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REPOST: SUMMARY: Fast Video Cards!

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Philip Poe

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Sep 13, 1993, 12:50:23 AM9/13/93

Hello World.
I can't beleive it, but I had a pretty big omission from my first post.
For OS/2 users, that would be the XGA-2 chipset. Here's a repost, with
that chipset included.

Hope it helps someone,
Phil
---------------------cut here for amended post-------------------------
Hello World.

I've posted several requests for information concerning accelerated video
cards recently. My purposes are for use in OS/2 specifically, but there is
useful information here for DOS/Windows and UNIX users as well. Along with
my own research, I've received some helpful information from The Net.
Here's a subjective summary of what I've learned....
BTW, if you have text search capability, search for "*-" to find subject
headers. If you want to skip over all the gory text (it's a _lot_) go
immediately to the bottom or search for "BOTTOM LINE"

I do not discuss refresh rates or overclocking the bus speed. I think I
supplied enough phone numbers point you in the right direction for
questions/answers. Please post followups for errata or flat out mistakes.
Thanks a lot
Hope it helps
Phil

NOTE: I am pulling relative performance reviews from previous reviews in
magazines, but mainly fro PC Magazines Perfect PC issue, and from Sept 93
Computer Shopper review of VLB boards. Of course, they conflict with each
other....
Amazingly, in the same issue of PC Mag, they review video cards again,
including some discussed in the Perfect PC section, and the results
CONFLICT!!!

*--- ISA vs VLB
VLB has the advantage of a 32bit bus, at 33 (newer boards up to 40) Mhz
compared to ISAs limit of 16bits, at 8MHz (most new motherboards allow you
to up the bus speed to a max of 16MHz). Unfortunately, most high-end
accelerators are poorly optimized in terms of VGA compatibility. The
result is while driver based (Such as Windows or OS/2) performance is
phenomenal, if you do not have a driver for your software, performance is
poor. For example, the Weitek Power9000 chipset is arguably the fastest
chipset for Windows, but in DOS, despite the 32bit bus, performance is
poorer than most ISA based cards.

Using drivers, most accelerators will not hit the maximum throughput of a
particular bus, so that the speed of ISA accelerators is in the same
ballpark as their VLB counterparts. On the other hand, the _fastest_
chipsets seem to be made only in VLB cards. On the first hand, even
low-mid range accelerators are many times faster than frame buffer cards,
and may be "fast enough" (heresy!) for some users.

When I compare DOS performance, the standard I will use is the Tseng labs
ET4000/AX chipset on an ISA based card. This is a well known standard for
DOS based performance. Cards with this chipset are Diamond SpeedStar and
Orchid ProDesigner IIs. Do not confuse the AX with the ET4000/W32, which
is a VLB accelerator.

*--- IF YOU HAVE AN ISA SYSTEM AND WILL NOT PURCHASE A VLB SYSTEM

It looks like your needs will be best met by one of the following chipsets:
ATI Mach32 (Mach32)
Cirrus Logic 5426 (CL5426)
S3 801 or 928 (S3801 or S928)

Mach32
*------
Found on the ATI Graphics Ultra + and Graphics Ultra Pro. Can be found
with 1MB, but as far as I know, all new ones come with 2MB.
DOS performance is adequate. According to PC Mags Perfect PC issue, the ISA
version of the GU+ is _slightly_ slower than the Tseng ET400/AX.
As far as I'm aware, Mach32 cards use a second chipset, identical to the
one on the VGA Wonder with 512KB. This supplies the VGA compatibility.
Windows performance is very good with the release of the new 2.0 drivers.
Many people complain about the driver reliability under Windows.
OS/2 drivers are in Beta stage, and get complaints about reliability.
The Mach32 is also 100% hardware compatible with the IBM 8514/A chipset,
so the 8514/A drivers supplied with Windows and OS/2 will work well.
8514/A compatibility is markedly slower than native mode however.
The best buy on a ISA based seems to be the GU+ with 2MB. Most cards will
also have a mouse port, and include a high resolution bus mouse.
Computer Discount Warehouse has the GU+ w/2MB for $239 at last check.

CL5426
*------
Many vendors use this chip. They have accelerated drivers for Windows, and
as far as I know, unaccelerated drivers for OS/2. (please let me know if
otherwise). DOS performance is very good. About the same as a Tseng ET4000/AX
card. Windows performance is on the low end for an accelerator, but is several
times as fast as a frame buffer.
No-name clones go for as little as $80, name brands for $100 or so.
Name brand vendors include : Actix, Genoa, Edge

IBM XGA-2 (Sorry I forgot it the last time!)
*--------
Technically, this is a specification, not a chipset, but a chipset seems
to describe it well enough for this discussion.
This is apparently _the_ chip with best support under OS/2 2.x. All others
are racing for second place. Accelleration isn't the fastest, but is on par
with the S3 801 chipset. Unfortunately, it is (currently) limited to MCA
or ISA versions. Memory is limited to 1MB (?) and maximum 64K colors.
DOS speed is adequate, on par with S3 801 chips.
Windows performance is good, again, on par with S3 801.
The XGA-2s real claim to fame though, is its OS/2 support.

