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S3 DeltaChrome S4 Graphics Chip Reviewed

Posted by simoniker on from the third-wheel? dept.

EconolineCrush writes "The Tech Report has a preview of S3's budget DeltaChrome S4 graphics chip for PC graphics cards. While not the fastest option for games, the S4 looks like a credible alternative to ATI and NVIDIA's dominance of the graphics market - there are some handy analysis graphs comparing performance in Wolfenstein: Enemy Territory, Unreal Tournament 2004 and Far Cry. Better still, the S4 has component HDTV output built right into the chip, making it an intriguing option for home theater systems."

2 of 190 comments (clear)

  1. Re:Not cutting edge for gamers by MC+Negro · · Score: 5, Informative

    What will S3's support be like for Linux?
    Going by the current offerings from the website, I'm not going to hold my breath. My experience with the Savage cards have not been that great. Drivers were delayed and needed patching, but that's no reason to condemn the entire manufacturer.
    --
    "You and your third dimension."
  2. Listening... by marmite · · Score: 5, Informative

    Actually, VIA (who own S3) were very nice to me. I told them that I wanted to write an X driver for their graphics chip (the CLE266 northbridge with integrated graphics). They sent me an NDA and then the register documentation.

    And they did actually already write their own driver which was released as opensource (although I'm not sure of the license) for XFree86 including all of the "GL stuff".

    IMHO S3/VIA are very appreciative of opensource work and are very supportive of opensource developers.

    --
    I do not represent myself.