Original Link: https://www.anandtech.com/show/200
We all know what the fastest 3D cards are currently, however not everyone has the desire or the funds to spend $500 on Dual Voodoo2 accelerators to get decent Quake 2 performance. Luckily, the recent price drops in the low-end 3D Accelerator market coincide with the recent growth of the Socket-7/Super7 market. For around $200 you can pick up a decent K6-2 + Motherboard combo and for an additional $100 you can get an excellent 3D accelerator. Unfortunately things aren't that easy, not everyone has a K6-2 and the performance of low-end 3D accelerators varies depending on the processor used in the tests.
Putting the cards to the test is the key to making a final decision, the test? Quake 2. Unreal is still a few steps away from allowing it to be used as a standard Benchmark test, and we all know how unreliable 3D Winbench 98 scores are when comparing cards.
All cards tested here either used their own OpenGL drivers, or those included with Quake 2, listed below are any and all third party drivers that were used in the tests:
3Dfx Voodoo 1 - Diamond Monster 3D (PCI) - 3Dfx Glide 2.43
3D Rage Pro - ATI Xpert@Work (AGP) - ATI Quake 2 OpenGL ICD
Intel 740 - Real3D StarFighter (AGP) - Real3D OpenGL ICD
nVidia Riva 128 - Canopus Witch Doctor (AGP) - nVidia Riva 128 OpenGL Drivers w/ AMD 3DNow! Drivers
The above cards were chosen as they represent the general performance of the chipsets they are based upon. Once you have narrowed your decision down to a single chipset, then you can search the AnandTech Video Card Reviews for reviews of cards based on those chipsets to compare features.
The test system AnandTech used was a Socket-7 Processor (K6-2 300, 6x86MX 200+, or Pentium MMX 233) on an AOpen AX59Pro Super7 Motherboard, with 64MB of Corsair PC100 SDRAM. The 2D card present for the Voodoo tests was an AGP ATI Xpert@Work card. The test system was running Windows 98 on the first of three clean partitions of a 5.1GB Western Digital Ultra DMA Hard Drive. Quake 2 was loaded on the second partition leaving the third partition for all other driver files.
So without further ado, let's get to those benchmarks...
The K6-2 rules the Super7 world under Quake 2 when armed with a Voodoo2, however how well does it perform when you remove the Voodoo2's shoulder. Let's find out as we take a look at how well the K6-2 performs without the support of a Voodoo2
Quake 2 640 x 480 OpenGL Tests - AMD K6-2 300 (100 x 3.0) |
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Timedemo | |
DEMO 1 | Massive 1 | |
3Dfx Voodoo 1 (PCI) | 19.4 fps | 17.4 fps |
3D Rage Pro (AGP) | 12.9 fps | 10.6 fps |
Intel 740 (AGP) | 21.8 fps | 17.4 fps |
nVidia Riva 128 (AGP) | 26.7 fps | 20.5 fps |
At 640 x 480, nVidia's Riva 128 chipset has a clear advantage over the competition. While its image quality isn't that great in comparison to the second place Intel 740 its performance is unmatched, providing gamers with nearly a fluid 30 fps of gaming performance. The old Voodoo 1 is still performing solid, as it cranks out frame rates just about on par with that of the i740. The ATI 3D Rage Pro comes in last place, not even giving 3Dfx any trouble as far as competition goes, an unfortunate sight since the visual quality of the 3D Rage Pro isn't bad at all.
Quake 2 640 x 480 OpenGL Tests - AMD K6-2 300 (66 x 4.5) |
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Timedemo | |
DEMO 1 | Massive 1 | |
3Dfx Voodoo 1 (PCI) | 18.9 fps | 17.3 fps |
3D Rage Pro (AGP) | 12.1 fps | 10.0 fps |
Intel 740 (AGP) | 18.1 fps | 14.5 fps |
nVidia Riva 128 (AGP) | 23.4 fps | 17.6 fps |
Take away the beauty of the 100MHz Front Side Bus, and the scene slowly begins to change. The performance of the i740 drops to third place, bumped ever so slightly by the former champ, the 3Dfx Voodoo 1. Once again, the Riva 128 comes out on top, a lead which could be partially explained by the hardware support for AMD's 3DNow! instructions provided for by the newest nVidia Drivers.
