Via S3 Chrome S-27

Discussion in 'Videocards - Intel ARC & ARC Driver section' started by Pandaz3, Feb 12, 2006.

  1. Pandaz3

    Pandaz3 Member Guru

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    Hi folkx! I was wondering if anyone has seen a Chrome s-27 in use. I am looking for a "Value" mid level card. This one is less than $130 at NewEgg and PCI-E.

    I am thinking of upgrading onboard Nvidia 6150 graphics on another machine, but this may not be a noticeable upgrade (The 6150 is pretty good!)

    http://www.s3graphics.com/en/products/chrome_s27/
     
  2. Dr. Vodka

    Dr. Vodka Guest

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    Did you see any reviews about it? It looks promising. Who knows, maybe S3 finally gets rid of its sad past and starts competing with NV/ATI (I see it coming, this is a nice card!).

    http://www.xbitlabs.com/articles/video/display/s3-chrome-s27.html
    There you are. 26 pages of info about it. Also forget about using AA with it with newer (and last gen) games. It only supports supersampling AA, sure it's high quality, but it's just too resource hungry.

    It has nice performance for only $99 (128MB version), great for video playback, but its driver needs to be polished a bit more. Sometimes its performance drops without an apparent reason, and sometimes it surpasses its competitors (X700 and 6600 with ddr2)... It's up to you what card you want.
     
  3. Pandaz3

    Pandaz3 Member Guru

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    Well I read the review, and thanks for providing it, it seems good to me. I paid closer attention to 1024 x 768 figures as that is all the Warden is willing to try, when you look at those figures the card seems to have a more consistant overall performance.

    I noticed in the conclusion a little Blurb about 'selling in mass quantities at less than $100' but I would take that, as what the distributor might need to resell at a profit and by the time it reaches the consumer, well $125 or $130 is probably in the ballpark.

    I would be willing to try it on a new build, but I don't think I'll gain enough to upgrade. Even though I know it will be better, I would want it to be very noticably better for her.

    Thanks again.
     
  4. Dr. Vodka

    Dr. Vodka Guest

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    Let me remind you that 6150 isn't the most powerful thing in existance. A plain 6600 or that S3 clearly surpass it. Especially in shader intensive apps.
     

  5. Wolverine69r

    Wolverine69r Guest

    as far as i've read,,. S3 isn't really interested in the high end niche.. its delegating its stuff to the mid to low end where the most money is made
     
  6. Pandaz3

    Pandaz3 Member Guru

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    $98 for the 128 Meg card and $128 for the 256, I expect the 256 would do a little better that the reviews. I would probably spend the extra $30.

    http://www.hothardware.com/default.aspx

    Another review above.
     
  7. Xaser04

    Xaser04 Guest

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    look like a pretty good basic card. With a better driver it could be very good indeed.
     
  8. taitran

    taitran Active Member

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    Man this card is good, lets them have a chance to products their cards in future. I myself think this card is good but some issue with driver but who care?
     
  9. Don_Won

    Don_Won Master Guru

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    Why is it so weak when AAx4 is enabled? It performs close to x700/6600 when AA is off. Don't you find it strange?
     
    Last edited: Mar 3, 2006
  10. Xaser04

    Xaser04 Guest

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    It is so weak with AA as it applies supersampling instead of multisampling like the other cards.

    Supersampling takes a huge hit on a 7800GTX 512 let alone a low end card.
     

  11. Don_Won

    Don_Won Master Guru

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    Is it a driver issue that can be fixed?
     
  12. Dr. Vodka

    Dr. Vodka Guest

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    Why? 'Cause it's a limitation of the GPU. It's AA algorithm is SS, not MS. It's like comparing a TnL GPU to a shader capable gpu. The difference? The features, and the technology. I dunno why, they didn't include MSAA, I mean SS is quality, but at such a great FPS cost? Come on, if you want your GPU to be successful, you have to make it support today's technologies. That includes MSAA.
     
  13. Don_Won

    Don_Won Master Guru

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    True. Now I cannot play anything without AntiAliasing. I cannot imagine having a card that suffers such a huge hit from it.
     
  14. GenClaymore

    GenClaymore Ancient Guru

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    Your better off going for a 6800NU 256mb 256bit pcie membus for 115 bucks then buying that s3 chrome 27. I read the reviews on the chrome, it isnt worth 89 nor 130 to me.

    Well it really depends what the other computer will be used for, if it not for games then just buy something even cheaper.

    But if it gonna be used for games then dont even go any where near a S3 chrome 27 unless that person plays at 1024 with no aa with mid/high settings depending on the game.

    I dont even see it worth that much for budget , it look like a 50-60 range card to me.
     
    Last edited: Mar 14, 2006
  15. Glidefan

    Glidefan Don Booze Staff Member

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    Really though, there are people that play without AA. I use AA sometimes, but i don't care about it. The only game i have AA on full time is HL2 and that is only at 2x. Perhaps this card is good for the gamer on a budget. It would be nice to see another player in the game. Lets hope they will get it even better on their next round.
     

  16. ufster

    ufster Guest

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    Could it be that they wanted to try something with this particular chip, I wonder if they might be using SS AA because they want their future cards to be based on a similar architecture to the S27 and this way they can produce more powerful chips while improving SS AA performance yet keeping the development costs lower because they already have functioning SS AA capabilities in their cards. Just a wild guess but I can't really think of another reason S3 -with all their top notch engineers and stuff- went with SS AA instead of MS AA.
    Also, I think XGI and S3 are both good companies with capable engineers, if you look at how they entered the 3d graphics business, they made significant strides in short time and they have improved constantly. Considering how difficult it is to develop and produce a GPU (really complex even compared to CPUs) both companies have done well and I am sure we will benefit from both S3 and XGI coming out with stronger products in the near future. Competition, in theory, should always provide us with better products at lower prices and personally I am looking for a 3rd or 4th company to enter the graphics market.
     
  17. Neo Cyrus

    Neo Cyrus Ancient Guru

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    The only S3 card I ever had was the S3 Savage 2000 64MB. Worst video card EVER. It couldn't do anything! My onboard video card worked better (seriously) so I think the card could have possibly been damaged. I couldn't send it for repairs as it was given to me and at that time it probably had no warranty left. Point is, even though that was ages ago, I don't think I'll ever buy (or should I say accept as a gift) an S3 card again. Nvidia has never went ape**** on me, so I think I'll stick with that. But interesting to know S3 is still alive, competition in the market is always good, keeps those bastards on their feet. I'd actually be happy if S3 could compete with nvidia and ati.
     
    Last edited: Mar 22, 2006
  18. aircool

    aircool Don Aircooleone Staff Member

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    you a s27 be better than my card?
     
  19. Dr. Vodka

    Dr. Vodka Guest

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    Give a look at this.

    http://www.xbitlabs.com/articles/video/display/s3-chrome-s27_12.html

    Performance wise, the S27 is quite faster compared to a plain 6600, but feature wise, the 6600 destroys the S27. Also, forget about antialiasing with the S27, it's just too slow. On the other hand, a 6600 with DDR2 memory beats the S27.

    I'd get the 6600 or, better yet, the 6600 with DDR2 memorhy over the S27.
     
  20. Wolverine69r

    Wolverine69r Guest

    if S3 really wants to get bacn in the graphics market, they have to up the anty
     

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