3D Accelerator Roundup By Amer Ajami (Sharky Extreme)
This is a great time for anyone in the market for a graphic accelerator. The industry has seemingly caught up with arcade quality visuals that have been unreachable as of late. Companies the likes of 3Dfx, nVidia, S3 and Matrox all have new next generation chipsets that promise to deliver stunning graphics and unreal speed at the lowest price on the block. But which of the promises are true? Which 3D accelerator is the right one for you? Let's take a look at the players and then rate their offerings. 3Dfx. Founded by Ross Smith, Scott Sellers and Gary Trevoli in 1995, 3Dfx stunned the video industry in 1996 with their Voodoo Graphics chipset. While not the first 3D chipset, it was definitely the fastest. The Voodoo Graphics was unlike anything the industry had seen. Its entire architecture seemed alien. The reference design had separate frame buffer and texture memory, separate texel and pixel processors, and no 2D capabilities. The Voodoo Graphics chipset simply crushed the competition for over 18 months. 3Dfx currently has two chipsets on the market, the Voodoo 2 and the Banshee. The Voodoo 2 is currently the king of 3D accelerators. When nothing but sheer power is what you're looking for, this chipset is your answer. Greatness comes at a price, however... and a very expensive one at that.