FutureComm sells the CatsEye XGA-2 card for $249. (Phone number anyone?)

Rumor has it that a VLB version is due out RSN (Real Soon Now).
Rumor 2 has it that an XGA-3 chipset/specification will be out (who knows
when), that will have speed near the P9000 chipsets or faster.

IIT AGX-014
*-----------
I couldn't find any reviews of an AGX-014 card, but I'll mention it for
completeness. This is IITs XGA based chipset (not compatible, though).
I hear it's plenty fast, but I wouldn't know

S3801 or S3928
*--------------
The 928 is really designed for VLB, but exists in ISA form. Unless you really
need some feature found in a 928 based, I strongly suggest that you get an 801
based card. The 928 cards are significantly more expensive due to VRAM. IMHO,
the relatively small speed increase is not worth it.
S1 801 DOS performance is good, slightly slower than ET4000/AX.
Windows performance is very good, and the drivers are stable.
16 bit OS/2 drivers are available from some vendors including Actix,
Orchid and STB.
32 bit generic drivers are available from IBM and work with boards from
Actix, Orchid, and others.

The best selection on 801 cards seems to be the Actix GE32+ series. They
can be found with up to 2MB DRAM. The only place I've seen with 2MB cards is
WINXPRESS, 800/859-8500. Ask for Vince.

Most people on the net seem to recommend the Orchid Fahrenheit 1280+ or VA.
They are identical except for the sound capabilities of the VA.

The lowest priced name brand card I've seen is the STB XL-24. I've seen them
on the net for $159 shipping _included_. This card seems to be faster in
Windows than the Orchid card and has 16bit OS/2 drivers.
Call SELLCOM 800/735-5266, ask for Steve Winter.

Diamond and Number 9 make exceedingly fast 928 versions with ample VRAM if
you have the $$ to spend. #9 is earning a good rep for their drivers.

No name cards go for $140 or so.

*--- IF YOU ALREADY HAVE OR ARE CONSIDERING BUYING A NEW VLB SYSTEM

ATI Mach32
*----------
See description in ISA section.
DOS performance is very fast. According to PC Mag Perfect PC issue, >= 2 times
faster than ET4000/AX.
Windows performance is slightly slower than the S3 928 on VLB.
OS/2 2.1 drivers are in beta stage and are met with mixed reviews at best.
Mach32 chipset is 100% hardware compatible with IBM 8514/A. So drivers for
that chipset work with Mach32 cards. This will give slower performance
than if you have native Mach32 drivers.

Cirrus Logic 5426
*-----------------
See description in ISA section.
DOS performance is very fast. According to Computer Shopper Sept 93 issue,
performance is roughly 30%-50% faster than the ATI GU Pro.
Windows performance is adequate. According to the same Computer Shopper,
roughly 50%-70% of the ATI GU Pro.
Windows drivers are stable, OS/2 drivers exist, but may not be accelerated.
No-name clones go for as little as $100. Name brands for >= $125.
USA Flex has an OEM card for $110.

IIT AGX-015
*-----------
The VLB version of the IIT chipset. Supposedly as fast as Weitek P9000, but
reviews haven't verified this. Computer Shopper didn't like it too much in
it's Hercules Graphite form. PC magazine, however gave it an Editors Choice
(?!?!?! Aren't these guys from the same publisher?)
In any case, DOS performance is _poor_. There are no OS/2 drivers that I
know of. With such conflicting reports, I abstain from commenting on it.
USA Flex has the 1MB version for $270.
Hmmm... looking at the ad, the Hercules card is listed as having the AGX-014,
a chip _not_ designed for VLB, perhaps this is the source of it's poor
reviews.
Orchid also makes the Celsius VLB, which uses AGX-015. USA Flex has for $250

S3 805 and 928
*--------------
See description of 801 and 928 in ISA section.
Again, unless you _must_ have some feature found on a 928 card, I suggest
you use an 805 based card. 805 cards can have up to 2MB DRAM, 928 cards up
to 4MB VRAM. According to PC Mag Perfect PC issue, 805 VLB is approx 80%
the speed of 928 VLB. To say the least 805 costs a lot less.

I've only seen Actix boards have 2MB DRAM on 805 cards. Actix also has a 4MB
VRAM card. See ISA section for WINXPRESS phone number.

STB VL-24 is a 1MB card and goes for $165 _delivered_. See ISA section for
SELLCOM phone number. This card gets faster scores under windows compared to
Actix and Orchid.

USA Flex has a Boca OEM card for $150

Windows drivers are mature for this chipset.
OS/2 2.1 drivers come in 16bit form from vendors and IBM 32bit drivers support
most cards with this chipset.
No-name 1MB 805 cards go for >= $150.

