* Riva 128 PCI 4MB
* Matrox Millenium PCI 4MB
* S3 Virge PCI 4MB
* 3dfx Voodoo 1 as addon for 3D/Glide

If only one card, then probably Riva.

S3 GX based PCI card with Voodoo2 that motherboard not having AGP limits it to PCI cards and PCI based MX400 and TnT2 cards can be expensive though Voodoo2 is also expensive.

PCI GPUs are generally expensive so expect to pay a bit more than their AGP brothers.

The Riva128 suggested above is also a nice option but it too can be expensive, dont be afraid to hunt around and submit lowball offers if using eBay.

Probably an S3 Virge DX manufactured by either Diamond, STB, Elsa or Hercules. Generic ones often have image quality issues.

Pair it with a Voodoo1 if you want to play Carmageddon at a somewhat reasonable frame rate on that system.

Joseph_Joestar wrote on 2022-09-06, 14:29:

Probably an S3 Virge DX manufactured by either Diamond, STB, Elsa or Hercules. Generic ones often have image quality issues.

Pair it with a Voodoo1 if you want to play Carmageddon at a somewhat reasonable frame rate on that system.

....I missed the part where its a P166 MMX ...that does change things .. the Voodoo2 is out, Voodoo1 is best option for that system and even then the Voodoo will be CPU bound.

I had a similar system back in 1996, it came with a 2mb Virge card.
I played all the games you mentioned, it even came with Pod because of the MMX cpu. It's also fun to try the Virge (s3d) version of that game.

In 1998 or I upgraded it with a Voodoo2, although it might have been wasted on that system I guess.

Oetker wrote on 2022-09-06, 14:42:

I had a similar system back in 1996, it came with a 2mb Virge card.

Did same ... on a bulbous 14" CRT 😁.
Jedi Knight, Outlaws, Grim Fandango, Commandos: Behind enemy lines, Wing Commander Propehecy ... all that was playable in "software emulation" on 166 MMX.

TrashPanda wrote on 2022-09-06, 14:25:

S3 GX based PCI card with Voodoo2 that motherboard not having AGP limits it to PCI cards and PCI based MX400 and TnT2 cards can be expensive though Voodoo2 is also expensive.

PCI GPUs are generally expensive so expect to pay a bit more than their AGP brothers.

The Riva128 suggested above is also a nice option but it too can be expensive, dont be afraid to hunt around and submit lowball offers if using eBay.

Today's price is not a problem, but what was the price at the time in 97, wasn't voodoo 1 too expensive?

Allanar wrote on 2022-09-06, 15:11:

Today's price is not a problem, but what was the price at the time in 97, wasn't voodoo 1 too expensive?

By December of 1997, you could get a 6MB Canopus Pure3D Voodoo1 for $179.00.

https://web.archive.org/web/19971210144426/ht … .com/pure3d.htm

About $330.00 in today's money, accounting for ~84% inflation.

In 1997 I had a Riva 128. I actually have a Riva 128 again in a mostly 1997, only slightly anachronistic PC I've rebuilt.

It has a few problems. I think the first is a generic 1st gen 3d accelerator problem. It very quickly became obsolete. It came out mid 1997, I got mine Christmas of 1997, and it works ok on 3d games that came out in 1998, with a few exceptions. Unreal being the most notable. I think the Voodoo was the only card that worked well with Unreal, both at release, and over time as they eventually added some support for other APIs.

GL Quake runs fantastic though. And DOS compatibility is great.

I've had very specific issues with the Riva 128, Win95, 32 MB of ram, and the latest Nvidia reference drivers. It's not calculating the pci texture heap size correctly compared to earlier drivers, and severely restricting it. This results in GL Quake having horrible stuttering because it's thrashing it's almost nonexistent texture heap. Finding Win95 specific, vendor specific drivers addresses this issue. I've found vendor drivers that work well with only 32 MB of memory in Win95 for both the Diamond Viper V330 and the STB Velocity 128. I have not has much success finding a reference driver that works well. Mostly because I cannot find earlier nvidia reference drivers.

You could do a matrox mystique + voodoo 1 combo or a matrox mystique + a powerVR card

TrashPanda wrote on 2022-09-06, 14:31:

Joseph_Joestar wrote on 2022-09-06, 14:29:

Probably an S3 Virge DX manufactured by either Diamond, STB, Elsa or Hercules. Generic ones often have image quality issues.

Pair it with a Voodoo1 if you want to play Carmageddon at a somewhat reasonable frame rate on that system.

....I missed the part where its a P166 MMX ...that does change things .. the Voodoo2 is out, Voodoo1 is best option for that system and even then the Voodoo will be CPU bound.

Voodoo 2 is out 🤣

It certainly can’t “hurt” that system, I know folks even in the day that had a Voodoo 2 on a 5x86.

If the op can pay the price a voodoo 1 or 2 or even the gimped 3 are all equally fine.

Most of us had s3 or 2d cards at that time though.

some mystique-based card + some unobtainable quantum v1 monstrous card I forget the name of + some pcx2.

I would still throw a high-quality S3 968 PCI into the ring: ELSA Winner 2000 Pro/X, Miro 40SV or Diamond Stealth 64 Video 3200. With external DAC (220/250 MHz) and 4MB or 8MB VRAM, they deliver high refresh rates with excellent image quality. The DOS compatibility and speed is flawless and under Windows the cards are also quite fast thanks to VRAM. The cards have a build date of 1995 to 1996, but thanks to their qualities they also fit into a 1997 setup.

A Voodoo 1 add-on card ensures contemporary, fast and compatible 3D.