October 1998 - Super7 3D Video Accelerator Comparison
by Anand Lal Shimpi on October 25, 1998 7:55 PM EST- Posted in
- GPUs
| The Banshee is definitely not a disappointment for any Super7 user. Offering above average image quality, decent processor scalability, and even an advantage over the Voodoo2 in terms of performance, the Banshee is the absolute best contribution from 3Dfx to the Super7 market. The Banshee's Glide support gives it the edge over any other cards in its class, and even brings it up to the level of the TNT in terms of overall quality. | 3Dfx Banshee |
| It's sad to see this puppy go. The Voodoo was what brought us all into the 3D craze, and it's what got us all annoyed at the statement "OpenGL and Glide are the same thing." However, if it weren't for 3Dfx's intervention in the market, we would've been having a nice little OpenGL vs Direct3D war right now instead of having a escape in the realm of the Glide API. As the Unreal results have proved, Glide does have its benefits...just no longer with the Voodoo. | 3Dfx Voodoo |
| This chipset is definitely something that should be reserved for the high end systems. The Voodoo2's performance with lower end processors in the Super7 arena is simply unacceptable. Especially considering that the Voodoo2 is a 3D-only accelerator and retails for greater than $130, 3Dfx has shut themselves out of the Super7 arena with the Voodoo2. This holds true for everyone but K6-2 users. Since the Voodoo2 is the only chipset which boasts Quake 2 3DNow! support, K6-2 users that are avid Quake players will want to opt for the V2 over any other chipsets. Let's hope nVidia can pull through with a decent 3DNow! implementation soon if they want to grab the K6-2 Quaking community. | 3Dfx Voodoo2 |
| The G200 isn't a bad chipset at all. It's presence in the Super7, or any market for that matter can't be fully judged as Matrox has still failed to release their promised OpenGL ICD. The Direct3D performance, and image quality of the G200 are promising...we'll have to wait at least another month before we can get more complete results with the OpenGL ICD for the G200. Until then, if you plan on picking up a G200, keep in mind that you can do better with your Super7 investment, also be sure to pick up a fan as the G200's heatsink doesn't seem to cut it in normally cooled cases. | Matrox G200 |
| The day of the Riva 128 has come and gone. If you're a Riva 128 owner, forget about your performance and grab a card with better image quality. If you're a big nVidia fan, pick up the TNT which boasts everything the original 128 did, and brings out the colors as well as performance, ranking nearly first place in almost all categories. | nVidia Riva 128 |
| The best balance of performance, value, and image quality, the nVidia Riva TNT ranked first place in almost all of the performance tests and brings a vivid picture to each and every one of the frames you see fly by. The card pictured at the right has been modified with a TennMax fan as the TNT gets extremely hot and definitely needs added cooling measures to operate reliably. If the $140+ price tag of a TNT is a bit too much, take a look at the 3Dfx Banshee. Keep in mind that the TNT is probably one of the most problematic chipsets when it comes to Super7 compatibility. Luckily, VIA has fixed most of the issues with their recent release of v2.9 of their AGP GART drivers which can be found at www.via.com.tw. | nVidia Riva TNT |
| The father of the nearly perfect 2D/3D combo card, the Rendition V2x00 still packs a powerful punch today. Unfortunately it's performance and future outlook isn't too incredibly promising, if you're a V2x00 owner, your upgrade path most likely lies with the Riva TNT or Matrox G200 due to their image quality. If you're a huge Unreal fan, then you may want to opt for the Glide support of the Banshee though. | Rendition V2x00 |
| Once again, S3 needs some maturing in the drivers category. Out of the 8 chipsets featured here, the Savage3D was the only one that wouldn't run reliably on any Super7 platform. The reference board pictured at the right was run with reference drivers directly from S3, and after countless hours of troubleshooting, the board still wouldn't operate reliably enough to be present in the benchmarks. Once S3 gets their driver act together the introduction of the Savage3D may change things considerably, however that has yet to be proven. | S3 Savage3D |
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