ArcView 3D Analyst - Performance, Summary, and Benchmarks on Graphics cards

ArcView 3.x

Disclaimer: The performance comparison of OpenGL 3D accelerator graphics cards is for informational purposes only. This list of graphics cards is not comprehensive. ESRI tested these graphics cards but neither endorses nor supports them.

Performance Comparison on Selected Platforms and Graphics Cards

Performance Comparison on Selected Platforms & Graphics Cards

Note: This chart is related to performance only, not rendering quality. Some cards improved performance more than others. Some cards improved the rendering quality after the driver update. In general, those with geometry setup and texture mapping support performed better. These cards have various restrictions that include operating system version and PCI bus version. We would recommend users check card requirements and your system configuration before purchasing. The statistics shown on this chart are results of tests performed over a period of time since before the product was released. They offer one type of performance measurements for each individual card and comparisons between cards should be careful if the base machine is different.

Summary of Tested 3D Graphics Card Specifications

Graphics Card	OS	Cost Rating ($US) $<250 $$<1000 $$$<2000 $$$$<3000	Year Released	Resolution width x height x colors x refresh rate	Manufacturer	Geometry Co-processor Chip	Rasterization Chip	Tested Driver Version
FireGL 1000	NT & 95	$-	1996	640-1600 x 480-1200 x 256-16M x 60-200 Hz	Diamond Multimedia	3DLabs GLINT Delta	3DLabs Permedia NT	2.70, 4.0.27
FireGL 1000 Pro	NT & 95	$	1998	640-1980 x 480-1200 x 256-16M x 60-120 Hz	Diamond Multimedia	3DLabs GLINT Delta (Integrated)	3DLabs Permedia II	0997
FireGL 3000	NT & 95	$$+	1996	640-1600 x 480-1200 x 256-16M x 60-100 Hz	Diamond Multimedia	3DLabs GLINT Delta	3DLabs GLINT 500TX	0997, 2.70, 4.0.27
Fire GL 1 AGP	NT 4.0	$$	1999	640-1920 x 480-1200 x 8-24 bpp x 60-100 Hz	Diamond Multimedia	IBM E 256-bit Graphics Rasterizer	IBM E 256-bit Graphics Rasterizer	4.00.1381.1036, 4.0.0
FireGL 4000	NT	$$$+	1996	640-1280 x 480-1024 x 256-16M x 60-200 Hz	Diamond Multimedia	Mitsubishi 3DPro/2mp Evan & Sutherland REALimage Technologies	Evan & Sutherland RealImage Technologies	1, 2, 27, 7, 4.0.0
GLoria L/MX	NT & 95	$$$	1997	640-1600 x 480-1200 x 256-16M x 60-200 Hz	ELSA	3DLabs GLINT Delta	3DLabs GLINT MX	5.25.00.174, 4.0.52
GLoria L	NT & 95	$$$-	1996	640-1600 x 480-1200 x 256-16M x 60-200 Hz	ELSA	3DLabs GLINT Delta	3DLabs GLINT 500TX	5.25.00.174, 4.0.52
3DMon	NT & 95	$$$	1998	640-1600 x 480-1200 x 256-16M x 60-200 Hz	Omnicomp	3DLabs GLINT Delta	3DLabs GLINT MX	2.9-0030B, 4.0.0
AccelECLIPSE	NT	$$$-	1996	640-1280 x 480-1024 x 16M x 60-120 Hz	AccelGraphics	Evan & Sutherland RealImage Technologies	Evan & Sutherland RealImage Technologies	1.3.09, 4.0.0
AccelECLIPSE II AGP	NT 4.0	$$$+	1998	640-1280 x 480-1024 x 16M x 60-120 Hz	AccelGraphics	Evan & Sutherland RealImage Technologies	Evan & Sutherland RealImage Technologies	Not Available
AccelPRO MX	NT	$$	1997	640-1600 x 480-1200 x 256-16M x 60-200 Hz	AccelGraphics	3DLabs GLINT Delta	3DLabs GLINT MX	4.4.01
AccelGALAXY AGP	NT 4.0	$$+	1999	640-1280 x 480-1024 x 16M x 60-120 Hz	AccelGraphics	REALImage 2100	REALImage 2100	4.00.1381.1100, .027 4.0.0
Dynamite 3D/GL AGP/3D Labs Permedia II AGP	NT 4.0	$-	1998	640-1980 x 480-1200 x 256-16M x 60-120 Hz	Hercules	3DLabs GLINT Delta	3DLabs Permedia II	2.10-0230, 4.0.0
Power Storm 300 AGP	NT 4.0	$$$+	1999	640-1280 x 480-1024 x 24 bpp x 60-85 Hz	Evans & Sutherland	REALImage 2100	REALImage 2100	2, 2, 1107, 1219, 4.0.0
OxygenGMX 2000 AGP	NT 4.0	$$$+	1999	640-1920 x 480-1080 x 8-24 bpp x 60-100 Hz	3DLabs	3DLabs GMX2000, GLINT Gamma	Dual 3DLabs GLINT MX	2.1 2-0626, 4.0.0
OxygenGVX1	NT 4.0	$$	1999	640-1920 x 480-1000 x 8-24 bpp x 60-100 Hz	3DLabs	3DLabs GLINT Gamma	3DLabs GLINT R3	4.10.01.2105-2.14-0929, 4.0.0
Graphics Card	OS	Cost Rating ($US) $<250 $$<1000 $$$<2000 $$$$<3000	Year Released	Resolution width x height x colors x refresh rate	Manufacturer	Geometry Co-processor Chip	Rasterization Chip	Tested Driver Version

Note:

Graphics cards listed in the table may not match those shown in the above performance comparison chart.
Please check with the card vendors for exact and up-to-date card prices.
The releasing year is only approximated. Please check the individual card manufacturer for more accurate information.

Summary of the Benchmark Data Sets

Geometry and texture performances are the two fundamental measuring benchmarks for the 3D graphics cards. The Enschede, Netherlands, data set was selected for the geometry performance test and a Redlands, California, USA, data set was selected for the texture performance test. The following are a summary about the data sets used.

Data set	Data type and use	No. of themes	Size or no. of features
Enschede	TIN (Terrains)	1	1499 Nodes, 2977 Triangles
	Polygon Shape (Buildings)	8	881 Features
	Line Shape (Roads)	3	1073 Features
	Graphics (Trees)	12	N/A
Redlands	TIFF Image (Aerial Photo, true color, uncompressed)	1	3876 KB, 1206x1096 pixels
	TIN (Terrains)	1	1431 Nodes, 2789 Triangles
	Line Shape (Streets)	1	7093 Features

The two projects were built using the data sets as listed in the above table. The TIFF image used in the Redlands project was texture mapped onto the underlying TIN surface.

All themes were loaded into a 3D Scene viewer document. A fixed path line was defined in the 2D View and used in the 3D Scene viewer for a walk-through or fly-by operation. Time spent for the walk-through or fly-by for each fixed path line was recorded, and the results are shown in the top performance comparison chart.

Special thanks to the Workstation Division at Compaq Computer Corporation for providing various workstations and graphics cards through the Compaq's Graphics Excellence Program. More in-depth information about various graphics cards and other related resources (e.g., latest drivers, graphics dictionary, and so forth) can be found on Compaq's Workstation Graphics Information page.