Diamond Viper V770 and V770 Ultra
The Viper V770 was based on the then new nVidia RIVA TNT2 chipset which is a combined 2D/3D accelerator card.
| Released | July 1999 | |
| Bus | AGP 2x | |
| Chipset | nVidia RIVA TNT2 | |
| Standards | Hercules, CGA, EGA, VGA | |
| Core Clock | 175 MHz | |
| Memory | 32 MB SDRAM (200 MHz) | |
| Ports | 15-pin DSUB (video out) | |
| RAMDAC | - | |
| Part # | - | |
| FCC ID | - | |
| Price | July 1999: $179 (TNT2), $239 (TNT2 Ultra) | |
| See Also | Viper, Viper V330, Viper V550 |
They also released a Viper V770 Ultra in September 1999, which used the slightly higher-clocked nVidia TNT2 Ultra. This chipset supported an asynchronoous clock, meaning the GPU core and memory could run at different speeds.
Board Revisions
Competition
In the Media
"Stocked with 32 MB SDRAM and conservatively clocked at nVidia's recommended 150 MHz, the Viper is the texel-tossing titan. Its only black mark is poor image quality in DVD playback.
The final version of the Viper V770 Ultra isn't clocked as high as the pre-production board in our May TNT2 preview. Diamond shied away from 175 MHz for stability reasons, and given the problems we encountered with other highly clocked TNT2 boards, we understand why.
While the jury's still out on the clocking decision, Diamond does compensate for it with an overclocking tool built into the new InControl Tools 99. Core and memory clocks can be bumped up in 5 MHz increments in specific games - when the game's over the clocks fall back. Unlike other overclocking sliders we've seen, Diamond's is limited to a 175 MHz core and 200 MHz memory.
In its push to get the Viper to market, Diamond based its drivers on an older version of nVidia reference drivers. Expect a big performance jump as Diamond incorporates speedier nVidia drivers into its updates."
Maximum PC, July 1999
The final version of the Viper V770 Ultra isn't clocked as high as the pre-production board in our May TNT2 preview. Diamond shied away from 175 MHz for stability reasons, and given the problems we encountered with other highly clocked TNT2 boards, we understand why.
While the jury's still out on the clocking decision, Diamond does compensate for it with an overclocking tool built into the new InControl Tools 99. Core and memory clocks can be bumped up in 5 MHz increments in specific games - when the game's over the clocks fall back. Unlike other overclocking sliders we've seen, Diamond's is limited to a 175 MHz core and 200 MHz memory.
In its push to get the Viper to market, Diamond based its drivers on an older version of nVidia reference drivers. Expect a big performance jump as Diamond incorporates speedier nVidia drivers into its updates."
Maximum PC, July 1999
"Although a bit higher priced than the other graphics boards here, at $200 street, the Diamond Viper V770 Ultra provides a combination of great performance and robust features that make it a terrific choice for both hard-core gamers and business users. The V770 Ultra offers more flexibility than the other boards with an extensive set of controls, and it includes a huge bundle of software. The board scored at or near the top on all our tests and it renders in 32-bit color throughout the 3-D pipeline. All these features combine to make this the board to beat.
If you're on the prowl for a bargain, however, you should take a look at the graphics board to which we award an honorable mention - the 3dfx Voodoo3 3000 AGP. This 16-bit board basically tracked the performance of the V770 Ultra on all but the 32-bit 3-D benchmark tests. With a street price of $150 and a great gaming software bundle, the Voodoo3 3000 is a wonderful value. "
PC Magazine, September 1999
If you're on the prowl for a bargain, however, you should take a look at the graphics board to which we award an honorable mention - the 3dfx Voodoo3 3000 AGP. This 16-bit board basically tracked the performance of the V770 Ultra on all but the 32-bit 3-D benchmark tests. With a street price of $150 and a great gaming software bundle, the Voodoo3 3000 is a wonderful value. "
PC Magazine, September 1999
Setting it Up
Downloads
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