Stardock heeft versie 0.4 van Windowblinds (een handig proggie waarmee je de suffe Windoos interface kunt vervangen met bijv. een BeOS look) gereleased. De nieuwe versie is stabieler en heeft minder bugs dan 0.39. Het ding kun je hier downloaden, erg koel om eens te proberen.

3DLabs heeft eindelijk een officiële pr in elkaar gezet van de langverwachte Permedia III. Hier heb je wat promoblablabla:

3Dlabs® continues to strengthen its leadership position in the 3D graphics revolution with the announcement of PERMEDIA 3, the most recent product in 3Dlabs' line of powerful, mainstream graphics processors for games and corporate desktop graphics acceleration.

Combining a powerful 250 million texel/sec dual-textured fill rate, full DirectX 6 and OpenGL 3D feature set and fast AGP2X support, the 128-bit PERMEDIA 3 graphics processor delivers breathtakingly realistic 3D, ultra fast 2D and cutting edge DVD playback and video integration.

PERMEDIA 3's unique 3D core has been designed for full-on single-cycle operations that enable 3D realism and image quality to be cranked up to the max while sustaining high frame rates. Advanced visual effects such as tri-linear mipmapping, bump mapping with a surface texture, and multiple texture blending are all applied in a single pass, without any performance degradation.

With an unrivaled feature set, PERMEDIA 3 is aggressively positioned in the mainstream PC market, enabling PC OEMs, developers and end-users alike to experience awesome, fully-integrated graphics performance at mainstream prices.

Ik kwam op Hardware One wat handige info tegen voor de diep verslaafde ICQ'ers onder ons: Mirabilis heeft Build 1700 van de ICQ99a beta op z'n server gedumpt. Je kunt het ding hier downloaden.

Ik zag net op Fastgraphics dat Eric wat nieuws van ATI heeft over het hitteprobleem met de Rage128 (zie ook THG). ATI heeft wat aan de Rage128 zitten knutselen wat geresulteerd heeft in een nieuwe revision die wat betreft de warmteontwikkeling van minder uitbundig is:

"There is a new revision of the Rage 128GL chip which is 215R4GASA22. It does not include any functional changes however it is a completely modified substrate which improves the power supply of the chip and the heat diversion. (...) All the shipping products have revision A22 of the Rage 128GL chip. You can do a 48 hour test with the Rage Dawning Demo in 1024x768x32bpp and you will not see any missing triangle. At this point I disagree with you - the Rage 128GL A22 chip does NOT need any cooling.

As an evidence I will send you an XPERT 128 board (Rage 128GL, 16MB

SDRAM)."

Dat disagree-en ging btw over een opmerking van Eric dat de Rage128 een koelprobleempje had.

CPUSite (een Nederlandse site bij Demon) heeft een artikel over cache in elkaar geknutseld. Hier een interessant stukje over de L3 cache van de de K6-3:

he K6-3 brings us to an other interesting point. Since the K6-3 will have its own L2 cache, the L2 cache at the mainboard will move up to being L3 cache. Problem is that this L3 cache will not add much extra performance to the on-die L2 cache.

Why? Well, the ratio L2/L3 is important, just as the ration L1/L2 is important. If information is not found in a specific level the CPU will try the next level, which is slower but also bigger. However if the next level isn't that much bigger, chances that the required information will be found are small. So the CPU will spend time looking for nothing, and could in theory even end up being slower instead of being faster. So if the L3 cache is not significly bigger benefits are small. A factor of at least 4:1 is often used. Look for instance at the L2/L1 values of the Celeron with 32:128 and the K6-3 with 64:256: both are exactly 4:1.

AMD claims in combination with 1MB cache, so L3/L2=4:1, on the mainboard an extra performance gain of 3-4%. Fine, but since most Super 7 boards are 'only' equipped with 512kB of cache this also means that those boards will probably gain nothing. I don't think it will hurt performance, but disabling might have only positive effects: increasing the overclockability.

C|Net heeft een Special Report in elkaar gekwakt met allerlei stuff over Linux. Hier de intro:

Not hip to the Linux scene yet? Let us explain. Linux is a Unix-like operating system that was named after its creator, Linus Torvalds. World renowned for its speed and reliability as both a Web server and a workstation, Linux runs on many different kinds of hardware, including the Alpha, Amiga, Atari, IBM, Intel, PowerPC/Macintosh, SGI, and Sun Sparc platforms. But even better, Linux is--and always has been--free to download (see our download box to the left). However, today some vendors--such as Red Hat and Caldera--do sell collections, or distributions, of the Linux kernel, plus Linux drivers, applications, and utilities for a price.

