When testing the OpenGL gaming performance of any video accelerator the application of choice for most people is Quake III: Arena. Without further ado, here are the scores for our Normal Quality tests (16-bit color, 16-bit textures, bi-linear filtering):
Again we see a noticeable difference between the newer GeForce and our TNT 2 Ultra but nevertheless the Outrageous 3D TNT 2 Ultra manages to offer above acceptable framerates in both 1024 x 768 and 1280 x 960 in our normal Quality tests.
The TNT 2 Ultra proves itself to be a nice performer in our Normal Quality tests but what happens when we up the anti a bit and give it a go with the settings at "High Quality" where 32-bit rendering is enabled by default as well as 32-bit textures and tri-linear filtering:
The performance loss is noticeable but the TNT 2 Ultra is still capable (although barely) of delivering those crucial 30 fps in 1024 x 768 even with the increased detail, mostly due to its high-speed memory running at 183MHz.
Dagoth Moor Zoological Gardens developed by WXP is essentially a technology demo developed specifically to showcase the performance of NVIDIA's hardware T & L engine which was introduced with the GeForce 256, to accomplish this task DMZG puts you in the middle of what is no doubt one of the most detailed real-time 3D accelerated worlds seen on a desktop PC to date. With tens of thousands of polygons per frame combined with Unreal Tournament-like texture detail and lighting, DMZG is a pretty sight. But how well will it run on our test subject of the day, the Outrageous 3D TNT 2 Ultra? Let's find out.
Not too shabby I must say, albeit it doesn't reach the same levels as our GeForce SDR and DDR boards did but the result is better than expected. The low performance increase when going from 16 to 32-bit color depth in this test clearly illustrates that the TNT 2 isn't as much fillrate limited as it is limited by its lower triangle throughput.