Originally I thought it was just an updated version of the Mach64 CT, but it appears it does have a 3D core as well. It is a stripped down version of a Rage II. So that probably means 2mb with slower core and memory.

Yeah it does have 2MB Graphics memory, 4x512k.
Ok, thank you. I have both card and dont really need them, so i though id ditch the weaker one.

Anonymous Coward wrote:

Originally I thought it was just an updated version of the Mach64 CT, but it appears it does have a 3D core as well. It is a stripped down version of a Rage II. So that probably means 2mb with slower core and memory.

You got any 3d working? I came to different conclusion: http://www.vintage3d.org/rage.php
VT4 was Rage IIc tech.

I probably learned that VT chips had 3D capability from your page in the first place. It wasn't really clear, but it seemed you implied the VT2 supported Rage software. Is that not the case?

ATi's lineup in the mid 90s was so bloody confusing. Back then I didn't even know there was a difference between the CT, VT and GT. They were all just Mach64 to me. I bought an ATi 3D Rage Pro Turbo PC2TV in 1997. To be honest, I didn't care about the 3D stuff. I probably didn't even know what "3D" meant. I figured it was just some scam like "3D sound". I really just wanted a PCI Mach64 card with a lot of SGRAM memory. I bought the 8MB model. According to your article, the 8MB card is hard to find? Mine has the Rage II+ chip too, not the II+DVD. I can't tell you how bloody angry I was after buying the card to find out that the extra 4MB didn't give me any additional 2D resolutions. I felt cheated, and it never even occurred to me that the extra memory was used by 3D games. I don't think I ever played a single Rage game on that card.

None of the ATICIF games made for the ATI Rage II requires more than 4 MB of memory to run in max. resolution. The 8MB model for the Rage II and Rage II+DVD was a 4MB SGRAM board with a 4MB memory expansion module. They aren't that rare, as I've seen three cards available the last year. I even suggested a boxed version to Putas, but he found it too expensive.

I personally own the 4MB expansion board (hardest to find), but I don't have the 4MB SGRAM board with the expansion connectors. This means I'm stuck using it with my 2MB SGRAM board giving a total of 6MB memory. From my memory I do seem to remember being able to increase 2D resolutions in Windows by doing this...but I could be mistaken, or it just was able to use up to 4MB total.

Anonymous Coward wrote:

Mine has the Rage II+ chip too, not the II+DVD

Picture and frequency please, so far I could not find any proof of this chip's existence.

It's been in storage for the last year. I'll have access to it this fall. I do recall taking photos of all my ATi cards many years ago, but I don't think I have the PCI cards photos online. I can't say my memory is 100%, but I do know for certain that my card didn't have the updated logo.

So I'm pretty sure the extra 4MB does nothing for 2D resolutions. At the time my friend and I bought the same card. He had the 4MB and I had the 8MB model. Both of ours did up to 1280x1024 in true colour.

So if the 8mb is useless in 2D and useless in 3D, exactly what is the purpose of having it? Was it just an expensive Christmas tree ornament?

I've been going through other pictures of the 3D Pro Turbo PC2TV cards. I noticed that none of them use the same PCB as the card I have. Mine has a PCB that looks more like the Rage II+DVD cards, but it uses the DIP BIOS like the older Rage II models. So there's hope that I have something interesting.

Anonymous Coward wrote:

So if the 8mb is useless in 2D and useless in 3D, exactly what is the purpose of having it? Was it just an expensive Christmas tree ornament?

There is more usage to memory capacity then enabling higher resolution, and you have hit ramdac limit.

I didn't notice any speed improvement by having the extra memory (in 2D) either. So what else could it possibly be for?

Anonymous Coward wrote:

I didn't notice any speed improvement by having the extra memory (in 2D) either. So what else could it possibly be for?

I've never seen a RageII+ card either, but I have seen the RageII+DVD chip on PCB cards resembling the RageII. It seems they used old surplus PCBs for the new chip.

I'll test with my 6MB card. If it doesn't improve resolutions it could be used in special applications, just like the STB 8MB S3 Virge VX card.

I don't think you have a Rage.

Here's a photo I found of a card using the 264VT2 chip.

I think this is just a Mach64 without 3D otherwise the chip in the top right would say Mach64 GT on it and the word Rage would be somewhere on the square chip in the middle.

The best way to find out what the card is, though, is to take the P/N and Google it. That is the number that begins with 109. I have never had trouble identifying any early ATi card using this method.