Visual Quality and Performance Impressions

The image quality of the TNT2 hasn't changed much since the TNT, actually I didn't notice any difference between them, however you must consider that using 32bit rendering with the TNT2 isn't a pin anymore, that's thanks to better drivers and a higher fill-rate. NVIDIA didn't include any new features for improving image quality (over TNT1 features) either, maybe true environmental bump-mapping would have been a nice addition, only G400s cards have got this feature at the moment.

If we compare Voodoo3's image quality with TNT2's one, I'd go with the TNT2. Although 3dfx really improved Voodoo3's visuals over V2's ones, TNT2's images are sharper and look a bit better but I think most people won't notice the difference, now, 32bit is better than 22... that's another story. Also Voodoo3 cards only support 256x256 textures while TNT2s have got support for 2048x2048 textures, this is a HUGE difference and I really think the use of big textures will revolutionize gaming but developers aren't supporting big textures yet so TNT2's advantage isn't as big as it should.

Now, on performance, we all know the TNT2 is a great performer, no matter if we are talking of the ULTRA or non-ULTRA version but as I said before, the Leadtek WinFast S320 II is powered by a non-ultra TNT2 chip, and it's more focused towards the price/performace conscious buyer , so how does it compare to a Voodoo3 3000 that is in a similar price range?

Image Quality Comparison 16bit (left) and 32bit (right)

Clocked to the default 125/150mhz (core/memory), the WinFast S320 II performed a bit slower than the 166mhz clocked V3 3000 however when I overclocked it to 150/175mhz the difference was much smaller, in Direct3D games I felt the Winfast S320 II was a tad faster but in OpenGL games and in games with optional Glide support the Voodoo3 3000 was noticeably faster.

However NVIDIA has demonstrated that they still can optimize TNT/TNT2 drivers for better performance, I noticed a jump in performance of 10-20% when I went from the original drivers to the newer drivers based on NVIDIA's 1.88 reference, and by the time I'm writing this, 2.04 reference drivers are in beta form.

Get your own conclusions, check the benchmarks in the next few pages...

 

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