My guess is that your options are limited to just pci cards and the Matrox G200 isn't bad but getting a pci version isn't cheap unless lucky but for a system of that speed a Nvidia TNT 2 M64 pci can be had in that price range but the card will be bottlenecked by the cpu. Personally I would just keep the Mach64 and install a Voodoo 1 but good luck with that unless you get lucky to find one locally. Voodoo 2 is much faster and is nice to have but my God have the prices went up!

Running a Voodoo Rush in my current pentium 1 rig though I need to get around to building a few more 😉

I think a P120 is too slow for any 3D accelerated gaming. What you have now is great for most DOS games though! Another option that is easier to find is a Voodoo3 2000 PCI. That's a better DOS card than the Mach64 and it will be at least as good as a Voodoo in Win9x, maybe cheaper and easier to find than them too. But temper expectations with that P120. How fast a cpu does the system accept? Maybe that's a better place to spend the money?

clueless1 wrote:

I think a P120 is too slow for any 3D accelerated gaming. What you have now is great for most DOS games though! Another option that is easier to find is a Voodoo3 2000 PCI. That's a better DOS card than the Mach64 and it will be at least as good as a Voodoo in Win9x, maybe cheaper and easier to find than them too. But temper expectations with that P120. How fast a cpu does the system accept? Maybe that's a better place to spend the money?

You're probably right about the 120, but this is my first foray into vintage computing, and most of the games I have now are edutainment and strategy, so for now, I'll have to wait! Voodoo cards will have to wait, too. Cheapest working is a Voodoo2 in the mid 40s, and my budget is tight. For example, for sound, I'm getting an ES-1869F, not even a Sound blaster!

nforce4max wrote:

My guess is that your options are limited to just pci cards and the Matrox G200 isn't bad but getting a pci version isn't cheap unless lucky but for a system of that speed a Nvidia TNT 2 M64 pci can be had in that price range but the card will be bottlenecked by the cpu. Personally I would just keep the Mach64 and install a Voodoo 1 but good luck with that unless you get lucky to find one locally. Voodoo 2 is much faster and is nice to have but my God have the prices went up!

Running a Voodoo Rush in my current pentium 1 rig though I need to get around to building a few more 😉

For as well as the Voodoos sold, why are they so expensive? Demand, I guess. Anyway,
I found an Ebay seller with a bunch on 200s in PCI, titled, "Matrox Millennium G200 G2+/DUALP-PL 16MB DMS-60 PCI Full Height Graphics." Are these different, and how would it compare to one of those TNT 2 M64s?

You could scan for "PCI VGA" on ebay and hope to get lucky with a Voodoo that the seller doesn't realize sells for more than they are getting rid of it for. I got my ARK2000PV this way. I think I paid around $12 for it. Granted, it's a longshot, but just takes a bit of your time each day while you wait for the budget to expand. 😀

Soundblaster's aren't always the best choice, I'm sure the ES will be fine.

Or ask around or even visit a recycler on my last visit I scored a working core2 system, am2+ board, an Asus tuv-x, and an x5650 1366 for a grand total of $41

nforce4max wrote:

My guess is that your options are limited to just pci cards and the Matrox G200 isn't bad but getting a pci version isn't cheap unless lucky but for a system of that speed a Nvidia TNT 2 M64 pci can be had in that price range but the card will be bottlenecked by the cpu. Personally I would just keep the Mach64 and install a Voodoo 1 but good luck with that unless you get lucky to find one locally. Voodoo 2 is much faster and is nice to have but my God have the prices went up!

Running a Voodoo Rush in my current pentium 1 rig though I need to get around to building a few more 😉

And how do u like the voodoo rush.

Cheapest and dime a dozen for me was S3virge gx or shifty trident cards

11justsomekid wrote:

For example, for sound, I'm getting an ES-1869F, not even a Sound blaster!
<snip>

In all seriousness, the ESS Audiodrive is pretty much as good as any ISA Creative card other than maybe the AWE32/64 (and then, only if you want to use the AWE wavetable synth). It's a more capable card than the SB Pro, and pretty much on par with the better SB 16s. (Not all were created equal, as it were).

ESS cards have perfect MIDI support, a good OPL3 rendition, good sound quality, excellent SB Pro compatibility, and some titles even support ESS 16 bit mode. They're fantastic ISA sound cards.

I'm finally down to two cards:

Matrox Millennium G200
STB Velocity 128ZX

I'm leaning toward that STB, as I can actually get it in person, and it seems superior. Any opinions?

I'd wait for Voodoo1 or V2 card. Your P120 can be overclocked to 133 with 66MHz FSB or you can replace cpu with Pentium 233MMX and you'll have a great DOS/Windows 95 machine.

i like the g200 it has good drivers and a very nice image quality.

In a P120? Yep, G200. Great 2D speed, outstanding image quality, supports high resolutions and is fast enough to use them without driving you cuckoo, and has some 3D acceleration. Anything where a Voodoo2 would significantly help probably wants a more skookum CPU.

The Riva 128-based STB isn't bad, but it's a slightly odd chip, as I recall.

The verdict is here: G200, it is!