Quote:In an idea situation, yes. If you can come up with a powerful GPU, then double it, it's great in a workstation/CAD machine. On the other hand, 3dfx was relying on the multiple GPUs even for their "consumer" product, the 5500. And how many "consumer" products to you find today with dual GPUs? One, the Volari, which is still at this point a joke when it comes to the competition.
And ram prices today are much different then they were back then- If you check reviews *back then* you will find that the biggest problem almost everyone was working on was the memory bottleneck. Nvidias solution was expensive ram, 3dfx's was multi gpu working on the same problem splitting the bandwith.
Both ways have their drawbacks, Nvidas was cost of ram, 3dfx's was having to use 2 chips and PCB cost.
Quote:Yeah, I think you win on that one, but still, nvidia's products of the day were by far smaller, less power-hungry, and I imagine cheaper.
The Geforce 2 Ultra was a $435-500 product, MUCH MORE expensive then a V-5500 ($300) Non-Ultra cards were in the $300 range.
A quick Google search will confirm this.
In all fairness (I am reasonable) the GF2 was about equal to the V-5500 and was priced comparable to it.
Quote:I would like to see those benches, because from what I can remember, the V5 6k was comparable to the GF3 in like one test, and fell below GF2 levels in others. It was closer to the GF2 Ultra level, if memory serves.
In what 3DMark 2000? Well known fact Nvidia payed them off. I'll stick to real games as a benchmark not some bs "test program" that to this day is still being manipulated by Nvidia cash.
Quote- "Looking at the performance data presented here it obvious that 3DMark 2000 and 2001 did not offer representative data concerning 3dfx performance in D3D mode. 3DMark 2001 is particularly bad in this respect."
In Quake III the V-6000 went toe to toe with a GF-3, Nvidas favorite benchmark that their drivers are tuned for! With a card not even released yet
In Serious Sam the V-6000 greases even the GF-3.
*IF* the V-6000 was launched when it was suppose to (late 99) it would have been the leading performance card for a year. And that's based on benchmarks done with an unreleased card with beta drivers vs a GF3 with polished drivers.
Quote:3dfx invested too little time in the Rampage, they kept sticking their technology for the Rampage into other chips, so the Rampage was a doomed project in that matter.
Rampage was up and running Quake 3 two weeks before 3dfx threw in the towel. Yes it was delayed by people being pulled off for other projects and feature creep, I have already mentioned this.
Quote:The V5 6k would have, if released, hopefully have provided funding necessary to continue with Rampage development.
Rampage was *finished* no more funding was really needed, it was too late though. 3dfx owed people money and ran out of time. I suspect there are other factors as well, they sure did sell off to Nvidia in a big flaming hurry.
Quote:Ah, so now their buying the ram cheaper but still demanding outrageous prices for it.
Check your facts- V5500 was cheaper then GF2 Ultra by a huge margin and equal to a GF2 GTS.
Quote: The AA is a good point, but I imagine it could also be performed in a similar fashion with a single GPU.
So... Why has Nvidia's method been so lacking? I was laughing the other day since the 6800 just started using the method 3dfx used in the VSA-100 card, rotated grid anti-aliasing.
Quote:I don't honestly understand why you people waste your time and money on these stupid cards.
Why do I also own a gas guzzling 1970 Plymouth GTX? Why do people collect stamps or bugs, etc, etc.
Quote:Here we go again, blaming everything on nvidia.
You have a complex? I didn't blame them for anything. Most of 3dfx's problems can be laid at their own feet which I pointed out. Products late to market due to feature creep, bad managment, mistake of buying STB, etc. They were working to improve these issues by getting rid of the bad people, selling off STB, going back to their previous business model but it was too late.
On the other hand if you wish mention Nvidia, 3dfx was taking them to the cleaners in court because Nvidia was guilty of infringing on their patent. Their suit toward the end was nothing more then a delaying tactic to get 3dfx to spend more cash on lawyers instead of bills. Worked too didn't it?
Quote:Don't you think 3dfx had their own driver optimizations? Do the letters ICD ring a bell?
And what is wrong with a mini driver? (which was just for the Quake based games btw) I have the choice of installing it or not installing it. That's hardly a sin compared to Nvidia drivers that shut certain features off in the name of benchmark numbers even though they are checked "on" in the control panel.
I call that cheating, it's deception pure and simple.