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Mittwoch 03.05.2000

03.05 Neue Creative W2K Treiber

Creative hat neue VGA Treiber für die Graphics Blaster RIVA TNT, 3D Blaster RIVA TNT2 3D Blaster RIVA TNT2 Ultra Graphics Blaster RIVA TNT2 Value (32Mb)   und 3D Blaster GeForce/3D Blaster GeForce Pro Karten veröffentlicht:

This is the latest driver release for 3D Blaster RIVA TNT/TNT2/GeForce for users running on Windows 2000 . This release :-

  • Provides better DVD playback on 3D Blaster GeForce and 3D Blaster GeForce Pro graphics card
  • Improves overall response rate and Windows 2000 support for PC games such as Unreal Tournament and Quake 3 respectively

Download (2,6MB)


03.05 NVIDIA vs. 3dfx

Tech-Report lässt die Voodoo5 5500 gegen die neue NVIDIA GeForce2 GTS antreten:

The GeForce 2 GTS, despite its huge pixel and texel fill rate advantages over the GeForce DDR, has gained very little in memory bandwidth. The V5 5500 looks pretty good on this front, matching the GeForce 2 in theory and threatening to beat it some real-world scenarios. (It's tough to say how these things will play out in terms of real-world performance, of course, but the possibility is there.) And 3dfx's monster, the V5 6000, might just rule the 3D roost (while doubling as a space heater). (...more)


03.05 3dfx V5 6000

ThanX to HardOCP!

HardOCP hat Bilder von der WinHEC Messe mitgebracht auf denen das Grafikkartenmonster Voodoo5 6000 zu sehen ist:

We had a pretty sweet experience at WinHEC before we had to leave to get on the plane, we ran into our buddies at 3dfx and they gave me a chubby.  No, not with their cute smiles, but rather with their BIG boards.  If the sight alone of this hardware does not get you a little bit excited, you probably have to tie it up with a couple of Popsicle sticks to make it stand at attention. (...more)

Die Verfügbarkeit der Karten steht allerdings noch in den Sternen. Die Gerüchte sprechen momentan von August 2000, also ungefähr zu dem Zeitpunkt wenn ATi seine RADEON Karten einführen will. Wann V5 5500 Karten im deutschen Handel zu finden sein werden ist auch noch nicht abzusehen. Momentan herrscht schon ein akuter Mangel an Review-Samples...


03.05 Viper T&L Teil 3

Savagenews hat den dritten Teil seines T&L Artikels in Bezug zu Diamond/S3 Viper II fertiggestellt: Viper II T&L


 

Dienstag 02.05.2000

02.05 GeForce2 GTS Test: TEIL 2

GeForce2 GTS Test: TEIL 2

Teil 2 des GeForce2 GTS Tests auf RIVA Station. Nach den ersten Benchmarks gibt es Informationen zur Per-Pixel Shading Technologie des neuen Chips sowie Screenshots und Informationen zu den neuen NVIDIA Techdemos:

GeForce2 GTS Test: Teil 2


02.05 Madonion.com

Die Webseite von Madonion.com (Macher von 3DMark 2000 und Video 2000) ist in neuem Design neu gestartet. Schaut mal vorbei bei den durchgeknallten Zwiebeln: www.madonion.com


02.05 Antialiasing Vergleich

FiringSquad hat sich dem Thema AntiAliasing angenommen und hat die Techniken von 3dfx und NVIDIA mit ihren aktuellen Karten verglichen:

"3dfx made a big hoo-haa about FSAA a while ago when they first started talking about their new generation of video cards, the Voodoo4/5. Then NVIDIA came along and made this schpiel about T&L. Notice a trend here? The days of straight comparisons by FPS are coming to an end. The big boys are now setting their sights on high quality images. This does make sense; the last few generations of video cards have given phenomenal frame rates at some pretty decent resolutions. Now that speed has been sufficiently covered, image quality can be improved." (...more)

Nach eigenen Angaben hat man sich bei dem Test sehr schwer getan, da vieles sehr subjektiv ist. Darüberhinaus gibt es noch Treiberprobleme bei FSAA mit den aktuellen NVIDIA v5.16 Treibern und D3D Applikationen.


