This page contains an overview of the system configuration used in conducting the benchmarks in this review and notes on interpreting the results.
OK, so I only have a "measly" Pentium 2-450MHz, but with all these great video cards appearing during the past year, I haven't felt the need to upgrade to a faster processor...yet.
System Configuration
The Diamond Viper V550 (TNT) benchmark results are based on the following set of drivers:
- GL Quake - Diamond version 4.10.01.0239
- Quake 2 - Diamond version 4.10.01.0255
- Kingpin and Expendable - NVIDIA Detonator 1.15
Note: The Quake 2 and Kingpin benchmark results from the Viper V550 at 1600x1200 in 32-bit color are estimates as they failed to run. The estimates are based on the their corresponding 16-bit results, which ran correctly, plus factoring the performance loss of running in 32-bit color. In other words, it's a SWAG.
The Test System
- Intel Pentium 2-450MHz
- 128 MB Hitachi PC100 SDRAM
- Abit BH6 440BX Motherboard
- Diamond Viper V550 (TNT) AGP 16MB
- Diamond Viper V770 Ultra (TNT2) AGP 32MB
- NVIDIA GeForce 256 (SDR) AGP 32MB
- Creative Annihilator Pro (DDR) AGP 32MB
- Hitachi Superscan Supreme 752
- Seagate Medalst Pro 6.4GB 7200RPM HDD
The GeForce 256 is actually a Creative Labs Annihilator which was furnished by NVIDIA. I am referring to it as the GeForce SDR in this review.
Operating System and Drivers
- Viper V550 - Windows 98 with DirectX 6.1
- Viper V770 Ultra - Windows 98 with DirectX 7.0
- GeForce 256 - Windows 98 with DirectX 7.0
- Annihilator Pro - Windows 98 with DirectX 7.0
- Viper V550 - Various
- Viper V770 Ultra - NVIDIA version 4.11.01.0188
- GeForce 256 - NVIDIA version 4.12.01.0348
- Annihilator Pro - Creative version 4.12.01.0353
Benchmark Programs
- GL Quake version 0.97
- Quake 2 version 3.20
- Quake 3 demo version 1.11
- Kingpin demo version 0.22N
- Indy3D version 3.0
- Expendable demo version 1.0
- 3D WinMark 2000 version 1.0
- 3D Mark 2000 Pro build 335
- DMZG demo
VSYNC and sound were disabled for all benchmarks except for 3D WinMark 2000 where VSYNC was enabled. Specific benchmark configurations and settings appear on the benchmark result pages.
Interpreting Results
Benchmark results are presented with bar charts. Unless otherwise stated, the X axis indicates frames per second and the Y axis is the resolution the benchmark was run in.
All benchmarks include results from the Annihilator Pro and GeForce SDR. Some benchmarks also contain results from the TNT and TNT2 Ultra.
Next Page: GLQuake Benchmarks
