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Robman

Posted 2016-11-05 6:03 AM (#44)
Subject: == 3DFX ==

Chips 386

Posts: 38

Location: Canada

No retro pc site is complete without a 3dfx thread. (and I'd like to fire up this one :D)

I've had a voodoo1 in my collection for quite awhile, admittedly I've never tried it. Visually it's in very nice condition so I can only hope it still functions.
My first graphics card was a Diamond Monster Fusion 3d(pci) 16mb 3dfx banshee chip and it was surely a step up from the onboard 2mb ATi chip I had initially.

I've had some Voodoo 3 cards over the years also, some PCI and some AGP and I've always thought they were interesting hardware.
Whether you like them or hate them, I'd like to hear about it or see some of your 3dfx card pictures and adventures.

Edited by Robman 2016-11-05 6:20 AM

varanoidas

Posted 2016-11-05 6:39 AM (#45 - in reply to #44)
Subject: Re: == 3DFX ==

Fujitsu 186

Posts: 8

Well I have a dead voodoo1, working voodoo2 and a few working vooodoo3 agp cards.
I kinda like these cards. Many games were compatible with them. If I had to pick my favorite I think it would be the voodoo3 3000 because it's pretty powerful and still compatible with lots of games on glide, opengl and directx. It's my favorite Windows 98 card because of that and I use it on 500Mhz+ systems. I've noticed that Hard truck 2 King of the road works best with a voodoo 3. Better than with a tnt2 or geforce3.
The voodoo2 is a pretty good card too. It has better compatibility with some older games and the card itself looks very nice. I have noticed that video quality is degraded when using the card's vga passthrough so I use a kvm switch. Had a voodoo2 in a dual socket 604 xeon once :D because it only had pci. Played some quake 3. Too bad directx doesn't work on windows 2000-xp with voodoo2. It could've been an interesting system.
Too bad my voodoo1 is dead. It kinda works but the video is all messed up

varanoidas

Posted 2016-11-05 10:30 AM (#50 - in reply to #44)
Subject: Re: == 3DFX ==

Fujitsu 186

Posts: 8

Well speaking of 3dfx my voodoo3 3000 just died. It was my first voodoo3 card. I still have a v3 1000 and another v3 3000, but it's still pretty sad

edneil

Posted 2016-11-05 11:53 AM (#52 - in reply to #44)
Subject: Re: == 3DFX ==

Harris 286

Posts: 15

Location: Sunny Blackpool

I like to imagine Zeff saw this thread and started nervously twitching

Never had my hands on any 3DFX kit, yet... although hopefully that should be sorted soon! No idea what to get, though.

DXZeff

Posted 2016-11-05 8:58 PM (#54 - in reply to #52)
Subject: Re: == 3DFX ==

TM Crusoe

Posts: 618
500

Location: Hull, UK

Nope, this discussion is welcome here. My Orchid Voodoo 1 made it here, haven't seen the 2 and 3 since though so I'm not sure they did. Still haven't used them yet, but plan to in the future to try them out. I might still have a spare Techworks Voodoo 1 card somewhere, not sure, haven't actually bothered looking for it as I'm not entirely sure it works. It might have been stuck to the K6 actually, so if it was I won't be seeing it again for obvious reasons.

If they turn up I'll post pictures of them I guess, but I don't have a machine assembled to install them in yet. I was going to use the K6... Guess I could use the Celeron my neighbor threw out as it's still era-correct enough to justify testing all three cards in it, and it's simple enough to work on. Plus as the hard drive in it is dying I don't really mind abusing it or even breaking it when I have to keep restoring the image between each card - I want a clean Windows install for all six cards I plan to test to make it fair. I have high hopes for the V3 as I have limited experience with those and in paper it looks pretty good.

Ahcruna

Posted 2016-11-05 9:55 PM (#56 - in reply to #44)
Subject: Re: == 3DFX ==

Fujitsu 186

Posts: 9

I have a couple of Voodoo cards in some of my electronics boxes
from the top of my head, I got a few Voodoo 2s (8 and 12), few Voodoo 1 cards, one Voodoo 3 AGP, one Voodoo 5 and a complete boxed miro Highscore with the special passthrough cable.
still looking for a Banshee PCI.

