Drivers
As ATI found out to its cost a few years ago, a graphics card is only as good as its software allows it to be. It's now matching the promise shown by the software and offering, arguably, the best overall DX9 package. This is S3's first stab at at delivering a range of modern, feature-filled GPUs in over 3 years, so solid driver support is absolutely essential. We tested with the 6.14.100.1597-15.06.33.4 driver set.
The drivers were missing an OpenGL settings tab, and DirectX antialiasing manipulation was limited to 2x at 1024x768 only. Attempting to run any D3D benchmarks with antialiasing at anything other than 1024x768 resulted in an instant application crash. It's clear that antialiasing is a token gesture and highly limited in use here. Perhaps the most interesting inclusion here is that of Fast Trilinear Filtering, which S3 claims reduces the workload to Bilinear levels yet keeps Trilinear's cleaner image quality. The lack of OpenGL adjustment and restricted levels of FSAA aliasing is a more pressing concern, however.
Connectivity is one of its strengths. We just need HDTV-compatible TVs to start hitting UK shores. They can't come too soon.
Here's where the real-time ArtisticLicense image effects that we spoke of earlier come into play. They fall under the collective banner of Delta Chromotion. Simply click one and watch video take on a stranger form.
S3 also likes to expound the qualities of its inbuilt hardware rotation function. It's much in the vein of ATI's and NVIDIA's. The explosion of rotating TFT screens, some of which are presented in a widescreen aspect, allows for easier viewing of pages with longer text / lists. A handy feature. It's worth repeating that a new card will live and die by its drivers. S3 needs needs to get up to ATI and NVIDIA's levels, and it needs to do so quickly.
