ATI RADEON 32MB AGP 3D graphics card

Reviewed By: Kirk Hiner

Review Date: December 29, 2000

Developer: ATI Technologies, Inc.

Minimum Requirements: AGP capable Macintosh, Mac OS 8.6, QuickTime 3.0, QuickDraw 3D 1.5.4, Open GL

Retail Price: $229

Availability: Out Now

The thing is, I just like to play games.

I don't care what it's on, really; Macintosh, PlayStation, Microvision, dining room table...I just like to play games. There are many people out there who like to play them much more than I do, however. I'm reminded of this fact every time I log on to GameRanger and promptly get annihilated at just about everything one can play there. I've even been beaten at logging in, I'll wager.

Despite my love for gaming and the amount of time I devote to it, there's a lot I just don't get. It's like classical music, I suppose. I was in concert band throughout high school, and despite the fact my knowledge of music theory never reached the level it should have, I still enjoy going to the symphony.

Such is the case with 3D technology. I can read countless articles and see dozens of demos on 8-bit alpha blending and bob de-interlacing, but five minutes removed I know nothing more about them than I do oil skimming. But as many have said before me, "I know what I like," and I like the RADEON. The reasons why are numerous, so we'll look at them in chronological order.

First; hardware installation. Getting the card in my G4/450 took no more than a couple minutes. Of course, this is the G4; if I wanted to, I'm sure I could install a jacuzzi in there and still be home in time for supper.

Second; software installation. Things got a bit more confusing here. The installation itself was no problem, but aside from the drivers and control panel, ATI also dumped a slew of extensions in my system. No problem there, but it didn't remove the old extensions used for my old Rage Pro 128. A quick look at Conflict Catcher revealed that the ATI 3D Accelerator, ATI Rage 128 3D Accelerator and ATI Radeon 3D Accelerator were all in my extensions folder, and all of them were active. Is this necessary? I'm fastidious about my extensions and control panels, so only the ATI Radeon 3D Accelerator is still active.

Third; games. Things didn't start out well for the RADEON. I first launched Star Wars: Episode One Racer, and the game looked horrible. The screen became a jumbled mess at times, and the video quality was reduced to software acceleration levels. So I rebooted and tried again. Same problem. I couldn't find a control panel to force the game to see the new RADEON, so I gave up. On to Cro-Mag Rally. Again, there seemed to be no 3D support and some of the static screens became severely distorted. But this was a preview copy, and I had a full version for review that I hadn't installed. I threw out the old, installed the new...and then I smiled.

It wasn't so much the improved graphics but the speed at which the graphics were drawn. With my Rage Pro 128, I usually had to content myself with 640x480 resolution--800x600 on a good day--lest I drop frames. Not anymore. I maxed the game out at 1024x768 and let it rip...and boy, did it rip. Not one dropped frame, not one stutter, no matter how many moving objects stood before me (the RADEON supports 3D resolutions up to 1920x1440 at 16-bit, but your monitor probably doesn't).

Then came the big test: Deus Ex. No reinstallation was required here. I just opened the display configuration within the game to make sure it saw the new card, then again pumped up the resolution to 1024x768. Here, then, is where the graphics themselves boggled my brain. The difference was only slightly short of astounding. The textures were clearer, the animation was smoother, the color was richer...it was like switching from VHS to DVD. Granted, some of this can be attributed to playing at a higher resolution which always makes the graphics appear smoother. But with the RADEON, this didn't come with a speed hit. Well, much of a speed hit. The game did slow down in some wide open areas and in scenes if intense action, but not enough for me to switch back to a lower resolution.

How does the RADEON do this? I don't know. I don't care. I don't know how Maytag makes washing machines, but I'd rather use one than a washboard. Sure, I could learn all about multi texturing fill rates at >1 Gigatexel/sec, Hyper Z technology and Charisma engines--ATI supplied me with semester's worth of documentation for studying--but I'm sure most of my readers, like me, care more about the games.

Although actually, the RADEON helps with much more than just games. It gives 2D acceleration a decent kick as well, and thanks to the card's MPEG-2 decoding process (pulling it away from the CPU) my DVD movies are playing better than ever.

That was reason four, I suppose. Reason five would be the output options if I took advantage of them. Aside from VGA and DVI-I capabilities, the RADEON provides S-video and composite video outputs so you can play your games on the family TV if you so desire (and if it's anywhere near the computer). Oh, sure, this can also be used for business presentations and the like, but come on. We know what really drives this technology.

Despite the bad rap ATI sometimes gets in the Mac gaming world, they've consistently provided us with great cards, even when Apple was in its darkest hour. And what's more, they don't just create cards that support the latest technology, they create the technology, setting standards for gaming companies to meet. Considering all the RADEON does now, it makes me all tingly to think that many of its features haven't even been taken full advantage of yet.

So if you're serious at all about gaming your and Mac supports AGP (yes, that now includes the G4 Cube), you simply have to put the RADEON in your machine. It's the right thing to do. And actually, now that 3dfx if defunct, it's pretty much the only thing to do...for now. And although I don't like the idea of there being only one 3D acceleration card manufacturer supporting the Mac, I can at least take solace in the fact that it's ATI.

But why take my word for it? To learn more about the technical aspects of the RADEON from guys who actually know what they're talking about (or, more likely, who are just better at fudging it), check out these reviews at MacGamer and Inside Mac Games.

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