Originally built as an OEM-only product, the GeForce2 Pro is now available to retailers. With its 200MHz core clock and 200MHz memory clock, along with 64MB DDR RAM (essentially giving it a 400MHz clock), this card falls between the original GeForce2 GTS and the GeForce2 Ultra. What makes the card appealing, however, is its price/performance ratio. With cards from ATi and Hercules coming down to the $150 and under price range, nVidia is competing with this $199 card as well as its $129 GeForce2 MX 400 (reviewed and benchmarked by Anandtech here).
Since the new MX cards perform just about the same as the current MX card, we felt it was in our readers' best interest to review the untested GeForce2 Pro. This card features all the things the other GeForce2 non-MX cards do, including hardware T&L;, FSAA, 32-bit color and raw speed. Expect all the new cards to be available from several manufacturers, including Asus, Chaintech, ELSA, Gainward, Gigabyte, Leadtek MSI and Visiontek.
The GeForce2 is already an established brand name, so all that really matters is its performance. Here's our benchmark results:
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GeForce2 Pro
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Resolution
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Q3A
16-bit color
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Q3A
32-bit color
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3DMark
16-bit color
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3DMark
32-bit color
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640x480
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88.8 |
85.7
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5548
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5386
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800x600
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86.0
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85.1
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5420
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5003
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1024x768
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84.8
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80.3
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5124
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4414
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1280x1024
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77.8
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60.7
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4507
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3283
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1600x1200
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62.4
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42.2
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3741
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2494
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(NOTE: The test machine is a 600MHz P3 with 192MB of RAM. Q3A was tested with all details set to their highest and trilinear filtering.)
Going by these numbers, those shopping for a new video card have a new choice to consider. The suggested retail price of $199 means that the card will most likely be available for $179 or a little less, which is good news for those on a budget. The GeForce2 Pro performs better than similarly priced cards, and the feature set almost guarantees that the investment will be good for at least a year or two. The upcoming GeForce3 will be double the cost, but until we test it, we can't say if it will be worth the wait. For now, the GeForce2 Pro is one hell of a deal.
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