Kijk hier voor meer...

OGR heeft een preview gepost van Total Annihilation: Kingdoms. Hier wat info over de storyline:

The setting for Cavedog's fantasy epic is the mythical realm of Darien. In the past a single powerful ruler held sway over said land, but since his death Darien has fallen prey to the wars waged by his children for control of the realm. Each of these children represent one of the four elements and rules one of the kingdoms of Darien—earth (Aramon), air (Zhon), fire (Taros), and water (Veruna). Each kingdom sports its own unique look and feel, much as the different planets did in the original Total Annihilation, but Cavedog has made an effort to take the level of detail a step further this time around.

Ik kwam via Slashdot bij dit best wel grappige artikel met een analyse van het Slashdot effect. So wtf is het slashtdot effect?

Apache httpd log files have been analyzed to show the Slashdot Effect. This effect is known as the spontaneous high hit rate upon a web server due to an announcement on a high volume news web site. Three papers were published on the Internet and announced on the high volume news web sites of slashdot.org, linuxtoday.org, and freshmeat.org. The hit rate plots as a function of time are correlated with the announcement times on these web sites. These correlations clearly demonstrate the magnitude and significance of the Slashdot Effect.

Vorig jaar op 29 juni stond m'n overclockers site (nu zo dood als pier) ook op Slashdot (daarvoor eeuwig dank aan Diederik :)) en ik heb persoonlijk kunnen ondervinden wat het Slashdot effect betekent (3000 bezoekers op een dag + 450Mb traffic :)).

[ff zoeken] Hier is trouwens die Slashdot posting over mijn site.

Ars Technica heeft een artikel gebouwd over de Linux Command Prompt. Elk besturingssysteem heeft er wel eentje (zelfs MacOS) en ze kunnen errug handig zijn. Hier een stukkie:

Linux supports the notion of a command line or a shell for the same reason that only children read books with only pictures in them. Language, be it English or something else, is the only tool flexible enough to accomplish a sufficiently broad range of tasks. Reviewers constantly mutter about the "arcane command line" -- it's only arcane because they haven't had a reason to learn the Linux command-line environment. Is this to say that the command line is for everyone, or even most people? Certainly not. It exists because not everybody needs the fancy graphical tools, not everybody appreciates them, and not every task can be accomplished through a GUI.

Ik zie net op www.coolinfo.com dat Mikroschoft misschieen een Win2000 Personal Edition gaat bouwen op basis van de ouwe labiele Win9x kernel:

Microsoft Corp. is wavering in its plans to base its next-generation desktop operating system -- the follow-on to Windows 98 -- on the NT kernel. For at least two years, the Redmond, Wash., company has said that the next version of its desktop OS would be based on the NT kernel. Instead, Microsoft (Nasdaq:MSFT) is now contemplating extending its venerable Windows 9x kernel for at least one more release, according to sources close to the company. Timing for the release of the beta and final code for this operating system update -- which may be called Windows 2000 Personal Edition, according to sources -- is uncertain.

A Microsoft spokeswoman confirmed that the company is evaluating a refresh of its desktop operating system based on the 9x kernel, although she declined to provide details about pricing, availability or why Microsoft may be considering the new Windows 9x-based release. Microsoft is going to pick "the best possible combination" for its new OS, the spokeswoman said. "There are definitely efforts to develop a new version of a consumer operating system, but what kernel it's based on I don't know," she said. But beta testers and IS customers have their own theories about why Microsoft may be shifting its plans. Some testers have reported that Microsoft has had difficulties porting Windows 9x features, such as Plug and Play, to the NT kernel and is facing a number of incompatibilities with current Windows applications.

"I haven't heard anything on this [Windows 2000 Personal Edition] specifically. But you've got to wonder: How much Plug and Play and PCMCIA support can they get into NT? And the games compatibility issue could be huge [between the 9x and NT kernels]," said one Windows developer.

Het zal wel weer om dat laatste gaan: Mikroschoft te dom om een stabiel platform te leveren dat ook geschikt is voor games én PnP...

