3DLabs Permedia2          07 Jul 1998

The Permedia2 is a pretty good 3D performer, and like the PowerVR2 has no support for colored lighting in games like Quake2.   It will have a full OpenGL dirver, though, for running professional applications.   Cheaply priced (less than $200 for an 8 MB card), this chipset will appeal to the price-conscious more than the 'gamer'. Judging from the limited data available, it will keep up with the Voodoo and Riva chips, which is very good news indeed.

The LeadTek board is selling around $160 (8 MB) (1 Mar 98). The Leadtek site says it does support MIP-mapping after all, so I don't know what might explain the appearance (below) that it doesn't. It supports anti-aliasing (which removed jagged edges), but Tim Parr reports distant cities alias big time.

The PM2 chip doesn't have proper MIP-mapping, so expect some odd visual artifacts in distant textures.

Cards:

Creative Blaster Extreme (Home, Professional & Value editions)
Diamond FireGL1000Pro
LeadTek WinFast 3D L2300
AccelGraphics Accel Star II
ELSA GLoria Synergy
ELSA Winner 2000/Office
Hercules Dynamite 3D/GL
STB Twister 240 and 280
Deltron RealVision Power 3DGL-II

News:

Creative Debuts 2D-3D Chips
Datasheet from 3DLabs
For gamers who are thinking to buy a Diamond FireGL cards - here's a review that tells you why you should not buy such a card for DirectX or Quake. Read it all @ Hardwareclub (editors note: may not be an accurate assesment for FS98).

Reveiws:

Voodoo Extreme reviews of the FireGLPro
Quake2Ware review of the FireGL 1000 Pro
3DLabs has posted new NT 4.0(Intel) and new 95 drivers for their Permedia2, and the Permedia2 vs. the Riva 128.

Fan Pages:

Kreiner's Permedia2 Page

Data: