Real3D Starfighter

by Anand Lal Shimpi on March 10, 1998 11:32 PM EST

Test Configuration

Processor/MB: Intel Pentium II - 300
AOpen AX6L
RAM: 1 - 64MB Corsair PC100 SDRAM DIMM
Hard Drive(s): 2 - Western Digital Caviar AC21600H
Video Card(s): Real3D StarFighter (4MB - AGP)
Matrox Millennium II (4MB WRAM - AGP)
Bus Master Drivers: Intel 3.01
Video Drivers: Real3D StarFighter AGP Drivers
MGA Millennium 4.03.00.3410
OpenGL Drivers: Windows 95 Direct 3D Wrapper for OpenGL
Windows NT Default OpenGL Drivers
Operation System(s): Windows 95 Service Release 2.1

 

Ziff Davis Winbench 98 - 2D Performance

Business High End
Windows NT Windows 95 Windows NT Windows 95
StarFighter 4MB 146 142 141 146
StarFighter 8MB 152 147 154 145
Millennium II 4MB 175 175 184 172

Under Windows 95 the 2D performance of the Real3D StarFighter is a just about on par with the Matrox Millennium II, however under NT the Millennium II simply takes over with outstanding 2D performance, unmatched, by the StarFighter AGP.  Under NT4, the extra 4MB of RAM with the 8MB card doesn't really seem to make a major difference, under Windows 95 the performance increase with the 8MB card over the 4MB is negligible as well.  Since the AGP card doesn't have any texture memory, you are better off buying the 4MB card and saving yourself a few bucks, since the supported 3D resolutions won't be derived from (for the most part) your card and therefore limited by the local graphics memory.

In any case, the i740 was designed to be an outstanding 3D accelerator, which it is, unfortunately, the 2D performance is a sacrifice you will have to make if you want the full benefits of that AGP slot on your motherboard.  The StarFighter isn't "bad" when it comes to 2D acceleration, it just can't compete with the Millennium II, it will still get the job done and then some. 

Quake 2 - Open GL Performance

Timedemo Demo 1 Timedemo Demo 2
Windows NT Windows 95 Windows NT Windows 95
StarFighter 4MB 640 x 480 30.6 26.7 30.9 25.9
CL Voodoo2 12MB
640 x 480
--- 65.6 --- 64.0
StarFighter 4MB 800 x 600 21.2 20.8 21.7 20.9
CL Voodoo2 12MB
800 x 600
--- 48.4 --- 48.9

Proving the point that there is no replacement for a Voodoo2 just yet, the Real3D StarFighter places well below the Creative Labs V2 board in all tests.  Not to say that Quake 2 isn't playable on the StarFighter, in fact, Quake 2 looks and performs wonderfully at 800 x 600 on the StarFighter, not to mention how well the card works at its standard 640 x 480 resolution.   If you're tight on PCI slots, and want to get the best of both the 2D and 3D world then the StarFighter becomes a much more appetizing option. 

Direct 3D Performance

Frame Rate (higher is better)
Turok (Full Version) Forsaken (Playable Demo)
StarFighter 4MB 640 x 480 72.2 52.11
CL Voodoo2 12MB 640 x 480 94.4 ---
StarFighter 4MB 800 x 600 --- 40.73
StarFighter 4MB 1024 x 768 N/A 28.9

The StarFighter's Direct3D performance is beyond decent especially when taking into consideration that the i740 can do this and much more.  Still noticeably far behind the Voodoo2 in terms of performance, the StarFighter i740 card does remain competitive.  The Forsaken Playable Demo (a beautiful game) produced frame rates in excess of 50 fps at 640 x 480, as well as a playable 25 - 30 fps at 1024 x 768, a resolution that does the game justice.  

This is all coming from a meager 4/8MB card, confined to an AGP world that knows no limits.

Conclusion

For those of you that want the absolute best 2D/3D Combination, try using a Voodoo2 and a Millennium II, however that combo itself will set you back around $350  - $400, a price tag most users are not willing to swallow.  Real3D has come along with an average priced product, that offers top notch image quality, while not sacrificing performance to a noticeable degree.

A custom made Real3D Direct3D wrapper was used to run Quake 2 under Windows 95, unfortunately there is some loss of performance/image quality with this wrapper.  Once Real3D releases a reliable OpenGL ICD for the StarFighter, this card may begin to give the Riva 128's in the world a good scare in the Windows 95 market...as it has already done so under Windows NT as well as Direct 3D applications.

Image Quality Comparison
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  • MonkeyPaw - Wednesday, November 8, 2017 - link

    I dunno, I have a good feeling about 3DFX. I suspect that they will be the only game in town before too long. OpenGL? DirectX? No chance compared to Glide!
  • dakishimesan - Wednesday, November 8, 2017 - link

    I totally agree. Though I am still holding a candle for S3.
  • pcfxer - Thursday, November 9, 2017 - link

    You funny bugger lol!
  • ozzuneoj86 - Monday, January 11, 2021 - link

    I don't know, despite the decent performance here, I have a feeling that Intel is going to give up on discrete graphics for 23-24 years or so. Maybe some Earth shaking event, like a global pandemic or something, will get them drive them to release another video product.
  • 0ldman79 - Wednesday, January 19, 2022 - link

    They won't do it for a pandemic, I predict it will be related to some kind of encoding or encryption task, possibly done on a GPU due to their parallel nature and high memory bandwidth.

    Just crazy ramblings of an old man...

    /sarcasm people, look at the dates

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