The Permedia3 Create! was certainly one of the most interesting cards I ever played with. It was full of surprises although its specs may be rather dated by now. Even though it runs at a paltry 110MHz and can only transfer data in AGP1X mode, 3Dlabs' proprietary Virtual Texture and Triple Blend technologies have managed to keep it competitive.

It may not run well with demanding 3D games but if you tweak the settings, even Quake III Arena can be playable. However, the Permedia3 is more comfortable running older 3D games and is definitely well equipped to run less graphically demanding games like strategy games and the like. Don't forget - not everyone plays 3D games like Q3A. ;)

It's in professional applications like 3D Studio Max that the Permedia3 really shows its prowess. Significantly faster than the RIVA TNT2, this is really the card you should get if you do professional 3D work. The increased productivity gained from its acceleration of tasks in such applications is more than enough for the weekend warrior to overlook its rather bad performance in 3D games.

Of course, if you are an avid gamer, this is definitely not a card to get. You should be looking for something higher-powered and more gaming oriented like graphics cards based on nVidia's GeForce range of GPUs. Buying the Permedia3 would be tantamount to gaming suicide. :)

The Permedia3 is for a more specialized niche - the professional user with only moderately demanding games to play after hours. If you are one, you might want to check this card out. It would be cheaper to buy this card than to get a professional 3D card for your work and another gaming card for your games.