| S3 Savage4
interview
Huge thanks to Paul Crossley from S3 who answered some questions I fired him via e-mail, so... here they are:
Q: Can you summarize the features of the Savage4?
A:
Savage4
New 128-Bit Super Pipelined Architecture:
- Industry-First AGP 4X
- True 32-Bit 3D Rendering
- Industry Standard S3 Texture Compression (S3TC)
- Trilinear Filtered, Single Pass Multi-Texturing
- Optimal Hardware Accelerated DVD
- 32MB Workstation Class Memory Support
- Advanced Digital Flat Panel Support
Q: Can you tell us what are the main differences between the Savage4 GT and Pro?
A:
Savage4 GT
AGP 2X
125MHz Memory
Up to 16MBs
Savage4 PRO
AGP 4X
143MHz Memory
Up to 32MBs
Q: Before the Savage4 was announced, it was rumored S3's next generation chip was
going to be made in a 0.18 micron process, could you clear this one for us?
A: S3 has a .18 micron chip in house, but no it is not a member of the Savage4
family.
Q: Are there going to be any 2D improvements over the Savage3D?
A: While S3 has made several improvements to its 2D architecture with Savage4,
it's features such as AGP 4X, S3TC, 32MB memory, digital flat panel support
and hardware accelerated DVD, not 2D acceleration, that makes this product a
winner.
Q: When the first Savage3D boards shipped people complained about inmature/unstable drivers, is this going to change with the Savage4?
A: As evidenced by Sharky Extreme and AGN3D's recent positive review of the new
Hercules SuperCharger Beast, all of Savage3D's initial software and
compatibility issues have since been resolved. Building on what we learned with
Savage3D, Savage4 will be a super clean product from the start.
Q: Are KNI and 3DNow! implementations going to be present in the first set of
reference drivers?
A: Yes
Q: How will the Savage4 PRO stand against the Rage128, TNT2 and Voodoo3 in terms
of features?
A: All-around, we have a better feature set than any of these three products. If
you look at Voodoo3's feature set for example, 3Dfx does not support 32-bit
color, 32MBs, textures larger than 256x256, digital flat panel, accelerated DVD,
etc.
Q: How do you expect the Savage4 PRO will stand against the TNT2 and Voodoo3 in
terms of performance? or... how much faster it's going to be compared to the
Savage3D?
A: We designed Savage4 to provide the industry's best mix of quality and framerates for an optimal gaming experience. When gamers play some of 1999's hottest titles, such as Unreal Tournament or Quake III, they will see a noticeable
difference between S3's gaming experience and anyone elses.
Q: What about S3TC support? Can you mention some upcoming games that will support
it?
A: Unreal Tournament, Quake III, Anachronox, Half-Life and Expendable to name a few.
Q: The Savage3D had a very nice software DVD playback, can you tell us a little
about DVD playback and TV-out on the Savage4?
A: It's an ungraded version of the Savage3D engine with a few tweaks for better
image quality in certain playback modes.
Q: How much will we pay for a Savage4 PRO based board? (what price range)
A: Umm.... hard to say as we obviously don't set any pricing. I would say between
$129-150
Q: When should we start seeing Savage4 based boards on shelves?
A: Savage4-based boards from folks like Diamond Multimedia should start hitting the shelves in the March/April time frame
Visual Quality Samples
If you want to check out more screenshots taken with a Savage4 board be sure to check out this page:
http://www.s3.com/savage4/screens.htm
Thanks go to Paul Crossley from S3 for taking the time for answer to all my questions
Posted by
Julio Franco
on February 2, 1999
Company: S3 Incorporated Product:
S3 Savage4
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