Again Diamond and Number 9 have earned a rep for exceedingly fast 928 VLB
cards if you have the $$

Tseng ET4000/W32
*----------------
A new accelerator chip from Tseng Labs. Also optimized for VGA performance
on the VLB. This card is the last word in raw VGA performance.
According to PC Mag Perfect PC issue, ET4000/W32 is 60% faster than ATI GU
Pro in terms of VGA performance. Which is >= 3-4 times faster than ET4000/AX.
this is _without_ acceleration.
Windows performance, according to PC mag again, is slightly faster than
the S3 805, slightly slower than ATI Mach32
Hercules Fahrenheit goes for $160 at Publishing Perfection 800/782-5974
Cardinal also makes a card.
You can contact Kevin at KC COMPUTERS for a no-name version
716/388-8621 or k...@pt.com

This chipset has OS/2 drivers, but may be unaccelerated. I cannot verify.
Rumor has it that Tseng Labs is coming out with the ET4000/W32i, which
supports more DRAM (2 or 4MB) and some say doubles the speed of the W32.

Weitek Power9000
*----------------
Seemingly the last word in Graphics acceleration.
Windows performance is in a class by itself. Way faster than any other card.
Diamond once again seems to make the fastest version. They even have OS/2 2.1
drivers that appear stable (!!!!!). This is nothing short of amazing to
me, since I wouldn't even be looking for a card if My SpeedStar 24X had
Accelerated drivers. If you decide to get it, make sure you get the latest
BIOS (2.02?), since older ones are buggy.

Orchid and Cardinal also make P9000 boards. Orchid also has beta drivers
for OS/2. Orchid is also notable because they seem to have done something
to notably improve the DOS performance of this card.

The price for these cards with 2MB is in the $400 range.

The rumor is that because of its poor DOS performance, Weitek is supposedly
developing the Power9100 chip, with faster frame buffer performance.

MATROX MGA
*----------
I am deliberately NOT discussing this card here. It is a 64-bit coprocessor
designed primarily for PCI. There are VLB versions, but the costs are
prohibitively high for this discussion. From initial tests, it is _much_
faster than P9000 cards in windows (where does it all end......)

*-----------------------------------------------------------------------------
*--BOTTOM LINE:
*--ISA: Get an S3 801 based card, no excuses here...
If you _have_ to, get the 928 versions.

Actix makes 2MB versions of 801 based cards. Search the above text for
"WINXPRESS"
Orchid is well regarded and has a version with Voice Annotation (ie simple
sound card) capabilities.
STB makes a relatively fast version for a low price. Search the above text
for "SELLCOM"
Diamond consistently makes fast cards, but drives you nuts with proprietary
dot clocks!

*--VLB:
Widest Support : S3 805. Can be found with up to 2MB DRAM.
If you _have_ to, get a 928 version.
Read the ISA 801 text for specific brand names, word for word.

Best DOS performance : If you need _speed_ in DOS, the Tseng ET4000/W32 is IT!
Windows performance on par with the S3s. Wide driver support isn't there yet
as far as I saw. Also you are limited to 1MB DRAM.
You can get a no-name clone from the net for $140. Search the above text for
"KC COMPUTERS"

Absolute Fastest : Go for the Diamond Viper, it smokes even other P9000 based
cards. Diamond seems serious about supporting this one....
Some folks like me promised never to buy Diamond again though :(
Orchid seems to have taken steps to speed up DOS performance.

IMHO, it's NOT worth upgrading to VLB from ISA. 801 cards are plenty fast
compared to anything short of the P9000 based cards. The other exception is
the DOS performance of the ET4000/W32.

Douglas Bell

unread,

Sep 13, 1993, 10:19:49 AM9/13/93

Philip Poe (p...@ticker.wharton.upenn.edu) wrote:

>S3801 or S3928
>*--------------
>The 928 is really designed for VLB, but exists in ISA form. Unless you really
>need some feature found in a 928 based, I strongly suggest that you get an 801
>based card. The 928 cards are significantly more expensive due to VRAM. IMHO,
>the relatively small speed increase is not worth it.

I got a VRAM 928 card not because od the moderate performance gains,
but because of the higher refresh rates. I don't know of any DRAM
based cards that support VESA refresh rates when using hi-color modes.

Philip Poe

unread,

Sep 17, 1993, 11:49:11 AM9/17/93

Hello World.

I do not discuss refresh rates or overclocking the bus speed (much :). I

think I supplied enough phone numbers point you in the right direction for
questions/answers. Please post followups for errata or flat out mistakes.

Also, any good sources to purchase these cards is appreciated.

Hope it helps,
Phil

NOTE: I am pulling relative performance reviews from previous reviews in

magazines, generally from old issues of PC Magazine and posts on the net from
user benchmarks, but mainly from PC Magazines Perfect PC issue, and from

Sept 93 Computer Shopper review of VLB boards. Of course, they conflict
with each other....
Amazingly, in the same issue of PC Mag, they review video cards again,
including some discussed in the Perfect PC section, and the results
CONFLICT!!!