02.05 NVIDIA Q3 Level

NVIDIA bietet einen eigenen sehr komplexen Q3A Level zum Download an. Der Level besticht durch die grosse Polygonanzahl und Shader Effekte. Download (5,8MB): NV15-Q3 Level


02.05 GeForce FAQ Update

Ein neues Update von Christopher Hill´s GeForce FAQ:

  • Added QDI Legend I to 'What's all this with the GeForce and early motherboards?' question as a working LX motherboard.
  • Added Starsiege: Tribes warning to 5.16 section of 'What Windows 9x drivers should I use?' question.
  • Added 'When I install the 5.xx series of drives Windows 9x locks up at the bootup screen. How can I fix it?' question.

GeForce256 FAQ 11.2 (or newer?)


02.05 GeForce2 GTS CAD Benches

RIVA 3D hat die GeForce2 GTS in Hinsicht auf CAD Fähigkeiten getestet:

The GeForce showed itself to be an admirable contender as a high end CAD card. And you would so expect that the GeForce 2 GTS would make at least as good a CAD card, if not better than, the GeForce card. With its advanced T&L design and faster clock and memory speed, the GeForce 2 does indeed shape up as a seriously wicked alternative to the mega monster (and expensive) CAD workstations.

We'll start off by examining the results from the SpecViewPerf 6.1.1 tests. We'll look at all the results, and compare them to results from the SpecViewPerf website. (...more)


 

Montag 01.05.2000

01.05 GF2 Benchmark Update

Um die Benchmarks des gestrigen GeForce 2GTS Artikels etwas nahbarer zu machen habe ich in Q3A zusätzlich zur GeForce2 GTS und GeForce DDR noch eine TNT2 Ultra und Voodoo3 3000 getestet. Die Voodoo3 wurde zusätzlich noch mit dem schnelleren WickedGL Treiber getestet:

Testsystem: Intel Pentium III 800E (100MHz FSB), 196MB RAM, Tekram P6BX-A Mainboard, Windows 98SE
Karten: GeForce2 GTS Reference Board, ASUS V6800 Deluxe, ASUS V3800 Deluxe, 3dfx Voodoo3 3000
Treiber:
NVIDIA Karten: v5.16, 3dfx V3: v1.04.07Beta + WickedGL

Quake3 1.16n - NORMAL

Das Ergebniss zeigt das TNT2 und V3 mittlerweile doch sehr in die Jahre gekommen sind. In 1280x1024 und 1600x1200 (16Bit) ist eine GeForce2 GTS fast 3x schneller als eine TNT2 oder V3. In 1024x768 immerhin noch doppelt so schnell.

Quake3 1.16n - High Quality

Unter 32Bit kann die V3 mangels 32Bit Rendersupport leider nicht weiter teilnehmen. Auch hier zeigt sich die GeForce2 mehr als doppelt so schnell wie eine TNT2 Ultra Karte.

Quake3 1.16n - High Quality ++

In diesem Test wurde in den Grafikoptionen zusätzlich noch die Textur und Polygongrösse auf Maximum gesetzt. Das Ergebniss ist erwartungsgemäß niederschmetternd für die TNT2 Karte.

Wer immer noch der Meinung ist mit seinem TNT/TNT2/V3 System auf der Höhe der Zeit zu liegen der sieht sich bei diesen Ergebnissen auf den Boden der Tatsachen zurückgeholt. Die CPU ist zugegebenermaßen recht schnell, doch auf langsamen CPU´s wird der Vorteil der GeForce Karten dank T&L eher noch größer. TNT2 und Voodoo3 sind heutzutage schon gut und gerne ein Jahr alt - seitdem hat sich einiges getan!


01.05 Bt848/878 W2k Treiber

Etwas Off-Topic da nicht ganz Grafikkarten-bezogen aber dennoch sicherlich für viele Interessant: Auf einer Fan-site (?) gibt es neue Windows 2000 Treiber für TV-Tuner Karten auf Basis des beliebten Bt-848/878 decoder Chips. (ThanX to Mike!)


01.05 WinHEC Bericht

GA-Hardware hat einen Bericht zur WinHEC Messe gemacht. Dort wurden u.a. die neuen 3D Chips von ATi und NVIDIA vorgestellt:

Video cards aren't the only thing at the show, and also none of the NDAs (Non Disclosure Agreements) expired till later that night or the next day, so I went into the show as it opened to see what other excitement it held. There were quite a few interesting things at this show beyond just the regular insanity of New Orleans and all the video cards launching. (...more)


01.05 AOpen GeForce2

AOpen hat eine eigene Grafikkarte auf Basis des GeForce2 GTS angekündigt. Die PA256 Pro wird mit den Standard Spezifikationen von 200MHz Core und 333MHz (DDR) Speichertakt betrieben:

