Original Link: https://www.anandtech.com/show/802



When NVIDIA's GeForce3 graphics chip was introduced 5 months ago, many questioned if the video card industry was ready for such a powerful chip. There was no question that the GeForce3 was the most powerful graphics processor to date, changing the video chip from a fixed function processor to a programmable one. No, there was no doubt that the GeForce3 marked a significant advancement in video chip design, but would games ever take advantage of this power and would consumers be willing to shell out the high price of a GeForce3 card? Only time would tell.

And tell it did. As time passed, the enthusiasm surrounding the GeForce3 graphics chip only grew. First came the promise that games due out before the end of the year would feature support for the GeForce3's advanced features. This caused many to consider a GeForce3 based video card in anticipation of Christmas gaming titles that NVIDIA claims will not only run better but also look better on the GeForce3 graphics processor.

Next came price drops of such a massive proportion that they may as well have been called price plummets. Initially priced at $500 for a bare GeForce3 video card, prices have since fallen over $150 for an average GeForce3 price of around $340, although some can be found as low as $305. These series of price drops played a significant role in bringing the GeForce3 to many home systems. Prices of the GeForce3 now lie in the territory that a few months ago was held by the GeForce2 Ultra, making the price much easier for many to swallow.

These two events have drastically altered the appeal of the GeForce3 from a card reserved only to those with money to flaunt to a card suitable for those looking for a powerful system, even on a budget. GeForce3 card availability has also risen sharply in the past few months, making GeForce3 cards not only cheaper but also easier to find.

With these advancements, it is no surprise that many out there are contemplating which GeForce3 based card to buy. Like other NVIDIA products, it seems that every manufacturer and their brother is making a GeForce3 video card of some sorts. Naturally, this makes the decision of which GeForce3 card to get much more difficult, as aspects such as price, overclockablity, features, performance, image quality, and more all play crucial roles in the purchasing process. Today we look at a collection of some of the more popular GeForce3 cards on the market, pairing 7 GeForce3 cards head to head in order to determine which card is deserving of your money.

Please note that this roundup does not serve to compare the GeForce3 graphics chip with other solutions out there. Rather, this article is an intra-chip roundup that includes a collection of GeForce3 cards. For information on how the GeForce3 line compares with other offerings, please see our NVIDIA GeForce3 review. We strongly suggest you read this article before delving into the vast array of GeForce3 cards available on the market today.



Overclocking the Core

To start things off, we knew that the overclocking capabilities of each GeForce3 card we tested would be different but we didn't know exactly how the GeForce3 chip responded to overclocking. Obviously, in previous tests we found that overclocking both the memory and the core of GeForce3 video cards resulted in faster frame rates but we couldn't say if overclocking one clock on the card held a significant advantage to overclocking the other.

If you recall from our GeForce2 GTS overclocking guide, GeForce2 GTS cards were so memory bandwidth limited that core overclocks in excess of 35MHz provided little to no performance increase. It was only when the memory clock of the card was overclocked that we were able to realize the drastic performance increases that are typically associated with overclocking. This ideally demonstrated the constrained memory bus that the GeForce2 GTS was working with, as even in the stock speed the GeForce2 GTS was limited by the memory architecture of the card.

As you likely recall, the GeForce3 implemented a new memory architecture dubbed Lightspeed Memory Architecture. The new architecture promised to boost memory bandwidth by implementing more efficient methods for data traveling to the memory, which you can read about here.

We hoped that Lightspeed Memory Architecture would bring back the days when overclocking the core actually resulted in a performance increase, even if the memory clock speed was left the same. Not only would this assure us that the GeForce3 makes good use of its 7.36GB/s memory bandwidth, it would also help us determine the best way to overclock the GeForce3 for our roundup.

To begin we overclocked our GeForce3 core while leaving the memory clock the same. We went up in 10MHz increments, going from the stock 200MHz clock speed up 4 steps to 240MHz. The graph below shows the average frame rate at various resolutions in Serious Sam.

As the enlarged graph shows, card speed does increase as core clock speed is turned up. This represents quite a change from what we saw in the case of the GeForce2 GTS, where performance remained the same across the board due to memory bandwidth constraints.

It is clear that increasing the core speed of our GeForce3 did increase frame rate. Going from a 200MHz core to a 240MHz core while leaving the memory clock untouched provided for a 5% increase at 640x480x32, a 7% increase at 1024x768x32 and a 9% increase at 1600x1200x32. It is interesting to note that performance of the GeForce3 began to level off at the 230MHz core speed when at 1600x1200x32, suggesting that the card was hitting a memory bandwidth limitation at this point, as quite of bit of data has to travel over the memory bus at such as high resolution and color depth.



