Let's check out the gaming performance of the eVGA e-GeForce2 MX TwinView Plus. I've already covered various traditional benchmarks of the TwinView Plus' sibling, the standard e-GeForce2 MX here. This time I'll be looking at performace using a variety of racing games.

Test System:

• Pentium 3 550E @719MHz
• 128MB PC133 RAM
• Abit BE6-II Motherboard
• eVGA e-GeForce2 MX TwinView Plus @ 180/195MHz
• Beta Detonator Driver version 6.50 (Gateway)
• Vsync Disabled
• SB Live X-Gamer (High Quality Sound)
• 20 GB Quantum LM with ATA/66
• Windows ME
• DirectX 8.0

I chose to leave the sound on for the benchmark results so that realistic scores are provided from the barrage of tests. The card was tested at above reference core and memory speeds since the model I had arrived with 5.5ns rated memory.

I benchmarked the majority of the games using Standard and Clone modes to demonstrate the performance hit brought on by using Clone mode. I neglected to benchmark in Extended mode as the performance was horrendous in many of the games.

Note that games benchmarked on this page are based on 32-bit color.

Nascar Heat @ 32-Bit Color

Nascar Heat wasn't a very comprehensive benchmark as the performance level didn't scale quite well through the various resolutions. The performance hit brought along by Clone mode varies between resolutions, but isn't much of a drag overall. I couldn't find a reason not to play this game at 1024x768 or above, as the GeForce2 MX has the performance required for smooth gameplay at this elevated resolution.

Nascar Racing 4 has the ability to be played in Direct 3D and OpenGL. I've compared the performance between both APIs in various resolutions and can confidently suggest that OpenGL is the API to use in this game. OpenGL provides higher frame rates which remain at a much more constant level than Direct 3D, which tended to vary immensely from scene to scene.

This beautiful screenshot shows why Need For Speed 5: Porsche Unleashed is any racing gamer's cup of tea. What the screen capture does not show is the intricate balance that the NFS5 physics engine is capable of. Of course, to test that out, you'll have to download the demo or buy the game :)

Although there is no benchmark mode in Need For Speed 5: Porsche Unleashed, a small utility entitled Fraps displays the frame rate of many Direct 3D games.

While the 1024x768 numbers appear decent, I would clearly recommend using 800x600 as the resolution for NFS5 as it tends to dip quite suddenly and the 4fps difference between the test scores can grow quickly.

ReVolt won the NVIDIA Approved award back when the TNT2 came out and the glory days of DirectX 6. It's still a very good looking game by today's standards and it's quite a hoot to play.

The performance numbers clearly display the vast improvement that the GeForce2 MX has brought over the one-time champ TNT2 Ultra. Once again, 1024x768 is extremely smooth at 32-bit color and I see no reason to play this game otherwise.

Next Page: Benchmarks Page 2