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eVGA e-GeForce2 Ultra
Review
By: Jonathan
Martini - March 7, 2001
The GeForce2 Ultra chipset is presently the undisputed performance champion.
It is the next step up from the GeForce2 GTS as it's core is a tweaked and
modified version of the almost 1 year old GeForce2 GTS core, but running 50MHz
faster. Like all its GeForce2 family siblings, this card's performance is also
memory bandwidth limited, which is where the card's truly exotic 4.8ns memory
comes into play.
| GeForce2
GTS Vs. GeForce2 Ultra
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So what does the big Ultra name entail? Let's see:
The Specs:
| |
GeForce2 GTS |
GeForce2 Ultra |
| Process Technology |
.18 micron |
.18 micron |
| Core/Memory Speed |
200MHz/333MHz |
250MHz/460MHz |
| Memory Amount |
32/64MB |
64MB |
| Memory Bandwidth |
5.3GB/Sec |
7.4GB/Sec |
| Pixels/Clock |
4 |
4 |
| Pixels/Second |
800 Million |
1000 Million |
| Texels/Clock |
8 |
8 |
| Texels/Second |
1600 Million |
2000 Million |
| Polygons/Second |
25 Million |
31 Million |
The big story here is the increased memory bandwidth entailed by using the
faster 4.5 ns memory running at 460MHz when compared with the GeForce2's now
paltry 6ns memory running at 333MHz.
The faster memory maximizes the GPU's potential as it'll allow it to run
advanced texturing methods at high resolutions with 32bit color while keeping
the frame rate fast and fluid.
This isn't just a GTS core cranked up to 250 MHz with faster memory. The core is
constructed using an advanced TSMC .18 micron
process, while the board had to be redesigned to suit the faster memory utilized
by the GeForce2 Ultra. I think this could be best explained by HalcYon's
comparison in his review of the Creative
Annihilator 2 Ultra: The best comparison I can draw is taking a 350 Chevy
V-8 and putting 1/2" exhaust pipes on it.
eVGA is making quite a name for itself as of late. It's a relatively new
graphics card company looking to provide the consumer with the best possible
product at the best possible price. Although you might find cards retailing for
less, one must recognize that eVGA is now a certified NVIDIA Select
Solution Provider which guarantees that all products meet the strict
requirements necessary for building quality NVIDIA components.
Another step eVGA is taking to ensure it's customer's are content
with their purchase is that they guarantee their GeForce2 MX based card come
equipped with 5.5ns RAM which is above the required NVIDIA spec of 6ns, thus
allowing to increase the memory bandwidth by running the RAM stable at higher
speeds.
eVGA has also redesigned their packaging:
The above packaging seems to portray that eVGA might be heading in
a new sales direction; retail, but we'll leave that for an upcoming interview.
The box shown below is the box which contained the e-GeForce2 Ultra as well as
the driver CDs and manual.
Next Page: The Card
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