VOGONS


3dfx voodoo 3

Topic actions

First post, by Mowdy

User metadata
Rank Newbie
Rank
Newbie

I have this card. But i cant seem to get it running with 16,24,32 Bit colors. Cant win 95 not handle that or is it the card ?

http://www.gpureview.com/Voodoo3-3000-card-2.html

Best regards
Thomas

Reply 2 of 15, by chinny22

User metadata
Rank l33t++
Rank
l33t++

Should be fine, what driver have you installed?
Different versions are available here
https://www.3dfxzone.it/dir/3dfx/voodoo3/driv … chive/windows9x

Reply 3 of 15, by Fusion

User metadata
Rank Member
Rank
Member

It seems like you may not have drivers installed, or not the correct ones. I recommend the latest official 3Dfx drivers:

http://www.philscomputerlab.com/uploads/3/7/2 … .07.00-whql.zip

Pentium III @ 1.28Ghz - Intel SE440xBX-2 - 384MB PC100 - ATi Radeon DDR 64MB @ 200/186 - SB Live! 5.1 - Windows ME

Reply 6 of 15, by jheronimus

User metadata
Rank Oldbie
Rank
Oldbie

Voodoo 3 can't output 32 bit image. As far as I remember, it renders everything in 16 bit and then proceeds to convert the image to something like 22bit (here's Anandtech's bit on the topic) which is why screenshots always looked a bit worse than the actual screen output. That was a big point in Voodoo 3 vs Nvidia TNT/ATI Rage 128 debate back then, actually.

MR BIOS catalog
Unicore catalog

Reply 7 of 15, by leileilol

User metadata
Rank l33t++
Rank
l33t++

Voodoo3 can support 24/32-bit color for output.........except in 3d of course.

the "22-bit" is just a marketing buzzword for 2x2 box dac post-filtering and this only applies to fullscreen 3d use.

apsosig.png
long live PCem

Reply 8 of 15, by clueless1

User metadata
Rank l33t
Rank
l33t

Question to OP: Are you referring to 2D desktop UI, or 3D games? I'm assuming desktop UI. Some peoples answers indicate they think you're talking about 3D games, so you should clarify.

The more I learn, the more I realize how much I don't know.
OPL3 FM vs. Roland MT-32 vs. General MIDI DOS Game Comparison
Let's benchmark our systems with cache disabled
DOS PCI Graphics Card Benchmarks

Reply 9 of 15, by Mowdy

User metadata
Rank Newbie
Rank
Newbie
clueless1 wrote:

Question to OP: Are you referring to 2D desktop UI, or 3D games? I'm assuming desktop UI. Some peoples answers indicate they think you're talking about 3D games, so you should clarify.

I am talking about 2d desktop windows 95. Everytime i start windows with 24/32 bit it says that there is a error in card settings, maybe wrong card or something in that direction!

Reply 10 of 15, by Mowdy

User metadata
Rank Newbie
Rank
Newbie

Here is the messege i get. i have tried all drivers listed on the page you guys linked to. same result

"There is an error associated with the screen settings. The card type is incorrect or the current settings can not be used with your hardware"

Reply 13 of 15, by Kodai

User metadata
Rank Member
Rank
Member

There is a program called "Driver Cleaner" that should do the trick. It was pretty much required software back in the day, as most video card drivers didn't clean up their own mess when updating, and Win 9X has a fairly craptastic registry. In fact, it wasn't until the early 2000's that Nvidia and Ati started releasing driver updates that cleaned up the mess their old drivers made on install. Back then, you pretty much had to use 3rd party cleaning utilities each and every time a driver came out. 3DFX had already gone bye bye when things got better in the Windows and video driver world.

Reply 14 of 15, by TOBOR

User metadata
Rank Member
Rank
Member
Kodai wrote:

There is a program called "Driver Cleaner" that should do the trick. It was pretty much required software back in the day, as most video card drivers didn't clean up their own mess when updating, and Win 9X has a fairly craptastic registry. In fact, it wasn't until the early 2000's that Nvidia and Ati started releasing driver updates that cleaned up the mess their old drivers made on install. Back then, you pretty much had to use 3rd party cleaning utilities each and every time a driver came out. 3DFX had already gone bye bye when things got better in the Windows and video driver world.

No magic involved in all those so called Drive cleaners. Those are mostly junk. i can clear driver files and do a better job of it myself just by searching for the files in the registry itself.

If the truth hurts, tough shit.

Reply 15 of 15, by Kodai

User metadata
Rank Member
Rank
Member

I agree, and never implied that it can't be done manually. But if you're unaware of the problems in dealing with vintage hardware, software, and drivers, then jumping straight into Windows 9X registry and mucking about will more than likely end in a total disaster. Driver Cleaner was/is known to be safe and effective in cleaning old video driver installations under 9X and is a perfectly viable option for those who may not know the details of linked files in the registry for the average retro collector. The OP was unaware of a number of things related to his problem, so we shouldn't assume he can handle registry cleaning by hand. That can lead to formating and reinstalling Windows.