August 22 - 31, 1998
Archive

1) Full DirectX 6 support
2) Optimized for AMD K6-2 (3DNow!)
3) Full support for ALI Aladdin V and VIA MVP 3 chipsets under Windows 95

 

TNT Benchmarks:
Quake 2 (timedemo 1 demo1.dm2) @640 x 480 = 60.6
Quake 2 (timedemo 1 demo1.dm2) @800 x 600 = 56.6
Quake 2 (timedemo 1 demo1.dm2) @1024 x 768 = 39.9
Quake 2 (timedemo 1 demo1.dm2) @1600 x 1200 = 16.4

Quake 2 Massive1 Demo @640 x 480 = 46.1
Quake 2 Massive1 Demo @800 x 600 = 44.9
Quake 2 Massive1 Demo @1024 x 768 = 36.3
Quake 2 Massive1 Demo @1600 x 1200 = 16.2

Quake 2 Crusher Demo @640 x 480 = 29.9
Quake 2 Crusher Demo @800 x 600 = 29.0
Quake 2 Crusher Demo @1024 x 768 = 27.8
Quake 2 Crusher Demo @1600 x 1200 = 14.3

Turok @640 x 480 = 93.7
Turok @800 x 600 = 93.3

Voodoo 2 Benchmarks (Single Board):
Quake 2 demo1.dm2 @640 x 480 = 72.8fps
Quake 2 demo1.dm2 @800 x 600 = 56.1fps

Quake 2 Massive1 Demo @640 x 480 = 52.2fps
Quake 2 Massive1 Demo @800 x 600 = 44.6fps

Quake 2 Crusher Demo @640 x 480 = 32.4fps
Quake 2 Crusher Demo @800 x 600 = 30.3fps

Turok @640 x 480 = 88.6

Voodoo 2 Benchmarks (SLI):
(SLI) Quake 2 demo1.dm2 @800 x 600 = 73.7fps
(SLI) Quake 2 demo1.dm2 @1024 x 768 = 64.5fps

(SLI) Quake Massive1 Demo @800 x 600 = 52.8fps
(SLI) Quake Massive1 Demo @1024 x 768 = 34.0fps

(SLI) Quake 2 Crusher Demo @800 x 600 = 32.8fps
(SLI) Quake 2 Crusher Demo @1024 x 768 = 32.5fps

(SLI) Turok @800 x 600 = 88.9

 

We have received the information, from a very reliable source, that AMD will release the 400Mhz K6-2 in October, and a 450Mhz one around Christmas. No-one from AMD has officially commented on that, so this still needs to be confirmed. If it's true however, it would be great news AMD fans! And it also makes me wonder... if Kryotech's -40C CPU cooler makes the K6-2 333Mhz run stable at 450Mhz, imagine what it would do to a real 450Mhz unit. That'd surely be something I'd love to see!

It's all in the drivers- and the differences were indeed marginally significant. Where as Diamond's Monster Fusion scored in the region of 28 frames per second in Quake 2 at 1024x768, the 3Dfx reference board turned out scores that were usually a frame or two higher. Where 3Dfx reference board totally out performed Diamond's was in D3D under the Incoming Lux Et Robur benchmark. The differences in terms of frame rates were really quite high. 3Dfx's reference design was some 30 frames per second faster than Diamond's Monster Fusion in 640x480, which was really odd- but there you have it (I'll check this out with Rage Software). In fact 3Dfx's reference design totally kicked ass in Incoming, not only was it faster than a Voodoo2 but it almost matched two Voodoo2s in SLI. Go figure...

FREMONT, Calif., Aug. 31 /PRNewswire/ -- SMART Modular Technologies, Inc. (Nasdaq: SMOD - news) today announced its new 143MHz Synchronous Graphics RAM (SGRAM) 144-pin SO DIMM memory modules. SMART's newest SGRAM addition is designed to meet the demand for advanced graphics applications such as multimedia, games and 3-D illustrations in workstations and mainframes.

``Our advanced design and test expertise has enabled us to incorporate 143MHz devices into our SGRAM memory module designs,'' stated Bill Johnston, SMART's Vice President of Marketing. ``We are pleased to be able to offer our customers an increased selection of SGRAM modules to meet the growing requirements for higher end graphic needs,'' he continued. According to Dataquest, demand for SGRAM memory is expected to grow through the year 2000, exceeding $2 billion for 16Mb SGRAM devices.

Today I started testing the new Celeron 300A and so far it seems to be an excellent processor.  For a processor whose price tag weighs in at under $200, the 300A running at 450MHz without a single problem seems to be much more than you could possibly ask for.  I'll be receiving the Celeron 333 next week so I'll be able to tell you all how well it performs while overclocked, but as for now you can expect a review of the new Celeron's with on-chip L2 cache early next week.  I've also started testing on the FIC PA-2013 as well as the FIC KA-6100 which is a Pentium II board based on the VIA Apollo Pro chipset.  You can expect reviews of those two motherboards as well.  That's just a little outline of what I've got planned for the next few days and, as usual, I'll keep you updated.

