Very nice indeed! I have 2xVoodoo2's in my PIII machine and they come in handy from time to time, have you considered adding some? I use a Geforce 2 Ultra too, but it's good to have a Glide option too.

A pair of Voodoo2's is definitely on my long-term wish list. So far, though, I can't bring myself to blow $100+ on an exotic GPU configuration, especially when its functionality is mostly duplicated by stuff I already own. I'm keeping my eyes peeled for good deals, though. I've also considered settling for a Voodoo3 for the time being.

maximus wrote:

A pair of Voodoo2's is definitely on my long-term wish list. So far, though, I can't bring myself to blow $100+ on an exotic GPU configuration, especially when its functionality is mostly duplicated by stuff I already own. I'm keeping my eyes peeled for good deals, though. I've also considered settling for a Voodoo3 for the time being.

Fair enough. If you're not in a hurry then you can get some very good deals on Voodoo2's. I've seen several listed on Ebay as a 'PCI VGA card' and then they go for a few bucks. You don't need matched ones anymore either, the latest drivers can handle 2 different brands, and even differing amounts of memory.

badmojo wrote:

Fair enough. If you're not in a hurry then you can get some very good deals on Voodoo2's. I've seen several listed on Ebay as a 'PCI VGA card' and then they go for a few bucks. You don't need matched ones anymore either, the latest drivers can handle 2 different brands, and even differing amounts of memory.

That's good to know. I always assumed the cards would have to be identical.

Say, you mentioned having a GF2 Ultra as well... any suggestions on which drivers to use? I've had some trouble in the past with Nvidia drivers from that period. I'm planning on trying the 30.82s this time around. (WHQL'd and well-received at the time)

I use 45.23 with my Ultra, based on some advice I picked up along the way somewhere. Never had a problem with them.

I used to use a geforce 2 ultra as well in my 98 machine but updated to a geforce 4.

Is that one of those Rosewill coolers from newegg?

Private_Ops wrote:

Is that one of those Rosewill coolers from newegg?

Yes, it's this one. I actually bought two of these. The other one is undergoing a long-term stress test in my Socket A SETI@home rig (100% CPU utilization 24/7). So far, so good! Probably an overkill for the PIII, but it's nice and quiet.

badmojo wrote:

I use 45.23 with my Ultra, based on some advice I picked up along the way somewhere. Never had a problem with them.

I've heard good things about those as well. Guess I'll give them a try. Thanks!

Voodoo 2 12Mb for less then $10. http://pc-1.ru/i_shop/video/pci/A029492
More than 1700 in stock! The only thing you need is to find someone in Moscow who will send this abroad. I would be happy to help, however, there's 2700 km between me and the shop 😁

thats a pretty kickass machine, I really like the case.

I wonder if a Geforce3 or 4 would be a better choice for that CPU , in my mind a GF2 is better for a 600-1Ghz CPU, some of the later DX8 games could really benefit from that.

Darkman wrote:

thats a pretty kickass machine, I really like the case.

Thanks!

Darkman wrote:

I wonder if a Geforce3 or 4 would be a better choice for that CPU , in my mind a GF2 is better for a 600-1Ghz CPU, some of the later DX8 games could really benefit from that.

Agreed, the Geforce2 and PIII 1400S are mismatched. However, I like my retro rigs to be CPU-heavy so that the GPUs are really "maxed-out," if that makes sense.

Also, most (all?) DX8 games are designed for XP and run just fine on newer hardware. I'm building this machine specifically for old-school, pre-XP, pre-DX8 games which tend to be more picky. (Not that a Ti 4600 wouldn't kick ass with those games, though.)

RacoonRider wrote:

Voodoo 2 12Mb for less then $10. http://pc-1.ru/i_shop/video/pci/A029492
More than 1700 in stock! The only thing you need is to find someone in Moscow who will send this abroad. I would be happy to help, however, there's 2700 km between me and the shop 😁

it says its the 12mb version but in the image there are no ram chips on the back of the card. I thought all 12mb voodoo's had ram on the backside of the card? or maybe its just an old stock image?

as for the Geforce 2, Its a good card and if you want the card maxed out that's cool but if incompatibility is holding you back I don't think there's any game that would run on a GF2 that wouldn't on a GF4 at least as far as I could find from experience and research. its the cards after the GF4 that are rumored to start having issues with older stuff.

maximus wrote:

Thanks! […]
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Darkman wrote:

thats a pretty kickass machine, I really like the case.

Thanks!

Darkman wrote:

I wonder if a Geforce3 or 4 would be a better choice for that CPU , in my mind a GF2 is better for a 600-1Ghz CPU, some of the later DX8 games could really benefit from that.

Agreed, the Geforce2 and PIII 1400S are mismatched. However, I like my retro rigs to be CPU-heavy so that the GPUs are really "maxed-out," if that makes sense.

Also, most (all?) DX8 games are designed for XP and run just fine on newer hardware. I'm building this machine specifically for old-school, pre-XP, pre-DX8 games which tend to be more picky. (Not that a Ti 4600 wouldn't kick ass with those games, though.)

yes and no , most will work but a few have issues, for instance 2 games Ive noticed problems on are Mafia (alot of flickering, and shadows) , and Deus EX IW (wouldn't even start until I got it to work via a hack , not a pleasant experience) , also Max Payne 1 and 2 also refused to start up at all and it seems to be a driver issue.

now it might be due to me using a Radeon 6870 (yes I know, Im due for an upgrade soon), but some games still have their issues.

its not absolutely necessary though , the kind of games that really benefit from a Geforce 4 would also be the kind of games that benefit from a 2Ghz+ Athlon XP (Doom 3 for instance)

Darkman wrote:

Max Payne 1 and 2 also refused to start up at all and it seems to be a driver issue.

I had the same problem. Completely reinstall the driver (you can use Display Driver Uninstaller 9.9). It should resolve this issue.

I eventually got Max Payne 2 to work by simply waiting for newer drivers (although sometimes new drivers fix older issues while creating new ones obviously) , but Max 1 still has issues.

fortunately my Win98 machine has the horsepower to run Max Payne smoothly at high settings and res, so its ok on that front.

Darkman wrote:

now it might be due to me using a Radeon 6870

Ah... when I said "newer hardware," I was thinking more along the lines of my Radeon X850 XT PE 😁 (Incidentally, even that card has issues with Max Payne 1.)

I guess I've given up on gaming with truly modern hardware, to be honest. It got to be such a pain in the post-DX10 years, mostly because of driver issues like the ones you mentioned.

maximus wrote:

Private_Ops wrote:

Is that one of those Rosewill coolers from newegg?

Yes, it's this one. I actually bought two of these. The other one is undergoing a long-term stress test in my Socket A SETI@home rig (100% CPU utilization 24/7). So far, so good! Probably an overkill for the PIII, but it's nice and quiet.

Awesome. I've got an Athlon XP (w/board) that should be in the mail to me in a few days. Was wanting a new cooler for it.

What speed Athlon is in your socket A?

Private_Ops wrote:

Awesome. I've got an Athlon XP (w/board) that should be in the mail to me in a few days. Was wanting a new cooler for it.

What speed Athlon is in your socket A?

It's actually a Sempron 3000+.The system is a cheapo Compaq Presario, which is why I don't feel bad about slowly killing it with SETI@home. It's not a bad system, though. I think the motherboard is a neutered ASUS, and the CPU is reasonably fast.