rickzhong's Full Review: ATI RADEON, (32 MB) AGP Video Card
nVidia has all the reasons to be alerted if they are still in the post-war recess after fighting with 3Dfx in the market of high-end graphic processor. ATI, the leading force in video system, have broken into the market with swift and big stride. While people are still arguing whether “speed rules” or “fill rate is the king”, ATI’s Radeon 32MB DDR graphic accelerator, equipped with the famous CHARISMA Engine and some other newest technology, is landed in the debris left by the war between nVidia and 3Dfx.
Just the name “CHARISMA”, ATI tries to make its new graphic chip process popular attractions to arouse overwhelming devotion. ATI want it to be the trend-leader who the competitor will follow. Just look at the features which are supported by this plain-looking graphic card, even the greediest gamer in the world will be lured to have a try.
T&L (Transformation and Lighting)
Although currently this technology is like a newest weapon in a peaceful world because most of the software and games do not take full advantage of it, T&L provides a new conception of the coordination between CPU and GPU in graphic processing.
T&L technology is based on the idea of concurrent operation of CPU and graphic processor (GPU). It takes the full advantage of using static vertax buffer whose data does not need to change during the period of time when your programs are allocated in memory.
More CPU power can be freed to execute other tasks such as AI, physics calculations in stead of graphic processing.
DDR (Double Data Rate)
This technology promises to deliver twice the memory bandwidth for the highest data transfer rates through pipeline. Nowadays, memory becomes an annoying limitation to the performance of 3D performance instead of CPU speed. DDR is one of the major improvements in the designing of graphic processor to shatter the barrier to higher performance due to the memory bottleneck. Data can be transferred on both edges of each clock cycle, effectively doubling the memory chip’s data throughput.
Pixel Tapestry Ô Architecture
The main weapon in ATI Radeon’s design is the Pixel Tapestry Ô Architecture. This architecture is featured by its 3D texture and the ability of applying three filtered textures per pixel generated. When we are creating 3D graphics, there are so many small, subtle things which will be caught by human’s eyes (even without considering the extraordinary ability of gamers’ eyes) and reveal its artificial nature. Therefore 3D games are gradually increasing the level of graphical details.
ATI Radeon takes the advantages of their most advanced and flexible texture rendering system. It can apply 3 textures to a single pixel. It increases the quality of the graphics without incurring any noticeable drop of performances.
Meanwhile 3D texture is another powerful weapon, which is used by ATI radeon to demolish all its competitors in the market. It is the first 3D chipset that can support 3D texture and revolutionize the traditional way of representing 3D object by polygons, which is actually a 2D surfaces. This enables ATI radeon to generate magnificent graphics with spectacular lighting and 3D effects.
Hyper Z ------The Technology of Saving Ammunition
ATI is so proud of this secret weapon and they introduce this feature in every advertisement and introduction for their Radeon 32MB DDR graphic card.
Traditionally 3D graphic processors always have a overdraw problem which means the processor generates pixels and textures which are not even appear on the screen. It is like wasting bullets by shooting into enemy’s direction without knowing who are exposed and who are behind a shelter. Hyper Z technology slashed the resources, which normally used for generating invisible graphics and thus effectively reduces the amount of memory bandwidth required for the depth buffer without sacrificing any quality in the fine image.
Hyper Z employs a set of three techniques that create realistic and real-time 3D graphics to a higher stage. They are Hierarchical Z, Z compression and Fast Z clear.
Finally Will It Again Be a Well-equipped Army With No “Morale”?
ATI is notorious for its driver support. With all those advanced technology and well-design, Radeon is waiting for a well-programmed driver to fully exhibit its stunning 3D performance. According to ATI, the driver for Radeon will be based on Rage128 drivers that were built from scratch because they had radically changed the programming interface from the Rage Pro to the 128. Since the Radeon uses the same programming architecture as the 128, ATI has leveraged all of their drivers in areas where they’re compatible. And this time, ATI will focus on improving the existing driver’s performance instead of creating a new one.
I have tried ATI driver version 4.12.3056. The results is quite encouraging although it does not yet tap the full potential and power of this stylish charismatic graphic card. All the gamers will be looking forward to the release of ATI Radeon’s new driver.
This 512MB memory module designed to enhance the performance. Compatible with select Tyan, SuperMicro, Intel, Gateway and Nokia models. PC DDR-SDRAM D...More at MacMall
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