C|Net News.com heeft een nieuwsbericht dat ons allen sterkt zal verontrusten: software piracy neemt sterk to dankzij het net . Natuurlijk zitten de collaborateurs van de BSA er weer achter:

The Internet is the fastest growing area for software piracy, which could cost software companies as much as $1 billion a year, according to reports.

Business Software Alliance research shows that the number of European Web site offerings, linked to or discussing pirated software, has risen to 94,832 by the end of December from about 39,000 at the end of April, the Financial Times reported, citing Robert Holleyman, president and chief executive of the BSA.

Worldwide, the number of sites has risen to 900,000 at the end of the year from 200,100 at the end of April, the newspaper reported.

Microsoft, the world's largest software company, is the most valuable business in the Financial Times 500, the U.K. newspaper's annual ranking of companies worldwide, replacing General Electric.

Intel is wat ongeduldig over de lage output van Rambus chips en heeft daarom een zooi geld gedumpt bij Toshiba, Samsung en Micron met de bedoeling hiermee de produktie van Direct Rambus DRAMS te versnellen:

Intel has offered to provide Toshiba with funds to boost production of Direct Rambus DRAM memory chips, according to the Nihon Keizai Shimbun, a major Japanese business daily.

The funds would be used to expand production of the new memory chips, Toshiba said. Intel needs the chips to speed the performance of personal computers.

Observers say large scale production of the new memory chips is delayed because some major manufacturers are balking at the high cost of manufacturing and the licensing fees.

Intel has already invested in South Korean memory giant Samsung and Micron Technology in order to spur production.

Toshiba spokesman Shintaro Nogi said Japan's second-largest chipmaker, which will begin producing the new chips this year, hasn't yet decided whether to accept the offer. He declined to disclose the amount of money Intel is willing to provide.

Zie dit artikel van News.com voor meer info...

Apex (uitvinder van de Celery sandwich) heeft een review gepost van de Abit BX6-II. Aanvankelijk kon Apex (dankzij de Celery sandwich) maximaal 504Mhz bereiken, maar dankzij de 117Mhz FSB setting op de BX6-II draait hij z'n Celery nu op 527Mhz!

The Celeron 300A I have in the BX6-2 used to reside in a BH6. The thing would do 504mhz (112mhz x 4.5) just fine at 2.0 volts, but could not reach 558mhz (124mhz x 4.5). Because of this, I thought that the 527mhz (117mhz x 4.5) may work. The new BX6-2 gives me that option. Before we go on, I must say that this specific processor is not one of the best specimens of its kind. It used to crash almost immediately upon loading windows. Only a "Celery Sandwich" could cool it enough to run stably. Check out my old article on building one here, if you find you're in need of extra Celeron cooling.

Meer info over BX6-II vind je in ons Inside Abit artikel.

Intel is niet echt blij met de vroege verkoop van de PIII. Sommige retailers in de US verkopen het ding al, terwijl ze pas officeel gereleased wordt ergens eind deze maand. News.com heeft er een artikel over:

ntel's legal department is looking into ways of stopping sales of Pentium III processors in advance of the chip's official release, but isn't likely to do much about the irksome practice.

As reported last week, some computer resellers and chip dealers are already selling Pentium III processors to consumers--even offering to build systems around the chip--although the product's official rollout won't come until the end of the month. The 500-MHz version of the Pentium III is selling for $823 to $899 in retail while the 450-MHz version of the chip can be had for $569.

"It's clearly against our sales guidelines," said an Intel spokeswoman, confirming that the company's legal department is evaluating the situation.

[...]Pentium III processors now coming into the market are a classic example of "gray market" products. Computer makers have been stocking up on Pentium IIIs in anticipation of the processor's release, but because Intel will in all probability cut the chip's wholesale price the day it hits the market, some are selling their excess inventory to independent dealers.

"We've been aggressively stocking our distribution channels for this release," Intel's spokeswoman confirmed.

Russ heeft de vijfde aflevering van het AnandTech Celery Report naar de server geupt. Het is nu overduidelijk dat de produktie van de C300A gestopt is, en daarmee is deze Celery Report ook meteen de laatste :

Well, there is no longer any doubt that the Slot One Celeron 300A is out of production. It is. Besides Intel's Product Change notification that I shared with you last week, we find that this version of the processor is not even included on the list of price cuts announced for February 7th.

