be sold at $9 discount for a
while (until the last of december) I thought I'd at least try to draw some
attention to it so one copy was sold, anyway timeshock! for $20 at:

http://www.pcpinball.com/store/index.html

merry xmas & happy new year!

-
sam gabrielsson
[e-mail]
www.pcpinball.com

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