PA256 Pro had 200MHz core clock and 333MHz memory clock as default clock. AOpen design a specific OpenBIOS™ version for Geforce 2 GTS. In PA256 Pro, OpenBIOS™ support major functions below:

  1. Geforce 2 GTS chip voltage adjustment
  2. Geforce 2 GTS chip clock & memory clock adjustment
  3. Geforce 2 GTS chip temperature detection

Neu ist die Ankündigung ein spezielles OpenBIOS zu verwenden. Dieses soll neben dem üblichen Chip und Speicherübertakten auch eine Erhöhung der Voltage sowie ein auslesen der Chiptemperatur ermöglichen. Diese Funktion soll unter allen Betriebssystemen zur Verfügung stehen.


01.05 GeForce2

Weitere Tests, Previews und Artikel zu GeForce2 GTS:

ELSA GLADIAC Review - Anandtech
3D Prophet II 64 in Japan - Watch Impress
GeForce2 GTS Review - Gamespot UK
ELSA GLADIAC Preview - Zitch.com
GeForce2 GTS manufacturer guide - Sytemlogic
GeForce2 GTS Guide - Sharkyextreme
GeForce2 GTS Preview - Voodooextreme
ELSA GLADIAC Review - Planetgeforce


01.05 Internet

Momentan habe ich etwas Probleme mit dem Internetzugang. Statt der üblichen 2Mbit bin ich momentan nur per V56 Modem im Netz, was sich etwas negativ auf die News auswirkt....


 

Sonntag 30.04.2000

30.04 GeForce2 GTS Test - TEIL 1

Der erste Teil des grossen RIVA Station GeForce2 GTS Test. Es geht gleich um den Kern der Sache: die Leistung bzw. die Benchmarks:

GeForce 2GTS Test


 

Freitag 28.04.2000

28.04 GeForce FAQ Update

GeForce256 FAQ 11.0. Christopher Hill hat seine GeForce FAQ wieder einmal aktualisiert:

  • Updated 'Is there an update available for the WinDVD software supplied with the Annihilator?' question with information on the North American and European patches, with a link to patches for other languages.
  • Updated 'I have a VIA KX133 based motherboard and the amount of video and texture memory is reported incorrectly. How can I fix it?' with BIOS settings tip.
  • Added AGP4X warning to 5.16 notes in 'What Windows 9x drivers should I use?' question.
  • Added note that 5.16 drivers fix flashing in shadowy areas to 'I get visual problems with Half-Life. How can I fix them?' question and 'What Windows 9x drivers should I use?' question.
  • Took out Buffer flipping mode tip from 'I get visual problems with Half-Life. How can I fix them?' question (fixed by the 5.16 drivers).
  • Added note that 5.xx drivers seem to fix Fast Writes problem to 'I have an Intel i820 based motherboard and I have various problems. How can I fix it?' question.
  • Added note that 5.16 drivers also fix OpenGL FSAA screenshots to 'What Windows 9x drivers should I use?' question.
  • Added latest patch tip to 'I get visual problems with Half-Life. How can I fix them?' question.
  • Added Beta VIA drivers link to 'I have a VIA KX133 based motherboard and I can't get AGP4X working in Windows 2000. How can I fix it?' question.

Check Chris' Hill GeForce256 FAQ 11.0 (or newer?)


28.04 Neue 3D Demos

Tranzmit bietet eine Reihe von neuen 3D Demos zum Download:

  • Gothic by WTSoftware - Very professional direct3D demo with some really cool and original effects. Cool soundtrack too!
  • Fuzzy by RMMD - Direct3D demo that uses black and white to good effect. Lots of smooth effects. Includes soundtrack.
  • 1st Trip by f4'z - A full-on techno tune provides the backing for this demo of a helicoper carrying radioactive materials.
  • '96' - OpenGL demo with a really cool, mellow soundtrack.
  • Dark Hour by Sista Vip Corporation. DOS demo with great colours and a dance soundtrack

28.04 GeForce2 im Netz

Eine große Welle an Informationen über NVIDIA´s neustes Werk im Netz:

GeForce2 Memory Overclocking Results - nV News
ELSA GLADIAC Review - Firingsquad
Bump mapping and per pixel lighting screenshots - RIVA 3D
GeForce 2 Preview - RIVA Extreme
GeForce 2 Review - RIVA 3D
GeForce 2GTS Preview - Bjorn 3D
GeForce 2 Review - Anandtech


