X-bit labs

Creative 3D Blaster Riva TNT2 M64 Review

Category: Video

by FastSite

[ 07/16/1999 | 12:00 AM ]

Having announced its coolest chipsets - Riva TNT2 and Riva TNT2 Ultra, nVidia found out that it had lost every smallestchance to win the Low-End graphics cards market. As most of you have probably noticed, nVidia can't that easily put up with it.

Table of contents:

Having announced its coolest chipsets - Riva TNT2 and Riva TNT2 Ultra, nVidia found out that it hadlost every smallest chance to win the Low-End graphics cards market. As most of you have probably noticed,nVidia can't that easily put up with it. This situation most likely speeded up nVidia's desire to create acouple of new chipsets: Vanta and Riva TNT2 M64. As for us, we don't share nVidia's enthusiasm aboutoverloading the market with chipsets. Really, the price for a graphics card based on nVidia Riva TNT hasalready dropped down to $75 for a 16MB version and $50 for an 8MB one. Then what's the use of launchingnVidia Vanta, which performs worse than nVidia Riva TNT, while the graphics cards based on this new chipsetcost even more than the Riva TNT based fellows? We can't quite make out why they had to reduce the width ofthe memory bus (from 128 to 64bit), because this measure resulted into a great performance drop especiallyat higher resolutions. We could probably understand it if the cards cost 1.5 times less than nVidia Riva TNT.But it's just a wish…

So, now we are offered a different chipset version with the reduced memory bus. It is nVidia Riva TNT2M64. Try to imagine what most people thought about this chipset after its name was revealed in the press.Namely they thought that this chipset supported only 64MB memory, which aroused even more sarcastic attitudetowards nVidia's innovations. However, according to nVidia, its Riva TNT2 M64 is not a Vanta but anabsolutely new chipset with Riva TNT2 core and a 64bit memory bus. And which is very pleasant, thischip allegedly shouldn't suffer any significant performance worsening.

Well, we'll see… we tested Creative 3D Blaster Riva TNT2 M64 graphics card, which has 16MB 7ns memoryin two microchips and AGP and allows installing a TV-out onto the card (besides, there was a radiatorstuck to the chipset, but unfortunately it fell off during transportation):

As we see, the card looks very much like a "toy-card" due to a small number of components, and wehave every right to mention the same definition we have already applied to nVidia Vanta - "a card forchildren" :-) In other words this card is very similar to Creative Graphics Blaster Riva TNT with thatonly difference that it has a more powerful core and a less powerful memory bus.

We won't say anything about the supply because the card we've got is just a test sample. So, let'spass over to the testing system description:

• Intel Pentium III - 500MHz CPU;
• ASUS P2B-B (i440BX) mainboard;
• 128MB (PC100) system memory;
• ViewSonic P810 (21") monitor;
• Windows 98.

For our benchmarks we utilized nVidia reference drivers 1.88. And the graphics card BIOS was 2.05.11dating back to 05.06.99.

As far as the card's performance in 2D is concerned, we will be very brief: the card performed as allthe nVidia Riva TNT2 based graphics cards we had tested before. And in terms of quality we can hardly addanything new as well. So, let's pass over to its performance in 3D.

For our benchmarks we used several different tools demonstrating the card's performance in both:Direct3D and OpenGL gaming API. The default working frequencies of the card equal to those of nVidiaRiva TNT2 - 125MHz chipset and 150MHz memory frequency. And with the additional cooling you can overclocknVidia Riva TNT2 M64 to 140/183MHz correspondingly. That's why we offer you the benchmarks results togetherwith those shown by Creative Graphics Blaster Riva TNT 16MB (based on nVidia Riva TNT) and Creative 3D BlasterRiva TNT2 16MB (Based on nVidia Riva TNT2).

Throughout all the benchmarks we see that our card invariably retains its leadership over nVidia RivaTNT and falls behind nVidia Riva TNT2 even if overclocked. This fact gives us every right to speak aboutthe evident imperfection of nVidia Riva TNT2 M64 compared to nVidia Riva TNT2. Despite all the assertionsof the chip developers, the reduced memory bus bandwidth tells so greatly that nVidia Riva TNT2 M64 appearseven closer to nVidia Riva TNT than to Riva TNT2.

We are not going to speak about the 3D quality since nVidia Riva TNT2 M64 has the same core as RivaTNT2 does and hence there are absolutely no differences in 3D support.

Well, let's sum up. nVidia Riva TNT2 M64 is a very strange chipset, which can be positioned somewherebetween nVidia Riva TNT and nVidia Riva TNT2. The only advantage of our hero over its fellows is the price.However, we can't say if the price-to-performance ratio of nVidia Riva TNT2 M64 based cards will be veryattractive, because they are not supplied yet. But we are pretty sure that nVidia Riva TNT2 M64 can haveany real future only if it costs as nVidia Riva TNT (or only a bit more).

Moreover, we don't quite understand what nVidia was aiming at with this new chipset. It seems that thecompany tries to bury the market under the whole bunch of various chipset mutants, which hardly differ. Thesaying of most PC manufacturers, which sounds as "The cheaper, the better!", doesn't fit here. (Of course,if nVidia Riva TNT2 M64 cost less than nVidia Riva TNT, we could probably justify the launching of this newchipset).

Well, and to conclude with we would like to give you good advice: be very attentive while buying agraphics card based on this chipset. TNT2 M64 is also a TNT2, so check the chipset modification beforebuying the card, otherwise you may be greatly disappointed with the purchase.