Stinktacular Card
Written: May 12 '00
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Product Rating:
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Pros: 2D/3D solution
Cons: Overheat, Display Problems
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| blusavana's Full Review: Creative Labs 3D Blaster Banshee |
Hey, the Banshee card is cheap...the Creative Labs being the second best Banshee card (Diamond's being the best). There are so many things wrong with the card. The idea is pretty good. At the time the Banshee came out, you had the Voodoo 2's reigning supreme. This was 3dfx's second attempt at combining 2D and 3D card together. We all know what a fiasco the Voodoo Rush was...if not, be glad you didn't drop $250 on a $10 product.
This card sports 16MB of RAM and is supposed to be like the Voodoo 2. The 2D side is just plain awful. I have some other Creative products (DXr2 Encore MPEG-2 Card comes to mind, and Soundblaster Live!) and the image darkens EVERY time I use the Encore card. I thought it may have been my Encore card, but I used my Voodoo 3 3500, and no problems. I also used a Diamond Monster Fusion, and still no problems. So it's the card. I tried another Creative Labs Banshee card and still dark screen after playing DVDs.
The Good: Well, it's cheap. You can get some of the special effects that 3dfx has, but not all of them (now that Voodoo 3s are populating the gaming world, and Voodoo 4/5/6s are coming). If you are on a budget and want something that'll work, try the low end Voodoo 3's, you can find them just about as cheap as Banshees.
The Bad: So many to name. I feel that this is almost as bad as the Voodoo Rush. Some of the cards had a decent software game pack, but mine didn't. The card got way too hot for it's own good too. Many cards now come with a big heat sink and fan, mine didn't. There were some lockup associated with the heat up as well. I just didn't have much luck with this card.
The Ugly: Well, nearly everything, if you have to get 3dfx, skip Banshee. Either get a Voodoo 4/5/6, or if you are on a budget, get a Voodoo 3 for cheap.
Bottom line: This card just isn't worth it. It's more like a stepping stone for 3dfx to test out their 2D/3D combination that they released for the Voodoo 3s. I was lucky enough to get rid of the card, and got a Voodoo 3 3500 instead, it's a much better card.
Recommended:
No
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Epinions.com ID:
blusavana
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Member: Rosa Grimm
Location: Ashland, KY
Reviews written: 121
Trusted by: 8 members
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