Balandar

http://www.maximumpc.com/features/feature_...2003-01-03.html GeForce FX Benchmarks Revealed! We preview nVidia’s latest 3D wunderkind and handicap the inevitable battle with ATI. World exclusive benchmarks! Brought to you by Maximum PC. BY MPC STAFF The following preview is of an early GeForce FX sample that was hand-delivered to the Maximum PC Lab by an Alienware representative. Our full preview of Alienware’s new prototype machine and the GeForce FX can be found in the February issue of Maximum PC. We first heard about the GeForce FX, then code-named NV30, in June 2002. We received a run-down of its feature set -- pixel and vertex shaders that exceed the DirectX 9 spec, 128-bit floating-point precision throughout the 3D pipeline, and support for DDR II memory -- but weren’t able to finagle access to working silicon. Until now. Of course, the GeForceFX card that came inside our Alienware prototype system was just as “beta” as the rest of the system. With early drivers and freshly fabbed silicon, the card we tested isn’t quite what you’ll find in stores when the card ships in February or March. In fact, the board and its drivers were so unpolished, nVidia initially refused to let us benchmark it at all, and relented only when we agreed to limit our tests to pre-approved benchmarks running at stipulated resolutions and AA settings. We gave in to all these conditions because we were intent on reporting the first GeForce FX benchmark scores, however beta they may be. Driver refinement is an ongoing process -- before and after a videocard launch -- and frame rates will improve as nVidia optimizes more and more for specific engines. It would be silly to extrapolate fine details about the card’s performance from such a small benchmark sample. It would also be unfair, considering the un-optimized condition of the drivers. But we can make some broad guesses about the strengths and weaknesses of nVidia’s new technology. In Quake III running at 1600x1200, 32-bit color and 2x anti-aliasing, the GeForce FX is about 40 percent faster than the ATI Radeon 9700 Pro at the same settings. The GeForce is almost 20 percent faster than the 9700 Pro in the Unreal Tournament 2003 Asbestos fly-by demo at these same settings. However, in the 3DMark 2001:SE Game 4 benchmark at these settings, the Radeon 9700 is about 10 percent faster than the GeForce FX. What does this suggest? That the GeForce FX is very fast -- particularly when memory bandwidth isn’t an issue. Remember that the GeForce FX’s 128-bit memory bus runs at 500MHz, but has a maximum bandwidth of just 16GB/sec. Meanwhile, the Radeon 9700’s 256-bit memory interface accommodates 19.8GB/sec, even though it runs at just 325MHz. The GeForce FX’s core graphics processor is much faster than the Radeon 9700’s, so it will be able to draw as many polygons and fill as many pixels as will fit across the memory pipeline. Our hunch is that turning on 4x anti-aliasing at 1600x1200 would diminish the GeForce’s performance lead over the Radeon, or maybe even nix it entirely. But that’s just a guess based on the scores we achieved, and the fact that nVidia wouldn’t let us run anything that would stress the memory pipeline. We are much more surprised by the Game 4 scores. We expected to see the GeForce FX’s 500MHz core flex its programmable-shader muscle in this DirectX 8 benchmark. nVidia says that the FX’s programmable shaders are able to run more complex shader programs than those mandated by the DirectX 9 spec. Our guess is that the nVidia drivers just aren’t tuned for this particular benchmark yet. The practical upshot is that if next year’s games -- specifically DooM III and its programmable-shader brethren -- require more raw GPU power than sheer memory bandwidth, the GeForce FX architecture will be a perfect fit. On the other hand, if next year’s games are starved for memory bandwidth, the Radeon 9700 could very well be a better choice for frame rate–hungry gamers. This is just the first round, though. We have no doubt that ATI has plans for a souped-up Radeon that will be ready to roll as soon as the GeForce FX ships. And if you really twisted our arms, we’d bet money that it will be running on a 0.13-micron core and using 256-bit DDR II memory. Dare to Compare: GeForce FX Early Benchmarks GeForce FX Quake3 Demo001, 1600x1200 2xAA: 209fps UT 2003 Asbestos, 1600x1200 2xAA: 140fps 3DMark Game4, 1600x1200 2xAA: 41fps Radeon 9700 Pro Quake3 Demo001, 1600x1200 2xAA: 147fps UT 2003 Asbestos, 1600x1200 2xAA: 119fps 3DMark Game4, 1600x1200 2xAA: 45fps Tests were run in the Alienware prototype system.

