De mannen van PlusAbit (oké, een Hongaarse site...) hebben de kans gekregen om een aantal vragen af te schieten richting Paul Mangee en Jonathan Trainor van x-3dfx. Paul en Jonathan waren beide werkzaam in Belfast als software engineer voor 3dfx. Zoals bekend is na de bijna dood van 3dfx x-3dfx opgericht door een groep die-hard 3dfx werknemers om toch door te kunnen blijven gaan. Om maar meteen met de deur in huis te vallen: de mensen van x-3dfx zullen in ieder geval proberen om nieuwe drivers voor de Voodoo familie te schrijven 
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There are a lot of developers here who would not like to see their work in recent months go to waste, which is why there has been rumours of driver releases. This is a personal goal for many of the staff, even if as a parting shot. I'm sure no matter what happens a lot of the developers will work on support for the near future, even if it is in their own time.[break]Verder gaat het interview voornamelijk over hoe het leven als software developer was bij 3dfx en hoe ontwikkelen van drivers in zijn werk ging. Hieronder de antwoorden op de vraag hoe het toch mogelijk is dat drivers op een mysterieuze wijze toch altijd sneller kunnen:[/break]Paul: Most of the core 3dfx routines are written in assembly, to get the maximum performance possible, but the rest of the driver was written in C. As far as I know, only the most commonly called code segments were in assembly, as it would take too long to write the entire driver like this.
You are correct, a lot of it has to do with time. Coding large optimised routines in assembly take a lot time to write comparing to writing it in C. Some of the large performance gains have been a result of examining the code generated by the C compilers and spotting segments that could have been done better. There are also tools that were used by the performance team to help them in this analysis (VTune I think was one of them).
Johnny: In addition to what Paul has stated it is a fact that the more you work with a particular piece of hardware, the more familiar you become with it. A better knowledge of the hardware allows software developers to write better code for it, often with tricks and workarounds that improve performance. For example look at the first Playstation games that came out and compare them to the latest Playstation games. The game developers are using the same hardware but they are more familiar with it. I know that a few clever software tricks that significantly improved performance in later drivers.
It is also possible, with some research, to determine what are the most common code paths taken through our drivers when running games. Most time is spent trying to optimize these frequently used routines.
Waar het allemaal omdraait, twee 92mm blowholes:
has landed the contract to become the primary provider of hard drives for Sony's PlayStation 2 game console, which is looking more and more like a computer every day.
op de achtergrond draaide:
Registering the highest temperatures at both idle and on load, this one is definitely not for an overclocker. Sure, 48°C at idle and 51°C on load are not all that bad, but we all love a cooler-running CPU, dun we? Unless of course you're looking into building a cheapo system for your uncle who can't care less about the stuff inside the PC! Not to mention this baby is very easy to install! At only S$20, it's a hard price to beat! As for me, this one's only gonna see action when I'm testing for maybe dead Durons or T-Birds! :^)
Not really stellar performance from this new-comer to the retail market, but a lot more respectable than the Cooler Master. It managed to keep my Duron at rather acceptable temperatures, both in idle and on load. And I like the clip design too. It's easy to install and remove and it provides good contact with the CPU core. It'll only cost you S$32 so you won't have to break the bank while trying to cool your CPU.
I have to admit, GlobalWin has one helluva cooler beast here. Came equipped with the infamous Black Label Delta fan, the FOP-38 looses out only to the more established Alpha, while leaving the rest of the field in the dust! It costs S$58 and a little more pricey than some here, but with that price, came performance! Yeah baby! Not to mention this thing is damn loud too! But I guess for the case modders out there, you won't even notice it with all your 120mm monsters running in yer PC huh? Heheh! A little care needs to be taken when installing it, but it ain't really a biggie if you know how to do it right! Definitely recommended if you plan to overclock your CPU!
Looks like the coolest looking heatsink ain't the coolest performing right here! It's the smallest cooler here, so it'll fit almost all motherboards. And it's also the quietest. Did I mention it looks cool? 
The winner this time round, the PAL6035-MFC cost a whole lot more than the rest of the field here, but it gives you the best performance! But this performance came at a price! S$65 ain't exactly cheap, but if you absolutely must have the best in everything when it comes to your overclocked PC, then I guess money is not the issue here! It keeps your precious little overclocked CPU very cool indeed! Maybe a little more work needed on the clip design, other than that, this is definitely the best out there for ya!
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