Elsa Gladiac Ultra: A Perfect Graphics Card?

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Other Boards Using The GeForce 2 Ultra

Graphics boards like Elsa's Gladiac Ultra are still available in limited quantities only. That's mainly due to the imminent shortage of 4 ns memory chips, which also results in high prices for the card makers. In the end, the customer has to pay these premium prices. Besides the Gladiac Ultra, there are several other cards with the Ultra-chip available:

  • Creative 3D Blaster GeForce 2 Ultra
  • Gainward Cardexpert GeForce 2 Ultra
  • Guillemot 3D Prophet II GTS Ultra

Is The ATI Radeon An Alternative?

Even though I personally like this chip, the answer has to be no. The 64 MB version of Radeon is basically able to keep up with the GeForce 2 GTS, but it cannot compete with the performance of the GeForce 2 Ultra.

However, please do not forget that Radeon cards belong into the top graphics league as well. A Radeon 64 MB can be obtained for less than $400, which is making them an interesting alternative for cards with the GeForce 2 Pro or GTS.

Revelator 3D Glasses

Most people interested in a graphics card with GeForce 2 Ultra might not care about additional gimmicks. Some might however like the fact that Elsa is shipping the Gladiac Ultra with their Revelator stereo-glasses, which enable the sensation of real 3D. So far, those glasses had to be bought separately.

You have to get used to the weight of the glasses, which are much heavier than regular sunglasses. There is a cable and an IR version available and Elsa bundled the IR version, which is actually the smarter choice. You use the included splitter cable in order to attach the IR module (the IR-port of your motherboard cannot be used). Up to 1280x1024 we could not see any negative impact on picture quality in Windows. At 1600x1200 luminance and sharpness get lost a little bit.