I take from that anecdote that this re-issue of Quake comes in below the hardware requirements of the typical gamer. I'm playing Quake now with a Pentium II - 300 MHz and a Creative Voodoo2 . I'm certain my computer can handle anything Quake spits out. For the best Quake experience, a 3D hardware accelerator is required. For the uninitiated, it doesn't just make the game run faster, it makes the game run prettier.
Textures smooth out and the lighting effects bring the game to life.
Without getting too technical, the OpenGL API may or may not be more powerful than the DirectX API, but it certainly is less popular with hardware vendors. While DirectX ships with Windows 98, each card vendor must supply their own OpenGL driver. Some card vendors are lazy or simply uninterested in doing this. Just because you have a 3D card doesn't mean you can use it with Quake . Also, many of the newer cards are supporting Quake through OpenGL drivers, so you may be in luck.