Vimage 233/117/512K CPU Card Review Review date: 1/4/99
Applications performance tests and comments
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Applications/General use comments
Although a 233MHz is at the low end of G3 CPU performance owners of most 604 CPU systems should still see some significant improvements. Most striking was the boost seen in Infini-D 4.01. Even compared to the 250MHz 604 (Mach 5 card with 1MB L2 cache) the G3/233 shaved about 30 minutes off the rendering time of the test movie. Other applications and games showed somewhat less of a boost but if you're the owner of a 120-180MHz 604e you should still see noticable gains. I'm listing test results in Bryce 2, Infini-D 4.01, After Effects 3.1, and Premiere 4.2. Keep in mind the faster G3 cards shown in the comparisons cost quite a bit more than the Vimage 233 card. It's up to you to decide if the time saved is worth the extra cost.
Infini-D Tests
I used the same Infini-D 4.0 tutorial file rendering test as I've done in past reviews using the 'chapter 7 completed' scene. Rendering quality was set to Ray Trace, medium anti-aliasing, shadows on, patch detail low. The table below shows the results of the Vimage card (in red) and other G3 and 604E cards/systems for comparison. Infini-D was allocated 40MB of RAM for the tests. The G3 Apps tests page has more results but many were done with v 4.0 which seemed to be faster than v 4.01 in my testing. For a accurate comparison only v4.01 tests are shown here. XLR8 266/177/1MB @322/214: 47:23 Apple G3 333/222/66 (chipped): 47:23 MacTell 266/1MB @300/300: 47:46 XLR8 266/177/1MB @300/300: 47:54 Railgun 250/1MB @312/208: 48:50 Railgun 250/1MB @292/194: 51:57 MacTell 266/1MB @266/266: 54:13 XLR8 266/177/1MB @266/177: 57:14 PForce 220/110/512K @291/116: 58:11 Railgun 250/1MB @250/166: 1:00:32 PForce G3 220/110/512K @240/120: 1:07:18 Vimage G3/233/117/512K: 1:10:02 8600/350 (chipped) Mach 5: 1:15:55 8600/250 Mach 5: 1:30:23 Stock PTP180: 1:54:07 (w/1MB L2 Cache) For results with faster G3 cards see the reviews on the CPU cards page or the complete list of scores on theG3 Apps test page. Infini-D is one application that shows quite a boost from a G3 card with its backside cache. The 233Mhz G3 with 512k of backside cache at 117Mhz was 5 minutes faster than a 350MHz 604E with a 100MHz 1MB L2 cache for instance.
Bryce 2 Tests
I also ran tests in Bryce 2, using the samples scenes in the KAI folder called "Magical Knight I" and "Alexandria II". Again I show the times other G3 and 604E CPU cards took for those same scenes. Bryce 2 was left at the default memory allocation of 16980k, antialiasing was on. The card under review is listed in Red text. Time to render the "Magical Night I" scene Apple G3 333/222/66 (chipped): 3:23 9600/400 (chipped) Mach 5: 3:30 XLR8 266/177 @322/214: 3:29 MacTell 266 @300/300: 3:34 Railgun 250 @312/208: 3:37 XLR8 266/177 @300/300: 3:40 8600/350 (chipped) Mach 5: 3:41 PwrCenter w/PF G3 292/292/65 no L3 = 3:45 (65mhz bus speed) PowerForce G3 292/292/45 = 3:46 Railgun 250 @292/194: 3:46 PForce 220/110 @291/116: 3:52 PowerForce G3 285/285 w/1meg L3 = 3:52 MaxPowr 275/275/45 = 3:58 MacTell 266/266: 4:04 MaxPowr Pro+ 266/266/45 = 4:06 XLR8 266/177/1MB: 4:12 Railgun 250/166/512K: 4:24 MaxPowr Pro 250/166/512K = 4:28 PForce 220/110/512K @240/120: 4:37 PowerLogix Pro 604E at 263mhz = 4:46 (w/1MB cache) Vimage G3/233/117 = 4:51 Stock PTP180: 6:37 (w/1MB L2 Cache) Stock 8500/120: = 11:36 (w/1MB L2 Cache) Time to render the "Alexandria II" scene Apple G3 333/222/66 (chipped): 4:35 9600/400 (chipped) Mach 5: 4:39 Railgun 250/1MB @312/208: 4:41 XLR8 266/177/1MB @322/214: 4:46 MacTell 266/1MB @300/300: 4:52 8600/350 (chipped) Mach 5: 5:00 XLR8 266/177/1MB @300/300: 5:03 Railgun 250/1MB @292/194: 5:08 PowerForce G3 292/292/45 = 5:10 PwrCenter w/PF G3 250/1MB 292/292/65 = 5:12 (65mhz bus speed) PForce 220/110/512K @291/116: 5:14 PowerForce G3/250/1MB @285/285 = 5:19 MaxPowr 275/1MB 275/275 w/no L3 = 5:29 MacTell 266/1MB @266/266: 5:32 MaxPowr Pro+ 266/266/1MB = 5:39 XLR8 266/177/1MB @266/177: 5:47 Railgun 250/1MB @250/166: 5:59 MaxPowr Pro 250/166/512K = 6:08 MaxPowr Pro 250/166/512K = 6:08 PForce 220/110/512K @240/120: 6:16 PowerLogix Pro 604E @263mhz = 6:33 (w/1MB L2 cache) Vimage G3/233/117 = 6:34 Stock PTP180: 9:04 (w/1MB L2 Cache) Stock 8500/120: = 15:32 (w/1MB L2 Cache) For results with faster G3 cards see the reviews on the CPU cards page or the complete list of scores on theG3 Apps test page.
