PowerVR2

Based on the NEC PowerVR PCX2 chipset, these cards have only one connection: the PCI bus. When your application requests 3D, the Matrox becomes active and sends screen info to the 2D card through the PCI bus. The 2D card receives the data into it's frame buffer and sends it on to you monitor. Thus, the only memory on the Matrox card is texture memory, and you are limited to the memory on your 2D card for frame buffer. This is a very cheap solution, but it's dependent on the speed of your 2D card. If your 2D card has a slow RAMDAC (the device that converts digital data to analog video signals)(slow is below 150 MHz), then expect poorer performance than a similar system equipped with one of the excellent Matrox 2D cards. Drawbacks include an odd 8-bit lighting scheme (if there is light shining on a surface, it will look 'blocky'). It will do 3D in a window.

While this card is a very fast Direct3D card, under FS98 it isn't. We hope this will be fixed in a future driver release.

It's looking like this card needs a pretty good 2D card to run properly. The VR2 does not use vsync, so if you feed 3D data to the 2D card faster than the 2D card can process it, you'll see some pretty nasty looking images, full of texture 'tearing' and image 'jumping'. No word yet on what the minimum sort of card is; I think it depends on yout CPU speed.

07Jan97: VideoLogic
16Nov97: You can download the latest drivers for the 3Dx and 5D. You will also need the 5D Graphicstar drivers. These are version 4.02.

"-----Original Message-----
From: Chris Gray at Home <ChrisG@pers.demon.co.uk>
Newsgroups: microsoft.public.simulators
Date: Wednesday, October 08, 1997 3:16 AM
Subject: Apocalypse 3Dx and FS98

I have just bought, and then returned, an Apocalypse 3Dx card. Here is my assessment of this card, which uses the PowerVR chip.
This is a VERY fast 3d card, as shown by the demo games that come with the card.
However, it is not a good Direct3D card. Out of the 11 quality tests in the 3D Winbench, it failed 7 (fog vertex, fog table, specular highlights, color key transparency, alpha transparency, and fogging/transparency combinations). This means that there are no haze effects when running this card. Performance with FS98 was slow. Frame rate was slower than my STB Nitro 3D card that came with my PC.
Maybe when they get better Direct3D drivers sorted out this will be a good card for FS98, but at the moment I would not recommend it.
I'll stick with my STB Nitro 3D card until I can find somewhere in the UK selling the 8mb Stingray (Voodoo Rush) card.
--
The Gray Household, Verwood, Dorset, England.
http://www.pers.demon.co.uk"

-----Original Message-----
From: terry@diamonds.nildram.co.uk <terry@diamonds.nildram.co.uk>
Newsgroups: microsoft.public.simulators
Date: Friday, October 10, 1997 5:47 PM
Subject: Re: Apocalypse 3dx Card - Attn MS_MVP/Anyone

I've just completed a quiet hour experimenting with the settings on my
Apocalypse 3Dx and '98.

Before starting - Cessna static at Meigs    =    4.5fps at 1040/768
(full screen and windowed).

After a tweak session, well, here's what I did.....

Card settings: Enable HAL
3D Tuning - Max. Compatibility
Render Overlap - On
Allow Quads       - On
Render Timeout - set to 0.1sec
Auto MIP Mapping - On
Bilinear Mode - On

Enter into 'Hint Settings: Description: Flight Simulator 98
Application Filename= Fltsim98.exe

Returned to FS'98......

All scenery complexity settings (static & Dynamic) to Very Dense
Options/Preferences/Display etcetera:   all ON resolution =
1040x768x16

Removed .AVI from file
Added the following lines to Fltsim.config =
[SOUND]
Channels=1
Samplespersec=11025

Went back to flight screen....

Cessna RG static at Meigs = 12.9fps
Cessna 182S "      "       "      = 13.1fps
Lear                  "      "       "      =   9.8 fps
737                    "      "       "     =   12.8 fps

At TOC from Meigs in Cessna (frame rate) = 25.9fps

This held good in both window and full screen (I even got 9.1 in rear
view looking over the Blue seat covers)!

Before you go and hunt the Unicorn with another card, CHECK THE
SETTINGS on the one you have (and check for the latest Drivers -
Apoc3Dx400a (I think)!!