I mostly collected these when they were pretty cheap to get since I couldn't afford those cards when they were relevant.

My personal favorite is a Rendition Verite though, only because you can play 3D accelerated Quake in pure DOS

I'll take some pictures when I get to time to go through it all.

Robman

Posted 2016-11-06 3:07 AM (#58 - in reply to #56)
Subject: Re: == 3DFX ==

Chips 386

Posts: 38

Location: Canada

Let's take a moment to mourn the loss of one of varanoidas' v3 3000 cards :|
@edneil - haha I know, Zeff doesn't seem to have a soft spot for 3dfx cards.

@Ahcruna - I've always wanted a couple of v2s and a 5, never had them though. I do still have my banshee though(and it still works..I took a fan off the north or southbridge of some mobo to repair that part though. :D)

I found a picture of my Voodoo 1, here she be:

Edited by Robman 2016-11-06 3:27 AM

DXZeff

Posted 2016-11-06 6:00 PM (#62 - in reply to #44)
Subject: RE: == 3DFX ==

TM Crusoe

Posts: 618
500

Location: Hull, UK

I cannot find my V2, but I must have passed by it because it was in the same box as the V3. I had moved the V3 to the top of a stack of games, so the V2 is probably still in the box at the bottom of some other pile I can't be bothered to move right now.

That aside, I found the Orchid V1 and STB V3 cards. I believe the Voodoo 3 is a 2000, I want to replace the heatsink on it because I've heard they have heat problems and do remember encountering dead ones in the early 2000s that might have gone out that way. It can't hurt to have better cooling anyway, but whatever, here you go;

Edited by DXZeff 2016-11-06 6:06 PM

Ahcruna

Posted 2016-11-06 7:13 PM (#64 - in reply to #62)
Subject: Re: == 3DFX ==

Fujitsu 186

Posts: 9

Found some of them, I think the rest are inside some of the PC's I have built
I'll make sure to update on them once I'm off work so I have enough time to dig inside them.

In the mean time this is what I managed to pack up

That's the miroHISCORE card, I had two of them apparently (the un-boxed one is missing a heat sink)

and here is a mix of Voodoo ones and twos, plus a Banshee AGP

Robman - 2016-11-06 3:07 AM

@Ahcruna - I've always wanted a couple of v2s and a 5, never had them though. I do still have my banshee though(and it still works..I took a fan off the north or southbridge of some mobo to repair that part though. :D)

Sweet, I've tried getting a PCI version for a good price, but they are so damn expensive.
There was a reason I wanted one, it might have had something to do with the 2D core, but I can't remember.

Edited by Ahcruna 2016-11-06 7:31 PM

Robman

Posted 2016-11-07 8:18 AM (#66 - in reply to #64)
Subject: Re: == 3DFX ==

Chips 386

Posts: 38

Location: Canada

That's a pretty sweet collection of cards there :D
I wonder if there's any difference between the v1s with or without the heatsink.

From what I've gathered, the voodoo 2 cards were the only cards worth putting in "sli"

Ahcruna

Posted 2016-11-07 1:11 PM (#67 - in reply to #66)
Subject: Re: == 3DFX ==

Fujitsu 186

Posts: 9

Robman - 2016-11-07 8:18 AM

That's a pretty sweet collection of cards there :D
I wonder if there's any difference between the v1s with or without the heatsink.

From what I've gathered, the voodoo 2 cards were the only cards worth putting in "sli"

I'm not sure either, but having a heat sink on 3DFX hardware couldn't hurt, they have a heating problem esp in SLI.

Here is one of my PCs with V2 SLI, I didn't have any screwdriver with me so I couldn't open it up

I also found a Point of view V2 still in a box

and the last one didn't have the case screwed on so I could take a picture from the inside.
lucky too because it's the V5 and they don't look like anything special from the outside :p

That's all I had time for... well I didn't have time at all, but I just got excited and had a quick look.
there might be some more PCs with cards installed in them and a few more lose ones.