28.04 ASUS V7700

ASUS hat die neue GeForce 2GTS Karte AGP-V7700 angekündigt:

click to enlarge! click to enlarge!
V7700 Produkt Box V7700 basierend auf
Referenzdesign

Das offizielle Pressrelease von ASUS:

Taiwan, Taipei April 27, 2000: ASUSTeK Computer, Inc. announces its next generation graphics card - AGP-V7700. The new graphics card is powered with the world's first gigatexel shading graphics processor unit (GPU) - NVIDIA's GeForce2 GTSTM. "NVIDIA sets a new milestone for 3D graphics realism again!" said Jonathan Tsang, vice president of marketing and sales division of ASUSTeK Computer Inc. " Based on the successful experience of ASUS' award-winning AGP-V6600/6800, ASUS's new AGP-V7700 completely exerts the power of NVIDIA's GeForce2 GTSTM GPU. It can not only provide desktop end users with interactive, real-time, and photo-realistic graphics experiences, but also provide a best safety for users' valuable system with ASUS's innovative SmartDoctorTM technologies."

Advanced Visual Realism beyond Current Texture Mapping Techniques Featured with new powerful techniques like NVIDIA Shading Rasterized (NSR) and advanced per-pixel shading capabilities, ASUS's AGP-V7700 allows per-pixel control of color, shadow, light, reflectivity, emissivity, specularity, gloss, dirt, and other visual and material components used to more accurately model complex environments. AGP-V7700 delivers the next generation of visual realism by going beyond the texture mapping techniques of previous graphics processors.

8-texel-per-clock Delivers the Industry's Best 3D Performance Utilizing the technology of four pixels per clock (dual-textured) or eight texels per clock. This new AGP-V7700 delivers more than twice the performance of the award-winning AGP-V6600 (powered by GeForce256). And the new AGP-V7700 can achieve the most extreme resolutions and color depths: up to 2048 x 1536 x 32 at 75 MHz.

SmartDoctorTM Technologies Prove the Best Safety for Your Valuable System AGP-V7700 is also featured with ASUS's innovative SmartDoctorTM technologies including Fan RPM Monitoring, AGP Power Level Monitoring, SmartCooling technology, OverHeat Protection, and Dynamic OverClocking. These innovative designs in ASUS AGP-V7700 will prevent lots of dangerous conditions when enjoying the world's most powerful graphics card.

Shipping Date and Pricing The ASUS AGP-V7700 is scheduled for week 3 of May release, retailing for USD349.-. And the ASUS AGP-V7700Deluxe (with TV-out, Digital VCR, video editing, and 3D VR glasses) is scheduled for week 1 of June, retailing for USD398.- Price and release date may change as time goes by.

Wann die V7700 in Deutschland eingeführt wird ist noch nicht bekannt. Klar ist das es von ASUS wieder eine Deluxe Variante inklusive Video Ein- und Ausgang geben wird. Preise kann ASUS zum jetzigen Zeitpunkt noch nicht nennen.


 

Donnerstag 27.04.2000

27.04 ELSA GLADIAC Preview

Erste Informationen und Fotos zu der GeForce 2GTS Karte GLADIAC von ELSA:

ELSA GLADIAC

ELSA GLADIAC PREVIEW


27.04 Wieder @home

Dan Vivoli - NVIDIA Senior Vice President of Marketing

Nach der GeForce 2 Pressekonferenz von ELSA am Mittwoch und NVIDIA am Donnerstag bin ich nun nach einigen Stunden Fahrt wieder @home. Sorry für die wenigen News die letzten 2 Tage.


27.04 Detonator v5.16

Inoffizielle Referenztreiber: Auf Reactorcritical sind neue Referenztreiber in der Version v5.16 zu finden. Da die Treiber nicht offiziell released sind wird es wie immer in solchen Fällen keinerlei Support geben - Benutzung auf eigenes Risiko.


27.04 GeForce 2GTS

NVIDIA hat den GeForce 2GTS offiziell vorgestellt:

NVIDIA Introduces New Ground-Breaking GPU New GeForce2 GTS Delivers First Major Step Toward Real-time Cinematic Experience

WINHEC 2000, NEW ORLEANS, LA. — April 26, 2000 — Taking a giant leap on the quest for truly interactive, cinematic-quality real-time graphics, NVIDIA Corporation (Nasdaq: NVDA) today introduced the GeForce2 GTS™, the first per-pixel shading graphics processor unit (GPU) for the desktop PC market. The combination of blazingly fast graphics processing and powerful new features, such as sophisticated per-pixel shading, provides unprecedented interactive realism never before available on the PC platform. The GeForce2 GTS will be available from a wide variety of PC OEMs and add-in-card manufacturers over the next few weeks.

