You'll scream, all right.
Written: Mar 31 '00 (Updated May 27 '00)
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Product Rating:
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Pros: Cheap.
Cons: Cheap.
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| alyssa01's Full Review: Creative Labs 3D Blaster Banshee |
Boo! Hiss!
This video card gave me nothing but trouble from the moment I popped it into my motherboard to the moment I finally tossed it in favor of a REAL video card (the voodoo card from the same company).
I do not know exactly why this card is so bad, but I can certainly detail the symptoms:
1. Nothing is compatible with it.
It's true! For some odd reason, even though Creative Labs is THE name in sound and video, they don't support their Banshee well enough to cause most game designers to make their games compatible with it.
2. It often does not work.
My CPU is a PIII from Dell, and I got it recently, so it can't be my machine. I've had more problems with this card than any other peripheral in my system... and more often than not, upon loading a new game, the game would refuse to run or would run incorrectly.
3. It needs support.
I have, at this time, dowloaded several "patches" for the drivers of this crud... I mean card... and I still have problems with it. Fortunately, it's now causing no one problems as it sits nestled in its light-free box.
At least the card is supported well by technical staff. As the single black mark on Creative Labs' roster, the Voodoo Banshee card has its own hotline for questions. I recently installed Baldur's Gate, and was dismayed to discover a ghosted image of the cursor remaining (called "artifact trails" or "artifacts") as I moved the mouse. Upon emailing technical support, I received a prompt reply (next day) offering several websites to check for in-game support as well as Creative Labs support. The trouble was that I had already done so. All of the patches that I could possible download, I had. The graphical glitch is still there. On the Baldur's Gate site, they caution against several "unnamed" video cards that have this problem, and they maintain that it is not an in-game issue. I'm inclined to agree, as this is not the first problem I've had with this card.
I recommend a more prominent card. When purchasing computer hardware, always go for the expensive name brand. Unless you really like a challenge (read: beating your head against your keyboard), the "fun" of trying to make a cheap card comply with your computer just won't be much fun.
Recommended:
No
Amount Paid (US$): ~$100
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Epinions.com ID:
alyssa01
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Member: Alyssa Reinhardt
Location: New York
Reviews written: 50
Trusted by: 25 members
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