DeltaChrome challanges ATI and nVidia

ToM_E · January 22nd, 2003

Description
While nVidia and ATI are preparing for the mother of all Graphics battles, a company that has been there for a while is now trying to change the market landscape. S3, Via's graphics division, have announced details of their upcoming "Delta Chrome" card, formerly known as "Columbia". The features are impressive but what is truly stunning, is the price tag.

The cards, expected in Q2, 2003, will start retailing at, wait for it... USD 90. Yeah but the S3 offering will not be up to their competitors standards, I hear you say, have a look at the features and judge for yourselves:
The chips G.P.U. clock will weigh in at 300MHz+ and 300MHz+ for the memory, which will be plain DDR. Another, the economy, version of the card will have a top speed on 240MHz+, for the graphics engine and 300MHz+ for the memory.
The full and extremely rich feature list is as follows:

Advanced Display Features
Continuing the S3 Graphics tradition of providing advanced reliability, DeltaChrome products weave stability and technology into basic 2D display graphics features.

DirectX 9.0
DeltaChrome is equipped with programmable hardware shaders compatible with Pixel Shader version 2.0+ and Vertex Shader 2.0+. DeltaChrome actually goes beyond the DirectX 9.0 requirements with esoteric features for improved 3D and video quality.

Hi-Def Computing
HDTV is the final word when it comes to high resolution displays available today. Thanks to DeltaChrome's unique, integrated Hi-Def HDTV encoder technology, you can now get the most from HDTV resolution capable displays, televisions and projectors.

Hi-Def HDTV encoding brings the theater home when watching a DVD. Video games played in Hi-Def mode bring characters to life before your eyes, and Hi-Def corporate presentations viewed with an HDTV resolution capable projector are crisper and more professional looking than ever before.

Chromotion Programmable Video Engine
The Chromotion Programmable Video Engine is a radical departure from fixed function video decoding and processing. The Chromotion engine has the flexibility to process MPEG-2/4, Windows Media Video, and other video standards. Fixed function processing such as iDCT is now handled by the programmable Chromotion engine. Post-processing to improve poor source material is an exciting new feature that will enhance video material such as webcasts.

The Chromotion engine's real-time rendering capabilities bring video effect processing to the mainstream. The home video enthusiast can now exercise as much ArtisticLicense as advanced video artists. All can edit and process video with Chromotion quality using familiar effects and filters for professional looking results for any project, whether simple or involved.

V8 Pipeline
The DeltaChrome V8 pipeline is a sophisticated and complex full 8-pixel pipeline. An astounding 2.4 Giga-pixel per second fill rate increases the intensity of the gamer's visual experience and provides heart-pounding 3D graphics speed.

You will be assured of being the last player standing in the emerging mobile gaming trend when your laptop is equipped with DeltaChrome's V8 pipeline.

PicturePerfect
DeltaChrome? PicturePerfect hardware anti-aliasing for full screen and WindowsXP text makes for a consistent, silky smooth-edged image. No more jaggies.

Advanced Deferred Rendering
The completely new Advanced Deferred Rendering technology dramatically increases the efficiency of the 3D engine for maximum performance beyond standard z-culling technology. By maximizing effective bandwidth, Advanced Deferred Rendering does not leave extreme gamers short during peak 3D performance levels.

Hrm....:confused:

Freaker · January 22nd, 2003

hot damn, not too shabby

**Kane** · January 22nd, 2003

Belonin Hardware discusison. Moved.

Hanamichi · January 22nd, 2003

Sounds good but, any sources?

**Shadow Lady** · January 22nd, 2003

Columbia and for 90USD?

