So, I installed 98SE. It seemed successful for a while, although it did lockup a couple of times, but I figured that it was the standard Win9x fare. But I installed the Voodoo 3 and it just locked up the moment it loaded Windows interface. Rebooted, managed to get into Windows again, double clicked My Documents (where I keep the drivers) and it just stayed there forever, I could move the mouse around (something I can't do when the PC locks up or hangs), but it wasn't really doing anything, it just stayed there...
I'll try to swap the 2600+ with my older 1600+ and see what happens. If that doesn't work... Maybe I'll look for an NForce 2 board or something like that.

The Voodoo 5 gets its own power from the PSU and not tapping it off the mobo like the other cards.

Did you checked or replaced the caps around the AGP/PCI slots? I've had a few VIA Apollo boards with bad ones right off the AGP slot! Not fun.

Yep, did that too...

RogueTrip2012 wrote:

The Voodoo 5 gets its own power from the PSU and not tapping it off the mobo like the other cards.

Did you checked or replaced the caps around the AGP/PCI slots? I've had a few VIA Apollo boards with bad ones right off the AGP slot! Not fun.

Ummm...he said he installed a Voodoo 3, not a Voodoo 5.

What RogueTrip says is that the reason I'm not facing the same problems with the Voodoo 5 is because the Voodoo 5 does not draw power from the motherboard and it just draws power directly from the PSU. I'm not so sure about that though, I thought it worked just like cards from 2004 and onwards, where they drew power both from the motherboard and the power supply.

I think the AGP slot is like 6w. On a V5 each VSA100 takes 15w so the card is around 30+w.

Just wondering if you have tried underclocking the cpu or cards to gain stability yet? I remember reading alot of AMD folk underclocking there chips. I never owned any AMD from after SlotA till S939.

I swapped the CPU for my older Athlon XP 1600+ and everything seems to be fine now, haven't installed the Voodoo 3 yet though... I'm installing Quake III and Morrowind (rocking 😜) to see how the system performs and check stability. No crashes or hangs yet though with WinME.
My motherboard supposedly needs the latest bios to properly support the 2600+. I have updated the motherboard with this latest bios, but I'm guessing it still has issues with the CPU. Maybe that was the heart of the problem, we'll see as this is one back stabbing SOB for a motherboard xD

I think a 2600+ CPU eats up a lot of power. That could be the problem. BTW, I'm playing Morrowind at the moment, with the graphics extender add-on, so it looks good.

I doubt it's you PSU, I think it's more likely a dying Nvidia video board. Your symptoms sound somewhat similar to my own when i recently got a dying but not quite dead yet ti 4600. Or as you say a bios incompatibility.

Well yeah, but I also tried with a GeForce 6600 GT which I know works perfectly and it produced the same problems.
But get this, it's not a bios thing either. It's just a faulty motherboard most probably, because I ran into the same problems again, as soon as I got into some games. DOSBox hanged as well while trying to play Cybersphere.
I'm going for a new board or a Pentium 4 system. Would a Pentium 2.0A with DDR400, dual channel, AGP 8x be equivalent to an Athlon XP 1600+, DDR266 and AGP4x?

Good news, I'm ditching this board for good. Keropi offered me(off forum just to clear things!) an MSI K7N2 Delta-ILSR which seems like an awesome board, but I have a quick question.
Its sound card seems pretty darn good, but will it be able to emulate a Sound Blaster on a Win9x DOS Prompt?

Resurrecting this thread, because I have another story for you guys!
I got the K7N2 Delta-ILSR and it was DOA! Just my luck... Thankfully, Keropi is an awesome guy and he had no problem refunding me the money.
So instead, I bought a Pentium 4 2.4GHz (Northwood) and installed it on an Albatron PX865PE Pro which I've had for years now and it works flawlessly.
Installed all my cards there along with Windows ME and everything seemed to be working fine until I switched over to the Voodoo 3, where after 5 minutes or so, the display just turned black! Hooking the cables back at the GeForce 4 Ti 4200 gives me a DOS Prompt with a box in the middle saying that Windows has recognized the graphics card and that if I'd like to use it I should go to the Control Panel and then System settings.
Of course, I can't do that, since Windows are not displayed on either card although the OS seems to work just fine. Reseting the machine didn't help, I still got nothing on my screen. Windows boots up just fine though!!! I also tried with another monitor just to be safe, but again, same problems. Only after clearing the CMOS was I able to get any picture at all (because it reverts back to the AGP slot initialization).
Also tried with another set of drivers for the Voodoo 3 (perhaps I should try for the GeForce 4 as well?).
I should note that everything works fine on the GeForce 4 side, heck I even got Mechwarrior 2 to work effortlessly at 1024x768 (looks stunning too!). I only want the Voodoo 3 for Glide games and those pesky SVGA DOS games or D3D games that won't work correctly on a GeForce 4. For example, Master of Orion II produces a very weird and annoying graphical bug with the GeForce 4, mouse cursor keeps disappearing etc...
Any ideas on how to get rid of the problem? Using a Pentium 3 1GHz and pretty much the same setup, I had the two cards working just fine under Win98SE last summer (even managed to beat an old favorite of mine, Quest for Glory V, which for some reason wouldn't work on a GeForce 4 at all, go figure!)

EDIT: This may actually be caused by Irq conflicts, the Voodoo 3 seems to be sharing the same Irq as the USB controller. I'll try disabling USB and see what happens.

False alarm... I've spent two days trying to figure this out, making all kinds of assumptions and in the end the problem was the monitor cable... It's just screwed, I replaced it and away went all my problems!

Sometimes our mind goes to the most complicated things and we forget about the simple solutions! 😁

luckybob wrote:

Yea the late Athlon boards sucked down the 5v line like nobody's business. A LOT of boards even required the aux power connector! I'm not talking about the 4 pin 12v line, but a 6 pin At style connector.

I'm really apprehensive to let the secret out, but "back in the day" they made a power supply from some random Taiwan company., Superflower. They are still around and make a very good power supply. That being said they are hard to get in the states. But their first supplies were cheap and actually very reliable. They had MASSIVE 5V and 5VSB rails. Here is a review to their largest supply: http://www.extremeoverclocking.com/reviews/ca … _QuadFan_1.html

You read right. 52A on the 5V line. They usually come in weird colors. I just bought a green 450W one not too long ago. I watch ebay for these guys, because they are rather un-common. But worth it if you find one that wasn't abused.

TWO of these power supplies have appeared on ebay! one green 450W and a red 550W.

http://www.ebay.com/itm/290655859965
http://www.ebay.com/itm/230727893910

I MIGHT get one of these for myself. I just don't know which one yet. If anyone is interested please say something here so we dont fight over them. I'm thinking about a high end-super 7 build, so the 450 would be fine, but I don't care for the green... but the 550 looks kinda pink...