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Last Updated on 5/8/01
by Jack Frost

My disclaimer

 This chart is best seen at high resolutions (I recommend 1024x768 or higher).  Let me know if you have any questions or concerns.

3D Chipsets Comparison Chart

Chip Maker

Chipset

Features

APIs Supported

Availability

3Dfx Interactive:
3Dfx purchased STB and started making their own boards in 1999, shortly after they were completely defocused and statarted losing market share.  They bought Gigapixel who were developing a new engine with fantastic anti-aliasing, but this was not enough to turn around the massive financial hemoraging caused by making the graphic (and TV) boards inhouse at STB, and loosing market share. 

3Dfx finally succumbed to the pressure, sold off their PCB board making plant in Mexico and sold to its arch enemy: Nvidia. 

Now owned by Nvidia, it is unclear what will happen with the technology that was once the industry leader.

Voodoo

Pros:

Good Direct3D and OpenGL performance.

Cons:

Supports only 640x480 resolution, maximum texture size is 256x256, 3D only card, no 3D in a window.

The first 3D chipset, and the first 3D only chipset. The Voodoo was the best up until 1997.

Direct3D, Glide, OpenGL

Obsolete

Voodoo Rush

Pros:

Good Direct3D and OpenGL performance.

Cons:

Supports only 800x600 resolution, maximum texture size is 256x256, slower than Voodoo performance in many games.

The first 2D/3D chipset from 3Dfx. Is a bit buggy and does not work with all games.  Not a good choice.

Direct3D, Glide, OpenGL

Obsolete

Voodoo 2

Pros:

Good Direct3D and OpenGL performance, SLI mode gives gamer the best performance.

Cons:

3D only, Maximum texture size is 256x256.


The second generation 3D chipset from 3Dfx.

Direct3D, Glide, OpenGL

Obsolete

Banshee

Pros:

Good Direct3D and OpenGL performance, best 2D performance in Win9x and WinNT

Cons:

Maximum texture size is 256x256.

The second generation 2D/3D chipset from 3Dfx.

Direct3D, Glide, OpenGL ICD

Obsolete

Voodoo 4

Pros:

Good Direct3D and OpenGL performance, best 2D performance in Win9x and WinNT

Cons:

Maximum texture size is 256x256.

The third generation 3D chipset from 3Dfx.

Direct3D, Glide, OpenGL ICD

Available

Voodoo 5

Pros:

Good Direct3D and OpenGL performance, best 2D performance in Win9x and WinNT

Cons:

Maximum texture size is 256x256.

The third generation 3D chipset from 3Dfx only faster.

Direct3D, Glide, OpenGL ICD

Available

3Dlabs:
3D labs never really focused on the consumer and it shows.  Their chipsets can support some base 3D features, but these are hardly the chipsets to use for any serious gaming or digital entertainment.

Permedia 2

Pros:

Good WinNT OpenGL performance and support, support for 3D goggles.

Cons:

Slow Direct3D support, and Win9x OpenGL.

While this chipset is not geared to 3D gaming.No video overlay support making PC DVD playback near to impossible.

D3D, OGL, Heidi

Obsolete

Permedia 2a

Essentially the same as Permedia 2a. The chip promised faster Direct 3D performance but never delivered it.

D3D, OGL, Heidi

Obsolete

Permedia 3

Pros:

Great WinNT OpenGL performance and support, support for 3D goggles.

Cons:

Slow Direct3D support, and Win9x OpenGL.

This chipset is not geared to 3D gaming it is a good choice for people using Windows NT (2000) for 3D modeling or CAD work. It finally has overlay support for video acceleration (DVD).

D3D, OGL, Heidi

Available

ATI Tech:
ATI has not been known for the best 3D support, but is definitly the best choice for all around digital entertainment.  They have the best video acceleration to be used with DVD and DTV, and their all-in-wonder series of boards are argueably the best full solution for the consumer that wants to replace his TV and game console for his computer.

Having said that you really need to look to the ATI Radeon to get the 3D gaming support that a typical gamer should need- anything less and you are short changing your gaming experience.

ATI has a serious problem in naming.  They have way too many board names that use roughly the same chipset with the only differentiating factor as chip/memory speed.  ATI has recently started to take out features like hardware motion compensation and iDCT, to make light versions.  This is too hard to track so I won't bother.

3D Rage

Good AVI & MPEG acceleration. First generation 3D accelerator, will have problems most current 3D games.

Direct3D

Obsolete

3D Rage II

Pros:

Good video acceleration, good TV output, and descent video capture.

