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August 1998
Graphic Boards That Fit Your Needs
The Xpert 98 from ATI Technologies (Thornhill, ON 905-882-2600) is based on ATI's 3D Rage Pro Turbo chip with 64-bit acceleration and a 230 MHz RAMDAC. The board features 8 MB SGRAM and is available in AGP 2X ($98). A PCI version is also available. ATI's 3D Rage Pro Turbo chip is a 64-bit graphics accelerator with support for 3D, 2D and motion video. With 8 MB of memory on board users can achieve 16.7 million colors at 1,600 x 1,200 2D resolution with 75 Hz refresh rate. Work with 65K colors at 1,600 x 1,200 3D resolution.
It supports Windows 3.1, 95, NT and DOS as well as Direct 3D and OpenGL applications. Special 3D acceleration features include texture cache, bilinear/trilinear filtering, anti-aliasing, perspective correct texture mapping, mip mapping and z-buffering.
Cornerstoneýs (San Jose, CA 408-435-8900) ImageAccel 4 board is designed to push business applications on large-screen, high-resolution monitors. The board features a 250 MHz RAMDAC based on ATIýs 64-bit 3D Rage Pro Turbo chip. Choose between 4 MB ($200) and 8 MB ($250) SGRAM configurations with a PCI interface. An AGP 2X version of the board is also available with 8 MB SGRAM ($250). With 8 MB of memory, this board gives you outstanding 2D performance with 24-bit true color at up to 1,800 x 1,440 resolution with a 71 Hz refresh rate or 1,600 x 1,200 resolution at 92 Hz.
Cornerstone packs the ImageAccel 4 with drivers that are designed to improve the readability of text in images. A taskbar gives you easy access to functionssuch as on-the-fly resolution and color depth switching, hot keys for quick zooming, scale-to-gray for scanned images, decompression of grayscale JBIG files and brightness and contrast control. Drivers support Windows 95 and NT, OS/2 and Warp.
Diamond Multimedia (San Jose, CA 408-325-7000) offers two graphic accelerators, the Stealth II G460 ($130) and Viper V330 ($200), for high quality 2D and 3D performance. The Stealth II is based on the 64-bit Intel740 chip with a 203 MHz RAMDAC. The board features an AGP 2X bus and 8 MB SDRAM. It supports 24-bit color at 1,280 x 1,024 resolution with a 75 Hz refresh rate. Maximum resolution for the Stealth II is 1,600 x 1,200. Drivers are included for Windows 95, NT and DOS.
The Viper is based on the 128-bit Nvida Riva chip with a 230 MHz RAMDAC. It includes 4 MB SGRAM. The Viper supports an 85 Hz refresh rate with resolutions from 640 x 480 to 1,600 x 1,200 for monitors ranging from 14ý to 21ý. The board is capable of high 32-bit true color at resolutions up to 1,600 x 1,200. The board is available in both PCI and AGP configurations. Extras include a video port connector. Drivers for Windows 95, 98 and NT are included with support for DirectX and OpenGL.
Both boards come with InControl Tools 95 software from Diamond Multimedia. Also included with the Viper is WorldView Professional, by Intervista Software, a 3D-animation software for PowerPoint.
Hercules Computer Technologyýs (Fremont, CA 510-623-6030) Hercules Terminator 128/3DýGLHý ($80) 2D/3D graphics accelerator integrates S3ýs 128-bit Trio3D graphics processor and 8 MB of memory. The Terminator is a cost-effective 8-MB solution that uses the AGP bus. The board is lower-priced than many 4 MB AGP boards, and it supports 2D and 3D performance with high resolutions up to 1,600 x 1,200 at 85 Hz.
The Terminator is based on the S3 Trio3D, a graphics processor that implements a 128-bit 3D pipeline and a 230 MHz DAC. The 3D features supported by the board include tri-linear filtering, transparency, and fogging. The Terminator comes with PowerDrive software for Windows 95 and NT with DirectX 5 and Open GL support.
Jazz Multimedia (Santa Clara, CA 408-727-8900) makes a dual-bus video graphics board called the Outlaw 3D - Bonnie & Clyde ($149). The board is perfect for those in transition. You may eventually use the AGP bus even if your current PC only uses PCI. The dual-bus design offers flexibility and upgradability.
The Bonnie & Clyde board uses the same Rendition Výritý 2200 chipset as the previous Outlaw 3D board. Outlaw 3D delivers high 2D performance for business applications and 3D graphic realism. It supports resolutions of up to 1,600 x 1,200 in 65K colors at 60-75 Hz. The Outlaw 3D includes 4MB, 8MB and higher memory configurations. The V2200 processor includes a 230 MHz RAMDAC. AGP and PCI bus interfaces add flexibility to the board without extra cost.
Matrox Graphicsý (Montreal 514-969-6000) Productiva G100 and Millennium G200 offer two levels of performance for business use. The Productiva G100 ($88) is a value-priced, 2D workhorse with 3D and video support. It offers fast performance and 8 MB of SDRAM. The board delivers 24-bit true color at resolutions up to 1,600 x 1,200. At the heart of the board is Matroxýs new MGA-G100 chip with a 230 MHz RAMDAC. The G100 uses an AGP bus for fast data transfer.
The Millennium G200 from Matrox is a 2D/3D board offering 8 MB ($230) or 16 MB ($330) of synchronous memory. The G200 is designed for high performance, powered by a MGA-G200 graphics chip. It has a 250 MHz RAMDAC and 128-bit, dual-bus architecture that delivers two 64-bit pathways. Fitted with 16 MB of memory, the board provides 24-bit color at resolutions up to 1,920 x 1,200. The G200 has AGP 2X support that can supports texturing from system memory. The G200 board can perform 3D techniques such as alpha blending, mipmapping and anti-aliasing.
Both Matrox boards include unified drivers for Windows 95, 3.11, NT 4.0, and OS/2 as well as Windows 98 and NT 5.0. They also come with software bundles including Micrografx Picture Publisher 8 and Simply 3D 3, Netscape Communicator and Point Cast. The G200 also comes with Imagination Software.
Number Nine (Lexington, MA 617-674-0009) recently announced the Revolution IV ($170) graphics accelerator offering 16 MB of SDRAM video memory. The board is based on Number Nineýs newest 128-bit Ticket To Ride IV graphics chip with a 250 MHz RAMDAC. The large on-board memory allows 3D textures to be stored and processed on the board itself without having to transfer data across the boardýs 2X AGP bus. The memory can also be used as graphics cache storage to support larger virtual desktops, system fonts, bitmaps, icons and pull down menus. The Revolution IV supports 32-bit true color at 1,600 x 1,200 2D resolution with a refresh rate of up to 107 Hz. It supports 1,280 x 1,024 3D resolution with 24-bit true color.
The board comes with Number Nineýs HawkEye IV display control utility for Windows 95, 98 and NT; HawkEye IV supports virtual desktops that can double the desktop viewable area, zooming, user assignable hot keys and color calibration.
When it comes to picking out a graphic accelerator board, think ahead. Features that seem like cutting-edge technology today will become the standards of tomorrow. If you have a $1,000 or more high-resolution, large-screen monitor sitting on your desk, cutting corners on the board that will support it doesnýt make sense. The highest prices boards in this story are little over $300, with some great offerings under $100 . With the fast rate of technology evolution it doesnýt hurt to buy a product that over extends itself, especially when the price is so reasonable.
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