Quake 2 800 x 600 OpenGL Tests - AMD K6-2 300 (100 x 3.0) |
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Timedemo | |
DEMO 1 | Massive 1 | |
3Dfx Voodoo 1 (PCI) | N/A | N/A |
3D Rage Pro (AGP) | 10.8 fps | 9.2 fps |
Intel 740 (AGP) | 20.6 fps | 16.9 fps |
nVidia Riva 128 (AGP) | 26.1 fps | 25.7 fps |
Crank up the resolution to 800 x 600, a setting unsupported by the 4MB Voodoo 1 cards, and the rankings remain pretty much the same. The Riva 128 and i740 chipsets both make the transition to 800 x 600 without much of a performance hit (at most around 5%). However the ATI 3D Rage Pro takes a much bigger punch enforced by the sharper resolution, resulting in around a 20% drop in frame rate.
Quake 2 800 x 600 OpenGL Tests - AMD K6-2 300 (66 x 4.5) |
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Timedemo | |
DEMO 1 | Massive 1 | |
3Dfx Voodoo 1 (PCI) | N/A | N/A |
3D Rage Pro (AGP) | 10.2 fps | 8.5 fps |
Intel 740 (AGP) | 17.0 fps | 14.1 fps |
nVidia Riva 128 (AGP) | 22.9 fps | 17.3 fps |
What 3D Chipset can mask the weak FPU of the Cyrix 6x86MX? Not surprising what the answer is here, the former champ makes a return in today's Voodoo2 dominated world.
Quake 2 640 x 480 OpenGL Tests - Cyrix 6x86MX 200 (66 x 2.5) |
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Timedemo | |
DEMO 1 | Massive 1 | |
3Dfx Voodoo 1 (PCI) | 14.7 fps | 11.6 fps |
3D Rage Pro (AGP) | 8.7 fps | 6.9 fps |
Intel 740 (AGP) | 12.6 fps | 9.8 fps |
nVidia Riva 128 (AGP) | 14.4 fps | 10.9 fps |
The 3Dfx Voodoo 1 still holds strong with the Cyrix 6x86MX, providing users with the most performance out of this roundup. For those of you that desire a 2D/3D solution, then the next step down is the Riva 128 which nearly equals the Voodoo 1 in performance while adding the useful benefits of a 2D accelerator.
Taking a larger step down, you'll find the i740 which is a bit slower than the 128, however it makes up for the difference in Image Quality. In the end, it all boils down to performance as the visual benefits can't be enjoyed if you can't play your games at a decent speed.
Quake 2 800 x 600 OpenGL Tests - Cyrix 6x86MX 200 (66 x 2.5) |
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Timedemo | |
DEMO 1 | Massive 1 | |
3Dfx Voodoo 1 (PCI) | N/A | N/A |
3D Rage Pro (AGP) | 7.7 fps | 6.3 fps |
Intel 740 (AGP) | 12.1 fps | 9.6 fps |
nVidia Riva 128 (AGP) | 14.4 fps | 10.9 fps |
Pretty much the same picture at 800 x 600, the 3D Rage Pro remains unplayable with the Riva 128 ruling the territory yet threatened by the i740.
Equipping the aging Pentium MMX with the 100MHz Front Side Bus setting present on Super7 motherboards breathes new life into the processor platform. The results are quite nice, and are even giving the 300MHz K6-2 a run for the money.
Quake 2 640 x 480 OpenGL Tests - Intel Pentium MMX 200 (100 x 2.0) |
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Timedemo | |
DEMO 1 | Massive 1 | |
3Dfx Voodoo 1 (PCI) | 19.0 fps | 18.2 fps |
3D Rage Pro (AGP) | 12.5 fps | 10.4 fps |
Intel 740 (AGP) | 19.6 fps | 15.5 fps |
nVidia Riva 128 (AGP) | 24.1 fps | 18.3 fps |
Intel's own i740 once again takes a backseat to the nVidia Riva 128 by a noticeable difference of around 5 fps in normal gameplay. The i740 seems to be a weaker multiplayer chipset since its 'Massive 1' (Multiplayer Netplay Demo) scores are well below those of the Riva 128 and the Voodoo 1. If you are a Netplay advocate, then you may want to leave the i740 out of your possible choices.
