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For performance estimates on the Voodoo3 3000, Sharky Extreme was given permission to test and report back to our readers on a few scores. Unfortunately the tests were run with the brand new Voodoo3 3000 operating at a speed of just 160MHz versus the 183MHz that the final part will ship at. Here are the results in case you missed them:
Pentium II-450 results for Q2 Timedemo 1:
- 640x480: 97.6fps
- 1024x768: 67.9fps
- 1600x1200: 32.1fps
Running Q2 Massive1, the following scores were attained:
- 640x480: 72.8fps
- 1024x768: 56.8fps
Very impressive for a single card video solution, but only average when compared to the results of a standard Voodoo2 SLI setup. Can we expect more performance as the Voodoo3's drivers mature, and clock speeds of CPUs increase? Expect to see a 10 to 20% performance increase over the results above when the card is delivered in Q2/99. The jump from 160MHz to 183MHz in core speed will likely bring another 10% with it as well, so you can count that when trying to estimate the part's true performance.
Unfortunately 32bpp final color rendering will not be supported by the Voodoo3, which is a large mistake in our opinion. No matter what anyone tells you, believe us when we say that 90% of game developers that we've talked to over the last six months have told Sharky Extreme that 32bpp final color rendering is one of the key steps for dramatically increasing a gaming environment's immersive experience. We'll all have to wait until the next part from 3Dfx before they'll include this ability.
To sum up, 3Dfx themselves called the Voodoo3 "A combination of a single Banshee 2D/3D chip and a Voodoo2 SLI's multiple 3D chips in a single Voodoo3 chip". It seems clear from this statement that if you already own a Banshee and a Voodoo2 SLI then you've got a Voodoo3-lite about six months early……
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