From: cummings@hammer.Prime.COM (Kevin Cummings) Subject: Re: Best Video Card ?? Date: Thu, 16 Jul 1992 21:38:37 GMT
In article <1992Jul16.201110.9627@njitgw.njit.edu>, dic5340@hertz.njit.edu (David Charlap) writes:
> In article <1992Jul16.110839@hammer.Prime.COM> cummings@hammer.Prime.COM (Kevin Cummings) writes:
> >in local bus versions. If you're buying (well, Rob, you sound like you weren't)
> >a new mother board, make sure its got a VESA local bus with at least 2 local
> >bus slots (One for video, one for IDE/TAPE controller).
>
> A good idea for non-coprocessed cards. If your card has a processor
> on board (like 8514/a boards) then local bus may be a waste of money,
> since you don't usually transfer enough data to those types of boards
> to get a real speed advantage.
Not so. The Co-processed boards only show the speed increases when you use
software that takes advantage of them. If you are running generic VGA programs
that manipulate the VGA registers directly, but not the coprocessor special
registers, then the local bus still gives you the speed increase of the local
bus! Remember (the S3 cards, at least) are VGA register level compatible,
and can be programmed as if they are a generic VGA. When doing this, you see
NONE of the coprocessed advantages! What you do see, is performance slightly
slower than an turbo ET4000 card (which come to think of it, ain't to bad).
And if the local bus will speed up an ET4000, then it will speed up an S3 as well!
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Kevin J. Cummings PrimeService
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Framingham, Mass. 500 Old Connecticut Path
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