Using drivers, most accelerators will NOT hit the maximum throughput of a
particular bus, so the speed of ISA accelerators is in the same ballpark

as their VLB counterparts. On the other hand, the _fastest_ chipsets seem

to be made only for VLB cards. On the first hand, even low-mid range

accelerators are many times faster than frame buffer cards, and may be
"fast enough" (heresy!) for some users.

is a 32bit frame buffer _and_ accelerator.

*--- IF YOU HAVE AN ISA SYSTEM AND WILL NOT PURCHASE A VLB SYSTEM

It looks like your needs will be best met by one of the following chipsets:
ATI Mach32 (Mach32)

IBM XGA-2 (XGA-2)

Cirrus Logic 5426 (CL5426)
S3 801 or 928 (S3801 or S928)

version of the GU+ is roughly 75% as fast as the Tseng ET400/AX.

As far as I'm aware, Mach32 cards use a second chipset, identical to the
one on the VGA Wonder with 512KB. This supplies the VGA compatibility.
Windows performance is very good with the release of the new 2.0 drivers.
Many people complain about the driver reliability under Windows.

Now I believe the latest Windows drivers are v2.1

OS/2 drivers are in Beta stage, and get complaints about reliability.
The Mach32 is also 100% hardware compatible with the IBM 8514/A chipset,
so the 8514/A drivers supplied with Windows and OS/2 will work well.
8514/A compatibility is markedly slower than native mode however.
The best buy on a ISA based seems to be the GU+ with 2MB. Most cards will
also have a mouse port, and include a high resolution bus mouse.

Computer Discount Warehouse has the GU+ w/2MB and mouse for $239 at last
check.

CL5426
*------
Many vendors use this chip. They have accelerated drivers for Windows, and
as far as I know, unaccelerated drivers for OS/2. (please let me know if

otherwise). DOS performance is very good. Slightly faster than a Tseng

ET4000/AX card. Windows performance is on the low end for an accelerator,
but is several times as fast as a frame buffer.
No-name clones go for as little as $80, name brands for $100 or so.
Name brand vendors include : Actix, Genoa, Edge

I hear accelerated OS/2 drivers are released now or are due _very_ soon.
(Can someone please verify this?)

XGA-2

*--------
Technically, this is a specification, not a chipset, but a chipset seems
to describe it well enough for this discussion.
This is apparently _the_ chip with best support under OS/2 2.x. All others

are racing for second place. Acceleration isn't the fastest, but is _slightly_
slower than the S3 801 chipset for most tasks, and faster on others.

Unfortunately, it is (currently) limited to MCA or ISA versions. Memory is
limited to 1MB (?) and maximum 64K colors. DOS speed is adequate, on par

with S3 801 chips (That is, 70% of Tseng ET4000/AX).

Windows performance is good, again, on par with S3 801.
The XGA-2s real claim to fame though, is its OS/2 support.

FutureComm sells the CatsEye XGA-2 card for $249. (Phone number anyone?)

IIT AGX-014
*-----------
I couldn't find any reviews of an AGX-014 card, but I'll mention it for
completeness. This is IITs XGA based chipset (not compatible, though).

I hear it's plenty fast, but I wouldn't know.

the relatively small speed increase is not worth it. The major factor
of the 928 and VRAM is that it supports higher refresh rates at
high resolutions for those of you with large monitors. Another factor is
that if you do a lot of 15bit, 16bit, or 24bit color work, the 928 earns
it's pay over the 801/805.

S1 801 DOS performance is adequate, roughly 70% of the

ET4000/AX. Windows performance is very good, and the drivers are stable.
16 bit OS/2 drivers are available from some vendors including Actix, Orchid

and STB. 32 bit OS/2 drivers are available from IBM and work with boards
from Actix, Orchid, and most others.

The best selection on 801 cards seems to be the Actix GE32+ series. They
can be found with up to 2MB DRAM. The only place I've seen with 2MB cards is
WINXPRESS, 800/859-8500. Ask for Vince.

Most people on the net seem to recommend the Orchid Fahrenheit 1280+ or VA.
They are identical except for the sound capabilities of the VA.

Call SELLCOM 800/735-5266, and ask for Steve Winter.

Diamond and Number 9 make exceedingly fast 928 versions with ample VRAM if
you have the $$ to spend. #9 is earning a good rep for their drivers.

No name cards go for $140 or so.

*--- IF YOU ALREADY HAVE OR ARE CONSIDERING BUYING A NEW VLB SYSTEM

Rumor has it that accelerated OS/2 drivers are out or are due _very_ soon.
(can someone please verify if there is acceleration with these drivers?)

In any case, DOS performance is _poor_ according to Computer Shopper.

