Not worth the hype
Written: Oct 05 '00
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Product Rating:
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Pros: Fairly Inexpensive
Cons: Low FPS, Limited drivers
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| PKM_Assassin's Full Review: S3 Diamond Viper Ultra 770 |
The Diamond Viper 770 Ultra is based on the nVidia TNT 2 GPU (graphical processing unit) with 32 Megs of RAM and 4 times AGP. The Ultra model uses the same TNT 2 GPU, the same amount of RAM and the same AGP speed as the standard 770 model, but this puppy is designed for power gamers, that just love to over clock every thing they can get there hands on. The GPU & RAM bus are not only faster than the standard 770, but both Diamond and nVidia encourage you to over clock it, supplying a GPU fan and heat sink to keep things cool and software to crank it up.
The board sings best with DirectX/Direct 3D based games, but depending on your Operating system, OpenGL will work in a pinch.
For half decent FPS (Frames Per Second), you need a fast CPU, unlike the multi-processor based 3DFX cards, the TNT based cards will still use your main CPU for Polygon rendition; in other words, the slower your CPU, the less FPS and “eye candy” you can display. Personally I think this is a bit of an annoyance, I have played the same game on a PII with 128 Megs of RAM with the 770 ultra, then on a slower PII with a 3DFX based card that only had 16 Megs of RAM on the card. The Voodoo (3DFX) card won hands down every time, in both FPS and “eye candy” that could be displayed.
On the driver front, S3/Diamond still has not issued drivers for Windows 2000 or Windows Millennium, and from their web site, it does not look like they will be coming out any time soon. They point you to the nVidia site and encourage you to use the Detonator based drivers. Again, this is an annoyance, the drivers, although specific for the GPU, are generic for the card. I want a driver specific for MY CARD!!! In the heat of battle, I want every FPS that can be squeezed from the card.
Over all, I have been very disappointed in this card and would advise you to pass on it. If you are on a budget and the game you want to play supports the Glide API for 3DFX cards, I would recommend going for a Voodoo 3000 series card. If you have some extra cash and want to make your game scream, I would recommend a Geforce based card. Stay tuned for my review on the Geforce 256.
Recommended:
No
Amount Paid (US$): 200.00
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Epinions.com ID:
PKM_Assassin
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Location: Ontario, Canada
Reviews written: 26
Trusted by: 10 members
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