The Word on Nvidia's TNT2

Introduction

Nvidia's RivaTNT2 has been getting a lot of press lately, with its incredible performance and continued support for high-end features. Its popularity has also made it the darling of the consumer 3D industry. Over 9 manufacturers have announced and/or begun to ship TNT2 boards, with varying configurations, software bundles, and price points.

So a TNT2 is a TNT2 is a TNT2, right? Well, for the first time in the industry, it's no longer so simple. Nvidia's .25 micron process has resulted in a wide range of yields for TNT2 chips, which run from 125MHz all the way up to 175 or 183MHz and beyond. Because of this, Nvidia as decided to allow each manufacturer to decide for themselves what speeds to rate their cards as and how to market them.

So Many to choose from!

We all know that "variety is the spice of life," but having such a wide selection of products, from low-end consumer OEM cards to high-performance one-offs is certainly straining the attention and patience of many potential customers. "Should I get the Diamond card? I heard the Creative TNT2 was faster?" Getting hold of the relevant information is tough, especially when the marketing department is intent on feeding you nothing but the standard "32-bit color, 128-bit Twin Texel architecture" story.

Here's where FiringSquad's TNT2 Guide comes in. You already know you want a spicy new 3D accelerator, and now you just want the straight dope on which one to get, and for how much money. Read on to find out more!

Don't forget to check the comparison chart at the end of the guide to get a look at the big picture!