raph, have developed cost-effective and powerful 3-D graphics systems built around the latest Intel CPUs and running Microsoft Windows NT.
Another thing that's making gee-whiz imaging more affordable are fast, relatively low-cost graphics accelerator chips that encapsulate the 3-D functions required to implement the OpenGL 3-D API. Several vendors now ship PCI graphics cards based on 3Dlabs' Glint chips, for example. And Intergraph has transferred some of its proprietary graphics technology into its lower-cost Intense 3-D OpenGL card. Priced at around $2000, these new cards are not yet commodity items. But graphics workstations built around these cards, coupled with NT, bring economies of scale to both 3-D hardware and software.
We just finished testing four systems that represent the coming wave of affordable Intel-based 3-D graphics: Hewlett-Packard's Vectra XW, Intergraph Computer's TD-410, Tri-Sta
r's StarStation SMP, and Netpower's Symetra. Because of their Intel chip sets, these Pentium Pro systems are remarkably similar. We requested comparable configurations: 128 MB of memory, dual 200-MHz Pentium Pro CPUs, a 4-GB SCSI hard drive, Fast Ethernet, a 17-inch display, and a 3-D graphics card with 16 MB of memory. The systems came with NT 3.51 because NT 4.0 drivers weren't available for the graphics cards at review time.
The differences we measured in
3-D graphics performance
were due chiefly to the systems' graphics cards. The performance winner, the
Intergraph TD-410
, came with the company's Intense 3D; the other systems used cards based on 3Dlab's latest Glint 500TX/Delta chip duo. We tested the 3-D capabilities of these machines using Viewperf, an industry standard OpenGL benchmark. Although Viewperf does not take advantage of the multiprocessing capabilities of these workstations, there are 3-D applications such as Microsoft's Softimage 3D package t
hat can. We found these systems very capable at manipulating fairly complex images. Experiments with animation rendering in Softimage 3D, however, showed that even with two processors, there is still a need for $100,000 workstations.
Hewlett-Packard's
Vectra XW
illustrates the company's reputation for engineering. Housed in a wide mini-tower, the XW is built like a tank, with nearly every component manufactured for a custom fit. With its AccelGraphics' ProT2500 Glint-based graphics card, the Vectra XW provided solid but middle-of-the-road 3-D graphics performance, a bit behind the Tri-Star system, which uses a similar AccelGraphics card.
The system board is able to accommodate up to 512 MB of system memory in eight standard SIMM slots. The system board also provides floppy, IDE, and 8-bit UltraSCSI interfaces (internal and external). Multimedia features include a Hitachi 8x IDE CD-ROM drive, integrated SoundBlaster 16 audio interface, a MIDI port, appropriate jacks, and a front-p
anel volume control.
The case opens easily from the front; you lift two latches and slide it forward. An integral key lock on the rear can secure the cabinet. Of the system's three PCI slots, two are occupied by the network and 3-D graphics cards. There are also three ISA slots (one shared). The price for the roomy expansion area is cramped quarters around the drive interface connectors and memory slots. However, HP designed the power supply to release with thumb screws and slide out of the way without disconnecting. You need some patience to work inside the Vectra XW.
A slim-line desktop case and best-of-show performance make the Intergraph TD-410 an unbeatable value. Although it came in a TDZ-410 case, the system we tested is based on Intergraph's Intense 3D board with texture option, so it's actually a TD-410. Matched with Intergraph's nice 17-inch 17sd86 monitor, the TD-410's performance is complemented by its engineering and styling.
The quiet TD-410 employs large heat sinks with only two fan
s, mounted at the rear on the power supply. The system board can accommodate up to 512 MB in eight standard SIMM slots. It provides an UltraSCSI interface. The Intense 3D card takes up two of the machine's three PCI slots. The card's size, coupled with obstructions on the system board, may make it difficult to put anything but a short card in the adjacent slot.
If the machine's accompanying user manual is any indication, Intergraph must not think much of the technical expertise of its customers. All "detailed information," such as how to open the system unit, install expansion cards, and set jumpers, is only in the optional System Reference manual. The box also lacks an external reset button.
The complete multimedia support includes an 8x SCSI CD-ROM drive, Creative Labs Vibra 16C interface on the system board, and the ConcertMaster "multimedia keyboard" with built-in stereo speakers. The microphone, mute button, and volume control are located conveniently at your fingertips. Jacks for headphones, ext
ernal microphone, and a powered subwoofer are also on the keyboard.
The Symetra's
3-D capability is fueled by Netpower's TrueFX Pro card and coupled with a 17-inch Iiyama Vision Master 17 monitor. Developed with 3DLabs, and using the same 500TX and Delta chips as the other Glint cards, the 16-MB TrueFX Pro trailed in performance on the Viewperf tests. The Symetra was the only system to come with the 512-KB-cache version of the 200-MHz Pentium Pro. Buying the version with 256-KB cache will save you $2000 and cost you only a small drop in performance.
The Symetra is packaged in a wide mini-tower that's constructed of an odd array of panels, pins, latches, and tabs. The system board can accommodate up to 512 MB of memory in four 168-pin DIMM slots. Accessing the Symetra's interior can be a challenge. You must take off the cover, release two latches, and remove a side panel to access expansion card and memory slots. Adding a drive requires removing all four cover panels and possibly
disassembling the drive bay assembly to reach the mounting screws.
Of the four PCI slots inside the Symetra, one of which is a shared PCI/ISA slot, two are used by the 3-D graphics card. An Adaptec SCSI PCI card takes a third and controls the 4-GB Fast-and-Wide SCSI hard drive. The integrated Wide UltraSCSI interface goes unused. An integrated SoundBlaster 16-compatible audio interface provides multimedia support, along with an 8x CD-ROM drive.
The Tri-Star
StarStation SMP
workstation comes with a version of the AccelGraphics Pro T2500 card and a 17-inch Iiyama Vision Master monitor. Coming in with the lowest system price ($8544), it provided the best performance of the three Glint-based systems. Housed in a large tower with lots of drive bays, the StarStation has the largest memory capacity of the four systems: up to 768 MB in six standard SIMM slots.
The system provides four PCI and three ISA slots (one shared), but three of the available PCI slots are occupied by the Adap
tec SCSI card, 10/100Base-T network card, and the 3-D graphics card. In addition to two 3-1/2-inch bays, the StarStation's tall case provides six 5-1/4-inch drive bays -- all accessible from the front of the machine. Two bays in our evaluation unit were occupied by the hard drive and the Plextor 8x SCSI CD-ROM drive. No sound capabilities were provided with this unit.
Driving Performance
As is the case when evaluating any workstation component, comparing high-performance graphics cards requires both a philosophy of testing and a dependable benchmark. Vendors typically quote 3-D graphics performance as the number of primitives (such as triangles) the computer draws per second. But without additional information, such as the context, size, shading, color depth, and smoothing method used to draw those triangles, direct comparisons are meaningless.
To address this problem, the OpenGL Performance Characterization subcommittee has developed the Viewperf benchmark (available at
http://www.specbench/org/
). It's a portable benchmark and the current industry standard for evaluating OpenGL performance. Viewperf does not benchmark individual primitives -- it measures the performance of actual application data sets called
Affordable 3-D Workstations
