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Two new AGP graphics boards barge onto this month's chart. Matrox's Millennium G200 seizes the Best Buy due largely to its knockout 3D and mixed-media business performance. For $50 less, consider STB's new GlyderMax-2, which snaps up the number two position thanks to fine overall performance. We also tested new boards from Cornerstone and Hercules, which missed our list due to so-so performance and skimpy features, respectively.

PCI Board

Note: The following article is the original review for a machine currently appearing in PC World's Top 100. Price and some other information may no longer be current and may not match this month's chart specifications.

1. STB Velocity 128

A hefty software bundle and modest $129 price make the STB Velocity 128 a good upgrade option, even though it turns in only average performance.

The Velocity 128's track record on every one of our mixed-media business tests was middle of the pack. In our 3D game tests, however, it was a little faster than most PCI cards, except in Quake II. Because STB had not released a Quake II driver by the time we did our testing, the game couldn't take advantage of the board's hardware acceleration. No surprise, then, that all our judges rated the Velocity 128 poor in Quake. In our other test games, image quality was generally good.

STB backs the Velocity 128 with a lifetime warranty and toll-free phone support 10 hours each weekday. The company also throws in a solid software bundle, including three games and Simply 3D, a basic modeling program.

STB Velocity 128

PRO: Great price, solid overall performance

CON: Mixed bag on 3D-image quality

STB

800/234-8750

("http://www.stb.com" TARGET = "_blank") www.stb.com

Note: The following article is the original review for a machine currently appearing in PC World's Top 100. Price and some other information may no longer be current and may not match this month's chart specifications.

2. Real3D StarFighter PCI

At $290, Real3D's StarFighter PCI is the costliest board on the chart, but it delivers powerful all-around performance. Like its AGP sibling (in second place on our AGP chart), the StarFighter PCI uses the Intel740 chip. Though the chip was designed for the AGP bus, Real3D has cleverly tricked it into running on PCI, so...

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