Elsa Gladiac 920 Video Card
More GeForce 3 Action!

By, Jeff Bouton
October 11, 2001



 

 

When it comes to graphics cards, there is no arguing that ELSA is among the industry leaders.  For over 20 years they have been producing top quality graphics cards, as well as other computer peripherals geared toward both the commercial and industrial markets.  For years they have been specializing in professional level graphics boards engineered for use with graphically intensive design applications such as CAD.

 

Today we will take a look and one of their latest commercial boards geared for folks like you, that just want our games to run smoothly and look great.  The ELSA Gladiac 920 answers the call for higher gaming frame rates, with the incorporation of the nVidia GeForce3 GPU and 64 MB of DDR-SDRAM into its design.  Let's start by taking a look at what the 920 has to offer....
 

Specifications of the Elsa Gladiac 920 Video Card
The Run-down...

 

Equipment

  • Graphics processor NVIDIA GeForce3, processor clock: 200 MHz
     

  • Memory equipment 64-MB DDR SDRAM,
    access time 3.8 ns, 460-MHz effective memory clock,
    Lightspeed Memory Architecture™
     

  • RAMDAC/pixel cycle 350 MHz
     

  • BIOS Support of VESA BIOS 3.0
     

  • Bus-System AGP 2x/4x, including fast writes and execute mode

Features

  • Graphics standards DirectX 8, DirectX 7, OpenGL® API "
     

  • 2D features 256 bit 2D acceleration, optimized for 32, 24, 16, 15, and 8-bit color depth,
    hardware cursor in TrueColor, multi buffering (double, triple and quadruple for fluid movements and video playback)
     

  • 3D features 256-bit engine with HyperTexel architecture, optimized acceleration for Direct3D and OpenGL API, complete DirectX8 support, 32-bit Z and stencil buffer, single-pass multi texturing, full-scene anti-aliasing, high-quality texture filtering, including anisotropic; advanced per-pixel texturing for perspective correction, fog and depth cueing, texture compression
     

  • nFinite FX™ engine fully programmable effect processor for realistic 3D representation, e.g. volumetric fog, particle effects, reflective bump mapping and animated water
     

  • HDTV- und DVD-Playback Extended motion compensation for full screen video playback in all DVD and HDTV resolutions, video acceleration for MPEG-1, MPEG-2 and Indeo
     

  • TV-out (optional) Connection for S video and Composite/FBAS (with included adapter);
    PAL (max. 800 x 600 pixels), NTSC (max. 640 x 480 pixels)
     

  • Standards DPMS, DDC2B, plug&play
     

  • Connectors Monitor: VGA-D-Shell (15 pin),
    1 x video-out (S-video connection, FBAS via the included adapter)
     

  • Dimensions 173 x 108 mm (ATX format, plus mounting bracket)
     

Along with the ELSA Gladiac 920, the package we received for review included the following:

  • One CD containing an Online manual, ELSA Screensavers, Feature Demos and a Full Version of 3DMark 2001 Pro.
     

  • One CD which includes ELSA Movie 2000, a fully functional software DVD player.
     

  • A Full-Version copy of the second release of "GIANTS - Citizen Kabuto", re-mastered to take full advantage of the GeForce 3 GPU.


Now that we've seen all the goodies that you get when you purchase a Gladiac 920, let us move on and take a closer look at the card itself...
 

Quality & Setup of the Elsa Gladiac 920 Video Card
Very Nice...


 

The Elsa Gladiac 920 is based on the standard GeForce 3 reference design, no flashy colors or fancy coolers.  The sample we received for review came equipped with an analog monitor output and TV-OUT.  Other models have optional support for Digital Flat-Panel displays.  The overall construction is consistent with nVidia's base reference design and doesn't stray from the norm.

 

      
 

    

 

Before we installed the card and began overclocking it, we wanted to take a peak and see what was under that fan assembly.  Elsa has chosen to use a standard thermal pad between the GPU and the fan rather than a high quality thermal paste.  Before we began our benchmarking of the 920, we cleaned everything off and used high quality Arctic Silver II Thermal Paste in place of the thermal pad.  We went to unplug the fan from the card, so we could clean it up but both the plug and the base came off in our hand.  We had no difficulty reapplying the plug, but it would've been nice to see the base stay put.

 

 



Setup, Screenshots and the Test System...