Riva 128ZX

RIVA 128ZX refined the RIVA 128 family with later memory and AGP-oriented board options.

Reference GPU
NV3 / RIVARIVA SeriesDesktopDesktopSDR1998NVIDIA
Partial entry. Core specifications may be present, but history, variant notes, known issues, and source review may be incomplete.
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At a Glance

Entry Type
Reference GPU
Architecture
NV3 / RIVA
Series
RIVA Series
GPU Die
NV3
Launch Date
1998-02-23
TMUs
1
ROPs
1
Memory
8 MB SDR
Bus Width
128-bit
Rec. PSU
200 W
Interface
AGP 2x
Data Confidence
Partial

Overview

Riva 128ZX is best treated as the later RIVA 128 family member rather than a separate clean generation. It kept the same broad market role while improving the board configurations available to OEMs and add-in-card vendors.

The practical collector question is whether the board is a ZX card, how much memory is installed, and which bus and BIOS combination it uses. Those details separate it from ordinary RIVA 128 listings.

Why It Mattered

RIVA 128ZX extended the useful life of NVIDIA's first mainstream-successful architecture before RIVA TNT arrived. Its value in the wiki is in showing how fast late-1990s graphics cards evolved even inside one product family.

Collector Notes

Look for clear ZX chip markings, 8 MB configurations, AGP board layouts, partner BIOS labels, and complete retail bundles. ZX boards are easy to mislabel because many sellers only recognize the broader RIVA 128 name.

Common Failure Points

The common issue is misidentification. RIVA 128ZX, RIVA 128, and TNT-era cards can be mixed in listings, and unsupported driver combinations may hide the actual card behavior.

Used-Market Caution

Buy only after confirming chip marking, memory size, and bus type. Do not pay a ZX premium for a plain RIVA 128 board with unclear photos or missing test evidence.

Known Issues

Known issues pending source review.

Related GPUs

Back to RIVA Series

Previous in series: Riva 128 PCI
SourcesPartial

Sources reviewed: 2026-06-21

This entry is still being source-checked.

Data confidence and source status

Partial entry. Core specifications may be present, but history, variant notes, known issues, and source review may be incomplete.

  • Verified: core specifications and historical notes have been reviewed against listed sources.
  • Partial: core specifications may be present, but history, variant notes, known issues, and source review may be incomplete.
  • Imported: spec-only imported entry pending editorial source review.
  • Needs source review: narrative notes are incomplete until reviewed.

Primary / manufacturer sources

  1. DOS Days RIVA 128 SeriesBoard examples, memory notes, clocks, and period contextOpen source

Independent reference sources

  1. TechPowerUp Riva 128ZX GPU SpecsModel-level specification referenceOpen source

Other sources

  1. RIVA 128 128-bit 3D multimedia accelerator datasheetProduct-level feature and memory-interface referenceOpen source
  2. 86Box RIVA 128 architecture historyTechnical history and emulator-oriented architecture contextOpen source

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