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Multi-purpose Voodoo box - s370 PC being built, need assistance.

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First post, by QlShdR

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Welcome in this thread.

I'd like to build a Voodoo box. 3dfx and Glide is dear to me and after so many years without them, I realised that I want that feeling back, even if it won't be the same as back in the days.

So far, the rig's main parts would be:

MB: Legend QDI P6V694T Advance 10T
CPU: Intel Pentium III 1133 MHz Tualatin
RAM: 2x256 MB SD 133 (don't know exact model yet)
VGA: Voodoo 3 3000 16 MB AGP
sound: Diamond MonsterSound MX300 (probably)

Nothing is this easy, alas I have some questions as well;

1. Considering the CPU, I have two options of 1133 MHz Tualatins; one of them is SL5LV, the other one is SLPU - which one should I acquire and why?

2. AFAIK AGP Voodoos tend to work only in 3.3 AGP slots (except the black sheep V4 4500).
This QDI board has a VIA Apollo Pro133T 686B chipset, which should cooperate with 3.3V cards without any problems, but I REALLY want to make sure that this is true, so it would be nice if you guys would share your thoughts and experiences in this matter.

The rig's main purpose would be playing Glide games AND serving as a music center and a 24/7 seed-server, running preferably Vuze.

And this is where the problem hits the surface; reading (just) a bit into the topic revealed that 3dfx is best on Win 98, so as Diamond MonsterSound MX300.
The XP drivers of 3dfx are not the best, and the MX300 loses the ability to produce DirectSound and A3D under Win2k or above - I don't know if the loss of DirectSound has a negative impact on WinAMP playback or not. I would use 2.0 stereo or 2.1 sound system (AIWA NSX-BL28 Hi-Fi with its subwoofer and two Tesla speakers)

Well, this whole thing wouldn't be too much of a problem, if torrents and easily configurable network settings and connection setup wouldn't be important issues as well, but they are.
Also, I'd like to avoid dual boot - I prefer single OS, nice and clean.

Sooo...answers to the forementioned questions are well appriciated, so as the suggestions about the modus operandi regarding OS and driver preference.

Later on, when the purse will be a bit heavier, a Tua P III 1.4S and a V5 5500 PCI would be the ideal upgrade, but that's not gonna be tomorrow. Just taking the journey step by step.

[It's better to get a DFC tomorrow than having a thousand boings today.]::[Sweeet nymphets from dusk 'till dawn. <333]::[MIPS under the pillow]::[3dfx Glide & Silicon Graphics <3]--->X-MAS IS NOT HAPPY WITH A SLEDGE IN YOUR SPINE.

Reply 2 of 5, by QlShdR

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PowerPie5000 wrote:

Both of those CPUs appear to be identical spec wise, so either should be fine.

Same socket, same clock speed, same L2 size and FSB, but they must be different is some way hence there's a different code for each of them. Guess I'll have to resort to the depths of Google, maybe I'll find some info about this.

PowerPie5000 wrote:

I'm not too sure about the AGP slot supporting 3.3v though?

Me neither. : /

I read somewhere on the net (looked legit), that the chipset is fine with AGP Voodoos, the current owner states the same, but I really wanted some extra reassuring, because I don't know him and I'd like to avoid unnecessary purchase.

How about the sound and drivers / OS hesitation? Can you add some valuable input regarding these matters?

[It's better to get a DFC tomorrow than having a thousand boings today.]::[Sweeet nymphets from dusk 'till dawn. <333]::[MIPS under the pillow]::[3dfx Glide & Silicon Graphics <3]--->X-MAS IS NOT HAPPY WITH A SLEDGE IN YOUR SPINE.

Reply 3 of 5, by sprcorreia

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I have one of these motherboards stored (might use it soon for a new Win98 pc). QDI says it has a universal AGP slot, so it's good with Voodoo cards.

Reply 4 of 5, by citronalco

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Had two or three of this Advance 10T boards and was quite happy with them. But all failed with broken capacitors. So have a look at them if you get boot problems or other instability issues.

Reply 5 of 5, by tayyare

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I would say forget about XP. Windows XP will not be decently caring any of that hardware you are talking about, 98SE will be definately my choice.

If you really need XP, for something else other than retro gaming in the same machine, dual boot will be a better option, and I have no idea why you are hesitant about it. Even without any 3rd party software it is possible. And you can also look at here, this is what I use. (to multiboot into 8 dfferent OSes, nothing less) without a single problem.

http://www.masterbooter.com/main/news.php?lang=en

Do you planning on playing DOS games, too? If yes, it might be better to look for an ISA option for the sound.

GA-6VTXE PIII 1.4+512MB
Geforce4 Ti 4200 64MB
Diamond Monster 3D 12MB SLI
SB AWE64 PNP+32MB
120GB IDE Samsung/80GB IDE Seagate/146GB SCSI Compaq/73GB SCSI IBM
Adaptec AHA29160
3com 3C905B-TX
Gotek+CF Reader
MSDOS 6.22+Win 3.11/95 OSR2.1/98SE/ME/2000

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