Q15. Why does the 3D Blaster PCI specify Pentium 90 as the minimum requirement while other Rendition-based cards only require a DX2/66?

We have tested many 3D games and applications on different system configurations and we have found that satisfactory performance can only be achieved at the minimum configuration of a Pentium 90. Thus the recommended requirement of a P90 configuration. You can still use the 3D Blaster PCI on a 486DX2/66, however performance is not guaranteed.

Q16. Can I use the 3D Blaster PCI on any of the following systems -- 486-DX2/66, 486-DX4/100, Pentium 60, Pentium 75?

Yes. A note of caution though, check to make sure that the PCI bus on your system is PCI 2.0 compliant. This is because the PCI bus on some motherboards are not fully 2.0 compliant, and thus you may encounter some problems.

Q17. Can I use the 3D Blaster PCI on a machine which utilizes a Cyrix or AMD processor?

Currently, the 3D Blaster PCI is certified only for Intel Pentium systems and for other motherboards which implement standard clocks (we've had some timing issues with some non-Intel CPUs that overdrive the PCI clock). It doesn't mean the card won't work in other systems, but we can't endorse that at this time. We may add additional CPUs to the "officially" sanctioned list as we continue our testing and can be assured of full compatibility. As such please note that performance with non-Intel systems may vary.

Q18. 3D Blaster PCI comes with 4 MB of EDO RAM, how does it compare with faster video memory like RAMBUS, WINDOWRAM or VRAM?

As far as performance is concerned, in terms of "sustainable, usable" bandwidth, EDO DRAM still delivers the best "bang for your buck" and is easy to implement in low-cost designs. Processors that use EDO DRAM can integrate the DAC and clock logic, lowering the cost and component count. Why was EDO DRAM used on the 3D Blaster PCI? Price-to-performance ratio was the primary reason. For the reasons mentioned earlier, EDO DRAM made good sense for a 3D controller, especially when 3D really needs 4MB of memory and EDO DRAM gives us the ability to go to 4MB without overburdening the product with cost. The result? A terrific game card that does not hurt your pocket.

Q19. How fast is 3D Blaster PCI in terms of frame rate?

It is impossible to give you a "frame rate" number because there are so many variables like: what is the speed of the CPU, what kind of game is it, how much AI (Artificial Intelligence) does the game have, are the triangles big or little, are there lots of triangles or just a few, what kind of texture map format is used, and so on... the list is virtually endless. We have done some preliminary reviews internally which yielded some favorable results, but instead of hearing it from us we encourage you to look out for complete reviews in computer magazines and read for yourself the true capability of this card, all from an independent source.

Q20. I've heard rumors about slow 2D performance of 3D Blaster PCI under Win 95, does it accelerate Windows at all?

While the 3D Blaster PCI does measure lower in performance than some other 2D cards using synthetic benchmarks, in real-world testing we believe that users will notice little difference. We believe the 3D Blaster PCI offers the combination of 2D and 3D features and performance that gamers care about. The only case where slow performance should happen is if you are using the Plus! pack and animated cursors are enabled. Current Windows 95 drivers has some problems with animated cursors however updated drivers to support animated cursors will be added in the next update of the Windows 95 drivers. For the time being, you'll get better performance if you disable the animated cursors -- you can still use the Plus! pack desktop themes, just uncheck the cursors and you'll be speeding in Windows95.