Overclocking the Memory

The previous section proves that the memory bus of the GeForce3 is not holding the card back too much, especially compared to the bottlenecks we have seen in the past. We were still interested to see if increasing the memory clock speed while leaving the core clock untouched would still result in a performance increase.

Once again, the upward slope of the lines indicate that performance did increase as the memory clock was overclocked. Since the card did experience performance increases when the memory clock speed was raised, it does prove that the card is still a bit memory bandwidth bottlenecked even at the shipping clock speed of 200MHz. Ideally, if the GeForce3 experienced no memory bandwidth limitations, performance would not increase at all as the memory clock speed was increased. Since performance increased by 3% at 640x480x32, 3% at 1024x768x32, and 7% at 1600x1200x32, we can say that the GeForce3 still does not have all the memory bandwidth it would like at the shipping 460MHz memory clock speed..

It is not surprising that overclocking the memory provided only incremental gains at 640x480x32 and at 1024x768x32 because at these resolutions the GeForce3 is only slightly memory bandwidth limited. As you can see, performance gains leveled off at these two resolutions at around the 500MHz mark due to the fact that the core is what is limiting the card at these resolutions and high memory speeds.

Nor is it surprising that the largest speed increase came at 1600x1200x32. As we saw when we overclocked the core, performance gains seemed to level off at this high resolution due to memory bandwidth constraints. As the memory clock was increased, effective memory bandwidth increased, thus allowing the card to realize the most gains at the resolution where the most data must be passed: at 1600x1200x32.

As you can see, quite a bit has changed since that last GeForce product we looked into overclocking: the GeForce2 GTS. No longer is core speed unimportant, like the case in the GeForce2 GTS. The GeForce3's Lightspeed Memory Architecture does seem to provide some relief to the crowded memory bus, but does not completely eliminate it as a bottleneck. So, unlike the GeForce2 GTS where only memory clock speed mattered in overclocking, the GeForce3 depends on both a high core and memory clock to perform at the best overclocked ability.

The best way to overclock your GeForce3 is to push both the memory and core speeds as high as they well go, as we did in this review. Moving up the speeds together will provide you with the maximum performance possible.

Now that we know how to overclock the cards, lets take a look and see how our 7 contenders did, not only when overclocked, but also in terms quality, features, and more.



Evaluating Image Quality

Image quality testing was something we felt deserved some attention in this roundup, in order to determine which GeForce3 product produces the best 2D image quality. Many have been complaining about the "poor" 2D image quality of NVIDIA video cards, an aspect that is sure to vary between manufacturers.

To test the image quality of the cards in this roundup, we hooked each card up to a Sony F500 21" monitor using BNC cables. Image quality of the card was then recorded by two separate people, using the cards we had seen before as a reference point. Although the test was subjective, we were able to draw conclusions from the results and rate each card on a scale from 1 to 5, with 1 being the best and 5 being the worst.

Image quality was evaluated by reading white text on a black background at both 1600x1200x32 at an 85Hz refresh rate as well as at 1800x1400x32 at a 70Hz refresh rate. Image quality was described as "sharp", "somewhat sharp", "somewhat blurry", and "blurry but readable", with subtle difference between cards noted in a description of the image quality.

We described the image quality of each GeForce3 card we looked, choosing to also include an ASUS GeForce2 MX, ATI Radeon DDR, and Matrox G450 eTV video card for comparisons sake. We then used the 1 to 5 scale to rate each GeForce3 card as well as the three other cards tested.

Of the non-GeForce3 cards tested, the Matrox G450 eTV set the standard with a score of 1, indicating that it provided the best 2D image quality. The GeForce2 MX, on the other hand, provided a reference point for poor image quality, earning a score of 5. The ATI Radeon DDR scored a 2 in our subjective test. The score of each individual GeForce3 product is noted in the summary table of the card in the "Image Quality" row.

To make the scores easier to understand, we associated a description with each number. 1 got "best", 2 got "good", 3 got "moderate", 4 got "poor", and 5 got "bad".