Als je dus nog ff een C300A mee wilt nemen, wees dan snel. De C300A was een unieke kans, verwacht niet in de nabije toekomst nogmaals zo'n extreem overklokbare CPU tegen te komen.

Russ heeft verder nog wat info over de als retail verpakte OEM Celerons. Uiteraard heeft Russ weer een tabelletje met oc resultaten van alle door hem verkochte Celerons bijeen geraapt.

Anand heeft een review gebakken van de Yamaha CRW4416S (toemaar) SCSI drive waarmee je CDtjes kunt (re)fikken. Hier wat algemene info over dit apparaat:

What does all those names and numbers mean? For starters, the CRW4416S is available in both an internal and an external flavor (4416SXZ), the drive itself is the same in both versions, however the model tested by AnandTech was the internal 4416S drive. The drive is specified as a 4/4/16 drive, meaning it can write or "burn" CD-R (write-once) discs at 4 times the normal speed (4X), as well as burn CD-RW (re-writable) at 4X, and as a reader it can read discs at 16X. In terms of the length of time it would take to burn a full disc, regardless of whether or not the disc is populated with data or audio, the following table represents the amount of time it takes to burn a disc at the available speeds:

Het herboren Sysopt.com heeft een review van de Creative Labs SBLive! gepost. Hier wat plakwerk over de sound kwaliteit:

It didn't take much time for me to be absolutely amazed by the high quality and fidelity of the sound produced by the SB Live! The sound is so pure, it's almost unbelievable. With the gold-coated connectors of this card, I no longer hear any buzzing sounds coming out when raising the speakers volume to the maximum. Even with the SB Live! Value edition, which doesn't come with gold connectors, the quality is still very high. It's like Creative Labs has taken a professional music studio and transformed it in a PCI card.

De Super7 Hardware Guide heeft de Viking mS3 SS7 moederplank onder handen genomen en er een review van gebakken. Als je het mij vraagt is socket7 zo dood als een pier, maar dat mag ik niet zeggen van m'n SS7 vrienden Er komen in ieder geval nog wel nieuwe borden voor ui en de K6-3 ook nieuwe (zeer snelle) processors. Hier maar wat info over die plaat van Viking:

Designed to be the soul of a sub-$1000, high performance workstation or SOHO desktop PC the Viking mS3 is built around the performance enhancing MVP3 core logic chipset from VIA. This means that the 2 DIMM slots can support up to 512MB of EDO, SDRAM or PC-100 system memory which can be configured to run at either the external CPU or AGP frequencies, and, with a cacheable area of 128MB or 256MB depending on the size of the L2 cache (512k - 1024k opt.). The Viking mS3 supports external clock frequencies at speeds of 60/66/75/83/95/and 100MHz with documented core voltages of 2.2/2.8/2.9/3.2/3.3/ and 3.52v. which takes in all current socket 7 CPUs. It's onboard IDE supports Local Bus Enhanced Dual-Channel IDE, Bus Master PCI IDE / Mode 4, Ultra DMA-33, LBA Mode, Enhanced PIO Mode, and up to 4HD Autodetect in BIOS, and onboard I/O (SMC669) provides 2) Serial Port, 2) USB Ports, FDD and ECP/EPP Parallel Port support.  What may appear to be a lack of expansion slots (1 AGP,  3 PCI, and 1 shared ISA) provides ample support for networked workstations, SOHO desktops and even home use consumer based PCs

PCSportsgames.com heeft (wederom als onderdeel van hun Raceweek) een review in elkaar gepleurd van de Act Labs RS, een erg robuust en koel vormgegeven racestuur. Het ding doet niet aan force-feedback, maar de prijs is redelijk ($69,95). Hier wat info uit de review:

The RS wheel unit is one of the best looking wheels on the market. Not only is it one of the best looking, it’s also very sturdy weighing in at about 6lbs. The wheel’s case is constructed of sturdy black plastic and the instrument panel is crafted of a simulated polished aluminum.

The wheel is a 3-spoke type with a large leather grip that, when new, leaves a new car smell. After hours of play the smell goes away and the grip becomes broken in. I think I can actually see the grip changing color after the hours and hours of racing I have put it through.

Het leuke aan dit stuur is dat je 'm zowel kunt gebruiken voor de PC, PXS, N64 als Saturn. Alles wat je daarvoor moet doen is de juiste cartridge (die je dan wel weer lost moet kopen :() in het ding pluggen.

