nVidia GeForce2 Ultra review...en toen niet meer

Sharky Extreme brengt ons als eerste de info over de nieuwe nVidia GeForce2 Ultra chip. Om nog meer performance uit de GeForce2 te persen is deze Ultra variant gemaakt via een speciaal TSMC .18 micron GX process. De core speed is wat verhoogd naar 250MHz en het 4.3ns 64MB DDR geheugen is op 230MHz geklokt waardoor de memory-bottleneck voor een groot deel is verdwenen:

Yes, that's right, a 250MHz core clock matched to 230MHz DDR SDRAM. The GeForce2 Ultra's core is the same as the GeForce2 GTS', so it contains four pixel pipelines each capable of rendering one pixel per clock with two textures per pixel. Four pixels per clock at 250MHz gives you a one gigapixel per second fill rate. And at two textures per pixel, we're talking a two gigagtexel per second texel rate. Ladies and gentlemen, that's fast! TSMC's .18 micron GX process is a newer process technology, which apparently enables NVIDIA to push their GeForce2 architecture a bit further.

And backing up the blazing fast GPU core is 64MB of 200MHz DDR SDRAM. According to NVIDIA, that's the fastest DDR SDRAM memory available on a consumer product today. With the equivalent of 460MHz memory running on a 128-bit memory bus, the GeForce2 Ultra carries an astounding 7.4 gigabytes per second of memory bandwidth. That's faster than a four PC800 RDRAM channel system! With such a stunning amount of memory bandwidth, the GeForce2 Ultra is sure to run like no other card before it at 1600x1200 and beyond.[break]In de 23 pagina's tellende review is de GeForce2 Ultra zeer uitgebreid gebenchmarked op 1GHz P3 en Athlon systemen. Het verschil met de 'gewone' GeForce2 GTS loopt toch vrij aardig op naarmate je in high-quality boven 1024x768 gaat draaien. In 1600x1200 zijn verschillen van 40 á 50% gemeten! Voor deze opgefokte GeForce2 moet je wel heel wat knaken neerleggen aangezien het ding in Amerika al $500 dollar gaat kosten. Duidelijk is wel dat je de allersnelste kaart in je comp hebt hangen, en aangezien de 3dfx Voodoo5 6000 er nog steeds niet is en er geruchten gaan over een delay van de NV20 zou dat ook wel een tijdje zo kunnen blijven...[/break]So another six months has gone by and a new “refresh” by NVIDIA keeps their six month cycle going in a roundabout way. NV20, the Geforce2 Ultra isn't, but then again, with the new Detonator 3 drivers, a new GX .18micron process enabling a 250MHz core and faster RAM we have yet another new speed champ in the 3D gaming department. The Ultra isn't for everyone but if you've got $500 looking at you with those “please spend me” eyes, you're going to end up owning the fastest 3D accelerator this side of the Endor moon. Just don't expect miracles if you already own a GeForce2 GTS. Remember it's essentially the same technology, with newer drivers just dressed a little differently in fans and heat sinks. You'll only notice a difference if you have a 19+ inch monitor and play games at 1280x1024 and above.

If it's new technology you're after, then you're going to have stash that “please spend me” $500 back under the mattress (hidden well away from any landlord or partner) until Microsoft releases DirectX 8 along with its new set of buzzwords. The delay to DX8 has of course meant that NVIDIA really has no stage for NV20 (probably fully DX8 & “buzzword” capable thanks to X-box). With no DX8 games out yet or in the horizon this year (is that why so many games are being delayed then?), NVIDIA has done the right thing by releasing Detonator 3 drivers and eking out that bit more from NV15.

Bedankt hjs voor de tip!

Update

Inmiddels is de review weer van de frontpage van Sharky Extreme gehaald, omdat ze de NDA (Non Disclosure Agreement, zeg maar het embargo op nieuwe hardware) heeft gebroken. Dat vond nVidia niet leuk, en dus zul je nog even moeten wachten. Op dit moment is de review nog wel te lezen door direct de link in dit artikel te volgen.