The Test

Windows 98 SE Test System

Hardware

CPU(s) AMD Athlon (Thunderbird) 1.33GHz
Motherboard(s) ASUS A7M266
Memory 128MB PC2100 Corsair DDR SDRAM
Hard Drive

IBM Deskstar DPTA-372050 20.5GB 7200 RPM Ultra ATA 66

CDROM

Phillips 48X

Video Card(s)

Absoulte Multimedia Morpheus GeForce3 64MB
ASUS V8200 Deluxe GeForce3 64MB
Gainward CARDEXPERT GeForce3 PowerPack !!! 64MB
Guillemot/Hercules 3D Prophet III GeForce3 64MB
MSI Starforce 822 rev2 GeForce3 64MB
PowerColor Chameleon Geforce3 64MB
SUMA Platinum GeForce3 64MB

Ethernet

Linksys LNE100TX 100Mbit PCI Ethernet Adapter

Software

Operating System

Windows 98 SE

Video Drivers

NVIDIA Detonator 3 12.10

Benchmarking Applications

Gaming

Croteam Serious Sam - Karnak Peaceful Night Coop

As per previous roundups, the maximum temperature of each card running in a 15 minute loop of Quake III Arena was recorded. Core temperature was monitored by placing a thermistor on the back of each card directly behind the GeForce3 core. Memory temperature was measured by placing the same thermistor on the back of each card, this time behind the last memory chip on the right on the top row of memory chips.



Absolute Multimedia Morpheus

Absolute Multimedia Morpheus Specifications

Memory
64MB EliteMT DDR SDRAM 3.8ns
Cooling - Core
Circular fan/heatsink combo
Cooling - Memory
15 fin RAMsinks
Temperature - Core
120 F / 48.9 C
Temperature - Memory
109 F / 42.8 C
TV-Out
S- Video Conexant/Brooktree Bt869
Video-In
N/A
Drivers
NVIDIA Reference
Highest Overclock
230/515MHz
Overclocking Utility
None
2D Image Quality
3 (moderate)
Software/Gaming Bundle
Dronez, MDK2, voucher for No One Lives Forever, plus one Software Choice Title, WinDVD
Average Online Price
$349.00

The Absolute Multimedia Morpheus is actually manufactured by 3DPOWER but sold on the retail market under the Absolute Multimedia brand name. The card, like all but one GeForce3 card included in this roundup, is based off of NVIDIA's GeForce3 reference design. For TV-output, Absolute Multimedia chose to place a Conexant/Brooktree Bt869 chip on directly on the board PCB and not on a separate daughter card, likely saving a bit of cost.

The heatsink/fan combination used on the Morpheus GeForce3 is similar to the circular ones we have seen on many video cards. The setup, attached with a proper amount of thermal grease, was actually able to keep the card running at the lowest temperature of all cards included in this roundup. The heatsinks on the memory also seemed to do a good job. Connected with thermal tape, the RAMsinks cooled the Morpheus' RAM to 109 degrees F, second lowest of all cards tested. Unfortunately, we were not able to overclock the card as much as we would have liked to. The card was only able to hit a 230/515MHz, suggesting that yield has a lot more to do with overclocking success than cooling methods do and making it a game of luck.

The software package included with the Morpheus GeForce3 is one of the strongest ones we have seen to date. The box comes loaded with 3 games (Dronez, MDK2, and No One Lives Forever) as well as a voucher for a fourth game to be selected from an online selection of somewhat aged games. Also included is WinDVD, a perfect match for the video-out capabilities of the Morpheus GeForce3.

The 2D image quality of the Absolute Multimedia Morpheus was surprisingly good. We noted that at 1600x1200x32 at 85Hz the card produced a sharp image while at 1800x1440x32 at 70Hz the 2D image was very slightly blurry but better than others we had looked at.

Unfortunately, not many retailers are selling this card, keeping prices perhaps a bit higher than they need be. The company claims that the card is available at 5 online e-stores, but the easiest place to find it is right on Absolute Multimedia's own store. The price is the same regardless of who you shop through, and by going with the Absolute Multimedia store the odds are very good you will get what you ordered, since they are actually the ones making the cards.



ASUS V8200 Deluxe

ASUS V8200 Deluxe Specifications

Memory
64MB EliteMT DDR SDRAM 3.8ns
Cooling - Core
Oversized fan/heatsink combo
Cooling - Memory
21 fin interlocking RAMsinks
Temperature - Core
122 F / 50 C
Temperature - Memory
114 F / 45.5 C
TV-Out
S- Video and Composite Philips SAA7108E
Video-In
S- Video and Composite Philips SAA7108E
Drivers
ASUS Custom
Highest Overclock
235/530MHz
Overclocking Utility
ASUS
2D Image Quality
4 (poor)
Software/Gaming Bundle
ASUS Custom Drivers, Sacrifice, Messiah, StarTrek - New Worlds, VideoLive Mail 4, ASUSDVD 2000, Ulead VideoStudio 4.0 SE
Average Online Price
$375.00

The ASUS V8200 Deluxe GeForce3 brings the popular ASUS Deluxe series cards to the GeForce3 graphics processor. The ASUS Deluxe series cards typically include many features not found on your everyday video card, and the V8200 Deluxe is no exception. The card features the bells and whistles that the Deluxe cards have become known for, including "VR" glasses (more about that here), video capture capabilities, and hardware monitoring.

ASUS no longer has a stronghold on the VIVO NVIDIA market, as other manufacturers are beginning to make VIVO capable video cards, as many of the GeForce3 cards we look at here do. Unlike those other manufacturers, ASUS uses a custom board design on the V8200 Deluxe in order to give it hardware monitoring and "VR" glasses support. We have always loved hardware monitoring capabilities on a video card, and the V8200 Deluxe is no exception. There is simply no replacement for knowing every bit of information about your video card, from fan speed to core temperature. As we have commented on before, the "VR" glasses are more of a novelty item, but will attract some curious gamers nonetheless.

The heatsink/fan combination used on the V8200 Deluxe is very similar to that used on the MSI StarForce 822 video card. The setup is rather unique, where the memory heatsinks are actually a part of the core heatsink: the two lie together when assembled. The core heatsink is attached via thermal grease, which is what we like to see. On the other hand, the memory heatsinks were attached to the RAM chips with nothing more than push-pins (a luxury ASUS had because of their proprietary reference designed allowed for holes in the proper location). The setup kept the core temperature tied for second lowest and memory temperature tied for third coolest. Overclocking the V8200 Deluxe proved to be a success, as the core and memory speeds that our sample card reached were rather high, providing a good mix between core clock speed and memory clock speed.

The 2D image quality of the ASUS V8200 left a bit to be desired. Our notes record the ASUS V8200 as a somewhat sharp at 1600x1200x32 at 85Hz and blurry but readable at 1800x1440x32 at 70Hz

The ASUS V8200 Deluxe can be found at a variety of on-line stores, making the card easy to get.



Gainward CARDEXPERT GeForce3 PowerPack !!!

Gainward CARDEXPERT GeForce3 PowerPack !!! Specifications

Memory
64MB EliteMT DDR SDRAM 3.8ns
Cooling - Core
Circular fan/heatsink combo
Cooling - Memory
16 fin RAMsinks
Temperature - Core
136 F / 57.8 C
Temperature - Memory
116 F / 46.7 C
TV-Out
S- Video and Composite Philips SAA7108E
Video-In
S- Video and Composite Philips SAA7108E
Drivers
NVIDIA Reference with EXPERTool
Highest Overclock
235/515MHz
Overclocking Utility
EXPERTool
2D Image Quality
2 (good)
Software/Gaming Bundle
Ulead VideoStudio 4.0 SE, WinDVD 2000
Average Online Price
$320.00 base model
$355.00 VIVO model

Gainward has built a reputation of providing low cost, high quality products and the Gainward CARDEXPERT GeForce3 PowerPack !!! is no exception. The card is available in two models: a base model with only the TV-out option and a VIVO model that features full video input and output as well as a DVI port.

We were quite impressed when we first saw the Gainward CARDEXPERT GeForce3 PowerPack !!!, as it was the first reference designed NVIDIA card we had seen with VIVO functionality added via a daughter card housing the Philips SAA7108E video encoder/decoder. Input/output is made possible via a dongle that accepts both composite video and s-video inputs as well as outputs.

The core of the Gainward CARDEXPERT GeForce3 PowerPack !!! is cooled via the same heatsink/fan setup we saw on the Absolute Multimedia Morpheus card, except Gainward uses a thermal pad as opposed to thermal grease to bond the heatsink to the core surface. We would rather that pad be replaced with thermal grease for more effective heat transfer. The red RAMsinks are attached to the memory chips via thermal tape. Our success overclocking the Gainward CARDEXPERT GeForce3 PowerPack !!! was not bad. We were able to get the core up to 235MHz and the memory clock up to 515MHz: producing an overclocked core speed slightly higher than the average we experienced and a memory speed right at average.

The 2D image quality of the Gainward CARDEXPERT GeForce3 PowerPack !!! was spectacular. Our notes clearly mark the card as "best" among GeForce3 cards in both the 1600x1200x32 at 85Hz as well as the 1800x1440x32 at 70Hz test. The 2D image quality of the Gainward CARDEXPERT GeForce3 PowerPack !!! was right on par with the ATI Radeon DDR card we used for comparison, leaving the other GeForce3 cards behind.