Robman

Posted 2016-11-20 9:41 PM (#92 - in reply to #44)
Subject: Re: == 3DFX ==

Chips 386

Posts: 38

Location: Canada

Awesome

... that a 5500?

DXZeff

Posted 2016-11-21 9:25 AM (#93 - in reply to #92)
Subject: Re: == 3DFX ==

TM Crusoe

Posts: 618
500

Location: Hull, UK

It's always intrigued me how much larger that card was compared to the GeForce boards of the time.

Now I have to figure out why half the files on my camera were missing when I woke up today. Probably nothing major. Anyways, I found the V2 (12MB Diamond) and another V1 next to the Orchid for comparison sake. I was tempted to put my Quadro cards in shot just to be an asshole.

I have a few things left to do, but I've located the Celeron and put it to one side for testing these at a later date.

Ahcruna

Posted 2016-11-21 8:29 PM (#95 - in reply to #44)
Subject: Re: == 3DFX ==

Fujitsu 186

Posts: 9

Yeah haha, the Voodoo 5 was huge. and yupp it's a V5 5500
from what I remember, the 5500 was the only one to get released, even though there were some other models
I know there are people who own some of the other models, but I only got mine from retail.

Edited by Ahcruna 2016-11-21 8:31 PM

Brostenen

Posted 2016-11-23 12:37 AM (#100 - in reply to #44)
Subject: Re: == 3DFX ==

TM Crusoe

Posts: 671
500

Well... No collection without at least one Voodoo card. :-D

I have:

1 x Orchid Voodoo1
2 x Voodoo2 8mb
2 x Voodoo2 12mb
2 x Voodoo3 3500 Compaq Edition (the one with a VGA connector instead of a dongle)

Personally, I have set the limit at Voodoo3, because I do not see the need for Voodoo after V3.
From around 2000, I think that nVidia, ATI and Matrox created better cards.
Yeah... I'll take a GF2-GTS or Radeon9800-pro over a V5 at any time.

Ahcruna

Posted 2016-12-01 7:32 PM (#122 - in reply to #44)
Subject: Re: == 3DFX ==

Fujitsu 186

Posts: 9

Voodoo 5s are pretty cool. hard to get one now days though.

Anyway, instead of creating a new thread I decided to post a picture of my Rendition card
went looking in the boxes and found this thing instead of the rest of the Voodoo cards.

I hope it still works though, it was covered in some brown grime that looked like it was coke at one point. :/

Edited by Ahcruna 2016-12-01 7:34 PM

DXZeff

Posted 2016-12-05 10:20 PM (#128 - in reply to #122)
Subject: Re: == 3DFX ==

TM Crusoe

Posts: 618
500

Location: Hull, UK

Oh, yeah?

:P
(I wanted to find my Blade T64 to post here, but I can't be bothered digging for it, so Quadro 4 it is)

I actually liked the Rendition cards, I felt they were in the wrong market but the design concept and the API had a lot of potential, as if it could have been similar to how PowerVR ended up.

Edited by DXZeff 2016-12-05 10:27 PM

Dinomite

Posted 2016-12-07 2:20 PM (#135 - in reply to #128)
Subject: Re: == 3DFX ==

Fujitsu 186

Posts: 9

Ah yes... The 3DFX Voodoo cards. Those were the days! Remember when the only way to play Unreal in awesome graphics was to have one of these?

Brostenen

Posted 2016-12-08 2:32 PM (#138 - in reply to #135)
Subject: Re: == 3DFX ==

TM Crusoe

Posts: 671
500

Dinomite - 2016-12-07 4:20 PM

Ah yes... The 3DFX Voodoo cards. Those were the days! Remember when the only way to play Unreal in awesome graphics was to have one of these?

