GeForce2
Encyclopedia
The GeForce2 is the second generation of NVIDIA
's GeForce
graphics processing unit
s. Introduced in early 2000, it is the successor to the GeForce 256
.
The GeForce 2 family comprised a number of models: GeForce 2 GTS, GeForce 2 Pro, GeForce 2 Ultra, GeForce 2 Ti, GeForce 2 Go and the GeForce 2 MX series. In addition, the GeForce 2 architecture is used for the Quadro
series on the Quadro 2 Pro, 2 MXR, and 2 EX cards with special drivers meant to accelerate computer-aided design
applications.
GeForce 256, GeForce 2 is built on a 180 nm manufacturing process, making the silicon more dense and allowing for more transistors and a higher clock speed. The most significant change for 3D acceleration is the addition of a second texture mapping unit
to each of the four pixel pipelines. Some say the second TMU was there in the original Geforce NSR but dual-texturing was disabled due to a hardware bug; NSR's unique ability to do single-cycle trilinear texture filtering supports this suggestion. This doubles the texture fillrate
per clock compared to the previous generation and is the reasoning behind the GeForce 2 GTS's naming suffix: GigaTexel Shader (GTS). The GeForce 2 also formally introduces the NVIDIA Shading Rasterizer (NSR), a primitive type of programmable pixel pipeline that is somewhat similar to later pixel shader
s. This functionality is also present in GeForce 256 but was unpublicized. Another hardware enhancement is an upgraded video processing pipeline, called HDVP (high definition video processor). HDVP supports motion video playback at HDTV
-resolutions (MP@HL).
In 3D benchmarks and gaming applications, the GeForce 2 GTS outperforms its predecessor by up to 40%. In OpenGL
games (such as Quake III
), the card outperforms the ATI Radeon DDR
and 3dfx
Voodoo 5 5500
cards in both 16 bpp
and 32 bpp display modes. However, in Direct3D games running 32 bpp, the Radeon DDR is sometimes able to take the lead.
The GeForce 2 architecture is quite memory bandwidth constrained. The GPU wastes memory bandwidth and pixel fillrate due to unoptimized z-buffer usage, drawing of hidden surfaces
, and a relatively inefficient RAM controller. The main competition for GeForce 2, the ATI Radeon DDR, has hardware functions (called HyperZ
) that address these issues. Because of the inefficient nature of the GeForce 2 GPUs, they could not approach their theoretical performance potential and the Radeon, even with its significantly less powerful 3D architecture, offered strong competition. The later NV17 revision of the NV11 design, used for the GeForce 4 MX, was more efficient; although the GeForce 4 MX 460 was a 2x2 pipeline design, it could outperform the GeForce 2 Ultra.
Architecturally identical to the GTS, the Ultra simply has higher core and memory clock rates. The Ultra model actually outperforms the first GeForce 3 products in some cases, due to initial GeForce 3 cards having significantly lower fillrate. However, the Ultra loses its lead when anti-aliasing is enabled, because of the GeForce 3's new memory bandwidth/fillrate efficiency mechanisms; plus the GeForce 3 has a superior next-generation feature set with programmable vertex and pixel shaders for DirectX 8.0 games.
The GeForce 2 Pro, introduced shortly after the Ultra, was an alternative to the expensive top-line Ultra and is faster than the GTS.
In October 2001, the GeForce 2 Ti was positioned as a cheaper and less advanced alternative to the GeForce 3. Faster than the GTS and Pro but slower than the Ultra, the GeForce 2 Ti performed competitively against the Radeon 7500
, although the 7500 had the advantage of dual-display support. This mid-range GeForce 2 release was replaced by the GeForce 4 MX series as the budget/performance choice in January 2002.
On their 2001 product web page, Nvidia initially placed the Ultra as a separate offering from the rest of the GeForce 2 lineup (GTS, Pro, Ti), however by late 2002 with the GeForce 2 considered a discontinued legacy product, the Ultra was included along the GTS, Pro, and Ti in the GeForce 2 information page.
