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- Date:
- Monday , November 19, 2001
- Author:
- Brent Justice
- Google +1
VisionTek's Gaming VidCards Reviewed
We cover the entire VisionTek line of cards aimed at Gamers. Their Ti500, Ti200 and the GeForce2 Ti chipset cards. Also we include a look at any speed benefits that DX8.1 is delivering.
VisionTek, as you all know by now, was once an OEM only company that has taken great strides in the retail community to get their product out there to the masses. VisionTek was the first to market with the GeForce3 at it's debut, and being that this was also VisionTek's first foray into the retail market they had quite some convincing to do. I think it's pretty safe to say now that they have succeeded in becoming a well known retail video card manufacturer. The reason why VisionTek is able to become first to market with new GeForce cards is due to the fact that they literally provide the reference cards to NVIDIA for new chipsets. This allows VisionTek to have the experience and know-how pertaining to a great NVIDIA based chipset card design, and to be first to market.
We reviewed VisionTek's GeForce3 card when it debuted. As great as that card was it's now time to expand VisionTek's line, and what better way to do that then to utilize the entire NVIDIA Titanium lineup! VisionTek brings us a new series with the branding of "Xtasy". Three new Titanium based video cards based in this series; Xtasy 6964 (GeForce3 Ti 500), Xtasy 6564 (GeForce3 Ti 200) and Xtasy 5864 (GeForce2 Ti). Will these cards bring you into a whole new level of pure delight possibly making you game all night? Lets find out...
The Ti Line:
GeForce3 Ti 500
VisionTek's got the blues, literally. It appears VisionTek has decided to get spiffy and follow the growing trend of hardware that not only performs good but hardware that also looks good for the computer modder enthusiast. The HSF is an average sized unit that is blue in color much like that of Hercules's 3D Prophet line. The fan pulls 1.4 Watts of power. The RAM sinks are averaged sized and also blue to match. This card runs at the default Ti 500 speeds of 240/500MHz (DDR). There is the standard VGA, a DVI port and an S-Video out all handled by the Conexant Bt86BKRF chip. Software included in the box is the Driver CD, PowerDVD* and a quick installation manual. I was a bit disappointed that there were no games included, but keep in mind this helps it sell at the least expensive price possible.
*Update
We were just informed that the retail package for the Xtasy line does NOT have the PowerDVD software CD included with it. Instead there is a mail in postcard that will get you a free copy of PowerDVD if you mail it in. Why are they doing this? I think this quote from VisionTek will sum it up nicely: "Past history shows that typically only about 12% of customers use bundled software. We wanted to find out how many people would actually use this software, so instead of including it outright, we are sending it free to those customers that return the postcard. That way we can measure how many units sold vs. how many requests for the software. If enough customers ask for the software, we can then comfortably include it in future products, knowing that most people will actually use it." There you have it, Thanks to Jonathan for bringing this issue to us and thanks to John at VisionTek for the corrected information!
GeForce3 Ti 200
Looking at this card the first thing you notice I'm sure is that it looks identical to the Xtasy 6964 above. Keep in mind the only difference between the Ti 500 and the Ti 200 is the core and memory speed. It uses the exact same chipset just clocked lower at 175Mhz. And the RAM is clocked lower at 400Mhz. Consider this the "MX" of the GeForce3 if you will except that unlike the GeForce2 MX there are NO crippling hardware engine barriers. The only difference is clock and memory speed. This lets VisionTek use a higher nanosecond rating RAM to bring the cost down even more to offer this card below the $199 mark very easily. That's what makes this card so appealing is the fact you get the same GeForce3 features at a much lower price. VisionTek used the exact same HSF and RAM sinks as in their Xtasy 6964, in fact it uses the same Vivo chip as well. The design is exactly the same. However there is no DVI port on this one, only the standard VGA and S-Video out.
GeForce2 Ti
The Xtasy 5864 is based on NVIDIA's GeForce2 Ti chipset. Yes, this is older technology, but NVIDIA is trying to get in on the lower end main stream market of people that don't need all the power of a GeForce3 but still like to game and do other things with their computer as well. The GeForce2 Ti comes clocked in an odd position, in between the GeForce2 Pro and GeForce2 Ultra so to speak. The core speed is 250Mhz now and the memory speed is 400Mhz (DDR). This is faster then a Pro on the core speed which is equal in speed to an Ultra. BUT the memory speed is clocked at 400Mhz which is lower then the Ultra's 460Mhz memory clock. However the price is at GeForce2 Pro price point and with the chance of overclocking on the memory this would be an excellent solution for those that don't have a lot of money but still want to get in on gaming. VisionTek's design is the same in the whole Xtasy family, which makes it easier to produce cards faster and cheaper. The HSF and RAM sinks are exactly the same as the other 2 cards. In fact the only difference is that fact that they used a daughter card for the VIVO chip and S-Video out. The VIVO chip itself is the exact same one as the others. The software bundle is the same as well.
Now on to the performance of these cards...