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In the Forums... |
Posted: July 29, 2000 Written by: Tuan "Solace" Nguyen The Graphics [ ASUS V7700 32MB GeForce2 GTS: $ 259.00 ]  - NVIDIA GeForce 2 GTS GPU - 256-bit graphics engine - 200MHz core/166MHz memory clock (effectively 333MHz) - 25 million triangles/sec - 800 Mpixels/s fill rate - 1.6GTexels/sec fill rate - 5.3GB/sec Memory bandwidth - Hardware Anti-Aliasing - 32-bit colors, Z/stencil buffer - 350MHz RAMDAC - Max Resolution 2048x1536 - 32MB DDR RAM - AGP 2X/4X including fast writes and execute mode - Onboard Hardware Monitoring - DirectX texture compression - S3TC support - Windows 9x/NT/2000 compatible 3dfx Voodoo 5 5500? Nah.. It doesn’t have what it takes to stand up against a GeForce2 GTS for raw performance, and this is mainly what we're aiming for in this article. Why did we go with a 32MB card instead of a 64MB card? Well, let’s take a look. The extra 32MB of RAM will enable you to get higher speeds at higher resolutions (1600x1200 and beyond). But would you be playing at those ultra-high resolutions if the FPS is in the 30s? With only 32MB, you’ll get high 20s to high 30s depending on the type of game you play. Adding another 32MB gives you a few bland FPS more. So 32MB extra, gives you a little more performance in relatively unplayable speed anyway, so why bother? NVIDIA’s NV20 will be coming soon, so I'd rather not waste more RAM. ASUS’s offering seems to be able to overclock highest without issue. Many of you may have heard of Gainward’s card but that card is attracting a lot of issues and discussion about the merits of its memory usage. But as always, if you want, you can definitely go for a 64MB GeForce 2 such as the Hercules/Guillemot 3D Prophet II GTS 64MB. Alternative Solutions: ATI RadeOn 64MB DDR ATI has really done a good job this time. Despite the issues with Apple right now, ATI has an excellent card on its hands. For some reason we don’t have ours (ATI, are you listening?). If you’re going to insist on play games at ultra-high resolutions, then this is the card to get. But for any serious gaming, the GeForce 2 GTS still offers the best performance. As of this writing, 3dfx has not released its V5 6000. We’ll have to wait and see whether or not that card will be a viable solution. But, if it is, it’ll be included in next month’s Ultimate PC. Let’s move onto visual nirvana. The Monitor [ Sony GDM-W900 24" Wide Screen: $ 2,235.00 ]  That picture just doesn’t do this monitor justice. That’s right ladies and gentlemen; this behemoth is a full 24 inches. - Super Fine Pitch - Super Wide Trinitron tube - 24" Display (22.5-inch viewable image size, measured diagonally) - 90 degree deflection - Auto Beam Landing Correction (BLC) with Magnetic Field Sensor - Conductive Anti-Reflective Film Coating Maximum Resolutions - 16:10 Mode: 1920 x 1200 @ 76Hz - 16:9 Mode: 1920 x 1080 @ 85Hz This is the largest/highest resolution monitor you’re gonna get. Nothing really beats this monster. Coming in at a massive 22.5-inch viewable, you’ll be pretty happy when playing the latest games or viewing your favorite DVD titles. Why did we choose this monitor? Because it’s the best monitor available. We decided not to go with flat LCD screens simply because of competing connection standards and the inherent blurriness that shows up when the display signal goes from digital to analogue and back to digital. And besides, LCD displays don’t have resolutions that reach as high as CRT displays. |
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