Diamond Stealth III S540 Savage4 Pro

Direct3D Performance - Shogo

Final Words

When it comes down to Savage4 boards, the Diamond S540 will probably end up being one of the best you'll see.  It boasts Diamond's quality, attention to detail, and driver support, something very few manufacturers can equate their reputations with.  Unfortunately the S540 does have its drawbacks, first of all, all of the drawbacks of the Savage4 are, naturally, drawbacks of the S540 as well (see AnandTech's Savage4 Review) however the biggest problem AnandTech had with the S540 was the price.  Diamond stated that the S540 would retail for $129.95, so you can expect the board to sell for as low as $100 at first, dropping significantly after the initial launch.  However, in comparison to a Voodoo3 2000 or a TNT2 (125MHz), the S540 is a bit pricey considering that it does not offer the same level of performance as those two solutions that are available now at virtually the same price. 

Now if Quake 3 looks as good as id is boasting it will under 32-bit color, the Savage4 based S540 may end up being a bit more valuable than it is at first sight...