Both the desktop graphics and animated film industries are striving to create spectacular, lifelike worlds. Film quality realism requires complicated per-pixel operations, previously impractical for desktop graphics which must render frames as fast as 60 times per second. The GeForce2 GTS is the first GPU with the 3D performance and enhanced feature set necessary to approach this distinct level of realism.

"Achieving Pixar-level animation in real-time has been an industry dream for years," explains Jen-Hsun Huang, president and CEO at NVIDIA. "With twice the performance of the GeForce 256 and per-pixel shading technology, the GeForce2 GTS is a major step toward achieving that goal."

The GeForce2 GTS includes the NVIDIA Shading Rasterizer (NSR), a radical new technology that enables advanced per-pixel shading capabilities. This breakthrough technology has the ability to process seven pixel operations in a single pass on each of four pixel pipelines, simultaneously.

The NSR allows per-pixel control of color, shadow, light, reflectivity, emissivity, specularity, gloss, dirt, and other visual and material components used to create amazingly realistic objects and environments. Per-pixel shading delivers the next-generation of visual realism by going beyond the limited texture mapping techniques of previous graphics processors.

John Carmack, id Software stated, "Per-pixel shading, utilizing cube environment mapping and normalized dot product bump maps look incredibly good across an entire world. Everyone at id is way psyched about developing new content with the GeForce2 GTS." A Discontinuity in the Desktop Graphics Industry The GeForce2 GTS achieves an astounding four pixels per clock (dual-textured) or eight texels per clock and delivers 1.6-billion texels (or 1.6 GigaTexels) per second -- more than twice the performance of the award-winning GeForce 256™ and more than three times the texture processing power of any competitive consumer graphics product. GeForce2 GTS drives the most extreme resolutions and color depths of up to 2048 x 1536 x 32 at 75 Hz.

Another key feature of GeForce2 GTS is its High-Definition Video Processor (HDVP), which enables a variety of crystal-clear HDTV solutions when combined with a mainstream CPU and a low-cost DTV receiver. The HDVP allows mainstream high-performance processors to support all 18 Advanced Television Standards Committee (ATSC) formats with a simple, cost-effective DTV receiver card.

Major 3D features of the GeForce2 GTS include:

  • - Second generation transform and lighting engines
  • - Hardware full-scene anti-aliasing (FSAA)
  • - NVIDIA Shading Rasterizer (NSR) – multi-operation per-pixel rendering engine
  • - Integrated TMDS transmitter supporting flat panels up to 1280 x 1024
  • - Up to 128MB of high-speed double data rate frame buffer memory
  • - AGP 4X and PCI support
  • - Full support for Microsoft® DirectX® and SGI OpenGL®
  • - Optimal performance for current and future CPUs from Intel and AMD

"GeForce2 GTS' support for the DirectX 7 API gives developers the capability to incorporate transform, lighting and per-pixel shading, and deliver a new era of real-time, cinematic 3D effects in Windows-based gaming", said Jason White, lead technical evangelist for DirectX at Microsoft Corporation.

"AMD is excited that NVIDIA is bringing cutting edge features to desktop graphics and AMD processor platforms, such as their new NVIDIA Shading Rasterizer in the GeForce2 GTS" said Richard Heye, vice president and general manager of the AMD Athlon™ Product Division. "We are working closely with NVIDIA to help ensure that platforms based on AMD processors maintain and advance our performance leadership. We believe end users implementing NVIDIA's GeForce2 GTS are fully optimized to harness the raw power of an AMD Athlon processor will be thrilled with the tremendous level of performance delivered to their desktops."

Weitere Informationen dazu auf der Homepage von NVIDIA.


 

Mittwoch 26.04.2000

26.04 GeForce 2GTS Preview

Heute stellt NVIDIA den Nachfolger des GeForce 256 vor, den GeForce 2GTS. Ich selber bin bis morgen unterwegs um mir in den neuen Chip in einer Pressekonferenz von ELSA und NVIDIA genauer anzusehen. Bis dahin gibt es eine Vorschau die die Neuerungen des GeForce 2GTS aufzeigt, ein Interview mit NVIDIA´s European Marketing Manager Alain Tiquet sowie erste Bilder von der Guillemot/Hercules 3D Prophet II GTS:

GeForce 2GTS Preview


 

News Archiv - weitere April News

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