First Things -
The first thing I had to do was to see what video card would work on
my system. I set up the Video upgrade Project
for Packard Bell owners. It is on this page
if you want to see what video cards will work on your Packard Bell system.
Next, I did some reasearch to find the right card for me. Check
out the online computer magazines and also chack out some of the video
web sites. I found out lots of info at these web sites. If
you need some good sites try my buddy Pete's Website, Pappy's
PC Help Links. Go to his hardware section and look under video.
Now let me tell you my criteria for a video card and then that will
let you know why this was the perfect video card for me.
I needed something less then $150, the cheaper the better. I do
not play a lot of games, but I do like one ocasionally so the 3D is only
important when I play things like Tomb Raider. I wanted something
significantly faster then my Cirrus Logic video in 2D. I also needed
PCI video since the PB 640 does not have AGP.
I found that the Diamond Stealth II S220 would suit my needs just fine,
also many of you that visited my web site recommended this card to me.
Diamond Stealth II S220 -
Specifications
Controller |
Rendition Verite V2100
64-bit 2D, 3D and Video |
Bus Type |
PCI 2.1 Compliant |
Memory |
4 MB 100 MHz RAM, Fixed |
Horizontal Sync Signals |
31.5kHz-91kHz |
Vertical Refresh |
43.5kHz-120kHz |
Maximum Dot (Pixel) Rate |
170MHz RAMDAC |
Monitors Supported |
Standard and multi-frequency analog monitors
DDC2B Plug and Play |
Video Playback |
MPEG-1, Indeo & Cinepack
X and Y Filtering |
Connectors |
DB-15 analog monitor connector (VESA DDC2B)
VMI - A connector |
3D Features |
See Part 2 for this info |
Minimum System Configuration
Pentium 90 Mhz or compatible CPU
One avaliable PCI 2.1 compliant slot
MS-DOS 5.0 or later
8MB of system memory or more |
 |
This card from Diamond gives great 2D, 3D and Video performance all
at a reasonable price. It may not be the fastest video card out there,
but for $99* I think it is a good deal. *after $20
manufactures
rebate. |
Performance -
I have to say I am happy with this card, just look at my results.
I tested it at the setting I use all the time, 800 X 600 High color, large
fonts. Another interesting benefit I got from the new card was, the
1/2 inch black lines on the sides of my monitor have gone away. This
leads me to beleive that those lines were caused by the Cirus Logic chipset.
I can also finnally get the 800 x 600 True color setting that was not possible
under the factory insatlled video, even with the 2 MB video upgrade.
I was happy
with my performance when I had 133 MHz process, but with my new Power Leap
adapter and Intel 233 MHz MMX Processor I am even more happy. It
is nice to know that sometimes a new upgrade can enhance an old upgrade.
Read my review on my PowerLeap adapter upgrade.
Unfortunatly I did not see any additional improvement once I added the
AMD K6-2, don't know if this was because of the New BIOS, CPU or different
benchmark software.
Wintune Results - Before and After Install
 |
Wintune Results - Before and After Install
Brand |
Packard Bell |
Packard Bell |
Packard Bell |
Model Name |
Platinum I |
Platinum I |
Platinum I |
Motherboard |
PB 640 |
PB 640 |
PB 640 |
CPU Speed (MHz) |
133 |
133 |
233 MMX Poweleap Adapter |
Resolution |
800 X 600 |
800 X 600 |
800 X 600 |
Color Depth |
16 bpp |
16 bpp |
16 bpp |
Video Speed |
3.2 MP/s |
33 MP/s |
43 MP/s |
Video Board |
Cirrus Logic 5430/40 PCI |
Diamond Stealth II S220 (Turbo) |
Diamond Stealth II S220 (Turbo) |
Driver Type |
Win95 PnP |
Win95 PnP |
Win95 PnP |
Acceleration |
Enabled |
Enabled |
Enabled |
Create Window |
0.01 s |
0.00505 s |
0.00365 s |
Scroll Text |
3.07 s |
1.48 s |
1.48 s |
Draw Lines/Curves |
2.79 s |
2.28 s |
1.47 s |
Draw Filled Objects |
1.76 s |
0.896 s |
0.692 s |
Destroy Windows |
0.0219 s |
0.0116 s |
0.00754 s |
WTA Versions |
1.0.40 |
1.0.40 |
1.0.40 |
Tested On |
8/20/97 |
1/20/98 |
2/15/98 |
As you can see the performance increase is quite dramatic at the resolution
I use. The 3D part of the card also looks great, you should see the
improvement in Tomb Raider. Click below to go to part 2 where I will
discuss the 3D performance.
You can also see how my addition of the 233 MHz MMX Power Leap Adapter
increased the video speed. I think this clearly demonstrates that
the Stealth II S220 is CPU dependant. The CPU upgrade gave me more
performance increase then when I tried to overclock this card, of course
now I need to try to overclcok with the new processor and see what happens.
Go on to Part 2
Copyright © 1998 Ray's
Packard Bell Web Site; all rights reserved.
For a list of all my web pages or frames-free viewing see my Site
Map.