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Leadtek WinFast GeForce 3 TD REVIEW
By Len "Viking1" HjalmarsonArticle Type: Review
Article Date: September 25, 2001
GF3s Aplenty
When the GeForce3 was first released it wasn’t clear how many board makers would be involved. By the time summer rolled around, however, there were more GeForce3 boards out there than a hardware fanatic could count on two hands. Inevitably, most makers have followed the reference design. That isn’t much of a loss, however, since this is one POWERFUL graphics board.
If you recall, the GeForce2 sported about 27 million transistors. The GeForce3 possesses something like 57 million, more than double the GeForce2. While that sounds like good news (it is), the GF3 runs at a clock speed of 200 MHz by default, while the GeForce2 Ultra comes in around 250 MHz.
This is ONE of the reasons why early benchmarks were underwhelming. The larger reason is that GeForce3 really comes to life under DX8. It’s only now that we are beginning to see simulations that support advanced features of DX8. The IL-2 Sturmovik beta is one of new generation that really come to life under GeForce2 and 3 boards.
GeForce3 Features
The theoretical fill rate of GF3 is actually lower than GF2, but in practice is more than 40 percent higher. More transistors and streamlined processes are making the difference. Then when you add in features like anisotropic filtering and FSAA, GF2 is left in the dust.
GF3 supports a wide range of new features available in the latest DirectX 8 API. Not only does it sport the same integrated 'static' transform and lighting engine as GF2, but adds a programmable vertex processor and programmable texture operations. As a result, game developers are able to include new effects previously seen only in movies. Some of these effects are nothing short of spectacular.
It’s DX8 that is the key to these new features. Without the software interface, programmability in a graphics chip would be wasted. Here are descriptions of new features and performance enhancements of DX 8.0 relevant to NV20 (from the Microsoft website).
Programmable vertex processing language
Enables developers to write custom shaders for morphing and tweening animations, matrix palette skinning, user-defined lighting models, general environment mapping, procedural geometry operations, or any other developer-defined algorithm.
Programmable pixel processing language
Enables programmers to write custom hardware-accelerated shaders for general texture and color blending expressions, per-pixel lighting (bump mapping), per-pixel environment mapping for photo-realistic effects, or any other developer-defined algorithm.
Multisampling rendering support
Enables full-scene anti-aliasing and multisampling effects, such as motion blur and depth-of-field blur.
The addition of programmable shaders for vertex and pixel operations provides the framework for real-time programmable effects that rival movie quality. This programmability gives freedom to game developers by allowing them to implement whatever effect they see fit with the programmable pipeline. This means that every bit of hardware horsepower can be put to use to accomplish only the tasks specified by the developer. The power of the chip can constantly be maximized to accomplish pre-defined tasks.
Think of a powerful racing vehicle with specialized tires. The best snow tires in the world are on this vehicle, but suddenly it’s a hot and sunny day. If the tires were programmable, the tread would change to take advantage of the new conditions. Programmable graphics chips are sort of like those tires. The most powerful car in the world isn’t going to perform very well if the tires are wrong for the track conditions. Programmable shaders gives the developer the power to create a custom graphics board for each game.
If you recall some of the key features in the 3dfx t-buffer, some descriptions above may suddenly sound familiar. Custom shaders, FSAA, multisampling effects like motion blur and depth of field blur—these were all key features espoused by 3dfx now lost forever “t-buffer.”
The DirectX APIs are always written after careful consultation with game developers and hardware designers. DirectX 8 represents the evolution of graphical abilities on our PCs, and new hardware is designed to take advantage of new features. Games that are written specifically for DX 8 will attain more realistic visual effects and performance gains as high as 40 percent over GeForce2 Ultra.
Not every GF3 board is created equal. Leadtek’s GF3 sports some nice features: Both a TV-out and a DVI connector for digital flat panels are included. For many gamers the DVI out isn’t important, but the TV out may be significant. Others who are considering moving to the next generation display will be pleased to have the DVI option. The box includes DVD software and cables for the TV-out and DVI connectors.
WinFast TD
Specs
Here are the essentials from the Leadtek’s website:
- Third Generation Nvidia GeForce3 nfinite FX (tm) GPU.
- On Board 64MB -4ns DDR Memory
- Lightspeed Memory Architecture
- High-Performance Hardware Anti-Aliasing
- 350 MHz RAMDAC
- AGP 4X/2X, AGP texturing and Fast Write supports
- Microsoft DirectX 8 and OpenGL 1.2 Optimizations and support
- Programmable Vertex Shader
- On-board DVI support
- Second Generation Integrated Transform and Lighting (T&L) Engines
- Driver Support for Win 9X, Win ME, Win NT4, Win2K
- Leadtek WinFox system utility
- 64MB 4ns Memory onboard
- Support TV-out
- Special Designed Active Cooling Module for GPU and Memory
- On board DVI connector
The most interesting feature is the “active cooling module.” This sounds like an invitation to overclocking. More on that later.