There are no OS/2 drivers that I know of. With such conflicting reports, I
abstain from commenting on it. USA Flex has the 1MB version for $270.
Hmmm... looking at the ad, the Hercules card is listed as having the AGX-014,
a chip _not_ designed for VLB, perhaps this is the source of it's
poor reviews.

Orchid makes the Celsius VLB, which uses AGX-015. USA Flex has it for $250

the speed of 928 VLB. To say the least 805 costs a lot less. See the ISA
section for reasons you might want 928 and VRAM.

I've only seen Actix boards have 2MB DRAM on 805 cards. Actix also has a 4MB

VRAM card. See ISA section for WINXPRESS phone number. Actix claims that
their boards can handle 50MHz on VLB.

STB VL-24 is a 1MB card and goes for $165 _delivered_. See ISA section for
SELLCOM phone number. This card gets faster scores under windows compared to
Actix and Orchid.

USA Flex has a Boca OEM card for $150.

DOS performance is good, roughly 10%-15% faster than ET4000/AX
In almost every case, 801/805 is _slightly_ faster than 928 in DOS.

Windows drivers are mature for this chipset.
OS/2 2.1 drivers come in 16bit form from vendors and IBM 32bit drivers support
most cards with this chipset.

No-name 1MB 805 cards go for >= $140.

Again Diamond and Number 9 have earned a rep for exceedingly fast 928 VLB
cards if you have the $$

the S3 805, slightly slower than ATI Mach32.

Hercules Fahrenheit goes for $160 at Publishing Perfection 800/782-5974
Cardinal also makes a card.

You can contact Kevin at KC COMPUTERS for a no-name (Cardex?) version.
716/388-8621 or k...@pt.com

This chipset has OS/2 drivers, but are _currently_ unaccelerated.
Accelerated drivers are supposedly on the way. I believe it relies on
backwards compatibility with ET4000/AX. It's superlative frame-buffer
performance partially makes up for lack of drivers.

The ET4000/W32 can support 2MB DRAM, but I have been unable to find sources
for these cards. I have heard from 1 user in Australia that has a 2MB
card, but software detects 1MB. The Cardex version mentioned above can
support 2MB, but has no socket for it (?).

Tseng Labs has or is coming out with the ET4000/W32i, which supports more
DRAM (2 or 4MB) and some say doubles the speed of the ET4000/W32.

BIOS (2.02?), since older ones are buggy. Weitek supplies the drivers for
these cards, BTW, so look for other P9000 cards with OS/2 support in the
same timeframe.

Orchid and Cardinal and others also make P9000 boards. Orchid also has beta

drivers for OS/2. Orchid is also notable because they seem to have done

something to notably improve the DOS performance of this card. I hear that
they use the Weitek 5286 as opposed to 5186 to get a 32bit frame buffer card.

The price for these cards with 2MB is in the $400 range.

My previous comment about the P9100 chipset and its improvement in performance
seems to be incorrect. I have been informed that the P9100 is a part reduction
/cost reduction move.

MATROX MGA
*----------
I am deliberately NOT discussing this card here. It is a 64-bit coprocessor

with cards available for ISA, EISA, VLB, and in the future, PCI. The costs

are prohibitively high for this discussion. From initial tests, it is _much_

faster (Up to 50%???) than P9000 cards in windows (where does it all end? :)

*-----------------------------------------------------------------------------
*--BOTTOM LINE:
*--ISA: Get an S3 801 based card, no excuses here...

If you _have_ to, get the 928 versions. (See above for reasons)

If you value DOS performance over GUI performance or if you're on a
_severe_ budget restriction. Get a CL5426 based card. They go for almost
1/2 the price of an 801, and provide roughly 50% better performance
in DOS, and reasonable performance under GUI drivers. (70% of S3 801?)

If you don't mind used equipment, and are primarily a Windows user,
Help an OS/2 user out, and buy their Diamond SpeedStar 24X! They offer
superlative DOS performance (fastest I've seen), can be modified to run
up to 16MHz on the ISA bus under spec (faster DOS performance!), and
Windows performance is good. (faster than CL5426)
Make sure you upgrade to the latest BIOS. They can still be found
new, but the prices are too high, IMHO.

*--VLB:

Widest Support : S3 805. Can be found with up to 2MB DRAM. If you _have_

to, get a 928 version. (See above for reasons) Read the ISA 801 text for

specific brand names, word for word.

Best DOS performance : If you need _speed_ in DOS, the Tseng ET4000/W32 is IT!

Windows performance on par with the S3s. Wide accelerated driver support isn't
there yet as far as I saw, but you can use ET4000/AX drivers, which has a
_LOT_ of support.

You can get a no-name clone from the net for $140. Search the above text for
"KC COMPUTERS"

Orchid seems to have taken steps to speed up DOS performance with a 32bit
frame buffer chip for VGA compatibility.

John Navas

unread,

Sep 19, 1993, 8:56:00 AM9/19/93

p...@ticker.wharton.upenn.edu (Philip Poe) writes:

> I can't beleive it, but I had a pretty big omission from my first
> post. For OS/2 users, that would be the XGA-2 chipset. Here's a
> repost, with that chipset included.

