ATi's new board falls short
Written: Sep 30 '00
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Product Rating:
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Pros: Bragging rights and just okay performance
Cons: High price tag, loses out against Geforce and Viper II, short life
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| jinsengchs_sg's Full Review: ATI RAGE FURY MAXX, (64 MB) AGP Video Card |
One look at the MAXX and you probably manage to convince yourself that this card is a whopping screamer. It should be that way, shouldn't it? I mean, look at the 64 megs of memory, plus we essentially have two Rage 128 chips on one card.
Problem is, the MAXX does not really perform like it should. It is totally unable to produce double the performance of a Rage Fury Pro, a similar board with 32 megs and one chip.
Plus, there are many problems out there that should have been solved. When you install the card, you notice that Windows detects the card as two cards, when actually it's two chips running in tandem.
ATi uses a process it calls AFR, compared to 3dfx's SLi. However, real-world performance shows that the MAXX just cannot squeeze out twice the performance. Also, drivers are very buggy and there are still problems to be worked out. The good point is that the driver interface is all but recognizable to ATi users.
An interesting fact is the price tag, which is definitely too high for a board that lacks performance and useful features like a TV out and etc.
To add insult to injury, it has been overtaken by the Radeon series, which is destined to have a much longer life and have many more bells and whistles (an endless list, in fact).
Hardcore gamers will definitely be disappointed. They will be much better off sticking with the brute-force Geforce 2 GTS and the Ultra. The Voodoo 5 6000 is also a good bet, for a while, that is. Budget buyers and casual gamers should probably take a look at the Geforce 2 MX. It offers performance that is near to the Gerforce DDR, sometimes even beating it. The Viper II is also a good bet, since it has a powerful weapon that can't be beat: Its price tag. Plus, it beats the MAXX in many benchmarking tests.
The MAXX is really a mixed bag, and judging by its current status as a not-so wonderful card, you will be better off grabbing a Radeon if you really like ATi.
Recommended:
Yes
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Epinions.com ID:
jinsengchs_sg
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Location: Singapore
Reviews written: 16
Trusted by: 1 member
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