Regards

Terry
UIN: 2813612
Homepage: http://www.geocities.com/CapeCanaveral/Hangar/3180/index.htm
"Fly the Med and have fun in the Sun with Tradewinds Mediterranean Airways"

Apocalypse 3Dx with 5 bundled games 4MB SDRAM $129 $119 Available
Apocalypse 3Dx with games sampler CD only 4MB SDRAM $ 95 $ 89 Available
Apocalypse 5D:
6MB (4MB SDRAM/2MB MDRAM) $249 $229 Available
8MB (4MB SDRAM/4MB MDRAM) $279 $259 Available
Apocalypse 5D Sonic:
6MB (4MB SDRAM/2MB MDRAM) $315 $299 Dec
8MB (4MB SDRAM/4MB MDRAM) $349 $329 Dec

17		3D: 800x600x16x85, FS		Ricardo Nuno Cotrim		08Apr98
P2/300/128		Matrox Millenium II/4MB		m3D		SB AWE64Gold/ISA
12.5	14.4	26.5	18.8	20.0	9.8	9.6	No

13.7		3D: 800x600x16x75, FS		Peter Comeau		15Nov97
P2/266/32		VideoLogic Apocalypse 5D				SB16
13.1	16.9	19.1	12.3	16.6	4.1	4.1	No
Comments: RagePro = 20.6. 8-Bit image textures. Texture quality is phenomenal. Using drivers v4.3, with lots of tweeking options that don't seem to have any effect.

11.7		3D: 800x600x16x75, FS		Paul MacMaster		13Nov97
K6/200/64		Graphixstar 500/4MB		Apocalypse 3Dx/4MB		SB16/ISA
11.1	10.8	16.1	12.3	15.1	5.0	5.0	No
Comments: v4.0.2 drivers.

11.2		3D: 800x600x16x85, FS		Steve Congrave		12Nov97
P200mmx/32		Matrox Mystique (170 Mhz)/2		Matrox m3D/4		SB16/ISA
10.1	13.0	10.0	12.1	13.8	8.3	9.0	No
Comments: 512KB cache, P180mmx overclocked to 200.

10.2		3D: 800x600x16x60, FS		Gary & Adrian West		17Feb98
K6/200/48		Matrox Mystique 220/4		Apocalyps 3Dx/4		VL SonicStorm/PCI
10.6	10.7	14.0	9.5	13.1	3.0	3.1	No
Comments: v4.0.2 drivers (4.1.0 drivers slow fps). Loud tones heard in Video3.

9.3		3D: 800x600x16x60, FS		Thomas Hemetzberger		2Mar98
K6/233		Hercules Terminator 64		Matrox m3D		ESS ES1868/PCI
10.4	14.2	8.8	9.8	9.6	3.0	3.0	No
Hercules v4.63, Matrox v4.03.00.1000.

7.5		3D: 800x600x16, FS		Walt Bertram		3Mar98
P166/48		Millenium II		m3D or 3Dx		Ensoniq VIVO/ISA
7.5	11.5	8.1	6.6	9.0	2.5	2.7	Yes
V2100 = 13.6. Rush = 12.4, Riva128 = 11.8, Millenium(2D) = 9.3, Riva(2D) = 7.1, V2100(2D) = 7.5.

Pat Sarnowski <hitman@digital.net> wrote:
>
> Bruce Wilson wrote:
> >
> > You seem to have 2 3D chips in your system. If the drivers are installed
> > properly, in FS98 hardware acceleration menu you should have a chioce
> > between the ViRGE and the PowerVR. You probably should make sure you have
> > all the latest drivers for both video chipsets you have, then run FS98 and
> > see if both choices are there.
> >
> > The ViRGE will be active all the time, 2D-mode or 3D-mode, and the PowerVR
> > (when selected) goes active and sends it's information to the ViRGE, which
> > displays it.
>
> Thats the problem.. the only option I get under FS98 are
> "Primary Display Driver" which is non-3D, or "Direct-3D driver", or
> something to that effect. It says nothing about "S3 ViRGE" or
> "PowerVR"... and selection the "Direct 3D" driver gives performance so
> low it's not playable. I'm confused.
>

I guess you are talking about a compaq here? I suspect that the the
PowerVR chip would be a PCX1. You can get the latest 'generic' drivers from

http://www.powervr.com/315a.html

Compaq may have their own specific drivers on the site somewhere.

If you want to be able to choose which chip does your D3D acceleration, then
you can get the "3D Control Centre" application from

ftp://ftp.videologic.com/PUB/PRODUCTS/APOC3Dx/DRIVERS/3DCC.zip

This puts a small applet in the menu bar which allows you to choose between
the various 3D accelerators if the application doesn't bother to give you a
list.

Regards

Simon Fenney
VideoLogic

PS: If you have PowerVR questions, then there is a relatively new news-group
called alt.games.powervr which may be of help.