The Gainward CARDEXPERT GeForce3 PowerPack !!! is one of the less expensive GeForce3 cards available. In it's base form, the card is certainly a great value, offering good performance and superior image quality at a lower price than many competitors. Adding the VIVO option will set you back an additional $35, but the functionality gained for such a low price increase is quite astounding.



Guillemot/Hercules 3D Prophet III

Guillemot/Hercules 3D Prophet III Specifications

Memory
64MB EliteMT DDR SDRAM 3.8ns
Cooling - Core
'Orb' style fan/heatsink combo
Cooling - Memory
160 "finger" RAMsinks
Temperature - Core
122 F / 50 C
Temperature - Memory
105 F / 40.6 C
TV-Out
S- Video and Composite Conexant CX25871
Video-In
N/A
Drivers
NVIDIA Reference
Highest Overclock
215/515MHz
Overclocking Utility
Hercules 3D Tweaker
2D Image Quality
3 (moderate)
Software/Gaming Bundle
PowerDVD 3.0
Average Online Price
$385.00

The 3D Prophet III shares the same blue color motif common to the other 3D Prophet cards on the market today, but color is not the only thing that the 3D Prophet III shares with the other cards in the 3D Prophet series.

Like other 3D Prophet cards, the 3D Prophet III sports flashy cooling solutions placed on an NVIDIA reference design board. The GeForce3 core on the 3D Prophet III is cooled via a very unique 'orb' style cooling device. Featuring no less than 54 fins on a heatsink attached to the GeForce3 core via thermal grease, we suspected that the heatsink/fan combination would get the job done right. The RAMsinks on the 3D Prophet III are also very unique. They feature 160 individual "fingers" of sorts to create quite a bit of surface area. The memory heatsinks come attached to the RAM chips via thermal tape.

With these traits in mind, it was really no surprise that the 3D Prophet III was one of the coolest running cards we tested. The core of the 3D Prophet III got to 122 degrees F, tying for third coolest. The memory temperatures measured a cool 105 degrees F, performing best in this test. It was a shame that these relatively cool temperatures did not equate to superior overclockability. We were only able to get our 3D Prophet III up to 215/515MHz, the lowest overclocked speed of all the cards in this roundup. Since we know that the core and memory chips are being cooled well, we can assume that the yield on our card was low, hence the poor overclocking success.

Also like other high-end 3D Prophet cards, the 3D Prophet III features video-out as well as a DVI-out port. These are nice features that add to the appeal to the card. One thing that the 3D Prophet series has lacked that we would have liked to seen is a wider selection of bundled software titles. Many GeForce3 cards are shipping with games that people actually do play, and we feel that the 3D Prophet III should be no exception.

We found the 2D image quality of the 3D Prophet III to be moderate, earning it a score of 3. Our notes show that the Hercules card performed very similarly to the Absolute Multimedia GeForce3 solution, receiving similar comments.

The Guillemot/Hercules 3D Prophet III is one of the few retail-store available GeForce3 cards that we got a chance to test. This is good for those not wanting to order a video card from the internet, but it does equate to higher prices. The 3D Prophet III falls on the more expensive side of non VIVO GeForce3 cards, due in a large part to its wide retail availability. This retail availability has also kept the 3D Prophet III from many e-stores, as it seems Guillemot/Hercules is focusing on your local computer superstores.



MSI StarForce 822

MSI StarForce 822 Specifications

Memory
64MB EliteMT DDR SDRAM 3.8ns
Cooling - Core
Oversized fan/heatsink combo
Cooling - Memory
21 fin interlocking RAMsinks
Temperature - Core
138 F / 58.9 C
Temperature - Memory
125 F / 51.7 C
TV-Out
S- Video and Composite Philips SAA7108E
Video-In
Composite Philips SAA7108E
Drivers
NVIDIA Reference with 3D!Turbo 2000
Highest Overclock
250/515MHz
Overclocking Utility
3D!Turbo 2000
2D Image Quality
5 (worst)
Software/Gaming Bundle
Ulead Video Studio 4.0 SE, Idea Box, MSI DVD
Average Online Price
$345.00

For this roundup we choose only to include the mass shipping MSI StarForce 822 GeForce3 card, not the initial version that made it out in limited quantities (which we looked at here). The new revision offered many needed improvements to the initial version of the card and now features a VIVO module standard.

The cooling solution found on the MSI StarForce 822 is the same one on the ASUS V8200 Deluxe card. Like the ASUS card, the heatsink/fan solution is bonded to the GeForce3 core with thermal grease. MSI does one up the ASUS by using thermal tape to bond the memory heatsinks to the memory chips. Unfortunately we found that the MSI StarForce 822 was actually the hottest running card we tested, ringing in at a 138 degree F core temperature and a 125 degree F memory temperature.

