note
from the chief editor:
As you can see, our reviews
don't really have a definite format but the layout is the same so what
the heck...get on with it!
Louie
and I swapped our Vipers so I ended up using the V770 and he uses
the Z200 for now...he's currently working on the new driver stuff
article and I hope he comes up with it soon since I've been the only
one writing lately.
Here
we go again...
Being
the ever hardworking dude of
Planet Savage,
I once again did some testing in my house and had to write an
article about it. If things go like I think they will, I'll
be reviewing almost all of our video cards...that leaves Louie and
the rest to review 2 or 3.
We know nVidia...
Anyone who hasn't heard
of nVidia must really been out of the computer scene. nVidia
quickly gained recognition with the TNT as it provided 2D/3D solutions
to everyone. It became the overall favorite of its time.
Times didn't change when chipmakers started to ship out their new
video cards. Companies like S3, 3dfx, Matrox, and ATI came up
with their own new-generation video cards. nVidia was not to
be left out. For gamers, the more popular choices were S3's
Savage4, 3dfx's Voodoo3 series and nVidia's TNT2 (Ed: Let's not forget
the G400 please).
A TNT2 is the successor
of the TNT shifting from .35u to .25u therefore producing a smaller
yet faster chip. During this time, the Voodoo3 was concentrating
on fill-rate power and raw speed at the sacrifice of visual quality.
The Savage4 proved to be a good low-cost solution to gamers at its
entry but the lack of driver support made buyers avoid such product.
The TNT2 lived up to the legacy of the TNT providing 2D/3D solutions
for everyone and excellent driver support. While the 3dfx Voodoo3
was faster, it lacked features which was filled in by the TNT2.
The Savage4 was left out of the running but was embraced by the OEM
market and those who really couldn't spend too much on a video card.
The TNT2 was loved but
it was beaten by the Voodoo3 3000 which ran 166/166(core clock / memory
clock) compared to 125/150(core clock / memory clock) of the TNT2.
nVidia had to come up with a weapon to beat the Voodoo3 3000.
Enter the TNT2 Ultra. The TNT2 and the TNT2 Ultra are basically
the same but the difference lies in their core and memory speeds.
nVidia initially announced that the TNT2 Ultra would ship in at 175/200
speeds but was lowered down to 150/183.
Enough
with the stories...I wanna know what it can do