Cons:

Not as fast as Voodoo 2 or TnT

 

D3D, OGL

Obsolete

3D Rage II+ DVD

Pros:

Great AVI & MPEG acceleration, good TV output, and descent video capture. Support for DVD is nice

Cons:

Not as fast as Voodoo 2 or TnT

 

D3D, OGL

Obsolete

3D Rage Pro

Second generation 3D accelerator, but still lacks the power to compete against 3Dfx, and Nvidia. This chip will have problems keeping up with top of the line 3D games.

D3D, OGL

Obsolete

Rage 128

Pros:

Great AVI & MPEG acceleration.

Cons:

Drivers are known to be buggy.

 

D3D, OGL

Available

Radeon

Pros:

Great AVI & MPEG acceleration in addition to great 3D acceleration.

Cons:

Drivers are known to be buggy.

Finally ATI builds a board with proper 3D acceleration- I have heard that the 3D engine is inherited from what would have been the next generation Tseng labs chip.

D3D, OGL

Available

Chromatic Research:
Long gone, bought by ATI back in 1998.

Mpact 2

Pros:

Could do everything, excellent video quality.

Cons:

Too slow, not enough software support


This chip had great promise, but poor execution.

D3D, OGL

Obsolete

Cirrus Logic:
Once the graphic chip industry leader (early 90's), Cirrus Logic has combined with Crystal Semiconductor and is out of the graphic business, but remain in the chip building business- audio and I/O.

Laguna3D (CL-GD5464)

Slow DOS performer. This is a first generation 3D chip and not for the Serious gamer.

 Direct3D

Obsolete

Laguna3D (CL-GD5465)

Pros:

good Price

Cons:

Very slow in DOS, slow 2D and 3D


This chip looked good when it was first launched, but lacked staying power. Never fixed performance issues, and Cirrus Logic finally abandoned graphics altogether.

Direct3D

Obsolete

Dynamic Pictures:  Not sure what happened here, they simply are not a consumer 3D company.

 Oxygen 102

Professional level 3D, great for Windows NT Rendering apps(3D Studio Max, Lightwave, etc.)

 OpenGL, Heidi

Available
Oxygen 202

Professional level 3D, great for Windows NT Rendering apps(3D Studio Max, Lightwave, etc.)

 OpenGL, Heidi

Available
Oxygen 402

Professional level 3D, great for Windows NT Rendering apps(3D Studio Max, Lightwave, etc.)

 OpenGL, Heidi

Available

Intel:
Getting better, but hardly the chipset for the serious gamer.  Intel concentrates on integrated chipsets found on motherboards.  This makes it hard to recommend to the serious gamer since the focus is really not on quality and upgrading may be tough.

i740

Pros:

Price. Full OpenGL support.

Cons:

Terrible video scaler, not as fast as Voodoo 2 or TnT


Second generation 2D/3D card (first for Intel). Decent card for most, but not a good card for a gamer to buy as an upgrade. In same class as a Riva 128, or the original Voodoo.

D3D, OGL ICD

Obsolete

i810/i810e

Pros:

Price- free with the motherboard.

Cons:

Bad video scaler, but better than i740.  Not as fast as Voodoo 2 or TnT

Third generation 2D/3D card (second for Intel), first integrated chipset. Decent chipset for most, but not good for a gamer.  Has HWMC acceleration for DVD playback.
D3D, OGL

Available

i830

Pros:

Price- free with the motherboard.

Cons:

not sure yet.

Adds iDCT support.
D3D, OGL

Coming soon

Matrox:
Matrox finally entered the game with their G200 and G400 series of chipsets, but never really entered the competition for consumer 3D gaming.  Their main focus is more for the professional, or prosumer and produce cards that really appeal to this group- particularly those that want dual monitor output, or video output.

MGA-1064SG Mystique

Good 2D/3D acceleration. Has good AVI & MPEG acceleration. First Generation 3D accelerator. Fairly fast but lacking in features like bi-linear filtering and alpha blending, and many others

 Direct3D

Obsolete

MGA-1164SG Mystique 220

Good 2D/3D acceleration. Faster RAMDAC than its predecessor (MGA-1064SG) which allows for higher refresh rates. Has good AVI & MPEG acceleration. First Generation 3D accelerator. Fairly fast but lacking in features like bi-linear filtering and alpha blending, and many others

 Direct3D

Obsolete

MGA-2164W Millennium II

Great 2D acceleration. Good OpenGL support for Windows NT. Great AVI & MPEG acceleration. Expensive card for gamer, and will need to be accompanied by a add-on 3D accelerator to make most games play well.