The hot core certainly did not hold back the card from overclocking. Although the core temperature at the shipping speed was hotter than anything else we tested, we were able to get the MSI StarForce 822 up to the highest core speed we have seen on a GeForce3 yet: a full 250MHz. On the memory side, we were not as excited to find that the MSI StarForce 822 would only reach the average memory speed of 515MHz. Regardless, the 250/515MHz overclocked card is anything but slow.

The MSI StarForce 822 comes in only one configuration that includes the VIVO daughter card. MSI chose to include both s-video and composite outputs on the card but only took advantage of a composite video-in port.

Were were disappointed with the MSI StarForce 822's 2D image quality. The card received comments such as "blurry" in our tests, leaving it along the same lines as an older GeForce2 MX card.

The MSI StarForce 822 offers quite the bang for the buck. The card comes with VIVO features standard and is still less expensive than the competition in many cases. Overclocking was also a success. We do have to wonder if MSI cut costs by using lesser quality video filters for the VGA out, as the card will likely leave you with a slight headache if you plan on running your desktop at a high resolution. It was not horrible, but we would want a bit more image quality out of a $300 plus card.



PowerColor Chameleon

PowerColor Chameleon Specifications

Memory
64MB EliteMT DDR SDRAM 3.8ns
Cooling - Core
Fan/heatsink combo
Cooling - Memory
20 fin RAMsinks
Temperature - Core
127 F / 52.8 C
Temperature - Memory
114 F / 45.6 C
TV-Out
S- Video and Composite Conexant/Brooktree Bt869
Video-In
N/A
Drivers
NVIDIA Reference
Highest Overclock
240/515MHz
Overclocking Utility
None
2D Image Quality
5 (worst)
Software/Gaming Bundle
Unreal Tournament, WinDVD 2000
Average Online Price
$315.00

The PowerColor Chameleon rang in as the least expensive GeForce3 card included in this roundup. At $315.00, the card was $5 less expensive than the next cheapest card: the Gainward GeForce3. Even at this low price, the card includes features now considered standard on GeForce3 cards, including both a DVI-out port as well as TV-out port.

Cooling on the PowerColor Chameleon is taken care of by a slightly modified heatsink/fan combination attached to the GeForce3's surface with thermal grease, our attachment method of choice. Holding the memory heatsinks in place was the typical thermal tape, although the placement of the RAMsinks on our card was somewhat questionable, as the top heatsink did not really cover the surface of the memory but was offset some.

We were able to get our Chameleon to a rather high core speed when overclocked: 240MHz to be exact. This was the second fastest core speed we were able to achieve and does make a statement about the cooling of the PowerColor Chameleon. On the memory side, the PowerColor Chameleon hit the average speed of 515MHz; a speed below the 3.8ns (526MHz) speced speed but average among the GeForce3 cards included in this roundup.

The PowerColor Chameleon tied with the MSI StarForce 822 for last place when it came to 2D image quality. Like the MSI card, we noted that the PowerColor card provided blurry but readable images at both 1600x1200x32 at 85Hz as well as at 1800x1440x32 at 70Hz. It is possible that PowerColor was able to get the price of the Chameleon so low by using lesser quality filters on the card, a fact that would explain the sub par 2D image quality at high resolutions.

The PowerColor Chameleon is available at quite a few sites on-line, making it a tempting purchase for many. The software bundle with the card is not very strong, including WinDVD 2000 (useful when paired with the video-out of the card) and Unreal Tournament. This does help keep the price low, however, making it a trade off between price and extras.



SUMA Platinum GeForce3

SUMA Platinum GeForce3 Specifications

Memory
64MB EliteMT DDR SDRAM 3.8ns
Cooling - Core
Fan/heatsink combo
Cooling - Memory
20 fin RAMsinks
Temperature - Core
136 F / 57.8 C
Temperature - Memory
120 F / 48.9 C
TV-Out
S- Video and Composite Philips SAA7108E
Video-In
S- Video and Composite Philips SAA7108E
Drivers
NVIDIA Reference
Highest Overclock
225/515MHz
Overclocking Utility
None
2D Image Quality
3 (moderate)
Software/Gaming Bundle
Ulead Video Studio 4.0 SE, WinDVD, WinDVR
Average Online Price
N/A
$450 MSRP for TV Tuner Version

The SUMA Platinum GeForce3 was the first, and remains the only, NVIDIA based GeForce3 card we have seen to come packaged with NVIDIA's Personal Cinema. We took a look at this card and the TV abilities of the Personal Cinema in our TV Tuner Video Card Roundup and have since learned that the version of the card as well as the Personal Cinema we looked at are prerelease versions, meaning that many of the problems we experienced are bound to be fixed.

