SDR is good, but DDR is better
Written: Jun 28 '00 (Updated Jul 13 '00)
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Product Rating:
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Pros: Great performance, more reasonably priced than DDR
Cons: Not the fastest on the market
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| Dave70968's Full Review: Creative Labs 3D Blaster Annihilator |
For the full story of why I decided to build a computer around the geForce chipset, read my review of the Guillemot Prophet DDR. As to why I bought this card, well, impatience is the culprit.
I was intent on building a computer with a geForce DDR chipset video card, but at the time I was building, the DDR was not readily available. I opted to buy an SDR card, then later sell it and replace it with a DDR when they became available. I bought for my interim card the Creative Annihilator 3D (SDR) card. Even though it's only a single data rate card, it still outperforms just about every other chipset on the consumer market. For the three weeks or so I owned the card, I enjoyed Q3 framerates that were high enough to make all of the other hardcore gamers on my floor drool. I also enjoyed the included WinDVD software, and the card (in combination with my P-III) was fast enough to make software-decoded DVD playback flawless, with no skipping or dropped frames.
Downsides to this card include the lack of a TV-out--I do a fair amount of video editing and production work, and would like to be able to export from my computer to S-Video (the Guillemot DDR includes this, as well as DVI out, for those really nice flat panels that I hate so much...super sharp, but color rendition is weak--very washed out, no contrast). Also, when I sold the card to a friend of mine, he had trouble getting it to work. When he runs it with full accelerator functions, he gets garbage on his screen that worsens with time. I never had that problem, so it may be an issue with his specific hardware combination.
The Creative Annihilator 3D is an outstanding card for consumers looking for a fast 3D card, but not wanting to shell out the $250 for the DDR--I have seen it available online for around $150 (28-Jun-2000). I bought it back when it was around $225
Recommended:
Yes
Amount Paid (US$): 225
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Epinions.com ID:
Dave70968
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Member: Dave Buckles
Location: Norman, OK
Reviews written: 16
Trusted by: 6 members
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