QUESTION

Here's my system:

• Dual 450 MHz Intel Pentium II
• 128 MB RAM
• 18 GB Seagate Cheetah Ultra2-Wide SCSI hard drive
• Matrox Millenium II AGP video card with 16 MB of WRAM
• 250 MHz RAMDAC
• 21" Viewsonic P815 monitor
• DOS and Windows 3.X

Hi.

First, allow me to say that I greatly appreciate your magazine.

Moving along, just so you know a little about me, I am a soon to be info-systems graduate from Algonquin College and am in the process of building my own computer. Just so that there is no question as to what type of system I am building, this is a work-station class system. Some of the components I currently have include a Tyan S1832 100 dual 450 MHz Intel PII Motherboard, 440BX chipset, 128 MB of 100 MHz System RAM, an 18 GB Seagate Cheetah Ultra2-Wide SCSI Hard drive and so forth . . .

Along with regular word processing and other common stuff, this computer will be used heavily for CAD/CAM applications, some moderately serious gaming, (including Tomb Raider, X-wing vs. Tie Fighter, Hexen II, Quake, and so forth), and other 3D applications.

The issue of selecting a video card has been decided: I will be choosing a Matrox Millenium II AGP card with 16 MB of WRAM with the 250 MHz RAMDAC. My images will be displayed on a 21" Viewsonic P815 monitor.

I realize that this is a monster of a card and that the other components aren't too shabby either, but I am not clear on what this 2D card is deficient in. That is to say:

Even with a card such as this one, what is it that a 3D graphics accelerator does that this card doesn't? If it is made clear to me that I require one, I will most likely be purchasing the 12 MB Diamond Monster 3D II with the 3Dfx Voodoo2 chipset.

I have a good understanding about the other components in my system, but when it comes to the video card I am still not clear. In some cases I am told that no matter how powerful a 2D card I get {such as the Matrox), to do 3D-rendering well you must have a graphics accelerator. In other cases I am told that with a card like this I don't need anything else, regardless of my application.

If you could explain to me what it is that I don't seem to understand about where a Matrox card such as this stops and where a Diamond Monster accelerator such as the one I mentioned starts I would greatly appreciate it.

Thank you for taking a moment to read my request and I look forward to hearing your response to my question.

P.S. If you have any other suggestions as to what to consider while I continue to build my system, they would be welcomed.

--Johnny A.

ANSWER

It sounds like you're building one heck of a system. When you're talking video cards and CAD/CAM is on the plate, the Millennium is a good choice. The Millennium II card does some 3D, but it's not going to compare to any of the newer cards out for games, especially the awesome Voodoo2 cards. Most game developers today heavily optimize their games for the Voodoo and Voodoo2 chipsets. That's why it's such a great choice for games. The Voodoo2 cards also have their own version of OpenGL, but it may not be very useful for CAD. I haven't heard of many CAD companies developing software for Voodoo chipsets.

I think an excellent choice in this situation is to go with the Matrox Millenium II along with a Voodoo2 card. That way, you get great performance for games and CAD. The Voodoo2 card works along with your other video card and only takes over when it is told to by drivers..

As for the rest of your system, I'd go with 256 MB of memory. 128 MB just doesn't seem like enough for your system. Also, make sure you run Windows NT somewhere so you can take advantage of the two processors and its excellent stability and speed for CAD work. You'll also want Windows 95/98 for games.

You might want to consider a second drive so that you can save your work in two places in case the 18 GB Cheetah tanks sometime.