Quake 2 640 x 480 OpenGL Tests - Intel Pentium MMX 233 (66 x 3.5) |
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Timedemo | |
DEMO 1 | Massive 1 | |
3Dfx Voodoo 1 (PCI) | 19.9 fps | 18.7 fps |
3D Rage Pro (AGP) | 12.0 fps | 10.0 fps |
Intel 740 (AGP) | 17.0 fps | 13.6 fps |
nVidia Riva 128 (AGP) | 22.8 fps | 17.3 fps |
Once again, the 66MHz FSB takes the Voodoo 1 up to 2nd place and leaves the i740 as close to the 3D Rage Pro as possible. For your Pentium MMX 233, the choice is clear, the Riva 128 has what it takes to be a wonderful Super7 companion.
Quake 2 640 x 480 OpenGL Tests - Intel Pentium MMX 250 (100 x 2.5) |
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Timedemo | |
DEMO 1 | Massive 1 | |
3Dfx Voodoo 1 (PCI) | 19.9 fps | 18.7 fps |
3D Rage Pro (AGP) | 13.5 fps | 11.3 fps |
Intel 740 (AGP) | 21.8 fps | 17.3 fps |
nVidia Riva 128 (AGP) | 27.8 fps | 21.1 fps |
The 250MHz setting seems to be the Super7 "sweet-spot" as it provides frame rates closer to a smooth 30 fps than even the K6-2 running at 300MHz. This is courtesy of the strong FPU of the Pentium MMX, however as far as the rankings go, there is no real change. The first place position still belongs to the Riva 128.
Quake 2 800 x 600 OpenGL Tests - Intel Pentium MMX 200 (100 x 2.0) |
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Timedemo | |
DEMO 1 | Massive 1 | |
3Dfx Voodoo 1 (PCI) | N/A | N/A |
3D Rage Pro (AGP) | 10.6 fps | 9.8 fps |
Intel 740 (AGP) | 18.5 fps | 15.1 fps |
nVidia Riva 128 (AGP) | 23.8 fps | 18.2 fps |
Quake 2 800 x 600 OpenGL Tests - Intel Pentium MMX 233 (66 x 3.5) |
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Timedemo | |
DEMO 1 | Massive 1 | |
3Dfx Voodoo 1 (PCI) | N/A | N/A |
3D Rage Pro (AGP) | 10.2 fps | 8.7 fps |
Intel 740 (AGP) | 16.1 fps | 13.2 fps |
nVidia Riva 128 (AGP) | 22.6 fps | 17.1 fps |
Quake 2 800 x 600 OpenGL Tests - Intel Pentium MMX 250 (100 x 2.5) |
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Timedemo | |
DEMO 1 | Massive 1 | |
3Dfx Voodoo 1 (PCI) | N/A | N/A |
3D Rage Pro (AGP) | 11.1 fps | 9.7 fps |
Intel 740 (AGP) | 20.5 fps | 16.8 fps |
nVidia Riva 128 (AGP) | 26.5 fps | 20.5 fps |
The world as a whole has yet to unveil what is in store for the low-end 3D accelerator market. Matrox is on the verge of releasing their G200 based cards which promise to be decent performers, 3Dfx recently announced their Banshee chipset which should provide performance almost equivalent to a single Voodoo2 at a fraction of the cost while integrating an excellent 2D processor as well.
But for now...the best overall low-cost Super7 3D Accelerator? The nVidia Riva 128, unless you happen to be using a Cyrix 6x86MX in which case there is no point upgrading beyond a Voodoo 1 card. This just goes to show you that you don't need to add $500 to the cost of your computer to get decent gaming performance, although from one hardware junkie to another...Dual Voodoo2's are definitely worth it ;)