 

The other advantage is the simultaneous audio streams. You can listen to up to 23 different sources of audio at the same time with the MX200. The potential isn't realized until you're playing a multiplayer SiN game, with ICQ telling you that there are incoming messages, and Eudora telling you that there is new mail in your mailbox, while you are playing SiN!! This is so nifty you almost sit there and shake your head in disbelief.

 

64bit is undoubtebly the way of the future as far as the CPU is related. Since CPUs are becoming so powerful, bandwidth is becoming one of the limiting factors. 64bit architecture eliminates most of the bandwidth problems. Currently three major companies are selling 64bit processors, with a 4th company in the midst. That 4th company being, of course,  Intel, the CPU giant. So, what is in store for us in the future? Will Alpha still rule? Will Merced really pack as much as it was expected to?

 

The bottom line is that, the Millenium G200 is essentially made for people stuck working with their computers for the most part and not playing. What it does do other than offer a more business like bundle is just that little extra when it comes to refresh rates and 2D, but for the home user or hardcore gamer, the Mystique G200 is definitely the better choice. The Mystique is more of a gamer's card and with a software bundle that's yet to be beaten in terms of quality I would opt for the Mystique over the Millenium.

 

Okay, the 3d department. This is what everyone's waiting to hear, right? Is it a Voodoo 2 killer? No. Is it the next best thing? Right now, yes. Direct3D numbers were flying off the scale, and in some aspects, the Velocity 4400 did beat out my Monster3D 2. But, the TNT doesn't support Glide. And Glide is faster than Direct3D in every way.

 

Dolby Digital/AC-3.  The Live! DOES have the power to decode AC-3 in the chip - Creative are working on it at the moment.   In this case, you can either use your four speakers OR buy the proposed 'break-out box' for the Digital DIN connector, that will give you a set of Analogue line out's that you can do with as you wish.  This break out box is PROPOSED.  For definite will be the Desktop Theatre system, which we all know about.  Desktop Theatre will do Dolby Prologic as well as AC-3.  No other surround options are being considered at this time, but Creative constantly stress the power of the 10K1.  Apparently, nearly 1/2 of the power is unharnessed.  Future driver updates (I am assured) WILL bring new functionality.  

8 3D sound streams.  Creative AGAIN say the Live! can handle 16 - it's just *they* don't see a need for 16 at the moment.  This is a point moot - but it's a case of public demand - future driver updates and all that jazz.  Public demand is all important.  

With regards to the rumours of the Live! Pro that have been circulating, this was a planned product, to fit somewhere between the Live! and the EMU APS.  However, Creative did not see a market for it, and dropped it.  There is *another* version of the SB Live! in the works - a 'Value' version.   Creative have no plans to bring out a 'Gold' version of the card.

 

After some testing, I found out that 100mhz is the G200 default setting, so if you use powerstrip and set it any lower than 100mhz "you are underclocking the chip", I don't know why EnTech has included the performane settings for G200, maybe for compatibility issues? Anyways now for tha dirt. If you edit the pstrip.cfg file in your windows directory edit the line G200Clk=75,100,84 or something like that. This line shows up twice in that file, so do a find g200 in wordpad or similar text editor, then edit the second instance of the above line to read G200Clk=110,110,110 I tried higher settings and it would only fall back to 110mhz memory clock, the g200 cpu clock will scale accordingly. Anyways there is quite a performance boost at this setting, and stability hasn't been a problem at all in my system. I have a feeling that this chip is more overclockable than the 110mhz setting, I wish I had a program that would let me try 115, maybe up to 125 mhz?? :) My G200 is now faster than my V2 12mb. Go figure. I will try to post some benchmarks later.

 

A few months ago Canopus introduced the Witchdoctor, a RIVA128 card with the ability to hook up to your 3D card and provide TV-Out for it Their SPECTRA 2500 also has inherited this feature. Now you will be able to hook any card with a pass-through up to the SPECTRA and out to your TV set. This means those of you who have a Diamond Monster 3D 2, Bestdata Arcade FX2 or other 3D card including Voodoo1, will be able to display the output on your TV. In fact any card that has a passthrough, will be able to hook up to the card, including Mpeg decoders. Canopus has also bumped the TV-Out of the card to include higher resolution support then their other products with TV-Out.

Another feature that has been inherited from past products on the SPECTRA 2500 is the cooling fan that was made popular with their Pure3D 2. This means the SPECTRA will be able to play your favorite games, without worry of them locking up your system from heat related problems.

