Questions regarding GeFroce 2 GTS

[Makoe]

Ok, first off I'll tell you what my computing needs are, then I will tell you about my computer, then I will describe my problems.

I use my system primarily for gaming, other things include browsing the web/ICQ and occasionally Photoshop art, burning CD's and thats about it.
The games I play are Baldur's Gate 2, Counter Strike, Ultima Online, and that's about it for now, I plan to play Neverwinter Nights, UWO:O (Ultima Online 2), and possibly some Unreal Tournament mods and TF 2 if they ever decide to actually make it...

IBM Aptiva
Windows ME
Pentium 3 500 MHz
160 Megs of PC 100 RAM
12 GB HDD (not sure of RPM)
I just recently upgraded from a Voodoo 3500 TV to
Creative 3d Annihilator 2 GeForce 2 GTS
That's really all you need to know for now (I Hope)

Problems: I am pretty dissapointed with the Annihilator 2, considering my Voodoo 3500 seemed pretty outdated, and just about EVERYONE suggested that I get a GeForce 2 GTS.
My problems are mostly incompatibility type problems and other errors. When Running the game Driver, I get like half the frames I got with my Voodoo 3500. F.A.K.K. 2 Seemed to run well, but the first few rendered frames seem to be slow, same with Driver. When the game first loads the FPS are horrible, then they gradually get better. F.A.K.K. 2 ran very well despite that.
Counter-Strike has wierd glitches when loading it up (same with some other games), things like flashing white boxes and stuff appear on the screen.
I also get a lot of crashes, this happens with Baldur's Gate 2 a lot. Just every once in a while the game will crash when I go to do something that requires new sprites to load. Using 3d acceleration on that game is bad overall (I believe it's a problem with the game though) and overall slowdown seems to be a problem in Baldur's Gate 2 where it wasn't with the Voodoo 3500.
I have the latest Detonator 3 drivers, although there was a problem when installing them the first time. I think I have installed them correctly though.
I just expected this card to be better than the Voodoo in every way. I want something that will play all the new games at least for a year and a half or so.

Should I...
-Try getting different drivers for the GeForce 2?
-Keep this card (GeForce 2), and learn how to over clock and speed up my processor?
-Take this card back, exchanging it for a Voodoo 5500 or wait until Voodoo 6 comes out?
-Exchange this for a different GeForce 2?
-Upgrade my processor completely?
-Change my OS from Windows ME?
-Format my HDD and to a clean install of ME and reload everything? (This computer is about a year old and I haven't done this yet)
-Anything???

I really appreciate any help, thanks for listening.

[padawan]

First thing I would do is reinstall the drivers. Since you said you think you installed them right, I'll run through the steps to make sure this is the way you did it. If you already know this, skip it:
1. Open your Display Properties
2. Click Settings, then the Advanced button
3. Select the Adapter Tab
4. Click Change
5. Specify Location, the click the Display All drivers option.
6. Select Standard VGA from the list.
Click Ok/Apply until you get to the desktop, then reboot.
After the reboot, install the new drivers when prompted by Windows. I would get the new drivers from NVIDIA, I think they released some new Det3's last week.

After all of this, reinstall DirectX 7.0a.

Also, check for patches for your games. I ran Deus Ex on a GeForce2 GTS/Athlon 850, and it ran like total crap, so I switched to my old Voodoo3 3000, and it ran great. A few weeks later, Eidos released a beta Direct3D patch, and the performance improved on the GF2 dramatically. The problem is some games use Glide (3dfx's proprietary API), and have a natural preference for a Voodoo card.

Also, your CPU might be a slight bottleneck in some cases, when paired with the GF2.

If you are interested in the Voodoo5 5500 and how it compares to the GF2, check out my new article at PC Mech's gaming site, Maximum3D.

Good luck

-Scott

[Makoe]

thanks a lot for the help, ill try all of your suggestions, really appreciated.

[Makoe]

ok this sounds stupid but how do you uninstall direct x?
its not in my add/remove programs list and when I try to install the full version it tells me that it detects direct x and htere is no need to re install.
Thanks

[Tiretool]

You can remove DX by using a program called DXBuster. Then just re-install Directx and everything should work out fine.

[Makoe]

Thanks a lot man...
Microsoft thiks they are the best therefore they give you no uninstall option! =]

[Makoe]

ok I pretty much have everything figured out except Baldurs Gate 2...
WHY does it lose a lot of frames with my GeForce 2?
the voodoo3 ran it so smoothly and now its like horrible FPS when in huge battles, this cannot suffice, I love this game.

[padawan]

Have you changed settings since you switched cards? Perhaps you are in software mode now. Also, are you now using 32-bit color, or maybe a higher res? I'd check to make sure the game is using your vid card, then start playing with the graphic options. BG2 should run faster on the GF2, not sure why it isn't.

[Makoe]

i never used hardware mode with my voodoo 3500 because it couldnt display full colors, it was like 256 colors.
I tried hardware mode with the GeForce 2 and it looked nice but when someone casts a spell or some image has to load for hte first time it slows down a lot, and when I go to pickk an item up out of my inventory it does a small (and very annoying) pause as well.
It runs slower in software mode than it did with the Voodoo

[Makoe]

Is it possible to have 2 kinds of video card drivers installed so I can switch between voodoo 3500 and geforce 2 gts easily?

[Makoe]

ok I have decided, I am taking back the GeFore 2 GTS and I am getting a Voodoo 5500.
Whats the point of having a card that can go very fast only on certain games?
most of the games I play arent very compatible with it, so there is no point to me.
I cant get the card to run direct 3d mode very well anyways.
Is there anyone who totally disagrees with this?
am I giving up too easily?
I feel that Ihave done everything short of wiping my hard drive and doing a clean install.
thanks for any opinions and to people who attempted to help me.