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GeForce 2 Pro

Author myxxx323, . Published in GeForce 2 series

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History of development

NVIDIA GeForce 2 Pro was released in April 2000 as an intermediate solution between the high-performance GeForce 2 GTS and the budget GeForce 2 MX. The main goal when developing the GeForce 2 Pro was to create a graphics card that could offer high performance, but at a more affordable price compared to the top-end GTS model.

The GeForce 2 Pro used the same NV15 GPU as the GeForce 2 GTS, but with some changes in memory configuration and operating frequencies. The card was built on a 180nm process technology and supported an architecture with four pixel pipelines and two texture units each. This allowed the GeForce 2 Pro to process complex 3D scenes with high speed and image quality.

GeForce 2 Pro chip

One of the key innovations of the GeForce 2 Pro was support for the new DirectX 7.0 instruction set, which allowed game developers to create more complex and realistic scenes. The card also supported hardware transform and lighting (T&L), which offloaded the CPU and improved overall system performance.

Price and sales

At the time of its release, GeForce 2 Pro was positioned as a high-performance, but more affordable solution compared to the GeForce 2 GTS. Its price ranged from $250 to $350, making it attractive to gamers and professionals who were looking for a balance between performance and cost.

The GeForce 2 Pro was offered in various variants, including models with 32 MB and 64 MB DDR memory. Cards with 64 MB of memory were more expensive, but offered higher bandwidth and therefore better performance. The GeForce 2 Pro's high price was justified by its innovative features and performance, and the card quickly found its fans among gamers and graphics and multimedia professionals.

GeForce 2 Pro sales exceeded NVIDIA's expectations, and the card became one of the company's most successful models. This allowed NVIDIA to significantly strengthen its position in the GPU market and pave the way for future success. The success of the GeForce 2 Pro also contributed to increased trust in the NVIDIA brand among users and developers, which became an important factor in the company's subsequent success.


GeForce 2 Pro

Features

Key features of the GeForce 2 Pro included:

  • GPU: NV15
  • Core clock: 200 MHz
  • Memory frequency: 333 MHz (DDR)
  • Memory: 32 MB or 64 MB DDR
  • Memory Bandwidth: 5.3 GB/s (32 MB), 6.4 GB/s (64 MB)
  • Resolutions: up to 2048x1536 with 32-bit color and 32-bit Z-buffer
  • DirectX 7.0 and OpenGL 1.2 support
  • Hardware acceleration of transformation and lighting (T&L)
  • 4 pixel pipelines with two texture units each

The GeForce 2 Pro was equipped with standard video interfaces, such as 15-pin DSUB for analog video and DVI for digital video, allowing the connection of modern LCD displays. The card supported high resolutions and color modes, making it ideal for use in professional graphics applications and modern games.

One of the key features of the GeForce 2 Pro was its support for hardware T&L, which allowed it to handle geometric calculations and lighting at the level GPU. This significantly unloaded the CPU and increased overall system performance. Thanks to this, the GeForce 2 Pro could handle more complex scenes with more polygons and more realistic lighting effects.

Gaming performance

The GeForce 2 Pro's gaming performance was impressive for its time. The card offered high rendering speeds and excellent image quality, making it one of the best on the market. In games like Quake III Arena and Unreal Tournament, the GeForce 2 Pro delivered excellent results, significantly outperforming its competitors at high screen resolutions and maximum quality settings.

Hardware support for Transform and Lighting (T&L) freed up the CPU and increased overall system performance, which was especially important for modern games that require complex calculations. Thanks to this, GeForce 2 Pro could handle more complex scenes with more polygons and more realistic lighting effects.

The GeForce 2 Pro also supported new technologies such as multi-layer texturing and trilinear filtering, which improved image quality and made games more realistic. The card offered smooth gameplay and high frame rates, making it attractive to gamers and professionals.

In real tests, GeForce 2 Pro demonstrated significant superiority over its competitors. In games like Quake III Arena, the card delivered a stable 60 frames per second at high screen resolutions, which was impressive for its time. In Unreal Tournament, the GeForce 2 Pro also performed well, delivering smooth gameplay and high-quality graphics.

In addition, GeForce 2 Pro has been optimized to work with new graphics APIs such as DirectX 7.0 and OpenGL 1.2, providing support for the latest games and graphics applications. This made the card a universal solution for both gamers and professionals working with graphics and multimedia.

GeForce 2 Pro left a significant legacy and was an important step for NVIDIA towards creating even more powerful and productive GPUs. This card set a new standard in the computer graphics industry and set the stage for the company's future successes.