I think it depends on what games and what cards are avaliable. Let's say, that the only game you have, is NFS-II-SE, and the only cards you have is a TNT2-Pro
and a Voodoo1. Then you choose the V1 for gaming. When you have a Radeon9800, Voodoo5 and a GF4 on you'r hand, and need to game something newer, then
you really don't go for the Voodoo5. Unless of course this was the only card that you have in the collection. Personally I have gone away with the idea of owning
a V5 if I have to buy it. Shure I'll take a V5, yet only if it was given to me for free. The price is simply too high on the market, for me to even thinking of paying
money for one. Much like GUS cards. Way too expensive for what they offer, and I will rather have my collection without them.

Voodoo's are cool, so are PowerVR cards. TNT2/GF2's and other early 3D cards. I just feel that there are no perfect card for everything. Just like soundcards. :-)

Edited by Brostenen 2016-12-08 2:36 PM

brassicGamer

Posted 2017-03-24 12:29 PM (#384 - in reply to #44)
Subject: Re: == 3DFX ==

Slow 8088

Posts: 4

3DFX gets on my radar purely because I could never afford it at the time it was new - it's got retro unobtainium appeal.

CyrixInstead

Posted 2017-05-11 6:01 PM (#577 - in reply to #44)
Subject: Re: == 3DFX ==

Intel P5

Posts: 85

Location: UK

I have two systems with 3DFX cards. first is a Celeron "mendocino" 466 MHz with a Creative Labs 3DBlaster Voodoo banshee, second is a PIII 933 MHz with a 3DFX Voodoo 3 2000 AGP. To be honest I prefer the more obscure 3D cards of the era but both do have nice 2D images and are fast for DOS. I'll say though if I was buying retro hardware now, 3DFX is well out of my price range, I just don't think it's worth the current prices asked. I sold my boxed Voodoo 5 5000 AGP last year for over £150 and the Voodoo 3 3000's for £35 a piece, I can't honestly say they are worth that, but the market dictates right?

Amazing Kariios

Posted 2017-05-13 10:01 PM (#585 - in reply to #44)
Subject: Re: == 3DFX ==

Harris 286

Posts: 12

I own a 3Dfx Voodoo 3 3000 as well as a 3Dfx Voodoo 3 1000. I nearly bought a Voodoo 2.

Brostenen

Posted 2017-05-21 11:17 PM (#635 - in reply to #384)
Subject: Re: == 3DFX ==

TM Crusoe

Posts: 671
500

brassicGamer - 2017-03-24 2:29 PM

3DFX gets on my radar purely because I could never afford it at the time it was new - it's got retro unobtainium appeal.

True... So true... They are rediculous expensive these days. Shure I understand that a V5-6000 is expensive.
And perhaps a standard Voodoo5 too. As there are not that many left. Though V1 to V3's ??!? Sad!

There are other cards wich should be just as expensive in my book. Like G400-Max and GF2 (non-MX).
Though I see that TNT2-Ultra's are beginning to fall under the "made of unobtanium" these days.

Brostenen

Posted 2017-05-21 11:24 PM (#636 - in reply to #585)
Subject: Re: == 3DFX ==

TM Crusoe

Posts: 671
500

Amazing Kariios - 2017-05-14 12:01 AM

I own a 3Dfx Voodoo 3 3000 as well as a 3Dfx Voodoo 3 1000. I nearly bought a Voodoo 2.

Well.... You won't regret getting a V2 as well. They are really usefull, if you want to get some glide capeability in a build.
Combine a P-III-933 with a GF2-GTS and V1-Single/V2-Dual(SLI), and you get a machine with good features.
Cramp in a YMF-724 and you have true OPL compatibility too, if you run it with SB-Link/PC-PCI-header that is.

Though the price for this are too high. So you need to go hunting elsewere than eBay these days.
You know... Local add's, flea markets and so on. Ask people you work with or family members.
Sometimes V2's can be found as cheap as 15 US Dollars, if you find the right channels to buy.
You might even get so lucky, that you find it in dumpsters or people just want to donate you old hardware.

One mans trash is another mans gold. :-)

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