I will buy that, if I dont get money by then

**Dark Watcher** · January 22nd, 2003

S3? bah...

then again we are judging based on this S3 Savage IX card....imaging a vid card with no Direct Draw support or VESA support.... argh

**Kane** · January 22nd, 2003

>then again we are judging based on this S3 Savage IX card....imaging a vid card with no Direct Draw support or VESA support.... argh

That might explain some of the questions I get asked.
I'm not personaly that terested in an S3 card. The Trio was good in it's day. The Savage 3d was a nice card at it's release, but it had poor driver support, and was quickyly eclipsed by more capable cards. The Savage 4 was no better, and the 2k was just abysm, delivering pretty much nothing of what it promised.

Ali · January 22nd, 2003

S3 won't be even touching Nvidia or ATI, it all fluke. They should let the people judge what would make impact rather then bashing out themselves, like Matrox Parhelia, hell we have even forgotten if its still there. It didn't even crossed the Ati 8500.

However this chip would make a very good use if it is free as a builtin VGA in the motherboards

. I would await some Toms reviews.

Sampah · January 23rd, 2003

it reminds me of SiS Xabre 400, offers cheap price. from the specification I think DeltaChrome might still have a hope, if the drivers for the graphics card not as worse as before.

January 23rd, 2003

I have seen this before. It's basically in a position to be top dog value DX 9.0 chip. But its anti aliasing and AF capabilities come into question.

Ninjaa · January 23rd, 2003

If it's got S3 on the cover, I ain't touching it. I have learned my lesson long ago.

Player-X · January 23rd, 2003

It works great(As a charcoal replacement at a BBQ)

Chinoz · January 23rd, 2003

Heck same here. I might as well dish out "slightly" more dollars out & get a recommended card

Sniper · January 24th, 2003

more card out = more competition = better value = better card at lower prices good formula, GO GO GO S3

Player-X · January 24th, 2003

GO GO GO and get yourself wasted while giving us alot of benifits

January 22nd, 2003	#1 (permalink)
ToM_E Do the Monkey Dance /w me Join Date: Sep 2001 Location: Doing the Monkey Dance! Posts: 2,755	DeltaChrome challanges ATI and nVidia Description While nVidia and ATI are preparing for the mother of all Graphics battles, a company that has been there for a while is now trying to change the market landscape. S3, Via's graphics division, have announced details of their upcoming "Delta Chrome" card, formerly known as "Columbia". The features are impressive but what is truly stunning, is the price tag. The cards, expected in Q2, 2003, will start retailing at, wait for it... USD 90. Yeah but the S3 offering will not be up to their competitors standards, I hear you say, have a look at the features and judge for yourselves: The chips G.P.U. clock will weigh in at 300MHz+ and 300MHz+ for the memory, which will be plain DDR. Another, the economy, version of the card will have a top speed on 240MHz+, for the graphics engine and 300MHz+ for the memory. The full and extremely rich feature list is as follows: Advanced Display Features Continuing the S3 Graphics tradition of providing advanced reliability, DeltaChrome products weave stability and technology into basic 2D display graphics features. DirectX 9.0 DeltaChrome is equipped with programmable hardware shaders compatible with Pixel Shader version 2.0+ and Vertex Shader 2.0+. DeltaChrome actually goes beyond the DirectX 9.0 requirements with esoteric features for improved 3D and video quality. Hi-Def Computing HDTV is the final word when it comes to high resolution displays available today. Thanks to DeltaChrome's unique, integrated Hi-Def HDTV encoder technology, you can now get the most from HDTV resolution capable displays, televisions and projectors. Hi-Def HDTV encoding brings the theater home when watching a DVD. Video games played in Hi-Def mode bring characters to life before your eyes, and Hi-Def corporate presentations viewed with an HDTV resolution capable projector are crisper and more professional looking than ever before. Chromotion Programmable Video Engine The Chromotion Programmable Video Engine is a radical departure from fixed function video decoding and processing. The Chromotion engine has the flexibility to process MPEG-2/4, Windows Media Video, and other video standards. Fixed function processing such as iDCT is now handled by the programmable Chromotion engine. Post-processing to improve poor source material is an exciting new feature that will enhance video material such as webcasts. The Chromotion engine's real-time rendering capabilities bring video effect processing to the mainstream. The home video enthusiast can now exercise as much ArtisticLicense as advanced video artists. All can edit and process video with Chromotion quality using familiar effects and filters for professional looking results for any project, whether simple or involved. V8 Pipeline The DeltaChrome V8 pipeline is a sophisticated and complex full 8-pixel pipeline. An astounding 2.4 Giga-pixel per second fill rate increases the intensity of the gamer's visual experience and provides heart-pounding 3D graphics speed. You will be assured of being the last player standing in the emerging mobile gaming trend when your laptop is equipped with DeltaChrome's V8 pipeline. PicturePerfect DeltaChrome? PicturePerfect hardware anti-aliasing for full screen and WindowsXP text makes for a consistent, silky smooth-edged image. No more jaggies. Advanced Deferred Rendering The completely new Advanced Deferred Rendering technology dramatically increases the efficiency of the 3D engine for maximum performance beyond standard z-culling technology. By maximizing effective bandwidth, Advanced Deferred Rendering does not leave extreme gamers short during peak 3D performance levels. Hrm....:confused: __________________ CPUPentium 4 3.00 Ghz Ram2GB DDR2 PC4200 Video CardRadeon X1600 Pro

