S3 ViRGE / Diamond Stealth & other 2D/early 3D

discussed in 1,107 posts, 1994-2006 · overall tone mixed

Posts per month

Key threads

• Diamond Edge 3D accelerator launch and NASCAR bundle 1995-09-18 · 59 posts
  Diamond's Edge 3D card, based on Nvidia's NV1 chip and bundled with an enhanced NASCAR Racing, Virtua Fighter Remix and other titles, prompted discussion of DRAM versus VRAM versions, API support, Sega Saturn controller ports and whether it replaced existing video and sound cards. Representatives of Creative Labs and 3Dlabs chimed in about competing cards, and an AWE32 sound-quality argument broke out. Some early reports said accelerated NASCAR showed no clear frame-rate gain, and the thread ended with hostility toward a poster who teased information without details.
• Which 3D card to buy for Grand Prix Legends 1998-09-03 · 34 posts
  A player with a Matrox Mystique asked what hardware GPL needed. Replies agreed a 3dfx or Rendition card was essential, and beta tester John Wallace recommended the Rendition V2200 Hercules Thriller 3D as faster than Voodoo2 in GPL. Others preferred Voodoo image quality and debated memory size for replays.
• Stealth II or Pure3D as stopgap before Voodoo2 1998-01-08 · 60 posts
  A buyer asked which card to get while waiting for Voodoo2. Voodoo supporters stressed its broad Glide game support, while others defended the Rendition Verite 2100-based Stealth II as cheap and capable, including native OpenGL for Quake II. An argument broke out over whether NHL 98 was a Glide-only or Direct3D game.
• GP2 players compare system specs and frame rates 1996-07-21 · 21 posts
  A user proposed a template for posting GP2 hardware, detail settings and frame rates. Many responded with configurations from 486s to Pentium Pros, showing SVGA usually needed sky and other textures off. John Wallace also corrected a misconception about SDRAM speed and previewed a controller survey in Sim Racing News.
• 486/120 or Pentium upgrade for Papyrus sims, and GP2 speed fears 1996-01-06 · 42 posts
  A user asked whether an AMD 486/120 or a Pentium 75/100 would better run ICR II and NASCAR; most recommended a Pentium for its PCI bus and upgrade path. Rick Genter of Papyrus confirmed ICR II's graphics engine was Pentium-optimised and said a GP2 demo he saw ran at 140-150% processor occupancy in VGA on a P90. This prompted extrapolated fears about GP2 performance, which others criticised as based on an old show demo and possibly biased; Genter said his observation was personal.
• First impressions of GP2 at South African Computer Faire 1996-05-09 · 23 posts
  Clifford Smith described seeing Grand Prix 2 running at the South African Computer Faire on a P133, where the frame rate looked jerky. A local distributor claimed a 28 June release. The discussion turned to what hardware GP2 would need, comparing P166, P200 and Pentium Pro systems and DRAM versus VRAM video cards. Some posters complained about how fast PCs were becoming obsolete for new games.
• PowerVR or 3Dfx card for racing games? 1997-11-05 · 30 posts
  A user asked whether to buy a Matrox m3D (PowerVR) or a 3Dfx card. Most recommended 3Dfx because new racing sims supported Glide, while Randy Magruder and Eric Busch argued that Rendition V2x00 and Riva 128 cards matched it under Direct3D. The thread became a heated argument over benchmarks and standards.
• Best video card for Grand Prix 2 frame rates 1998-02-13 · 20 posts
  A player asked which card would speed up GP2, after 3D cards slowed it down. Most said GP2 is limited by CPU integer speed and recommended a fast 2D card such as an ET6000 or Millennium. Others noted GP2's built-in estimates are misleading on Rendition cards.
• Using S3SPDUP to speed up GP2 on S3 cards 1996-07-24 · 26 posts
  Users tested the free S3SPDUP utility with GP2 on S3-based video cards. Most reported higher video scores and about 1 to 2 fps more when loading it with the vga option, though some saw no gain or crashes. The download location was shared.
• Microsoft details the CART Precision Racing patch contents 1997-12-08 · 105 posts
  Dean of Microsoft's CART Team listed the CART Precision Racing patch fixes: improved AI, 25-50% frame rate gains for all users, controller null zone, pit lane auto-pilot, gamma controls, larger steering ratio and better default setups, and said a new demo would follow. He explained that a native Glide version had been benchmarked but gave little benefit, sparking a long Direct3D-versus-Glide argument with 3Dfx owners. Later posts became a Voodoo versus Riva 128 hardware debate.
• Disputed claim of smooth Grand Prix 2 at full detail 1997-05-27 · 36 posts
  A user claimed his Pentium 200 MMX ran Grand Prix 2 in SVGA with all details at Monaco with processor occupancy around 100%. Many called him a liar or assumed he was in VGA or at a low frame rate, and he eventually posted Cbench scores. Others shared their own frame-rate and occupancy results on K6, Pentium II and overclocked systems.

Busiest threads

• Diamond Edge 3D accelerator launch and NASCAR bundle (12 posts about it)
• What is the best Video Card for ICR2 (9 posts about it)
• Which 3D card to buy for Grand Prix Legends (9 posts about it)
• Stealth II or Pure3D as stopgap before Voodoo2 (7 posts about it)
• GP2 players compare system specs and frame rates (6 posts about it)
• GP2 Video Rating (6 posts about it)
• Will GPL final version support D3D or OpenGL? (6 posts about it)
• GPL: Worth Installing? (5 posts about it)
• 486/120 or Pentium upgrade for Papyrus sims, and GP2 speed fears (5 posts about it)
• First impressions of GP2 at South African Computer Faire (5 posts about it)
• Results of Win95 ICR2 (5 posts about it)
• N2 & Diamond Steath 3D 2000: Nasrend won't run (5 posts about it)
• PowerVR or 3Dfx card for racing games? (5 posts about it)
• Best video card for Grand Prix 2 frame rates (5 posts about it)
• ANYBODY A DIAMOND EDGE 3D (4 posts about it)

Sentiment by year

Each post that discussed it was rated from −2 (very negative) to +2 (very positive).

Who talked about it most

Dave Henrie · 27 Eric Busch · 25 John Wallace · 15 David Masten · 12 Randy BO · 11 Michael E. Carver · 10 Joel A. Willstein · 10 L.A. Ming · 9 Greg Cisko · 9 iksteh · 8 Nick Totor · 7 Nigel Nichols · 7 Scott B. Husted · 7 Ken Nicols · 6 Reg Mucke · 6 Scott Moore · 6 Geoff Smi · 5 Chris · 5 John Vozna · 5 Ken Patto · 5

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