Since the previous GeForce 256 line shipped without a budget variant, the RIVA TNT2
series was left to fill the "low-end" role—albeit with a comparably obsolete feature set. In order to create a better low-end option, NVIDIA created the GeForce 2 MX series, which offered a set of standard features, specific to the entire GeForce 2 generation, limited only by categorical tier. The GeForce 2 MX cards had two 3D pixel pipelines removed and a reduced available memory bandwidth. The cards utilized either SDR SDRAM or DDR SDRAM with memory bus widths ranging from 32-bit to 128-bits, allowing circuit board cost to be varied. The MX series also provided dual-display support, something not found in the regular GeForce 256 and GeForce 2.
The prime competitors to the GeForce 2 MX series were ATI's Radeon VE / 7000
and Radeon SDR
(which with the other R100's was later renamed as part of the 7200 series). The Radeon VE had the advantage of somewhat better dual-monitor display software, but it did not offer hardware T&L, an emerging 3D rendering feature of the day that was the major attraction of Direct3D 7. Further, the Radeon VE featured only a single rendering pipeline, causing it to produce a substantially lower fillrate than the GeForce 2 MX. The Radeon SDR, equipped with SDR SDRAM instead of DDR SDRAM found in more expensive brethren, was released some time later, and exhibited faster 32-bit 3D rendering than the GeForce 2 MX. However, the Radeon SDR lacked multi-monitor support and debuted at a considerable higher price point than the GeForce 2 MX. 3dfx's Voodoo4 4500 arrived too late, as well as being too expensive, but too slow to compete with the GeForce 2 MX.
Members of the series include GeForce 2 MX, MX400, MX200, and MX100. The GPU was also used as an integrated graphics processor in the nForce
chipset line and as a mobile graphics chip for notebooks called GeForce 2 Go.
Later, the entire GeForce 2 line was replaced with the GeForce 4 MX.
GeForce 2 GTS, GeForce 2 Pro, GeForce 2 Ti and GeForce 2 Ultra:
GeForce 2 MX & MX x00 Series:
Windows 95/98/Me Driver Archive
Windows XP/2000 Driver Archive
NVIDIA
Nvidia is an American global technology company based in Santa Clara, California. Nvidia is best known for its graphics processors . Nvidia and chief rival AMD Graphics Techonologies have dominated the high performance GPU market, pushing other manufacturers to smaller, niche roles...
's GeForce
GeForce
GeForce is a brand of graphics processing units designed by Nvidia. , there have been eleven iterations of the design. The first GeForce products were discrete GPUs designed for use on add-on graphics boards, intended for the high-margin PC gaming market...
graphics processing unit
Graphics processing unit
A graphics processing unit or GPU is a specialized circuit designed to rapidly manipulate and alter memory in such a way so as to accelerate the building of images in a frame buffer intended for output to a display...
s. Introduced in early 2000, it is the successor to the GeForce 256
GeForce 256
The GeForce 256 is the original release in Nvidia's "GeForce" product-line. Released on August 31, 1999, the GeForce 256 improves on its predecessor by increasing the number of fixed pixel pipelines, offloading host geometry calculations to a hardware transform and lighting engine, and adding...
.
The GeForce 2 family comprised a number of models: GeForce 2 GTS, GeForce 2 Pro, GeForce 2 Ultra, GeForce 2 Ti, GeForce 2 Go and the GeForce 2 MX series. In addition, the GeForce 2 architecture is used for the Quadro
NVIDIA Quadro
The Nvidia Quadro series of AGP, PCI, and PCI Express graphics cards comes from the NVIDIA Corporation. Their designers aimed to accelerate CAD and DCC , and the cards are usually featured in workstations....
series on the Quadro 2 Pro, 2 MXR, and 2 EX cards with special drivers meant to accelerate computer-aided design
Computer-aided design
Computer-aided design , also known as computer-aided design and drafting , is the use of computer technology for the process of design and design-documentation. Computer Aided Drafting describes the process of drafting with a computer...
applications.
Architecture
The GeForce 2 architecture is similar to the previous GeForce 256 line but with various improvements. Compared to the 220 nmNanometre
A nanometre is a unit of length in the metric system, equal to one billionth of a metre. The name combines the SI prefix nano- with the parent unit name metre .The nanometre is often used to express dimensions on the atomic scale: the diameter...