Installation
Installation with current generation video boards under current software is generally painless. The WinFast TD proved typical. When I rebooted WIN ME the card was detected immediately and prompted me to insert the driver CD. After reboot a second time the board was installed and I was ready for testing.
Test System
- AMD Athlon clocked to 1.5GHz
- Abit KG-7 RAID Motherboard
- 512MB PC2400 DDRAM (2-2-2)
- Detonator 3 Driver 12.41
- Twin Quantum 20GB 7200 ATA-100
- Creative SB Live X-Gamer 5.1
- Kenwood 72X TrueX CDROM
- Logitech Wingman Strike Force 3d
- Thrustmaster F22/TQS Digital
- 19" Optiquest monitor
- WIN ME
What Makes the Leadtek Board Different?
Let's face it, one GeForce is like another for the most part. Board makers have to distinguish their products by adding features or improving heat dissipation.
The WinFast TD sports a turbine looking fan with silver mount and heatsink. The memory heatsinks are also silver and is rather striking. It’s a clean looking board with no weird jumper wires evident anywhere.
Memory is 4ns DDRAM. Mind you, with the memory bandwidth of this current generation, it probably wouldn’t matter much if the memory wasn’t state of the art.
The TV-Out works as advertised. I tested it briefly but I do all my gaming on my monitor.
To Clock is Human, To Overclock Divine
Game Benchmarks
NOTE: All tests were run using FRAPS 1.3.
The “active cooling” noted as a feature by Leadtek is in fact the fan and heatsinks that are installed on all GeForce3 boards. I expected to see something more like the Blue-Orb coolor used by OCZ Overclockers on their Titan 3. That unit actually requires a separate power source and must be plugged into a 12 volt source with the standard drive power connector.
In any case, I started my overclocking tests using the Quake3 time demos. I used NVMax for overclocking and system tweaking. The results were quite good. While the WinFast appeared stable at 230 MHz, I saw a few glitches while running IL-2 Sturmovik in a warm office (75 F) and dropped the clock down a bit.
The WinFast TD peaked at 225 MHz core and 530 MHz main memory. These clock speeds are on par with or better than the main crop of GeForce3s, the only clock known to clock higher being the OCZ Titan 3. The RAM heatsinks on the WinFast did get warm to the touch.
At this 12 percent overclocked setting I had no more problems, even in my warm (but not hot) office. I ran every game test with perfect stability from here on, and have run the board another two weeks without any trouble. It has proven perfectly reliable, and the image quality is noticeably better than with my old GeForce2.
So, Why Overclock?
Video Settings in IL-2 Sturmovik
GeForce3 adds an interesting feature set. In fact, you can turn on such fancy filtering as anisotropic and increase image quality with little loss of speed. Try this on your GeForce2 and watch the frame rate go south. You only get a slight loss on GF3.
The increase in clock speed will give you the ability to increase the level of anisotropic filtering without sacrificing framerate. I set 1024x768x32 with 32-tap Anisotropic and Quincunx FSAA (remember, this is equivalent to 4x). The beauty of anisotropic filtering is that it compensates for the faults of Quincunx by improving texture precision.
Framerate-eating IL-2 Sturmovik Ground Attack
But…It Costs Too Much!
When GF3 was first released early adopters were paying up to $500 US. You can purchase the Leadtek board for as little as $320 US. But if you are really interested in overclocking, you might want to consider OCZ’s Titan 3 instead.
The only real reason to go with GeForce3 is future proofing. Current games really don’t require the horsepower. And there are many out there who will advise waiting, with the advice that GF3 MX is probably just around the corner. If you want a budget DX8 board, GF3 MX is likely to show up in October or November.
Conclusion
GeForce3 is fully DX8 compatible. As a result, you are guaranteed to be able to run tomorrow's games with all the fancy new features ON.
Are you a person who appreciates the quality of images under extreme texture filtering? GeForce3 offers the best. Do you want hi-res FSAA without a major framerate hit? GeForce3 will do it. Do you like to run at hi-res in 32-bit color and engage in major furballs while the flak is flying, without your sim becoming a slide show? Only GF2 Ultra and GF3 are capable of driving your game.
If you have the cash to invest in the hottest generation of gaming boards out there, GeForce3 is the way to go. If you can afford to wait a bit longer, RADEON II looks very promising. If you're ready to buy today look for the reviews of OCZ's Titan 3. If you need a bargain solution, GeForce3 MX is just around the corner. Hang on a bit longer.