The cooling methods used on the SUMA Platinum GeForce3 are the same as the ones we saw on the PowerColor GeForce3 product. This time, however, our pre-production card did not feature any bond at all between the GeForce3 core and the heatsink surface. We hope that the retail version of the card features thermal grease, or at least a thermal pad, in order to facilitate heat transfer from the core to the heatsink. The memory heatsinks were placed on somewhat carelessly, resulting in a large portion of exposed memory. Once again, we hope that the retail version of this card finds the heatsinks placed directly over the memory chips and not on a 30 degree angle. The precarious cooling methods resulted in the SUMA Platinum GeForce3 having the 2nd highest core temperate of all, tied for second worst with Gainward. The memory as well ranked second worst, with a rather high memory temperature.

It seems that both these items factored in the lackluster overclocking ability of the card. We were only able to get the card to 225/515 MHz, slightly below the average overclocked speed were were able to achieve.

While were were somewhat disappointed with the overclockability of our Platinum GeForce3, we were pleasantly surprised with the 2D image quality of the card. The card's 2D image quality earned a 3 in our rating system, meaning that it's image quality was moderate at both 1600x1200x32 at 85Hz as well as at 1800x1440x32 at 70Hz. We noted that the 2D image quality of the SUMA card was almost identical to the image quality of both the Absolute Multimedia card as well as the Guillemot/Hercules card.

One unfortunate aspect of the SUMA Platinum GeForce3 is that it is not yet available for purchase. Since both the card and the Personal Cinema it is packaged with are in prerelease form, we cannot yet determine how easy or how hard it will be to find. What we can say is that it will probably one of the first, if not the first, GeForce3 TV tuner video card available for purchase. This more than justifies its high price; a price likely to fall once the product hits market. SUMA told us that www.futurepowerusa.com, www.mini-micro.com, and www.greenleafinc.com will all be selling the Platinum GeForce3 in the US market.



Performance

One can only expect speed differences on the order of a few percent between cards based on the same chip, so why did we test the performance of each GeForce3 included in this roundup? We wanted to ensure that all the cards were performing on the same level. We choose Serious Sam as the benchmark of choice, and the following graphs show how each card did at our standard test resolutions.

At 640x480x32, the 7 cards tested all performed within 6% of one another. The top scoring card was the Gainward CARDEXPERT GeForce3 PowerPack !!!, which outperformed the next closest card by 2%. The vast majority of cards fell at around 95 FPS at 640x480x32. The differences between cards are likely caused by BIOS revisions used and normal variations between runs. The Gainward CARDEXPERT GeForce3 PowerPack !!! does seems to hold a clear advantage, albeit a small one.

Scores really seem to normalize when the resolution is increased to 1024x768x32. At this resolution in our tests we found that the top scoring Gainward CARDEXPERT GeForce3 PowerPack !!! was only 2% faster than the "slowest" card of the bunch: the Absolute Multimedia Morpheus GeForce3. Variations on the level of 2% can be considered almost nonexistent, since variations between runs can be around this level normally. The average framerate was around 82 frames per second at this resolution.

The performance difference between cards is small again at 1600x1200x32, with the spread between cards only measuring 3%. Once again, we find the Gainward card on the top of the charts, sustaining a small performance advantage over its competitors. The average framerate of all the cards at this resolution was about 43.3 frames per second.

As the above graphs show, no one card holds a large advantage over the others in terms of performance: all are pretty much on the same level, which is what we should expect. The graphs also show that no one card is left behind; once again, something we have come to expect from card utilizing the same chip. It is, however, better to be safe than sorry.



Summary

GeForce3 Specification Comparison

Core Temperature
Memory Temperature
Highest Overclock
2D Image Quality
Key Features
Average Online Price
Absolute Multimedia Morpheus 120 F / 48.9 C 109 F / 42.8 C 230/515MHz 3 (moderate) TV-out, good gaming bundle $349.00
ASUS V8200 Deluxe 122 F / 50 C 114 F / 45.5 C 235/530MHz 4 (poor) VIVO, hardware monitoring $375.00
Gainward CARDEXPERT GeForce3 PowerPack !!! 136 F / 57.8 C 116 F / 46.7 C 235/515MHz 2 (good) TV-out or VIVO, DVI-out $320.00 base
$355.00 VIVO
Guillemot/Hercules 3D Prophet III 122 F / 50 C 105 F / 40.6 C 215/515MHz 3 (moderate) TV-out, DVI-out $385.00
MSI StarForce 822 138 F / 58.9 C 125 F / 51.7 C 250/515MHz 5 (worst) VIVO $345.00
PowerColor Chameleon 127 F / 52.8 C 114 F / 45.6 C 240/515MHz 5 (worst) TV-out, DVI-out $315.00
SUMA Platinum GeForce3 136 F / 57.8 C 120 F / 48.9 C 225/515 MHz 3 (moderate) VIVO, TV tuner $450.00 MSRP