My compliments on adding to the available information on OS/2 video --
good work!

There are, however, a few points I want to supplement, and even a few
that I disagree with:

> I do not discuss refresh rates...

Nevertheless, refresh is an important consideration, expecially when
comparing VRAM to DRAM. Even different cards with the same chipset
can have different performance and refresh capabilities, depending on
how the cards are designed.

> NOTE: I am pulling relative performance reviews from previous
> reviews in magazines, but mainly fro PC Magazines Perfect PC issue,
> and from Sept 93 Computer Shopper review of VLB boards. Of course,
> they conflict with each other.... Amazingly, in the same issue of
> PC Mag, they review video cards again, including some discussed in
> the Perfect PC section, and the results CONFLICT!!!

The bottom line is that the performance reviews are worse than
useless; i.e., misleading. That is why my own VIDEO2.TXT information
file, as well as the comments below are based on my own careful, more
realistic tests.

> Using drivers, most accelerators will not hit the maximum
> throughput of a particular bus, so that the speed of ISA
> accelerators is in the same ballpark as their VLB counterparts.

Apples to apples, VLB can be 20-30% faster (or even more in some
cases, like software motion video) than ISA bus; the difference is
definitely noticeable (greater than the differences between different
top GUI chips).

> ATI Mach32 (Mach32) ... OS/2 drivers are in Beta stage, and get
> complaints about reliability.

Worse, the new ATI drivers are only hacked versions of IBM's 8514/A
drivers. ATI has now made it clear that it does not intend to create
true native (faster) OS/2 drivers for the Mach32 (even in the second,
"December" driver release).

> ATI Mach32 [local bus] ... Windows performance is slightly slower

> than the S3 928 on VLB.

Windows performance depends on memory type. DRAM Mach32 is slower
than S3 805; VRAM Mach32 is slower than S3 928.

> IBM XGA-2 ... Technically, this is a specification, not a chipset,

> but a chipset seems to describe it well enough for this discussion.
> This is apparently _the_ chip with best support under OS/2 2.x. All
> others are racing for second place. Accelleration isn't the

> fastest, but is on par with the S3 801 chipset. ... DOS speed is

> adequate, on par with S3 801 chips. Windows performance is good,
> again, on par with S3 801.

It's no more a spec than other GUI chips (which have comparable
architecture specs). The OS/2 IBM S3 drivers now at least match or
even surpass the OS/2 XGA-2 drivers (and will continue to improve).
XGA-2 performance (DOS, Windows and OS/2) is slower than local bus S3
805. Windows NT support was buggy at last report.

> Rumor has it that a VLB version is due out RSN (Real Soon Now).
> Rumor 2 has it that an XGA-3 chipset/specification will be out (who
> knows when), that will have speed near the P9000 chipsets or
> faster.

Further development of XGA has reportedly been terminated by IBM
(which has adopted S3 for its own hardware), so future hardware and
driver updates are uncertain.

> IIT AGX-014 I couldn't find any reviews of an AGX-014 card, but

> I'll mention it for completeness. This is IITs XGA based chipset
> (not compatible, though). I hear it's plenty fast, but I wouldn't
> know

> IIT AGX-015

> The VLB version of the IIT chipset. Supposedly as fast as Weitek

> P9000... In any case, DOS performance is _poor_. There are no OS/2

> drivers that I know of.

The old X-14 has been superceded by the new X-15 (an overall update,
not ISA versus VLB), and X-14 cards (like the Hercules Graphite) were
generally updated to use the newer chip. The X-15 is probably the
fastest drawing chip (with the possible exception of the Matrox MGA),
but is not as outstanding in bitblts; i.e., good in CAD, not as good
in motion video. DOS performance is good, although not the best.
OS/2 drivers are in development.

> S3801 or S3928

> The 928 is really designed for VLB, but exists in ISA form.

The 928 is designed for ISA, VLB and PCI.

> Unless you really need some feature found in a 928 based, I
> strongly suggest that you get an 801 based card. The 928 cards are
> significantly more expensive due to VRAM. IMHO, the relatively
> small speed increase is not worth it.

> ...

> According to PC Mag Perfect PC issue, 805 VLB is approx 80% the
> speed of 928 VLB.

The difference is small only in low resolution/color/refresh modes; at
higher modes the 928 is substantially faster than the 801/805 (with
maximum 928 resolutions up to 1600x1200).

> The best selection on 801 cards seems to be the Actix GE32+ series.

While they are good cards, the best price/performance 801 cards are
probably the Diamond Stealth 24 and Stealth 24 VLB.

> The lowest priced name brand card I've seen is the STB XL-24.

> ...

> This card gets faster scores under windows compared to Actix and
> Orchid.

The faster Windows scores are the result of better driver tweaking.
However, the XL-24 has a number of bugs and does not work with
unmodified 32-bit seamless IBM OS/2 drivers.