January 22nd, 2003	#2 (permalink)
Freaker Soy un perdedor... Join Date: Jul 2002 Posts: 99	hot damn, not too shabby __________________ <BombScare> i beat the internet <BombScare> the end guy is hard

January 22nd, 2003	#3 (permalink)
Kane 邪魔ゎ指せない Join Date: Jan 2002 Location: Gosport, England Posts: 26,255	Belonin Hardware discusison. Moved. __________________ >Site Live< Pop over to my site for help with setting up PSX emulators. Help for the Final Fantasies and other RPGs avalaible Celes: (Desktop) Athlon 64 X2 4200+, 2Gb 400MHz DDR Ram, MSI K8N Platinum, GeForce 8800 GTS 320Mb, 500Gb RAID HDD, Vista Business Erika: (MCPC) Athlon XP 2400+, 1Gb 400MHz DDR Ram, geForce 6800 256Mb, 80Gb Hdd, XP 2005 MCE Kimiko: (Desktop 2) Athlon 64 3000+, 512Mb 400MHz DDR Ram, Asus K8V, geForce 6800 128Mb

January 22nd, 2003	#5 (permalink)
Shadow Lady Advanced Newbie Join Date: Jul 2001 Location: Bogotá... not that it matters... Posts: 4,978	Columbia and for 90USD? I will buy that, if I dont get money by then __________________ Main Rig: Pentium Dual-Core E2160 @ 2.5GHz -- 7600GT @ 650/800MHz -- 2GB DDR2-667 4-4-4-12 -- Windows XP Pro SP3 Collecting dust: AMD Athlon XP 2600+ -- ATI Radeon 9500 Pro -- SB Live 5.1 Digital -- 2.5GB DDR 2-2-2-5 Ram -- Windows 2003 server r2 SP1

January 22nd, 2003	#6 (permalink)
Dark Watcher Coffee Demon Join Date: Jun 2001 Location: Darkness, Unknown Posts: 2,898	S3? bah... then again we are judging based on this S3 Savage IX card....imaging a vid card with no Direct Draw support or VESA support.... argh __________________

January 22nd, 2003	#4 (permalink)
Hanamichi Crotally Tazy Join Date: Jun 2001 Location: Malaysia Posts: 4,573	Sounds good but, any sources?

