ThanX to Michael Birke to help
me out with the translation !
While performing a Hardware-test I asked ELSA
and Diamond 10 questions;
for Diamond Reimar Hantke, European
Product Manager, answered:
RS: Diamond is using SDRAM for the Viper V550 instead of SGRAM like ELSA.
What were the reasons?
Reimar Hantke: The price / performance relation, as the RIVA Station test
showed. We had no significant performance loss with SDRAM compared with the more expensive
SGRAM, and thus we decided to use SDRAM.
RS: At which clock frequency does the memory of the Viper V550 run? The
magacine PC-Professionell states in their 3D-card test that it has 115Mhz.
Reimar Hantke: The Viper V550 works as nVidia has defined the Chip: 90
Mhz core clock, 110 Mhz memory clock.
RS: The little difference to the Erazor II in the test is interesting,
although it uses SGRAM. nVidias's Reference Board uses SDRAM, too. May it be possible that
the Reference Drivers favor SDRAM in some way?
Reimar Hantke: No, as said above.
RS: How about the role of the BIOS of modern 3D graphics card?
Reimar Hantke: It is mainly important for the basic functionality and
compatibility, but there is next to no space for performance tuning nowadays.
RS: Video IN. How will this solution look like? An extra solution like
Canopus or a new board design. When will there be such a board?
Reimar Hantke: Due to low demand of our customers there will not be such
a version.
RS: Will simultaneous TV-Out/VGA modes be possible and which resolutions
will be supported?
Reimar Hantke: It is planned for a later Software release.We support the
maximum possible resolution of 800x600 (the PAL norm is 576x768 and higher resolutions
would decrease quality through zooming).
RS: Canopus and ELSA grant their TNT cards a cooling fan. Why does
Diamond
use a passive heat sink?
Reimar Hantke: As far as I know ELSA uses a passive heat sink now, too...
our engineers have tested both versions and found that a passive heat sink is enough. And
a passive heat sink has a cost advantage.
RS: In contrast to ELSA Diamond builds a Viper V550 PCI version. Do you
see a future for PCI.
Reimar Hankte: No, not really. But PCI is the presence! There are many
customers that still have PCI machines and who are willing to upgrade. The other
application is the use of multiple graphics cards with Windows 98 or Windows NT 4 systems.
RS: The last drivers for the Riva 128 had a definitive speed advantage
over the first ones.
Will this be the same with the TNT?
Reimar Hankte: That's a good question. As it seems this will not be the
case. But what are optimizations? Mainly special adjustments for new programs / games.
Should new programs use new functions we did not optimize up to now we will do so for
certain. But we must just wait how things will develope in the future.
RS: What will be the next big step in developement? Geometry-processors?
Texture Compression? 3D Now!?
Reimar Hantke: Mr. Nadler of ELSA already answered this well. Perhaps
another point of view to this question: 1-2 years before, every new software of Microsoft
demanded a new processor, more RAM, a bigger harddisk. What is today the motor of the
developement? A new operating system? No, when you take a look at Windows 98 it has mainly
hardware adjustments for existing hardware (AGP, USB, ...). A new Office package? To write
letters and to work with Excel Charts a 166MMX is already fast enough. Nowadays only
games and hardware-hungry applications like SoftDVD that force CPU and graphics cards. And
both will have great performance jumps in future. But you will need both, because for
optimum performance you will need a very fast CPU and a very fast graphics processor. And
optimizations like MMX, 3DNow! for the CPU, Texture Compression, more Texture Engines,
more Onboard-RAM and Geometry processors are possibilities for graphic processors. And
both are combined with a AGP 4X Bus.
RS: Thanks a lot for answering my questions!
RIVA Station 11/1998 |
