The STB Nitro 3D is a Virge that I like. If one can "like" Virge. It's a 75MHz Virge/GX usually with 4MB EDO. I see clear output up to 1280x1024 @60Hz which is the useful max of 4MB. They are rather plentiful on ebay.

swaaye wrote:

http://imageshack.us/a/img713/6606/stbnitro3d.th.jpg […]
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Hey, whatchu doin' with my Virge? 🤣

Personally I run the Stealth 3D 2000 Pro 4MB in my P200 rig, I'm pretty happy with it. I haven't tested the Nitro enough to say it's better or worse then the Stealth, but you have to admit the Stealth is just a better looking card. 😁

How about Number Nine's Reality 772, maybe the beefiest-looking Virge/VX card there was, made in the USA, and of course with secret messages in the PCB etching 🤣

http://www.yjfy.com/museum/video/Number_Nine.htm

I wouldn't mind getting their Reality 334 Virge/GX2.....

I run a Stealth 3D 2000 Pro/4mb on my P233 rig as well. It's the original card from my first "bought new" Micron MME in 1997. I recall the 3D-2000 was a consistent top rated card in PC Magazine [or PC World?] in those days. I never had any complaints either. It's lashed up to a Voodoo 1 for good measure - my original first "vanity" PC part...

I've never owned a Diamond card other than the Stealth64 VRAM (which I haven't used much). What's the deal with Diamond? Do they work with generic S3 drivers, or did they do something funky with the hardware?

They work with reference drivers. It's just that Diamond is nothing special when it comes to quality. Lots of blurry Diamond cards out there. Though for DOS game resolutions a poor analog circuit barely matters.

I'm thinking to buy an S3 Savage2000 based PCI card with DVI. Is there any reason why I shouldn't?

I thought I should add that it is going into a 486, and I am not interested in running 3D stuff.

vlask wrote:

http://www.vogonswiki.com/images/9/97/S3quake.png […]
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My old Amstrad PC (Pentium 75MHz) had a 2MB S3 Trio64V2+ ... Can't see it on that list, and i've not seen any since then! I'm guessing it was the best/fastes S3 Trio64 model (not includeing Trio3D)?

Hi

There are some great images here so I offer up a few more:

I installed the VIRGE card already in my TX mainboard, however, I cannot recommend it as I am not familiar with any method to interrogate it's capabilities. What utilities are available for S3 cards?

TIA

Had a stealth2000pro back on the p1 days... awesome card combined with a voodoo2...
I got the stealth when I saw how Croc was running with one 🤣

Anonymous Coward wrote:

I'm thinking to buy an S3 Savage2000 based PCI card with DVI. Is there any reason why I shouldn't?

Yes. It seems that using DVI forces 70 Hz VGA modes to run at 60 Hz, which screws up the timing in many games.

I only have first-hand experience with one GeForce 4 card, but other Vogoners have confirmed this behaviour for other cards as well.

keropi wrote:

Had a stealth2000pro back on the p1 days... awesome card combined with a voodoo2...
I got the stealth when I saw how Croc was running with one 🤣

I agree - I moved up to a V2 as soon as I could. The high water mark of that TX build was with the addition of a C-300A @ 450...

The 3D-2000 has good backwards compatitility with DOS/Vesa stuff.

sklawz wrote:

What utilities are available for S3 cards?

S3SPD
http://www.mediafire.com/download.php?odinmfjygnz

S3VBE
http://www.mediafire.com/download.php?2it5n2iejkj

Also look up MCLK.

Hi.

swaaye wrote:

S3SPD http://www.mediafire.com/download.php?odinmfjygnz […]
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sklawz wrote:

What utilities are available for S3 cards?

S3SPD
http://www.mediafire.com/download.php?odinmfjygnz

S3VBE
http://www.mediafire.com/download.php?2it5n2iejkj

Also look up MCLK.

Thanks, I have downloaded all three.

I used MCLK /0 to get the memory clock information. It says it's running at 59.96MHz (65/2/2) 😀 There is other info available but I'm not sure that it is useful. I suspect that this card is very much not in demand and therefore not recommended.

Bye!

Anonymous Coward wrote:

If I were to buy say a Virge 325, can I rest assured that they all run their memory and core at the same speed? Or are some faster or slower than others? Are they backward compatible with Trio64V+ drivers?

The chips are not completely compatible, but there are drivers for most older operating systems:
http://www.s3graphics.com/en/drivers/legacy_s … re_archive.aspx

If I went with something like a Virge 375 (DX), is it possible to patch all the S3D games for the original Virge 325 to run on it?

As mentioned in this thread Re: Diamond Stealth 3D 2000 PCI 4MB vs Diamond Stealth32...Head on.. you will need the S3D Toolkit Patcher to run DOS S3D games with anything else than a 325 or VX. (This is not a patcher in the strict sense, I would consider it a TSR or launcher.)
More information here: S3 VIRGE Terminal velocity in dos.
Later cards than DX/GX can be supported but may be glitchy.
In Windows the situation is probably different, I suppose the driver version will matter.

I'm thinking to buy an S3 Savage2000 based PCI card with DVI. Is there any reason why I shouldn't?

I thought I should add that it is going into a 486, and I am not interested in running 3D stuff.

You are probably aware that the Savage line is a completely new design? (At least regarding 3D, I don't know if they recycled the 2D engine, but the Savage chips also had several new 2D features.)
Unless you are sure a Savage2000 is a good choice for DOS you might consider something like a Geforce2 MX if you want to have DVI in DOS.

I can add that Terminal Velocity and Battle Race do not work with the GX2, even with the S3D Toolkit. The rest of the S3D games I highly recommend you play on the GX2 😉

Does the GX2 have the mipmap problem I see with the GX in Mechwarrior 2 S3D?

Thanks for the tips. I'll probably go with one of those STB 3D Nitro cards with the GX chipset.

swaaye wrote:

Does the GX2 have the mipmap problem I see with the GX in Mechwarrior 2 S3D?

Either I completely missed it, or there weren't a problem. I captured my Mechwarrior 2 comparison video on the GX2. You can see for yourself 😀

Well I happen to have a video of the GX doing the uglies. 😉
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BMkyKbAO0NE

Sweet comparison video btw.