PCSportsgames.com heeft als onderdeel van z'n Raceweek een review van Test Drive 5 op de site geduwd. De graphics zijn redelijk, maar zoals gewoonlijk bij Test Drive spellen is de besturing bagger:

But the truth is that TD5 just isn't that much fun. The game doesn't feel right, it doesn't drive right, it doesn't sound right, it doesn't look right, and it doesn't play right. I had high hopes for TD5, and it

does have many, many features, but after hours of play I finally reached a sad conclusion: the game is feature rich but mediocre and there's no getting around it. NFS3 and Speed Busters tower far above this game.

The cars just don't handle like real cars. I have owned one of the cars modeled in this game and driven five of the rest; none of them accelerated, cornered, or braked anything like their counterparts do in TD5. The cars in the game, even if very different in nature, all appeared to have the same, or at least a very similar, driving model.

PCSportgames.com is bezig met een Raceweek met daarin nog meer reviews van racespellen:
- Test Drive Offroad 2
- Nascar 99
- Speed Busters
- Sports Car GT

Gamelinks.net heeft een preview van Max Payne in elkaar gegooid. Best wel koel spel denk ik. Hieronder een stukkie over de graphics:

Graphically, Max Payne is looking pretty good. I'd put the E2 rendering engine used in the game right up under Quake 2's. The E2 engine is the same one used in the Final Reality benchmark program, coincidentally. There appears to be a triangle culling engine built into this engine for the purpose of speed. This is a good thing, as overdraw can kill a card. It's worth mentioning that the funky infinite planes rendering technology incorporated in 3D chips by VideoLogic/NEC in the PowerVR series implements this in hardware.

Avault (met nieuwe vormgeving) heeft een review van Wargasm gepost. Hier wat info over de storyline van het spelletje:

The storyline involves a warfare scenario that has been openly discussed in real-life by both military consultants and science fiction writers. It turns out that around 2025 (which really is not very far away) a disarmament treaty banned conventional war, and so given the instinctively aggressive character of the human species we decided to wage war instead on a virtual battlefield on the World Wide War Web (holodecks, anyone?). So in place of stockpiling real weapons and training real soldiers, each nation assembled a database of the very best forces and weapons technology available to them, with powerful nations getting a clear advantage over weaker ones. The winners in a virtual skirmish take over the territory, soldiers, and technology of the losers. Just as in the classic game of Risk, your goal is to expand your geopolitical influence by taking over region after region until you control the entire world.

3Dfx heeft een pr-etje in elkaar gedraaid waarin ze beweren het grootste marktaandeel te hebben op het gebied van "gaming/performance videocards". Hier de info:

3Dfx Interactive® Inc. today announced that Voodoo2(TM) and Voodoo Banshee(TM), the company's acclaimed high-performance graphics chips for games and entertainment, power 73 percent of the performance/gaming video cards sold through retail outlets. In addition, these Voodoo-powered boards won the best-selling status at retail 12 out of 12 months last year in the gaming/performance segment. These market share figures are reported in PC Data's latest analysis of retail sales. PC Data, which ranks the retail market's best-selling video cards, also noted that 3Dfx-based products dominated the retail space in Q4 1998, claming the top five spots in the gaming/performance segment.

``3Dfx technology has consistently powered the best-selling retail products in this category,'' said Stephen Baker, senior analyst with PC Data. ``In fact, for the past several quarters, we've seen 3Dfx-powered boards dominate sales in the retail space. Our latest data clearly indicates that 3Dfx is maintaining that leadership.''

``The PC Data statistics illustrate the selling strength of the 3Dfx Voodoo technology and brand, which clearly reign at retail,'' said Greg Ballard, president and CEO of 3Dfx Interactive. ``This impressive market dominance is the result of innovative, award-winning technology, cutting-edge entertainment content and strategic brand campaigns.''

The Hits List measures retail sales each month. In the last three months, PC Data found that 3Dfx-based cards captured the following top five spots in the gaming/performance segment: Diamond Multimedia's Monster 3D II card (Voodoo2), Creative Labs' 3D Blaster Banshee (Voodoo Banshee), Creative Labs' 3D Blaster (Voodoo2), STB Systems' Black Magic (Voodoo2), and Diamond Multimedia's Monster Fusion (Voodoo Banshee). Additionally, a board based on the original Voodoo Graphics technology -- now more than two years old -- ranked seventh in the gaming/performance segment.