D3D, OGL, Heidi

Obsolete

MGA-200

Pros:

Excellent Video out, excellent AVI and MPEG playback, Good Direct3D, fast 2D performance

Cons:

Not as fast as TnT or Banshee, OpenGL is late.


Good all around card.

D3D, OGL, Heidi

Obsolete

MGA-400

Pros:

Excellent Video out, excellent AVI and MPEG playback, Good Direct3D, fast 2D performance

Cons:

Not as fast as TnT or Banshee, OpenGL is late.


Good all around card.

D3D, OGL, Heidi

Obsolete
Number Nine:
No longer in business, not a huge loss.

Ticket To Ride

Very fast 2D performer, but not up to par for 3D. This is an expensive chip for most consumers and does not bring enough 3D horsepower to warrant the price.

Direct3D

Obsolete

Revolution IV

Pros:

Good D3D, OGL, and 2D performance, Flat Panel support

Cons:

Not as fast as other 3rd generation parts


Good card for someone that wants an SGI flatpanel.

D3D, OGL ICD

Available

Nvidia:
Nvidia started badly with the NV1 which nearly sunk the ship before its launch, but oh has it sailed ever since. Nvidia is by far the market leader in gaming, and in graphics in general. Although I am as fearfull of companies that dominate- some say monopolize- markets as anyone (Microsoft, Intel, etc) due to my concern that the market will suffer, it is actually hard to dislike these guys- they continue to add the features I want. Besides, the latest set of Nvidia chipsets actually have more processing power than Intel's Pentium chips which means that Nvidia in a interesting way is now taking on one of the aforementioned "monopolies" Intel.

In addition to dominating the gaming world, Nvidia has started dominating the general PC desktop world, has a new laptop chipset, and designed the chip that will be in the Xbox. Nvidia has a lot on its plate, but so far it has not stumbled.

NV1

First Generation 2D/3D chipset. Poor performance and compatibility

 Direct3D

Obsolete

RIVA 128

 Still a OK 3D card, but terrible for video (DVD). 

D3D, OGL

Obsolete

RIVA 128ZX

This is essentially an 8mb Riva 128- don't pay more for the memory.

D3D, OGL

Obsolete

RIVA TnT

 Still a good card.

D3D, OGL

Available

RIVA TnT 2

 Good gamer and professional card.

D3D, OGL

Available

GeForce

 Good gamer and professional card.

D3D, OGL

Available

Geforce 2

Pros:

Texture and Lighting added. HWMC added for video.

Cons:

Good question....  expensive.


Great gamer and professional card.

The Ultra version of this chipset (faster memory and chipset) can be used for DTV.

D3D, OGL

Available

GeForce 3

Pros:

Even faster.  iDCT added for video acceleration.

Cons:

expensive.

Best card-  May 2001.

This is actually overkill for the average gamer, but if you are hardcore then go for it. 

This can be used for software DTV playback.

D3D, OGL ICD

Available

Oak Technology

WARP 5

Second Generation 3D card, but the first from Oak. offered fantastic high resolution images, but suffers from a serious slow down

Direct3D

Never made it to Market

Rendition:
Now owned by Micron the Rendition group has not produced a new chipset since its relative failure with the Vérité v2200.  The word is that the next chipset with have 2D/3D built into the memory thus producing a cheaper chip (notice I didn't use "less expensive").  Only time will tell if this will be worth a second look.

Vérité v1000

First Generation 2D/3D chipset. Poor compatibility and slow DOS performance, but 3D performance is good. Does most of the triangle setup on board and so it is a good board for slower systems if the price is good.

D3D, OGL, RRedline

Obsolete

Vérité v2100

Pros:

RRedline softare support, good quality 3D

Cons:

Slow in 2D or 3D when compared to 3rd generation parts.

 

D3D, OGL, Rredline

Available

Vérité v2200

Pros:

RRedline softare support, Video In and Out, good quality 3D

Cons:

Slow in 2D or 3D when compared to 3rd generation parts.

 

D3D, OGL, RRedline

Available

S3 Graphics:
S3 has gone through many changes since it first appeared on the market, most notably it is now a subsiderary of VIA and is concentrating on integrated graphic chips (chips that are found on motherboards and do both graphics and I/O control.

S3 Graphics is really the only true competition to Intel for the integrated chipset and is a good one at that. 