Wish I didn't buy my Ti 4600 now. I have seen the new Fx cards getting 140 fps on UT 2003. That is in 1600x1200 in 32 bit depth.

Is there a NDA?

Click here

There is now a new General news forum. Any posts made there will be displayed on the PGoH home page.

There is now a new Community news forum. Any posts made there will be displayed on the PGoH home page.

There is now a new Catskills news forum. Any posts made there will be displayed on the PGoH home page.

FYI: geocities will not allow you to link to their images from other websites.

Really? Wonder why they are making it so they don't spawn anymore. Kinda silly.

Sorry, but what won't work once AOS hits? Can't follow the logic of this post.

Yes, my fisherman could use a new Katana as well (GM swords, tactics, parry, fishing, 95.5 anatomy). He is my new warrior since my other accounts are going to be scraped. Hmm, perhaps a double axe too.....

We are now using invision board, which is PHP based.

I bet the $15 cards are the 100MB ones.

From: http://www.pcworld.com/news/article/0,aid,...n011603X,00.asp Credit Card-Size Hard Drive Can Hold 5GB Cheap, thin, flexible StorCard expected to become available this year. Michael Lasky, PCWorld.com Thursday, January 16, 2003 Take a look at one of those credit cards in your wallet. That's the exact size and thickness of an upcoming, revolutionary removable storage device called StorCard. Created by a company with the same name, StorCard can contain from 100MB to more than 5GB of data on a plastic card. At first glance, it looks like a credit card, and even has a magnetic strip like a credit card, for potential use in standard credit card readers. The hard disk data, however, is accessed on a tiny spinning disk inside the thin card. "The card actually has moveable parts inside its thin shell," says Bill Heil, vice president of StorCard. A spinning wheel made of Mylar is engaged when the card is inserted into a StorReader, a USB-connected drive or PC Card that reads and writes to the StorCard. The reader is expected to retail for under $100 and the cards for under $15 each, Heil says. Deal in the Works The StorCard and StorReader are scheduled to become available in the second half of 2003. The company is talking with media producers, and a partnership announcement with a widely recognized producer of blank media is expected in the next month, Heil says. Amazingly, within the card is an on-board processor containing integrated software controls that can encrypt data securely in real time. "The combination of high capacity [and] an inexpensive price point makes StorCard a viable solution for consumers and businesses alike," Heil says. Also, the card--like a credit card--is extremely flexible, without risking damage to the data it contains, he says. StorCard promises the tiny hard drive will provide high performance to quickly handle large amounts of data. It will support a volume sufficient to stream media files, for example, according to Heil. As a result, the StorCard could store even material that previously would fit only on a DVD.

Actually those emotes have always been there.. I just never enabled them.

Since ikonboard was being a hog on the system resources... we had to move to a php board. Hopefully this one will work out okay. I was able to move all of the old posts and accounts over to these new forums. There should be no problems with logging in. If you find any errors when posting/surfing around, let me know.

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This is what was sent to me. So I will be looking at PHP boards. Ikonboard is still in beta with its PHP board.

To bad we won't be able to get that large of a foot print in game! Unless you own a large house.

Indeed, good post.

That is pretty cool. Now all I need to get is a bigger house in trammel Even though I could get three floors out of my small sandstone now. Here are a few pics that I did in 5 mins. The system is really easy to use.

Well, didn't get any booze... spent most of the day trying to find a place for my logitech z680 subwoofer.

Thanks all!

Click Here This is from Amazon.com. They have no product details about it yet, or I should say features.