S3 Chrome S27 architecture features

In terms of graphics architecture, the new S3 GPU is very similar to the enhanced Delta/Gamma Chrome, capable of running at very high clock speeds and supporting high-speed GDDR3 memory.

Thanks to the use of Fujitsu's new 0.09-μm process technology, S3 Graphics was able to increase the frequency of the Chrome S27 graphics core to an unprecedented 700 MHz. This is a kind of record in the desktop consumer graphics industry - until this point, the palm belonged to ATI Technologies with its RADEON X1800 XT, the graphics processor of which operates at a frequency of 625 MHz.

Of course, just increasing the clock frequency of the graphics core is not enough to achieve success, and the company went further: the Chrome S20 line received a new memory controller that supports all existing types of graphics DRAM - from DDR to GDDR3. Also, the size of caches and the number of registers were increased. The latter means that Chrome S20 GPUs have the ability to execute longer instructions. We are, of course, talking about internal instructions directly executed by the processor - as in ATI and NVIDIA solutions, they are delivered to the graphics processor by a software compiler that works at the driver level and on the fly translates the source shader code into code that is most efficiently executed by that graphics architecture. for which the compiler is optimized. According to S3 Graphics representatives, the efficiency of the shader compiler has also been increased in the new drivers supporting Chrome S20, but how much has increased remains to be seen.

All of the above, in combination with 8 pixel and 4 vertex processors, as well as GDDR3 memory operating at 700 (1400) MHz, should help the new S3 Graphics achieve good results in its class. Since, architecturally, the new product is a direct descendant of Delta Chrome and Gamma Chrome, support for pixel and vertex shaders is limited to Shader Model 2.0. In fact, the chip, like its predecessors, supports the extended Shader Model 2.0+ specifications (which should not be confused with Shader Model 2.0b), but due to the complete lack of support for these extensions from game developers, this has no practical significance with end user point of view.

Among other innovations, it should be noted that Chrome S27 supports S3 MultiChrome technology, which is an analogue of ATI CrossFire and NVIDIA SLI technologies. Since S3 Graphics is a division of VIA Technologies, the use of MultiChrome is primarily expected on the recently announced VIA K8T900 platform, which supports the "PCI Express x8 + PCI Express x8" formula. According to S3, there are no obstacles to the successful integration of two S3 Chrome S27 cards on platforms of other developers, but it is not yet possible to verify this due to the fact that we have only one test sample of this video adapter at our disposal.

Also, the S20 family received a new version of the Chromotion video engine – Chromotion 3.0, which has support for all HDTV standards, including 1080i/p, and some interesting features, one of which is the ability to perform non-linear image scaling when converting a frame with an aspect ratio of 4:3 into a frame 16:9. Hardware decoding of video in the WMV9 format is present, including the WMV HD standard, but the H.264 codec is not supported, so the RADEON X1000 is so far the only solution that can decode the new high-resolution format in hardware.

 Another new technology, AcceleRAM, is supported only by the Chrome S25 processor and is an analogue of NVIDIA TurboCache and ATI HyperMemory technologies. As you might guess, its essence lies in using part of the PC's system memory to store video data. Of course, there are no hardware restrictions on the use of AcceleRAM in Chrome S27, since it is architecturally identical to Chrome S25. However, the Chrome S27 video adapter, being the most productive solution in the new family, initially carries a sufficient amount of video memory on board - 128 or 256 MB. Since this review is dedicated specifically to the S3 Chrome S27, we will not go into details of how AcceleRAM works, we will only note that support for this technology has become possible thanks to the new memory controller - one of the innovations that distinguishes the new family GPU from the company's previous developments.

Specifications S3 Chrome S27

The S3 Chrome S27 was quite capable of competing on equal terms with the ATI RADEON X1300 PRO, RADEON X700 and GeForce 6600 GDDR2, albeit mainly due to its high clock speeds GPU and memory.