|
|
|
December 1996 Reviews This Month
By Marc Spiwak
With 3-D graphics acceleration all the rage these days, new cards are being introduced regularly. I tested three new 3-D accelerators-two S3 ViRGE-based cards, one from Hercules and one from Number Nine, and a third from Matrox, which uses its own brand of accelerator chips.
Testing 3-D graphics cards is tricky at best. Since most differences I found were subjective, I used our standard Word and Excel macros to compare the cards' performance. I tested all three PCI cards in a Cyrix-based 166+ system. The most impressive of the three is the Hercules Terminator 3D. This S3 ViRGE-based card, loaded with 4MB of EDO DRAM, sells for $159-a real bargain. Although the additional 2MB of memory doesn't improve performance, it does increase color depth at higher resolutions. For example, the Terminator 3D is the only card in this group able to display 1024x768 in true color (16 million colors). Standard 2MB cards are limited to 800x600 in true color.
The Terminator supports 3-D features, including accelerated MIP mapping with trilinear filtering, video-texture mapping, depth cueing and fogging, alpha blending, Z-buffering, perspective correction and vertical interpolation for video playback. It also supports Direct3D, Reality Lab, 3DR, Criterion RenderWare, Argonaut Brender and OpenGL. The Terminator accommodates refresh rates up to 120Hz.
The Hercules card bypasses the "have disk" type installation, and instead lets you run a simple program to load drivers and utilities in one pass. I had the card working in minutes. Running in the Cyrix-based system, the card completed our Word macro in an average of 13 seconds and was the best of the bunch in the Excel macro, averaging 8.6 seconds. I was also impressed with its ability to accelerate MPEG video. The Terminator let me play Video CD movies full-screen in all resolutions with very good playback quality.
The Hercules Touch 95 control panel allows you to adjust everything, including the refresh rate. Also included is the Hercules Entertainment Center, which is basically a multimedia player that resembles a home entertainment system. The Terminator 3D is a great performer and an excellent value.
The Number Nine 9FX Reality 332 is another ViRGE-based 3-D graphics accelerator, but one that's not quite as fast as the Hercules card. With the Reality 332 installed in the same Cyrix 166+ system, our Word and Excel macros completed in 16 and 9.6 seconds, respectively.
Because the 9FX Reality 332 uses the same chipset as the Hercules card, support is virtually identical. The Number Nine card follows a more conventional installation procedure. Either your system detects it, or you tell your system that the card's installed. You're then asked for a driver diskette. After loading the driver you must run a separate installation procedure for the HawkEye control panel utility. I had no problems with either procedure.
Number Nine's top-notch HawkEye 95 control panel is very impressive. It's one of the easiest display control panels I've seen, and, given the number of settings it can control, not at all confusing. If I could use a single control panel with all graphics accelerators, HawkEye would be it.
The Reality 332 accelerated MPEG video very well, allowing me to view full-screen movies with no perceptible frame drop. The 3-D software bundled with the Reality 332 includes Screamer, Havoc, Web 3D and RealiMation. The 3-D software in these games is guaranteed to work with the card.
The Matrox Mystique is fundamentally different from the other two cards in that Matrox uses its own accelerator chips. The Mystique is based on the MGA-1064SG processor, and uses SGRAM, a Matrox exclusive. The Matrox engine supports 3-D features, including true-perspective correct texturing, texture lighting, texture transparency, Z-buffering and double buffering. It supports refresh rates as high as 200Hz. This card was also simple to install.
The Matrox Mystique was a bit faster than the Reality 332, with the Word macro executing in 15.6 seconds; the Excel macro was a little slower at 12.6 seconds. These measurements put the Mystique in the same speed league as the Number Nine card.
I didn't care for Matrox's control panel applet. It was awkward to use, and I couldn't adjust the refresh rate to my liking. Otherwise, I had no complaints about the card. The Matrox is bundled with three 3-D games-Scorched Planet, MechWarrior 2 and Destruction Derby.
-- Info File --
Hercules Terminator 3D
Price: 4MB, $159; 2MB, $129
Pros: Very fast 3-D card with 4MB memory
Cons: Not much 3-D software available
Platforms: 3x, 95, NT
Hercules Computer Technology
800-532-0600, 510-623-6030
WinMag Box Score: 4
-- Info File --
Matrox Mystique
Price: $179
Pros: Has TV-tuner input
Cons: Awkward control panel
Platforms: 3x, 95, NT
Matrox Graphics
800-361-1408, 514-969-6320
WinMag Box Score: 3.5
-- Info File --
Number Nine 9FX Reality 332
Price: $199
Pros: Excellent HawkEye control panel
Cons: Not as fast as Terminator 3D
Platforms: 3x, 95, NT
Number Nine Visual Technology
800-GET-NINE, 617-674-0009
WinMag Box Score: 3.5
|
|
|