Eighteen months after its debut at CeBit 1998 in Hanover, Germany, the PC version of Video Logic's PowerVR 250 chipset - called the Neon 250 - is almost ready to ship. The PowerVR 250 chipset is the same used by Sega for its Dreamcast console and Naomi arcade boards.

　　Like most of its competition, the Neon 250 comes with full support for 32-bit color depth, bump mapping, and MPEG-2 motion compensation. Hardcore gamers might find some of its more important features – like core clock speed: 125MHz, current memory configuration: 16MB and AGP interface: 2X - a bit lacking, however. Surprisingly, even though the card's specifications might seem a bit disappointing, its sheer performance tells a different story. Video Logic claims that the card can hit 55 frames per second in the Quake II Crusher demo while running in 1024x768 on a Pentium III 500. Comparably, a TNT2 Ultra and Voodoo3 3000 on a P3-500 get around 53fps and 46fps respectively.

　　Also surprising is the Neon 250's price. At US$175, the Neon 250 costs less than either the aforementioned Voodoo3 3000 or TNT2 Ultra, making it a strong bang-for-the-buck contender. According to Video Logic, the Neon 250 will be available for direct purchase or through mail-order companies this August.