> Diamond and Number 9 make exceedingly fast 928 versions with ample
> VRAM if you have the $$ to spend. #9 is earning a good rep for
> their drivers.

> ...

> To say the least 805 costs a lot less.

The Diamond Stealth Pro (S3 928) is only about $60 more than the
Diamond Stealth 24 (S3 801) with 1 Mb of VRAM. It is also directly
supported by unmodified 32-bit seamless IBM drivers, whereas the
Number 9 is not. Even though Number 9 has been good with drivers in
the past, this is an important difference.

> No name cards

No name S3 cards are not necessarily supported by the 32-bit seamless
IBM OS/2 drivers, and some of them have serious flaws.

> Tseng ET4000/W32

> According to PC Mag Perfect PC issue, ET4000/W32 is 60% faster than
> ATI GU Pro in terms of VGA performance. Which is >= 3-4 times
> faster than ET4000/AX. this is _without_ acceleration.

While the dumb frame buffer performance is excellent, it is less than
2x the ET4000AX.

> Windows performance, according to PC mag again, is slightly faster
> than the S3 805, slightly slower than ATI Mach32

Windows performance of the W32 is a bit less than the DRAM version of
the Mach32, even farther behind the S3 801; it is significantly slower
than the VRAM Mach32 or S3 805. In addition, it has refresh rate
limitations at high resolution/colors, because the usable video
bandwidth of the W32 is actually less (no matter what Tseng may claim)
than other top GUI accelerators. The main advantage of the ET4000W32
is that it works with (unaccelerated) ET4000 drivers while giving a
big performance boost over the ET4000AX; however, unaccelerated
performance is much less than a top GUI accelerator like the S3 805.

> This chipset has OS/2 drivers, but may be unaccelerated. I cannot
> verify.

The W32 currently is supported only by unaccelerated ET4000 drivers
under OS/2; accelerated OS/2 drivers are in development.

> Rumor has it that Tseng Labs is coming out with the ET4000/W32i,
> which supports more DRAM (2 or 4MB) and some say doubles the speed
> of the W32.

Fact -- although the performance gain will be much less than 2x; "i"
stands for interleaved memory access. Expect other DRAM chipsets to
also come out with interleaved versions; i.e., the W32 will not close
the performance gap.

> Weitek Power9000

> Seemingly the last word in Graphics acceleration. Windows
> performance is in a class by itself. Way faster than any other
> card.

In the real world the S3 928 and IIT X-15 are both comparable to the
P9000 in overall accelerated speed. However, DOS performance of the
P9000 is poor (much worse than the S3 928), because P9000 cards use a
separate, slow VGA chip.

> The rumor is that because of its poor DOS performance, Weitek is
> supposedly developing the Power9100 chip, with faster frame buffer
> performance.

Fact -- frame buffer VGA functions will be integrated into the P9100
instead of requiring a separate VGA chip; however, actual DOS (frame
buffer) performance is unknown at this time.

> MATROX MGA

> I am deliberately NOT discussing this card here. It is a 64-bit
> coprocessor designed primarily for PCI. There are VLB versions, but
> the costs are prohibitively high for this discussion. From initial
> tests, it is _much_ faster than P9000 cards in windows (where does
> it all end......)

The MGA is designed for ISA, VLB and PCI. While the price is a bit
higher than other top GUIs, there is apparently performance to match.
However, all important OS/2 driver support is a complete unknown at
this time.

> Diamond consistently makes fast cards, but drives you nuts with
> proprietary dot clocks!

Which is what makes them faster. <grin>

> IMHO, it's NOT worth upgrading to VLB from ISA. 801 cards are
> plenty fast compared to anything short of the P9000 based cards.

That depends on what you want to do. Certainly an ISA S3 801 card is
an adequate choice for word processing. However, for software motion
video a local bus S3 805 card is much better. For resolutions like
1024x768x64K and 1280x1024 a local bus S3 928 (or P9000) card is
better yet.

In any event I agree with you that the S3 801 and 805 are for most
users the best choices (up to 1024x768x256), especially for OS/2!

Best regards,
John

----
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Jay Maynard

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Sep 19, 1993, 6:15:57 PM9/19/93

In article <43396.1...@uttsbbs.uucp> john....@uttsbbs.uucp (John Navas) writes:
>While they are good cards, the best price/performance 801 cards are
>probably the Diamond Stealth 24 and Stealth 24 VLB.

...if you don't mind dealing with a sleazeball company that has consistently
lied to its customers.

>> Diamond consistently makes fast cards, but drives you nuts with
>> proprietary dot clocks!
>Which is what makes them faster. <grin>

...and also makes them useless for applications, such as Linux, where the lack
of available specs makes independent driver development impossible.