GeForce 256, GeForce 2 is built on a 180 nm manufacturing process, making the silicon more dense and allowing for more transistors and a higher clock speed. The most significant change for 3D acceleration is the addition of a second texture mapping unit
Texture mapping unit
A texture mapping unit is a component in modern graphics processing units , historically it is a separate physical processor. A TMU is able to rotate and resize a bitmap to be placed onto an arbitrary plane of a given 3D object as a texture...
to each of the four pixel pipelines. Some say the second TMU was there in the original Geforce NSR but dual-texturing was disabled due to a hardware bug; NSR's unique ability to do single-cycle trilinear texture filtering supports this suggestion. This doubles the texture fillrate
Fillrate
The term fillrate usually refers to the number of pixels a video card can render and write to video memory in a second. In this case, fillrates are given in megapixels per second or in gigapixels per second , and they are obtained by multiplying the number of raster operations by the clock...
per clock compared to the previous generation and is the reasoning behind the GeForce 2 GTS's naming suffix: GigaTexel Shader (GTS). The GeForce 2 also formally introduces the NVIDIA Shading Rasterizer (NSR), a primitive type of programmable pixel pipeline that is somewhat similar to later pixel shader
Shader
In the field of computer graphics, a shader is a computer program that is used primarily to calculate rendering effects on graphics hardware with a high degree of flexibility...
s. This functionality is also present in GeForce 256 but was unpublicized. Another hardware enhancement is an upgraded video processing pipeline, called HDVP (high definition video processor). HDVP supports motion video playback at HDTV
High-definition television
High-definition television is video that has resolution substantially higher than that of traditional television systems . HDTV has one or two million pixels per frame, roughly five times that of SD...
-resolutions (MP@HL).
In 3D benchmarks and gaming applications, the GeForce 2 GTS outperforms its predecessor by up to 40%. In OpenGL
OpenGL
OpenGL is a standard specification defining a cross-language, cross-platform API for writing applications that produce 2D and 3D computer graphics. The interface consists of over 250 different function calls which can be used to draw complex three-dimensional scenes from simple primitives. OpenGL...
games (such as Quake III
Quake III Arena
Quake III Arena , is a multiplayer first-person shooter video game released on December 2, 1999. The game was developed by id Software and featured music composed by Sonic Mayhem and Front Line Assembly...
), the card outperforms the ATI Radeon DDR
Radeon R100
The Radeon R100 is the first generation of Radeon graphics chips from ATI Technologies. The line features 3D acceleration based upon Direct3D 7.0 and OpenGL 1.3, and all but the entry-level versions offloading host geometry calculations to a hardware transform and lighting engine, a major...
and 3dfx
3dfx
3dfx Interactive was a company that specialized in the manufacturing of 3D graphics processing units and, later, graphics cards. It was a pioneer in the field for several years in the late 1990s until 2000 when it underwent one of the most high-profile demises in the history of the PC industry...
Voodoo 5 5500
Voodoo 5
The Voodoo 5 was the last and most powerful graphics card line that 3dfx Interactive released. All members of the family were based upon the VSA-100 graphics processor. Only the single-chip Voodoo 4 4500 and dual-chip Voodoo 5 5500 made it to market....
cards in both 16 bpp
Color depth
In computer graphics, color depth or bit depth is the number of bits used to represent the color of a single pixel in a bitmapped image or video frame buffer. This concept is also known as bits per pixel , particularly when specified along with the number of bits used...
and 32 bpp display modes. However, in Direct3D games running 32 bpp, the Radeon DDR is sometimes able to take the lead.
The GeForce 2 architecture is quite memory bandwidth constrained. The GPU wastes memory bandwidth and pixel fillrate due to unoptimized z-buffer usage, drawing of hidden surfaces
Hidden surface determination
In 3D computer graphics, hidden surface determination is the process used to determine which surfaces and parts of surfaces are not visible from a certain viewpoint...
, and a relatively inefficient RAM controller. The main competition for GeForce 2, the ATI Radeon DDR, has hardware functions (called HyperZ
HyperZ
HyperZ is the name of a set of computer graphics processing techniques used by ATI Technologies in their Radeon video cards.On the Radeon R100-based cores, Radeon DDR through 7500, where HyperZ debuted, ATI claimed a 20% improvement in overall rendering efficiency...
