PII 300mhz
64MB
3D Blaster Banshee 16MB AGP
6.4 HD
The benchmark reports that I've seen indicate that the Banshee is at or near
the top in 2D performance. Are there other boards out there that have the
entire GDI API in hardware?
In addition, the Banshee outperforms the Voodoo2 in single texturing
applications (like GPL) according to the manufacturer. Here's a quote from
the 3Dfx Interactive, Inc. web site:
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So is Voodoo Banshee faster or is Voodoo2?
Voodoo Banshee runs with 128-bit interface to 100MHz SGRAM, Voodoo2 runs
with dedicated 64-bit buses to 90MHz EDO. Because of the faster memory,
Voodoo Banshee will be able to sustain a higher fill rate when applying a
single texture. What this means is Voodoo Banshee will be able to run single
texturing applications at a slightly faster rate than Voodoo2, but any multi
texturing games such as Quake2 will benefit greatly from Voodoo2's second
texture processor.
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Couple that with the fact that the Banshee offers 1024 x 768 (and higher)
without consuming 2 additional PCI slots and without requiring the purchase
of 2 more video boards (each of which, I believe, is still more expensive
than the single Banshee AGP board) and I think "crimson" made a wise choice.
I think for GPLers with higher end systems, the Banshee is *currently* the
way to go and is a value that will only be surpassed by the
soon-to-be-available 2D/3D Voodoo3.
Fran