After Effects 2.1 Tests:
The following is a list showing the render times for a special effects movie in AE with various G3 and 604E CPU cards (the Vimage card under review is in red): After Effects Rendering test: Apple G3 333/222/66 (chipped): 4:14 PowerForce G3 292mhz/no L3 = 4:49 (8500/45mhz bus speed) PwrCenter w/PF G3 65/292mhz no L3 = 4:51 (65mhz bus speed) PowerForce 285mhz w/1meg L3 = 4:58 MaxPowr 275 275/275/45 w/no L3 = 5:05 (60ns memory setting) MaxPowr Pro+ 266/266/45 w/no L3 = 5:14 (60ns memory setting) MaxPowr Pro 250/166/45 w/no L3 = 5:37 (60ns memory setting) PowerLogix Pro 233 w/1meg L2 (604E@263mhz) = 5:34 MaxPowr Pro 250/166/45 w/no L3 = 5:38 (70ns memory setting) 8600/250 (Mach 5): 5:54 Vimage G3/233/117: 6:08 Stock 8500/120: = 12:18 (w/1MB L2 Cache) For results with faster G3 cards see the reviews on the CPU cards page or the complete list of scores on theG3 Apps test page.
Unreal TimeDemo Tests
The Vimage and stock 8600/250 were both run with a Voodoo1 (Power3D) card at 640x480. The 400MHz G3 scores were taken with a Game Wizard Voodoo2 card at 800x600. Note Unreal showed only appx. 1 FPS boost in the Timedemo tests (High Quality ini file) between the 333MHz G3 and 433MHz G3. See out Unreal Tips and Tricks page for more info on Timedemo and the Unreal FPS Toolkit that has the test INI files. The scores for the timedemo intro castle flyby on the third loop cycle are shown below: Unreal TimeDemo Results Vimage G3/233 (Voodoo1 card) 8600/250 (Voodoo1 card) PF ZIF @433MHz (Voodoo2) PF ZIF @400MHz (400/267/66) Apple G3/333 (333/222/66) 15.91 FPS (Voodoo1/640x480) 18.68 FPS (Voodoo1/640x480) 26.63 FPS (Voodoo2/800x600) 26.26 FPS (Voodoo2/800x600) 25.61 FPS (Voodoo2/800x600) Gamers looking for a boost in Unreal should start with a 3Dfx card. It seemed the stronger FPU of the Mach 5 604E of the 8600/250 provided better framerates than the G3/233/512k. I didn't have time to test the card with a Voodoo2, which would have increased framerates I'm sure. Since the target audience of this card are more likely to have a Voodoo1 card the Voodoo1 framerates should be of interest however.
Quake TimeDemo Demo 1 FrameRates:
The following is a list of framerates in Quake 3Dfx mode with various speed 604E CPUs (since this is the target market of this card) and the Vimage G3/233 upgraded 8600/250 system. All tests used a Power3D Voodoo2 card at default (50MHz) settings. Quake version was 1.09: 3Dfx Quake TimeDemo Demo1 Tests 120 MHz 604e: 22.1 fps 150 MHz 604e: 22.8 fps 180 MHz 604e: 27.7 fps 200 MHz 604e: 22.9 fps 225 MHz 604e: 22.8 fps 250 MHz 604e: 22.9 fps 8600/250: 26.1 fps Vimage G3/233: 25.9 fps For more comparisons of Quake 3Dfx framerates including those with a Voodoo2 card see my Game Wizard review page.
Since applications performance was about as expected (again it's only a 233MHz G3), I rated this category a 6.
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