GeForce2 Ultra Review (1/12)
The introduction of NVIDIA's GeForce2 Ultra came as a complete surprise to everyone. This chip had never once appeared in any roadmap, neither NVIDIA's nor those of the card manufacturers. Therefore quite a few people were taken aback at its surprising introduction, many of which might have known better.
The GF2 Ultra is meant to be NVIDIA's ultimate flagship model. This holds true for the card's performance as well as its price. Costing roughly DM 1300.-, it is well beyond the magical DM 1000.- barrier. Who would buy such an expensive card, you ask? Consider this: Back when the Voodoo2 began shipping, a surprising number of people decided to go with the double-pack to get the SLI-functionality, paying DM 600.- for each card. It seems there are enough interested enthusiasts out there with more than enough money.
At the same time, the GF2 Ultra is definitely also a political statement on NVIDIA's part. It is meant as a demonstartion of strength for ATi's benefit, as the RADEON is close on the GF2's heels - and as a tongue-in-cheek insult aimed directly at 3dfx's as yet non-existant 4-chip Voodoo5 6000, which has been re-scheduled for a repeatedly delayed fall 2000 introduction. Possibly this is also a panic-reaction, out of fear that ATi could introduce a multichip RADEON MAXX that could overtake the GF2 class cards. Or, it is said, the GF2 is meant to tide consumers over until the introduction of the NV20, which is rumoured to have been delayed. Although possible, I don't put too much stopck in this rumor, considering that the TNT2 Pro started shipping just before the introduction of the GeForce 256, which wasn't deleayed either. Besides, a GeForce2 Pro variant is already listed in NVIDIA's v6.18 DETONATOR 3 driver releasenotes. |
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| Copyright: 06.09.2000 -
RIVA
Station 2000 - Lars Weinand Translation by Benjamin Kraft URL of this Article: www.rivastation.com/gf2ultra1_e.htm - If you want to link to it, please use this URL! :-) |
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