From: elf AT netcom DOT com (Marc Singer)
Message-Id: <199605181846.LAA04180@netcom9.netcom.com>
Subject: Re: S3 Trio32
To: martynas DOT kunigelis AT vm DOT ktu DOT lt (Martynas Kunigelis)
Date: Sat, 18 May 1996 11:46:15 -0700 (PDT)
Cc: djgpp AT delorie DOT com (DJGPP List Alias)
In-Reply-To: <199605161052.GAA09572@mv.mv.com> from "Martynas Kunigelis" at May 16, 96 01:20:17 pm
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> 
> Sorry for being off-topic, but I think you guys could help me here:
> I'm just about to buy a S3 Trio32 video card, which is so cheap and which
> I heard so many good things of. Is it really fast? Does it support VBE 2.0
> Linear Framebuffer? What other video card of similar (maybe slightly higher)
> price would you recommend? Any recommendations greatly appreciated.

I've had both mach64 cards and S3 cards.  Traditionally, ATI is a much
poorer provideror drivers.  Their Windows drivers are notorious for
making illegitimate assumptions. I write Windows games and have seen
MANY compatibility problems with ATI drivers.  S3, on the other hand,
has been very good about fixing driver bugs.  Sometimes I have found
problems, but they fix them quickly.

I am not sure about speed.  The mach64 seems to be fast enough, but I
am not sure that it scans above 60Hz when displaying 1280x1024 modes.
S3 does not appear to have such limitations. IMHO, I prefer S3 boards
for the same reason that I prefer PCs.  There is no monopoly by the
manufacturer.  #9 makes very good cards as does Orchid.  The generic
ones, too, appear to run very well and are compatible with the drivers
S3 writes.

Marc Singer