NVIDIA Riva TNT2

The Voodoo3 the TNT2 was compared to, boasted final release candidate drivers, unfortunately the same cannot be said about the TNT2. NVIDIA is still tweaking their drivers, and until they are completely finished, no complete performance evaluation can be performed on the TNT2. The OpenGL ICD the TNT2 boasts is quite similar to that of the original TNT, in fact, according to the file description, it is the same file the original TNT used with its detonator drivers. So don't expect the OpenGL performance of the TNT2 to experience any 50% boosts in performance with a few driver tweaks.

The Direct3D performance of the TNT2 is another story, there is much room for improvement there, and it wouldn't be surprising if NVIDIA were to release updated drivers that happened to improve performance by a noticeable factor upon the mass shipment of the TNT2. The TNT2 works perfectly fine with the detonator drivers located on NVIDIA's website, however in order to achieve the maximum performance possible, AnandTech used NVIDIA's beta drivers for the TNT2, version number 0172. Keep in mind that the performance of the TNT2 isn't set in stone, and it can only improve from this point on, so keep your eyes peeled as the benchmarks you're about to see already illustrate a pretty close competition between the TNT2 and the Voodoo3.

In terms of 3DNow! support and Super7 compatibility, AnandTech's tests found the compatibility of the latest TNT2 drivers with Super7 chipsets to be a bit on the poor side. Fortunately, there is much hope for AMD K6-2/3 owners, the rumors that NVIDIA has been working on 3DNow! enhanced drivers seem to be more well founded than you may think. There's definitely something in the works over at NVIDIA, and I wouldn't be surprised if real 3DNow! enhancements started popping up in their drivers. The condition of the drivers AnandTech tested, and the word that improved 3DNow! drivers were on the way kept the Super7 platform out of this comparison. Just as with the Voodoo3 review, Super7 users will receive a completely separate review addressing their unique needs shortly.

The stability of the 0172 drivers under OpenGL was just as you'd expect, simply because the OpenGL ICD used with the TNT2 is identical to that of the one implemented in the TNT's own detonator drivers. The Direct3D operation was a bit flaky, however it did not prevent AnandTech from completing all of the tests necessary for a thorough review.

Most card manufacturers will provide their users with an overclocking utility to "tweak" the speed of their TNT2 cards, chances are you won't need to shell out the extra cash for a higher clock speed TNT2 if you choose your card wisely.

Enough babble, are you ready for some numbers? Let's take a look at the test configuration