) that address these issues. Because of the inefficient nature of the GeForce 2 GPUs, they could not approach their theoretical performance potential and the Radeon, even with its significantly less powerful 3D architecture, offered strong competition. The later NV17 revision of the NV11 design, used for the GeForce 4 MX, was more efficient; although the GeForce 4 MX 460 was a 2x2 pipeline design, it could outperform the GeForce 2 Ultra.
Releases
The first model to arrive after the original GeForce 2 GTS was the GeForce 2 Ultra and GeForce2 MX, launched in September 7, 2000. In september 29, 2000 Nvidia shipping graphics driver which had 16 and 32 mb of video memory size.Architecturally identical to the GTS, the Ultra simply has higher core and memory clock rates. The Ultra model actually outperforms the first GeForce 3 products in some cases, due to initial GeForce 3 cards having significantly lower fillrate. However, the Ultra loses its lead when anti-aliasing is enabled, because of the GeForce 3's new memory bandwidth/fillrate efficiency mechanisms; plus the GeForce 3 has a superior next-generation feature set with programmable vertex and pixel shaders for DirectX 8.0 games.
The GeForce 2 Pro, introduced shortly after the Ultra, was an alternative to the expensive top-line Ultra and is faster than the GTS.
In October 2001, the GeForce 2 Ti was positioned as a cheaper and less advanced alternative to the GeForce 3. Faster than the GTS and Pro but slower than the Ultra, the GeForce 2 Ti performed competitively against the Radeon 7500
Radeon R100
The Radeon R100 is the first generation of Radeon graphics chips from ATI Technologies. The line features 3D acceleration based upon Direct3D 7.0 and OpenGL 1.3, and all but the entry-level versions offloading host geometry calculations to a hardware transform and lighting engine, a major...
, although the 7500 had the advantage of dual-display support. This mid-range GeForce 2 release was replaced by the GeForce 4 MX series as the budget/performance choice in January 2002.
On their 2001 product web page, Nvidia initially placed the Ultra as a separate offering from the rest of the GeForce 2 lineup (GTS, Pro, Ti), however by late 2002 with the GeForce 2 considered a discontinued legacy product, the Ultra was included along the GTS, Pro, and Ti in the GeForce 2 information page.
GeForce 2 MX
RIVA TNT2
The RIVA TNT2 was a graphics processing unit manufactured by Nvidia starting in early 1999. The chip is codenamed "NV5" because it is the 5th graphics chip design by Nvidia, succeeding the RIVA TNT . RIVA is an acronym for Real-time Interactive Video and Animation accelerator...
series was left to fill the "low-end" role—albeit with a comparably obsolete feature set. In order to create a better low-end option, NVIDIA created the GeForce 2 MX series, which offered a set of standard features, specific to the entire GeForce 2 generation, limited only by categorical tier. The GeForce 2 MX cards had two 3D pixel pipelines removed and a reduced available memory bandwidth. The cards utilized either SDR SDRAM or DDR SDRAM with memory bus widths ranging from 32-bit to 128-bits, allowing circuit board cost to be varied. The MX series also provided dual-display support, something not found in the regular GeForce 256 and GeForce 2.
The prime competitors to the GeForce 2 MX series were ATI's Radeon VE / 7000
Radeon R100
The Radeon R100 is the first generation of Radeon graphics chips from ATI Technologies. The line features 3D acceleration based upon Direct3D 7.0 and OpenGL 1.3, and all but the entry-level versions offloading host geometry calculations to a hardware transform and lighting engine, a major...
and Radeon SDR
Radeon R100
The Radeon R100 is the first generation of Radeon graphics chips from ATI Technologies. The line features 3D acceleration based upon Direct3D 7.0 and OpenGL 1.3, and all but the entry-level versions offloading host geometry calculations to a hardware transform and lighting engine, a major...
(which with the other R100's was later renamed as part of the 7200 series). The Radeon VE had the advantage of somewhat better dual-monitor display software, but it did not offer hardware T&L, an emerging 3D rendering feature of the day that was the major attraction of Direct3D 7. Further, the Radeon VE featured only a single rendering pipeline, causing it to produce a substantially lower fillrate than the GeForce 2 MX. The Radeon SDR, equipped with SDR SDRAM instead of DDR SDRAM found in more expensive brethren, was released some time later, and exhibited faster 32-bit 3D rendering than the GeForce 2 MX. However, the Radeon SDR lacked multi-monitor support and debuted at a considerable higher price point than the GeForce 2 MX. 3dfx's Voodoo4 4500 arrived too late, as well as being too expensive, but too slow to compete with the GeForce 2 MX.
