S3 ViRGE

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S3 logo, of pre-VIA times

The Virtual Reality Graphics Engine (ViRGE) graphics chipset was one of the first 2D/3D accelerators designed for the mass market.


Contents

[edit] Introduction

Introduced in 1995 by then graphics powerhouse S3, Inc., the ViRGE set a new standard for 2D-speed, for DRAM-framebuffer VGA cards. Aggressive 1-cycle EDO timing made the ViRGE/325 the fastest benchmarked DRAM-based 2D-accelerator of the period. The chip was also pin compatible with an older member of the Trio family, making implementation of ViRGE on boards easy and cheap.

[edit] Support

Part of S3's marketing plan for the ViRGE included the "S3D" standard, stating that members of the ViRGE family carried the S3D Graphics Engine. Games that supported ViRGE directly put this logo on their box so owners of the 3D card would know that it would run as well as possible on their computer. And, despite its lackluster 3D-speed, the ViRGE did receive some S3D enhanced games, due in large part to the brand prestige S3 carried in this period: ViRGE-enhanced versions of Terminal Velocity, Descent 2, and later Tomb Raider.

[edit] Performance

Diamond's Stealth3D 2000 with ViRGE/325
Diamond's Stealth3D 2000 with ViRGE/325

While revolutionary in that the mass-market could now have an affordable 3D accelerator complete with good quality 2D, the ViRGE quickly earned the unofficial title as the world's first "graphics decelerator" due to abysmal 3D performance. While the ViRGE could render basic 3D-scenes faster than host-CPU based software rendering, the activation of features such as bilinear filtering and Z-depth fogging, caused the card to slow down to the point where software-rendering would again outrun the ViRGE. To this extent, the practical feature set of the ViRGE range was extremely limited. In a twist of irony, 3D-rendering on the expensive VRAM based ViRGE/VX (988) was even slower than the ViRGE/325 due to the VX's slower core and memory-clock frequency.

While ViRGE did offer adequate performance in natively-ported titles, in late 1996 the introduction of the 3dfx Voodoo Graphics and Rendition Verite, along with Direct3D's growing significance, rewrote the playing field for all future 3D-cards. Any chance the ViRGE had of establishing itself as a 3D-gaming platform market effectively disappeared.

If only to kick the card while it was down, the ViRGE was also shunned for its lack of any sort of OpenGL support, which meant that it was useless when it came to being used with the extremely popular Quake engine.

[edit] Variants

Between its birth in 1995 and retirement near the year 2000, the ViRGE family received regular upgrades. The ViRGE/DX boosted the speed of the original ViRGE/325. The ViRGE/GX added support for more modern SD/SGRAM. The ViRGE/GX2 was one of the first VGA chipsets to support AGP, although the level of support extended little beyond electrical compliance. Substantial use of AGP's feature-set would have to wait until the Savage 3D.

The ViRGE was ultimately replaced by the Savage 3D in S3's top-end graphics segment in 1998. However, at least one derivative (Trio3D) of the ViRGE remained in production even after the discontinuation of the Savage 3D.

[edit] Specifications

[edit] References

  • Product Overview: S3 ViRGE Integrated 3D Graphics/Video Accelerator (PDF), S3 Incorporated, July 1996.
  • Product Overview: S3 ViRGE/VX Integrated 3D Graphics/Video Accelerator (PDF), S3 Incorporated, July 1996.

[edit] External links


S3 Graphics graphics processors
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S3TC | S3 Trio | S3 ViRGE | Savage 3D / Savage4 / Savage 2000 | Chrome series

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