 

"OEMs and end users are embracing the value and leading-edge performance of 3DNow! technology with AMD processor-based systems for home and business applications, providing users with a rich 3D visual computing experience," said S. Atiq Raza, AMD executive vice president and chief technical officer. "In addition, the 350-MHz AMD-K6-2 provides competitive performance on mainstream business applications compared to a 350-MHz Pentium® II. We will continue to aggressively increase performance of the AMD-K6-2 processor product line, and plan to deliver speeds of 400-MHz in Q4 and 450-MHz in Q1 '99 to provide users with a full range of processor solutions."

 

Toronto, Canada, August 27, 1998 - ATI Technologies Inc. (TSE:ATY) today announced its next-generation 3D, 2D and DVD accelerator chip-the RAGE 128 GL™. Using an advanced 128-bit 3D architecture, the RAGE 128 GL delivers workstation quality and complex 3D features without sacrificing performance, even at high resolutions.

Developed to maximize outstanding photo-realistic visual quality, the RAGE 128 GL produces fast 3D frame rates made possible by a SuperScalar Rendering engine that uses a dual rendering pipe to process multiple pixels per clock cycle. The RAGE 128 GL offers an unprecedented 32MB of graphics memory and incorporates a 128-bit memory interface, making it an ideal graphics solution for high-end systems.

"The new RAGE 128 GL graphics accelerator chip continues ATI's legacy of innovation and industry-leading performance," said Ed Grondahl, vice-president of product marketing, ATI. "ATI is again the leader of the pack with our new RAGE 128 GL, and its performance and feature set establishes a new level of excellence for the graphics industry."

 

Basically, the G200 is a great D3D card, performing on-par with the Voodoo2, and absolutely blowing away the competing 2D/3D cards. Looking at these benchmarks, the G200 seems like an excellent buy, for D3D gaming of course (hell, it's not bad for Q2 either, even w/the D3D Wrapper) The question arises; however, what about Banshee, Savage3D, and TNT? These cards are all coming out in the next 2 months or so. Is it worth buying the Mystique G200 now, or is it better to just wait 2 more months and have a large selection of high performing products (some preliminary benchmarks show that all 3 of the 2D/3D cards listed above outperform the G200)  to choose from? If you absolutely MUST play that favorite game of yours and your current Trident card doesn't cut it, the G200 is an excellent solution, even for the long term. (32bit color + anti-aliasing, 1600x1200 3D rendering for 16meg version) If you already have a good 2D/3D card, or a Voodoo2, and are simply looking for a better card, I recommend gutting it out with your 'inferior' 2D/3D card for 2 more months and then decide which card to buy. Lastly, if you want the best TV-Out available, it's hard to beat the Mystique G200s 1024x768 TV-Out option!

Beginning September 1st, Diamond Multimedia is offering a monstrous deal to pre-order customers at Babbages Etc., CompUSA and Electronics Boutique. For just $199.95, consumers can pre-order a powerful gaming combination including Diamond's Monster Fusion 2D/3D gaming accelerator (also announced today) and Diamond's newest audio accelerator, the Monster Sound MX300, resulting in up to a $60 savings. If pre-ordered separately, the Monster Fusion is available at a U.S. ERP of $149.95 for the PCI version and $159.95 for AGP and the Monster Sound MX300 at a U.S. ERP of $99.95.

Details of Diamond's Monster Sound MX300 audio accelerator and Diamond's Monster Fusion graphics accelerator pre-order programs are available on-line at Babbages Etc. (www.gamelord.com), CompUSA (www.compusa.com), Electronics Boutique (www.ebworld.com) or through Diamond (www.diamondmm.com)

 

     The sound that the Montego produces is incredible.  It is hands down the best Sound Card I have heard on the PC (I have not had a chance to play with Live! though).  The card itself is incredibly quiet and there are no audible hisses, pops or scratches, something that can't be said for the ISA SoundBlasters.  I was amazed at how much clearer and brighter even my normal windows sounds were, showing that this card really does accelerate Windows audio quite nicely.  The card supports Direct Sound and A3D so there is no incompatability when it comes to standards support.  Turtle Beach hails this card as 64-voice, but it is important to note that this translates to 32-voices in hardware, and 32-voices in software.  Despite this fact, anyone with a machine 200MHz or faster will be able to fully take advantage of this card's benefits.

 

The king is dead... Long live the king !!! Finally, someone has been able to beat the half year old Voodoo II chipset from 3Dfx. The Riva TNT chipset doesn't just offer better image quality than the Voodoo II chipset, it also outperforms Voodoo II on all benchmarks but the Quake II test... This is probably since the OpenGL driver needs some more tweaking. In games like Turok we see that the Riva TNT chipset outperforms a single Voodoo II who's running that same game in Glide...
The Riva TNT chipset is only outperformed by 2 Voodoo II's running in SLI... A SLI Voodoo II configuration still beats the Riva TNT chipset when it comes to pure speed, but as a single card solution, nothing comes close to TNT for now.