ViRGE (DX and VX)

First generation 3D chips. They are slow and will have problems with almost any 3D game.

Direct3D

Obsolete

ViRGE GX2

Second Generation 2D/3D does not compare to any of the other 2nd generation chips this is not a good chip for avid gameplayers.

Direct3D

Obsolete

Savage 3D

The first true 3D chipset from S3. Not the fastest in either 2D or 3D, but its high visual quality for both 3D and for video may make it ok.

D3D, OGL ICD

Obsolete

Savage 4

 This is a decent all around card, not the fastest in either 2D or 3D, but its high visual quality for both 3D and for video may make it ok

D3D, OGL ICD

Available

Savage 2000

Pros:

Good Direct3D and OpenGL performance, great video scaling..

Cons:

bad drivers

Promised a lot delivered little.  This just was full of problems and never took off commercially.  This is the last chipset that was produced before the graphics division moved to VIA.

D3D, OGL ICD

Obsolete

ProSavage

Pros:

Price, get the 2D/3D package within the core logic on the motherboad

Cons:

Not the fastest performer in 2D or 3D, bus speed may be an issue.

This is an exiting chipset because it gives Intel competition on the integrated chipset front.  This offers essentially the same 2D performance, and better 3D and video acceleration.  The problem is how it performs with the simple I/O functions- not always a trivial thing depending on your application.
D3D, OGL ICD

Available

Trident:
Still in business, but you could hardly tell if you live in the US.  Trident is known for cheap chips and their reputation is deserved.  Don't expect the best gaming experience from these chipsets.

975

Pros:

Video out supported, cheap

Cons:

Slow in both 2D and 3D


Not a gamer's board

Direct3D

Obsolete

Blade3D

Pros:

Price.

Cons:

Not the fastest performer in 2D or 3D.

Not much to say about this chipset.
D3D, OGL ICD

Available

Tseng Labs:
Sold to ATI.  I have been told by good sources that the core of the et6300 is what was morphed into the ATI Radeon.

ET6000

Great 2D performance, no 3D acceleration. Good AVI & MPEG acceleration

Direct3D

Obsolete

ET6100

Great 2D performance, no 3D acceleration. Good AVI & MPEG acceleration

 Direct DirectDraw

Obsolete

ET6300

Expected to have great 2D average 3D acceleration. Also expected to have good AVI & MPEG acceleration

D3D, OGL

Never made it to market

VideoLogic/ Imagination Technologies:
Uses a unique approach to 3D that allows the chipset to do more with less memory which means a lower cost to the consumer. 

Videologic  was one of the first companies to develop a 3D chip- the original PowerVR chipset warred with 3Dfx's Voodoo technology for not only supremacy on the PC, but also at SEGA.  VideoLogic won the battle for SEGA (the PowerVR powers the Dreamcast), but lost the battle on the PC- judging by the fact that VideoLogic is still doing well and 3Dfx has been sold to the highest bidder I think VideoLogic won the right deal.

VideoLogic spun off its development division as: "Imagine Technolgies" back in 1998.  Imagine is now responsible for all of the chipset development and has finally started to relook at the PC needs with the Kyro chipset.  Time will only tell if the Kyro can steal any business away from the now dominant Nvidia.

PowerVR PCX1

 One of the first 3D chipsets, it was good for its time (1996-97), but don't try using it in the present.

D3D, OGL, PowerSGL

Obsolete

PowerVR PCX2

 Basically a revision to the PCX1 that adds Bileniar filtering.

D3D, OGL, PowerSGL

Obsolete

PMX1

Pros:

 Decent 3D card.

Cons:

Late. Late. Late.


3rd generation chipset. First in the PowerVR line of processors that will be 2D/3D. The chipset was too late too have much influence on the market.

D3D, OGL, PowerSGL

Obsolete

Kyro

Pros:

Low cost, and good performer.

Cons:

Hot the fastest or the cheapest.


Finally something that is competitive from VideoLogic. Good 2D/3D performance and nice price. Not good enough to dethrown Nvidia's GeForce series for industry dominance.

D3D, OGL, PowerSGL

Obsolete

OpenGL Most first and second generation cards used a MCD (Mini Client Driver) to run OpenGL in Windows NT 4.0. This means that and Windows 95. Most 3rd generation boards support the full ICD driver.

 
3D APIs

 

 Industry Standard APIs 3D Hardware Specific APIs

 

 Direct3D 3Dfx Glide

 

 OpenGL NEC/VideoLogic PowerSGL

 

 Heidi Rendition RRedline