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The Riva 128, also known as the NV3, was released by NVIDIA in April 1997 and was one of the company's first graphics cards to offer full support for both 2D and 3D graphics. At the time, 3dfx dominated the 3D accelerator market with their Voodoo Graphics, and the Riva 128 was designed as NVIDIA's answer to this challenge. |
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The Riva 128ZX was released by NVIDIA in February 1998 as an upgraded version of the Riva 128. It featured improvements in performance and image quality over its predecessor. The main goal of developing the Riva 128ZX was to overcome the limitations of the Riva 128, such as low memory capacity and poor image quality at high screen sizes. |
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NVIDIA Riva TNT, released in March 1998, was a major milestone for the company. The name "TNT" stands for "TwiN Texel", indicating the presence of two 3D pixel pipelines, which was an innovation for its time. This allowed Riva TNT to compete with Voodoo 2 from 3dfx, which also used two graphics pipelines. |
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Riva TNT2, released in April 1999, continued the successful line of graphics cards from NVIDIA. This card, also known as NV5, was developed as an improved version of the Riva TNT. Key development goals included increased performance, improved image quality, and support for new technologies. |
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NVIDIA Riva TNT2 Ultra, released in May 1999, was the top model in the TNT2 line and was an improved version of the standard TNT2. This card was designed to provide users with the best possible performance and image quality available at the time. |
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A strange situation arose in the market for cheap video cards in 1999. The former champion - Riva TNT cards cost around $60 for the 16 MB version. But suddenly nVidia wants to release another product on the market of cheap video cards - Riva TNT2 M64. |
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NVIDIA Riva TNT2 Vanta was released in 1999 as an even lower-end version of the Riva TNT2, aimed at the OEM market and users on a budget. Vanta's main development goal was to create an affordable graphics solution that could satisfy basic 3D graphics and multimedia needs. |
NVIDIA Riva TNT2 Vanta was released in 1999 as an even lower-end version of the Riva TNT2, aimed at the OEM market and users on a budget. Vanta's main development goal was to create an affordable graphics solution that could satisfy basic 3D graphics and multimedia needs. Vanta used the same NV5 GPU as the rest of the TNT2 series, but had an even more stripped-down memory configuration and lower clocks.
Vanta was different from its older brothers such as TNT2 Ultra and M64, reduced memory bus width to 64 bits and reduced core and memory frequencies. These simplifications reduced production costs and offered the card at a lower price, making it attractive to the mass market.
The Riva TNT2 Vanta was one of the most affordable graphics cards on the market at the time. Its price ranged from $50 to $100, making it attractive to OEMs looking for cost-effective solutions to complete their systems. Thanks to its low price and reasonable performance, Vanta became popular among users who wanted to upgrade their PCs without breaking the bank.
Key features of the Riva TNT2 Vanta included:
The Riva TNT2 Vanta was equipped with a standard 15-pin DSUB for analog video. It did not have additional video outputs, such as S-Video, which also helped reduce its cost.
The performance of the Riva TNT2 Vanta was sufficient for most basic tasks and less demanding games of the time. However, due to the reduced memory bus width and lower frequencies, the Vanta was significantly inferior in performance to older models such as the TNT2 Ultra and even M64.
For users who didn't play the most modern and demanding games, Vanta offered acceptable image quality and smooth gameplay on low and medium graphics settings. It was an excellent choice for those looking for an inexpensive solution to upgrade their computers and perform everyday tasks such as watching videos and working with office applications.