Members of the series include GeForce 2 MX, MX400, MX200, and MX100. The GPU was also used as an integrated graphics processor in the nForce
NForce
The nForce is a motherboard chipset created by Nvidia for AMD Athlon and Duron microprocessors. The chipset shipped in 3 varieties; 220, 415, and 420. 220 and 420 are very similar with each having the integrated GPU, but the 220 only has a single channel of memory available whereas 420 has the...
chipset line and as a mobile graphics chip for notebooks called GeForce 2 Go.
Successor
The successor to the GeForce 2 (non-MX) line is the GeForce 3. The non-MX GeForce 2 line was reduced in price and saw the addition of the GeForce 2 Ti, in order to offer a mid-range alternative to the high-end GeForce 3 product.Later, the entire GeForce 2 line was replaced with the GeForce 4 MX.
Support
Nvidia has ceased driver support for GeForce 2 series. Final Drivers IncludeGeForce 2 GTS, GeForce 2 Pro, GeForce 2 Ti and GeForce 2 Ultra:
- Windows 9x & Windows Me: 71.84 released on March 11, 2005; Download;
- Product Support List Windows 95/98/Me – 71.84.
- Windows 2000 & 32-bit Windows XP: 71.89 released on April 14, 2005; Download.
- Product Support List Windows XP/2000 - 71.84.
GeForce 2 MX & MX x00 Series:
- Windows 9x & Windows Me: 81.98 released on December 21, 2005; Download;
- Product Support List Windows 95/98/Me – 81.98.
- Windows 2000, 32-bit Windows XP & Media Center Edition: 93.71 released on November 2, 2006; Download.
Windows 95/98/Me Driver Archive
Windows XP/2000 Driver Archive
Competing chipsets
- 3dfx3dfx3dfx Interactive was a company that specialized in the manufacturing of 3D graphics processing units and, later, graphics cards. It was a pioneer in the field for several years in the late 1990s until 2000 when it underwent one of the most high-profile demises in the history of the PC industry...
Voodoo 5Voodoo 5The Voodoo 5 was the last and most powerful graphics card line that 3dfx Interactive released. All members of the family were based upon the VSA-100 graphics processor. Only the single-chip Voodoo 4 4500 and dual-chip Voodoo 5 5500 made it to market.... - ATIATI TechnologiesATI Technologies Inc. was a semiconductor technology corporation based in Markham, Ontario, Canada, that specialized in the development of graphics processing units and chipsets. Founded in 1985 as Array Technologies Inc., the company was listed publicly in 1993 and was acquired by Advanced Micro...
RadeonRadeon R100The Radeon R100 is the first generation of Radeon graphics chips from ATI Technologies. The line features 3D acceleration based upon Direct3D 7.0 and OpenGL 1.3, and all but the entry-level versions offloading host geometry calculations to a hardware transform and lighting engine, a major... - PowerVR Series 3PowerVRPowerVR is a division of Imagination Technologies that develops hardware and software for 2D and 3D rendering, and for video encoding, decoding, associated image processing and Direct X, OpenGL ES, OpenVG, and OpenCL acceleration....
(Kyro)
See also
- List of games that require hardware transform and lighting
- Graphics card
- Graphics processing unitGraphics processing unitA graphics processing unit or GPU is a specialized circuit designed to rapidly manipulate and alter memory in such a way so as to accelerate the building of images in a frame buffer intended for output to a display...
External links
- Nvidia: GeForce2 leading-edge technology
- Nvidia: GeForce2 Go
- ForceWare 71.84 drivers, Final Windows 9x/ME driver release for GeForce 2 GTS/Pro/Ti/Ultra
- ForceWare 81.98 drivers, Final Windows 9x/ME driver release for GeForce 2 MX series
- ForceWare 71.89 drivers, Final Windows XP driver release for GeForce 2 GTS/Pro/Ti/Ultra
- ForceWare 94.24 drivers, Final Windows XP driver release for GeForce 2 MX series
- Tom's Hardware VGA Charts (w/ GF2)