Super7 Video Accelerator Comparison - Part 1: High End Gaming Solutions (June 99)

At the higher resolutions, 3dfx and NVIDIA duke it out for the top positions with the K6-2 475.  Clock for clock, the Voodoo3 beats the TNT2 (core clock, not memory clock), unfortunately 3dfx lacks the 32-bit color rendering support that NVIDIA provides with its TNT2, albeit at a 10 - 20% drop in performance.  If true color (32-bit) support doesn't matter to you, then the Voodoo3 is just dandy, however there is one more consideration that you must take into account.  Once you take away 3dfx's precious MiniGL, and use the beta OpenGL ICD that all Quake3 test players are forced to use, not only does NVIDIA topple 3dfx in performance, but the stability of the solution decreases as the beta OpenGL ICD is still not a solid solution.  It will take some time for 3dfx to perfect their OpenGL ICD to the point where it can compete head to head with NVIDIA's, how long are you will to wait?

With this current crop of 3D accelerators, 1600 x 1200 is much more playable of a resolution that it once was.  Unfortunately demo1.dm2 is only an indication of the best possible frame rate you can hope to achieve with your card, and with the highest score here being 36 fps by an overclocked Voodoo3 3000 with the MiniGL drivers, chances are that your frame rate will often drop below the 15 fps mark during gameplay, especially in deathmatches/online play.  Keep a close eye on the Matrox Millennium G400MAX and note its position in the ranking as we decrease the resolution.

Although not a replacement for the now comfortable 1024 x 768 resolution, 1152 x 864 provides an intermediate step between 1024 x 768 and 1600 x 1200 for those users that are looking for a little more out of their screen area.  The most noticeable performance drop occurs between 1024 x 768 and 1152 x 864, before completely dropping off at 1600 x 1200.  The Voodoo3 and TNT2 still battle for first place with 3dfx edging out the competition once again, but keep in mind, once you switch from the fast performing MiniGL to the beta OpenGL ICD, 3dfx doesn't look too happy anymore.   If you're looking for the best overall performance now, NVIDIA is the way to go, unless you don't ever want to touch Quake3 test or any other OpenGL games that don't support 3dfx's MiniGL.

These are the scores you probably want to pay the most attention to, 1024 x 768 is one of the most popular resolutions to run your new graphics card at, and the performance winner is 3dfx.  The same MiniGL vs OpenGL ICD argument comes up again, Quake3 test will not work with 3dfx's MiniGL, meaning you need to use their beta OpenGL driver, which performs much worse than the MiniGL, dropping the performance of the card to well below the TNT2 Ultra.  Eventually 3dfx's OpenGL ICD should perform much closer to the MiniGL, however the day when 3dfx releases a full OpenGL ICD in final form seems far away.