Zetabyte.com heeft een review gepost van de V3100 Savage3D, een vrij onbekende kaart van Asus. Het ding heeft waarempel een S3 Savage3D aanboord. Hier een stukkie uit de review (het engels wat ze daaro spreken klinkt nogal mank ):

The main chip Savage 3D has not a fan, but only a passive cooler (see the photo on the left) and it is very useful. The chip temperature didn't rise, also after some hours of tests (like the TNT or the Voodoo 2)

Another difference is the ammount of the RAM: the last-generation boards have 16mb of SDRAM memory, but this board has "only" 8mb of EliteMT SGRAM memory (cleary greater than SDRAM) divided in 4 memory bank of 2Mb all around the main Chip. In the centre of the board we can see the Video-In controller and the VIP-A and VIP-B connectors. The board use the AGP 2x slot. The connections allowed by the board are Video-In and TV-out (the Video-In is implemented only in some models of the board)-

Een erg late review van NFSIII bij Tresh's Firingsquad. Het is van Firingsquad dus is het goed. Hier een stukkie:

There are a lot of graphic effects in NFS3 that have been done before, but I have never seen them done so well. When racing on the Hometown track, fallen leaves flutter up behind your car; on Summit you leave plumes of snow behind you, and on the dirt tracks the dust clouds look believable. When you peel out, tire smoke spews out from the back wheels, and you leave skid marks that stay there. Many other games have tried to incorporate these effects, but NFS really brought them together nicely.

De rest lees je hier.

Brian Hook van id Software heeft z'n .plan geupdate met wat info over QIII server stuff:

Two common questions I'm getting are "How much net bandwidth do I need for a server, per player?" and "How important is floating point performance for a server?"

General rule of thumb for now is that you need about 2-3K/sec of bandwidth per player for a server.

Floating point performance is still very important for a server. A safe assumption is that a Cyrix or K5 CPU will be able to support only about half the players of a comparable Intel CPU. K6 isn't nearly as bad as the K5 and Cyrix, however it's not as good as an Intel for regular floating point stuff, so figure (VERY rough) about 75% of an Intel processor. Obviously a LOT of this depends on the complexity of the underlying maps.

So, just pulling numbers out of thin air, you could say:

Intel PIII/500 - 40-50 players

Intel PII/300 - 25-30 players

AMD K6/300 - 18-23 players

Cyrix MII-300 - 12-15 players

While we do plan on supporting 3DNow, etc. we can't promise it out of the box just yet.

Gamecenter heeft een review gepost van de Asus V3400TNT/TV. Volgens ome Tom de beste TNT kaart van dit moment. In de grijze massa van TNT reference designs is de Asus een opvallende verschijning met zijn video input mogelijkheden:

The V3400 is unique among TNT cards in offering video input capabilities. The card's composite and S-video input ports are useful for videoconferencing, low-resolution video capture, and still-image capture. Perhaps of most interest to gamers is that you can also use this capability to play console games on your PC monitor. We used the included capture utility to record short AVI files and grab some still images, and we found it to be of suprisingly high quality. However, unlike Matrox's Marvel G200-TV, the V3400TNT/TV doesn't include hardware for video compression, so it isn't suitable for doing video editing for output to videotape.

Nog maar een previewtje van S3's nieuwe videobeest, ditmaal onder verantwoording van Hardware Central. Hier een stukkie over de image quality van het ding:

Though not quite up to par with the image quality of the Matrox G200 and NVidia's TNT, the rendering quality of the S3's original Savage3D is still very high, especially when S3TC is used. It's interesting to see the divergence in the 3D product strategies. While, 3DFX is taking a firm stand of performance over image quality, other companies are doing the opposite, image quality over pure performance.

With the new Savage4, S3 opted to go with image quality instead of raw performance like the Voodoo3. The Savage4 now has single-cycle trilinear filtering, which means that it can do trilinear filtering per pixel per clock cycle without any performance hit. With the capability of of addressing 32MB of 143Mhz local frame buffer, S3TC compression as well as a AGP 4X interface, the Savage4 looks to be the ultimate texturing chip. If the first Savage3D was able to smoothly run an Unreal level with 200MB of textures, the possibilities with 4X as much local frame buffer and AGP 4X seems almost spell-binding.