Conclusion

There are quite a few GeForce3 cards on the market today, a marked change from just a few months ago. No longer are GeForce3s priced out of the reach of many and difficult to find. No, it seems that the GeForce3 is finally making it in the mainstream, with many companies sporting high end GeForce3 graphics cards. The question is, which GeForce3 is right for you?

Well, the best GeForce3 for you depends on what you are looking for in a GeForce3 card. Coincidentally, we can break the GeForce3 market into 3 different segments: budget GeForce3 cards, VIVO GeForce3 cards, and TV tuner GeForce3 cards. We will choose the best card for each of these applications.

When it comes to the budget GeForce3 category, it is difficult to beat the base model Gainward CARDEXPERT GeForce3 PowerPack !!!. Although the card only gets second place when it comes to price, beat out by the PowerColor Chameleon by $5, the $5 extra dollars will prove to be well worth it in the long run. The card offers great image quality, best of all the GeForce3 cards we have seen thus far, as well as a rich standard feature set that includes both TV-out as well as DVI-out. The Gainward CARDEXPERT GeForce3 PowerPack !!! is also one of the more available GeForce3 cards that we looked at; a wide variety of e-stores regularly stock the Gainward card. Temperatures of the card fell within the average range, leaving an opportunity open for overclocking. Overall, the extremely strong image quality and low price were enough to make us comfortable recommending the base Gainward CARDEXPERT GeForce3 PowerPack !!! as the budget GeForce3 card of choice.

The Absolute Multimedia Morpheus is another card that fell into the base GeForce3 category, but its high price kept it from being chosen number one. It does make a great card if you are looking into investing in some cool titles with your GeForce3 as well, since Absolute Multimedia is able to package the games with the card at a much lower cost than the retail stores can offer. As far as the Guillemot/Hercules 3D Prophet III, it contains the features we would classify as being a "budget" card but it's high price ranks up there with VIVO GeForce3s.

As far as VIVO GeForce3 cards, our choice was not as simple. We had to pick from a selection of 3 cards, each with a strong point. When forced to make a recommendation, we had to go with the VIVO Gainward CARDEXPERT GeForce3 PowerPack !!! due to it's high image quality, good VIVO features, and low price. As mentioned before, the Gainward CARDEXPERT GeForce3 PowerPack !!! was the only card that appeared to have as sharp of an image as the ATI Radeon DDR. Add to this the rather low price of $349 and standard DVI-out port, and the Gainward CARDEXPERT GeForce3 PowerPack !!! seems like a great deal; and it is.

A close second is the ASUS V8200 Deluxe, and for those not really concerned with the extra $20 this card will set you back, it is a strong candidate. The hardware monitoring features of the card will win the hearts of many and certainly helps when overclocking. It is too bad that image quality of the V8200 was not as strong as other cards; those with large monitors and high resolutions should stay away. The MSI StarForce 822 rung in slightly cheaper than the Gainward CARDEXPERT GeForce3 PowerPack !!!, but the $4 this card saves you is not worth it when you take into consideration the poor image quality of the card as well as the lack of s-video input and DVI output.

Finally, the only GeForce3 we currently know of that plans to ship with and support NVIDIA's Personal Cinema is the SUMA Platinum GeForce3, making it the clear winner for those looking for a TV tuner on their GeForce3. The card's image quality was surprisingly good for a company that has little recognition in the US. Our only concern is with retail availability; only time will tell if SUMA's Platinum GeForce3 can make it big outside of Asia. We suspect that retail availability will grow and prices of the card will fall once released, as many have interest in getting a TV tuner with their GeForce3.

With the GeForce3 finally making it in the rough world of the consumer market, the real winner in this roundup is you, the consumer. With companies fighting it out attempting to one up the competition, GeForce3 prices will only continue to fall and quality will only continue to improve. The results of this are already being seen, as demonstrated by the high quality of each and every GeForce3 card we reviewed. With our suggestions, you should now feel ready and able to conquer the GeForce3 market. Happy shopping.

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