As far as 2D speed is concerned: Very good as we might have expected. This is actually the first card that shows a IMPROVEMENT in performance when the colordepth is increased... Running speedy in various colordepths shows better results when the number of bits per pixel is increased... Very weird..

 

Summary:

This is without a doubt the best card I have had the opportunity to review. I feel quite comfortable awarding this card the 3DsoundSurge *Surge Of Approval* and our highest score ever of  9.5/10. If you are looking for a new sound card and four speakers are in your plans, then definitely take a close look at the Sound Blaster Live!

 

Model Name:	Viper V550	Monster Fusion Z100	Monster II X100	Monster II X200 (SLI)
3D Game Gauge Score	604	533	577	748

Here's something cool that the Banshee can do.  It's called "texturing from a renderable surface."  It's actually pretty neat. Basically you can create a surface (in Glide or D3D) that you mark for rendering that can be a valid texture size (256x256, 128x128, that kind of stuff). Then you draw what you want to that surface.  Now, you can mark your back buffer for rendering, and mark that surface you just made for texturing.  Now you can draw a triangle with that.  Really cool stuff. Now people can render their own shadow textures, or do kinds of  predator effects and stuff.

The new Pentium(R) II processor 450 MHz provides the highest levels of computing performance for a wide range of productivity and entertainment applications, while the Intel(R) Celeron(TM) processors 333 MHz and 300A MHz enable reliable Basic PC systems on which to run today's common PC programs. These processors complete Intel's 1998 desktop processor line up.

The Pentium II processor 450 MHz delivers up to a 10 percent(a) performance improvement over the Pentium II processor 400 MHz, and it provides maximum investment protection to business and consumer users. Entry-level servers and workstations also benefit greatly from the Pentium II processor's increased performance. New systems based on this processor run a wide range of common and emerging business applications, and they help relieve the graphics and information bottlenecks common to single- and dual-processor systems. All of these systems run on the 100-MHz system bus, allowing faster communication between the processor and other parts of the computer system.

The voodoo2 has a default clock speed of 90 MHz.

Without any cooling you probably will have a hard time getting your voodoo2 to run above 100 MHz. I had some luck running uncooled at 100 MHz, but freezes were still common, and games like Unreal really gave me a bad time. At 105 MHz uncooled I could barely even run Quake 2. After 2 timedemos or so the game would always lock up the PC. So if you don't plan on cooling your voodoo2 at all, I would say you should shoot for about 95 MHz for stability, or possibly up to 100 MHz if your PC is already well cooled.

If you really want to get some results, COOL your voodoo2. Stability is the obvious reason. Running at the default 90 MHz the voodoo2 already produces incredible amounts of heat. With good cooling the voodoo2 may remain stable at speeds of up to 109 MHz. If you have decent cooling, 100 MHz or even 105 MHz should be a breeze. If you have really good cooling 109 MHz will be attainable.

....

These results should show you that everyone should overclock their voodoo2, assuming your CPU is faster than a P133. The speed increase is incredible in most cases. It may give you that little extra kick you need on slower systems, or just let you say you finally achieved 80 FPS in Quake II (hehe).

You thought it wasn't possible but now, Planet RIVA brings you the exclusive .ini files that allow you to run Unreal in OpenGL mode! Of course there are a few problems such as missing textures and missing lighting effects but the game still looks amazing! Here are the instructions :

1. Download and install the Unreal OpenGL patch by clicking here.
2. Download the .ini file created by Celimar by clicking here.
3. Unzip the .ini file into your unreal/system directory, overwriting your old file.
4. Change the CD-ROM path which is located in the .ini file unless your CD-ROM driver path is E:\
5. Set your desktop to 16-bit color.
6. Launch Unreal and set it to 32-bit colors. This eliminates the annoying black boxes around certain objects but I lost the coronas.
7. Set the controls and options to your liking.
8. For any questions or comments e-mail the creator, Celimar, or me.

Suprisingly the card has set new 2D records for Winbench2D, blowing the previous numbers from the G200 out of the water. I plan on retesting the G200 since the earlier numbers for the G200 could be flawed. It is hard for me to see how the TNT could beat out the G200 as the 2D leader. On the 3D front the TNT was a VERY SOLID performer, out running a single Voodoo2 in almost every single benchmark!

Here's a few preliminary OpenGL scores using the timedemo add-in for Unreal. These scores are on a K6-2 300 with 64 MB ram. Look for these scores to improve considerably with newer TNT drivers, a more Unreal specific OpenGL ICD from NVIDIA, and future updates from Epic. Also, I expect 3D Now! enhanced drivers will furthur boost framerates for K6-2 owners. The following scores are with high detail textures, high quality sound, and all effects turned on, and 32 bit color:

512x384	15.49
640x480	14.39
800x600	11.49