You've consistently touted Diamond, and consistently ignored their sleazeball
business practices. Do you have any connection with the company?
--
Jay Maynard, EMT-P, K5ZC, PP-ASEL | Never ascribe to malice that which can
jmay...@oac.hsc.uth.tmc.edu | adequately be explained by stupidity.
"I picked this up at least eight times on my machine. Is this an RFD, or
a mantra?" -- Robert L. McMillin

BJT...@psuvm.psu.edu

unread,

Sep 19, 1993, 10:28:41 PM9/19/93

BTW, the IIT AGX104 and AGX015 are based on XGA, but not XGA compatible.
(XGA->AGX) They removed some of the more expensive but unproductive features,
and made other changes. So, OS/2 drivers should be easier for these boards.
Unfortunately, I don't think IIT is interested in OS/2.

Bernie

Andrew Pickrell

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Sep 20, 1993, 10:34:35 AM9/20/93

In <93262.222...@psuvm.psu.edu> <BJT...@psuvm.psu.edu> writes:

They(IIT) are interested enough to be on their second beta drop. The drivers
I saw for the Hercules Graphite seemed fairly quick and didn't crash in
the short time I played with the computer.
--
==============================================================================
Andrew Pickrell | All opinions expressed are copyrighted
UNL Dept. of Chemical Engineering| material. If you are illegally using them,
EMail :pick...@hoss.unl.edu | prepare to be sued. ;)

Aaron Williams

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Sep 22, 1993, 2:42:32 PM9/22/93

I just bought an IIT based board called the Black Widow made by Spider.
Spider has OS/2 2.1 drivers in beta (they are still not finished, but seem
pretty bug-free). So far I'm fairly happy with this card. The missing
features are the bus mastering and the capability of using the 80386 page
tables. Spider claims that everything else is supported.

The only major problem I've had is that I cannot play AVI files (I just get
a blank window where the video should be).

-Aaron Williams

A.A. Olowofoyeku

unread,

Sep 23, 1993, 4:57:34 AM9/23/93

Andrew Pickrell (pick...@hoss.unl.edu) wrote:

: >In <93262.222...@psuvm.psu.edu> <BJT...@psuvm.psu.edu> writes:
: >
: >>BTW, the IIT AGX104 and AGX015 are based on XGA, but not XGA compatible.
: >>(XGA->AGX) They removed some of the more expensive but unproductive features,
: >>and made other changes. So, OS/2 drivers should be easier for these boards.
: >>Unfortunately, I don't think IIT is interested in OS/2.
: >
: >They(IIT) are interested enough to be on their second beta drop. The drivers
: >I saw for the Hercules Graphite seemed fairly quick and didn't crash in
: >the short time I played with the computer.
: >--

Were they written by IIT? I personally phoned IIT (U.K.) a couple of
days ago, and I was told categorically that IIT had no plans to produce
OS/2 drivers for their XGraphic card.

--
The Chief.
---------
Dr. Abimbola Olowofoyeku (The African Chief)
Keele University ( All opinions are personal and do not reflect)
England. ( the views of Keele University)

Email: la...@seq1.keele.ac.uk
Tel : (0782) 621111
Fax : (0782) 583228
-----------------------------------------------------------------
"Yet will Africa rise again, from decline, decay, and distraint,
her forlorn glory to regain, never, never to fall again".
-----------------------------------------------------------------

Andrew Pickrell

unread,

Sep 23, 1993, 3:06:17 PM9/23/93

In <27rodu$4...@gabriel.keele.ac.uk> la...@keele.ac.uk (A.A. Olowofoyeku) writes:

>Andrew Pickrell (pick...@hoss.unl.edu) wrote:
>: >In <93262.222...@psuvm.psu.edu> <BJT...@psuvm.psu.edu> writes:
>: >
>: >>BTW, the IIT AGX104 and AGX015 are based on XGA, but not XGA compatible.
>: >>(XGA->AGX) They removed some of the more expensive but unproductive features,
>: >>and made other changes. So, OS/2 drivers should be easier for these boards.
>: >>Unfortunately, I don't think IIT is interested in OS/2.
>: >
>: >They(IIT) are interested enough to be on their second beta drop. The drivers
>: >I saw for the Hercules Graphite seemed fairly quick and didn't crash in
>: >the short time I played with the computer.
>: >--

>Were they written by IIT? I personally phoned IIT (U.K.) a couple of
>days ago, and I was told categorically that IIT had no plans to produce
>OS/2 drivers for their XGraphic card.

>--
>The Chief.
>---------
>Dr. Abimbola Olowofoyeku (The African Chief)
>Keele University ( All opinions are personal and do not reflect)
>England. ( the views of Keele University)

If you have talked with IIT, and they aren't the source of the drivers then
give IBM a call. Hercules has drivers in beta and I know that they aren't
writing them. Also, several others like Paradise say that drivers are
coming for their AGX-014 cards. Also, there is a beta version of someone's
AGX driver on ftp-os2.cdrom.com.

None of these companies are doing the drivers themselves, so I would talk
to IBM. They could easily be adapting their XGA drivers to the AGX chip.

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