Real3d StarFighter AGP card rules. Intel's 2D/3D i740 powers this StarFighter. With the 3D processor running at 66MHz, the i740's 64-bit split-memory architecture design is coupled with 8 MB of 100MHz SGRAM and a 22MHz RAMDAC. And, as a full AGP-2x-with-sidebands-compliant part, all those juicy 15MB+ textures are ready to jump from system memory directly into the i740 for texel processing. The board is cleanly laid out, with a white mini-connector sitting next to the heatsink-laden i740 for an optional DVD daughtercard. Sadly, the version reviewed doesn't come with TV inputs or outputs.
How does it perform? Pretty Damn Good. Dos performance is mad fast. With a little help from Vesa 2.0 support built into the flashable video BIOS, the StarFighter posted a cool 30fps in 640x480 Quake. Considering Chips and Technology's major Tech knowledge comes from the laptop world, the i740's DirectDraw performance is also top notch, meeting Riva 128 or V2200 performance in our MDK PerfTest and Final Reality DirectDraw Tests.
| Game | Resolution | FPS |
| GL Quake | 512x384 | 47.1 |
| GL Quake | 640x480 | 37.6 |
| GL Quake 2 | 512x384 | 27.0 |
| GL Quake 2 | 640x480 | 24.9 |
| GL Quake 2 | 800x600 | 20.1 |
| GL Quake 2 | 1024x768 | 12.8 |
But pump some textured-mapped polygons its way, and the StarFighter works them like there's no tomorrow. Before all you VooDoo2 Heads get bent out of shape, lets get one thing clear: The StarFighter will not do 100fps in Quake II. What it does give you is superb visuals, and it backs up all that prettiness with ample performance. Attention to visual quality was one of Intel's prime goals with i740, and it's succeeded--and then some. With it's combination of per-pixel mip-mapping and support for almost every 3D feature set, including trilinear filtering and edge anti-aliasing, the StarFighter clocked in a steady 60fps+ at 630x480 in all our Direct3D tests. From Turok to ForsakenMark, those pixels flew. The StarFighter does take a performance hit when bumping up the resolution, although 40-odd fps isn't anything to scoff at. Under Jedi Knight, transparencies showed up clear as crystal, while frame rates wandered from 60 fps at 640x480. We can't stress hard enough just how mad nice D3D titles appear with the StarFighter --blended, colored lightning and excellent alpha-blending abound in Forsaken, exhibiting zero errors. Hell, the StarFighter posted crazy-sexy-cool frame rates under the Final Reality AGP tests--even with 20MB of texture.
At the time of testing, the StarFighter's Win95 ICDs were not ready for prime time. So, Real3D had us use its very own D3D-to-GL wrapper for our Quake testing. Performance should suck with this hack in place, right? Wrong. Even with this OPEN32.DLL file in place, the StarFighter easily outgunned Hercules' 8MB Thriller 3D by posting a cool 37fps in 640x480 GLQuake--faster than the high teens/low twenties VooDoo Rush boards give. A full-featured ICD for Win95 and MCD for NT4 should be ready by the time you read this, something ATI has yet to accomplish with its Rage Pro.
MPEG-1 playback is best served at 640x480/16-bit. You can crank as high as 1024x768, but anything higher results in chop-o-rama frame rates and blocky edges.
Ati's no longer the only AGP 2x pony in town, and Real 3D's level of visual excellence and performance--honored in the arcade--shines through in the StarFighter. Look out World, i740's here.