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Retail Price: $130.00
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Review:
Elsa Erazor
III 11.14.99
Within the last few months, PC Gamers have been flooded with wave after wave of ambitious 3D Accelerators. Of those, the TNT2 has managed to rise out of the doldrums of mediocrity and claim its place as one of the fastest graphics cards on the market. The Erazor III, manufactured by Elsa, a German based company fifteen years young, is one of many iterations of the TNT2 chipset. Loaded with a full 32 megabytes of RAM, 250 MHz DAC, nifty 3D glasses and plenty of performance, the Erazor packs a one-two punch that's sure to knock your socks off. A few years ago, most people would be hard pressed to believe a PC would be generating the amazing graphics that games such as Quake 3: Arena and Unreal Tournament bring to the table. Of course, the same computer you had a few years ago would run these titles about as fast as your Uncle Bob's souped up Pinto -- in otherwords, it'd be slow as hell. Fortunately, due to modern day technological advancement, we've got hulking PC's that are more capable than supercomputers of less than a year ago. How does the Erazor III stack up? Let's find out.
On our 450MHz test bed equipped with 128 megs of RAM, the Erazor scooted through Quake 3 amiably, but the framerate rose and fell violently when running 3DMark '2000, which is clearly suited for the newer, more capable GeForce accelerators. Is the Erazor III in its prime? No, but there's still plenty of life for Elsa's aging card. Any game or application you can find on the shelves will run without a hitch; if you're a bargain savvy gamer, there's no reason to not buy the Erazor III. Or is there? For starters, the game bundle is weak. So weak, in fact, there's not even the slightest hint of a full version game. Most companies will, in the very least, include older titles, which still keeps the price low and allows non-hardcore gamers to enjoy their new video card without having to shell out an extra $50 for a top-notch game. Another problem has to do with the 3D glasses. After extended use, they can, and, in most instances, will give you a headache after extended periods of use. While this may be more nit-picking than anything else, keep in mind that people play games to escape the headaches of the real world, not get another one from the not-so-real world. On the bright side, however, they make a great showpiece when you want to display your PC's capabilities. And, heck, when you use the things right (by not wearing them during an all night frag fest), they can make a game pretty damn immersive. Other than a few minor nuances, the Elsa Erazor III is an outstanding product. Unfortunately, both nVidia and 3Dfx have their next-gen accelerators on the horizon, which means the TNT2 won't be leading the pack for much longer. If you're needing a little something to hold you over until the good stuff gets here, the Erazor III is a solid option.
Final Verdict: 84%
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