Performance Conclusion
Until the new GeForce2 Ultra starts shipping, the SUMA GF2 64 MB GTS SE is the fastest 3D solution available. It was rarely beat during our testing and when it did lose, it was by very little. Thanks to the ultra-fast memory, SUMA has no problems from any of the other competitors. Without the special memory, however, this board would be just as fast as the others.
Conclusion
SUMA is providing what most performance guru's want: a basic package with a very fast graphics board. You get almost everything you need to have a seriously fast GF2 setup for a mere $300. The biggest quirk with this board is that it didn't come with a good overclocking utility right out of the box. However, even if you don't overclock it now, the stable 400 MHz memory setting is a very attractive thing.
Overall I must say that the Special Edition SUMA GF2 has the potential to be the best 3D performing GF2 offering out there. I say potential because we've already seen someone falter at shipping a fast memory-configured GF2 board before and until this board hits the streets, it just might end up being vaporware. Another fact that could possibly keep this GTS down is availability. SUMA doesn't have a big presence here in the US retail chain but with a product like this in the pipes, that might change very fast.
There will be an urgent update using the new Detonator 3 drivers and including scores of the just-released GeForce2 Ultra. It seems obvious however that if SUMA should indeed start shipping this product, it will fit the gap between the normal GeForce2 GTS cards and GeForce2 Ultra. $300 for this board sounds a lot more attractive than the $499 for the upcoming GeForce2 Ultra solutions from Creative Labs, Elsa and Guillemot.
