So what do you think of the Kyro ?

[Himself]

*sigh* I really don't know where you get that crap. Where can you say you've seen me put my opinion forward as being better than anybody else's, or any excess ego in general? How well are you yourself doing in that regard?

1600x1200 isn't for everybody, I know, I am just pointing out that I have compared cards at that resolution on a 17" monitor. I typically use 1280x1024, but on occasion I like 1600x1200.

[Greebe]

When anyone comes out slamming BBz claiming they don't know shit or that they need to explain to us what the deal is when in fact they know much much less will get a responce like that. Be what it may, I personally don't care how you take it. But remember this, even if we feel like having fun, you always manage to find that anal retentive side of yourself and shove it down our throats. Lighten up and you won't get this kind of responce.

[MK]

Back to the topic !

Just in case somebody is interested: I did an in depth research on the Kyro the last 2 days and visited several Kyro related websites and forums:


[MANUFACTURERS:]
http://eu.st.com/stonline/prodpres/g...kyro/index.htm [chipmaker]
http://www.videologic.com/ [developers]
http://www.imgtec.com/ [head of Videologic]
http://www.powercolor.com.tw/ [manufacturer]


[FAN-SITES:]
http://www.mitrax.de/ [german]
http://www.paraknowya.de [english]


[REVIEWS:]
http://www.tomshardware.com/graphic/00q4/001129/
http://www.sharkeyextreme.com/hardwa...kyro_in-depth/
http://www.3dconcept.ch/


[The GOOD:]
- outstanding 3D quality
- good 2D quality
- speed nearly equal or faster as GF256 at 1024x768 in non T&L-optimized games
- really cheap concerning the performance
- Win2k driver seems to be better than the one for Win9x/ME
- rendering architecure has a bright future


[The BAD:]
- heavy T&L optimized games do not run that fast
- only one high qual manufacturer (= Videologic in contrast to Powercolor & the rest which have bad tech support)
- IMHO drivers still have far too many bugs
- new driver revisions fix some newer bugs but sometimes bring back some old ones(!?!)
- no Matrox-like long lasting driver support (at least at the moment)


But things may change rapidly. ST Microelectronics has announced the presentation of the successor, the Kyro II, in March at the CeBit. Considering the fact that the Kyro is playing in the region of the GeForce256, the specs of Kyro II are more than impressing: T&L unit, DDR-RAM, 4 Rendering pipelines, 166Mhz core, 0.18 micron ! Here you will find the details:

http://www.xbitlabs.com/news/#981431823

I can`t wait to see what Matrox, ATI and STM will present on the CeBit Hannover / GDC Las Vegas. March looks promising ...

MK




[This message has been edited by MK (edited 07 February 2001).]

[Himself]

<font face="Verdana, Arial, Helvetica" size="2">Originally posted by Greebe:
When anyone comes out slamming BBz claiming they don't know shit or that they need to explain to us what the deal is when in fact they know much much less will get a responce like that.
</font>

How about a "response" like this.

As for the rest of it, quit your whining, you ask for it with all the BS. You and Rags are always refering to nVidiots or slamming any positive mention of non Matrox hardware. Quit the hype already, you've made your mystic predictions already, repeating it is boring. So what if people upgrade to something else, going by the G400, any "G800" will be there for the next few years so they can always buy one down the road if it's any good. You think that nobody but current Matrox owners will buy one, is that it? Otherwise, what's the big deal what people do? Nobody can have a discussion about other cards without the beta boy brigade making snide remarks. (And possibly more than once using different MURC accounts, I wouldn't put it past them.)

[CHHAS]

More Kyro pre-/reviews:

http://www.neoseeker.com/resourcelink.html?rlid=25602
http://www.neoseeker.com/resourcelink.html?rlid=21232
http://www.neoseeker.com/resourcelink.html?rlid=20816
http://www.neoseeker.com/resourcelink.html?rlid=25856
http://www.neoseeker.com/resourcelink.html?rlid=16370
http://www.neoseeker.com/resourcelink.html?rlid=18512

[CHHAS]

As far as I can see the Tile Based approach is well suited to dual (or more) chip cards as each of the chips have a low power consumption, and it should be reasonably easy to split the tiles between multiple chips.

Ah well, I really hope that the Kyro 2 will be introduced at CEBIT

[MK]

CHHAS - the Kyro II will be presented at the CeBit (refer to the x-bit-labs news link I provided a post before). What I hope is that this competition leads to reduced prices ...

For the last 2 or 3 months, I considered the Kyro (II) as a potential replacement for the G400 in case Matrox does not show up with a new gaming orientated card.

But after I read all the Kyro forums I have to admit, that it is out of competition for two reasons.
First is the bad condition of the drivers which have problems with several games and even with my favourite one: Colin McRae Rally 2.0 !
Secondly, I have heard that there is no long lasting driver support - as soon as the new silicon is sold, the driver development of the old chips is discontinued !

CHAAS - don`t you care about driver related issues or do you give it a try anyway ?

But STM`s next chip will be damn fast - the Kyro II will clearly outperform GF II GTS Ultra and will reach if not beat GeForce 3.

TILE BASED RENDERING IS THE FUTURE !

MK

[Greebe]

Excuse me?! FYI you were the one that has been rampantly slamming Matrox for quite some time now and it's not just Rags and I who think the same of your thoughts.

Since your mystical crystal ball must be flaking out bad lately, for when it comes to anything M you seem to think they are dead in the water and won't see the light of day for a long while, if ever.

Sure Byron toot your little anti Matrox horn, sounds like a fine thing todo, but if your looking for the reason for the delays look to the manufacture you're normally tooting for (nV). It is they whom have caused it and I might add in the lowest, most dispicable way.

Like they say, Birds of a feather...

[CHHAS]

MK - I think I'll wait for Kyro 2 to show up before I consider buying a new card. My G400 is holding up well. But who knows, I've bought things on impulse before

[MK]

CHHAS - I will wait for the new Matrox product before I consider to buy a new card !

MK ;-)