January 22nd, 2003	#7 (permalink)
Kane 邪魔ゎ指せない Join Date: Jan 2002 Location: Gosport, England Posts: 26,255	>then again we are judging based on this S3 Savage IX card....imaging a vid card with no Direct Draw support or VESA support.... argh That might explain some of the questions I get asked. I'm not personaly that terested in an S3 card. The Trio was good in it's day. The Savage 3d was a nice card at it's release, but it had poor driver support, and was quickyly eclipsed by more capable cards. The Savage 4 was no better, and the 2k was just abysm, delivering pretty much nothing of what it promised. __________________ >Site Live< Pop over to my site for help with setting up PSX emulators. Help for the Final Fantasies and other RPGs avalaible Celes: (Desktop) Athlon 64 X2 4200+, 2Gb 400MHz DDR Ram, MSI K8N Platinum, GeForce 8800 GTS 320Mb, 500Gb RAID HDD, Vista Business Erika: (MCPC) Athlon XP 2400+, 1Gb 400MHz DDR Ram, geForce 6800 256Mb, 80Gb Hdd, XP 2005 MCE Kimiko: (Desktop 2) Athlon 64 3000+, 512Mb 400MHz DDR Ram, Asus K8V, geForce 6800 128Mb

January 22nd, 2003	#8 (permalink)
Ali CoLD InSiDE Join Date: Apr 2001 Location: Somewhere Posts: 2,613	S3 won't be even touching Nvidia or ATI, it all fluke. They should let the people judge what would make impact rather then bashing out themselves, like Matrox Parhelia, hell we have even forgotten if its still there. It didn't even crossed the Ati 8500. However this chip would make a very good use if it is free as a builtin VGA in the motherboards. I would await some Toms reviews. __________________ AMD Athlon XP 2100 @ 1.75 Ghz Gigabyte GA-7VA.XP VIA K400 1.25GB PC3200 System Ram ChainTech GeForCe4 TI 4200 128MB Creative SB Live! 5.1 2x WD Caviar 120GBs and -Rom1 Maxtor 40GB LiteON 16x DVD-Rw WindowsXP Professional-SP2 & Mandrake Linux

January 23rd, 2003	#9 (permalink)
Sampah The Handsome Man Join Date: Nov 2002 Location: Unlucky Place Posts: 881	it reminds me of SiS Xabre 400, offers cheap price. from the specification I think DeltaChrome might still have a hope, if the drivers for the graphics card not as worse as before. __________________ PROCESSOR: AMD Athlon 64 3000+ @1.8Ghz RAM: Kingstone 512MB PC3200 MOBO: ECS Nforce4 A939 VGA: Pixelview Geforce 6600GT (Golden Limited Edition) 128MB OS: WinXP pro Service pack 2

January 23rd, 2003	#10 (permalink)
ChrisRay Guest Posts: n/a	I have seen this before. It's basically in a position to be top dog value DX 9.0 chip. But its anti aliasing and AF capabilities come into question.

January 23rd, 2003	#11 (permalink)
Ninjaa Banned Join Date: Oct 2001 Location: Soviet Canuckistan Posts: 0	If it's got S3 on the cover, I ain't touching it. I have learned my lesson long ago.

January 23rd, 2003	#12 (permalink)
Player-X Banned Join Date: Apr 2002 Location: From Kuching in Malaysia now stuck in Houston Texas Posts: 9,110	It works great(As a charcoal replacement at a BBQ)

January 23rd, 2003	#13 (permalink)
Chinoz ... Join Date: Jan 2003 Location: Desa Park, Key Ell, Malaysia Posts: 2,301	Heck same here. I might as well dish out "slightly" more dollars out & get a recommended card __________________ System specs P4 2.6c \| Abit AI7 \| Radeon 9800pro \| 1024mb kingston ddr400 \| 120gb seagate sata \| 40mb wd \| And all the minor bits and pieces 3dMark2001SE

January 24th, 2003	#14 (permalink)
Sniper Registered User Join Date: Jun 2001 Posts: 460	more card out = more competition = better value = better card at lower prices good formula, GO GO GO S3

January 24th, 2003	#15 (permalink)
Player-X Banned Join Date: Apr 2002 Location: From Kuching in Malaysia now stuck in Houston Texas Posts: 9,110	GO GO GO and get yourself wasted while giving us alot of benifits

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