Avoid getting S3 Virge for 3D acceleration at all costs, grab a Rage Pro Turbo if you don't have any other choice, that card should run all DX5 games glitch free with the latest drivers and at much better performance.

Excuse me, gentlemen, but if it's not all about historical correctness, what part of "get any random late PCI Geforce" am I missing here?
https://www.ebay.com/itm/Zotac-FX5200-128MB-6 … E-/353976068658

Driver overhead. nVidia began bloating the hell out of it in 2002+

leileilol wrote on 2022-04-10, 22:37:

Driver overhead. nVidia began bloating the hell out of it in 2002+

I understand that, but how much practical difference is it going to make, with how many actual applications?
Could it hurt to try before going on a wild goose chase of some arcane contemporary card?

Here is what you do: Work an extra day - then buy every card recommended and derided in this thread. After you're happy with the results, resell the cards you won't have any use for... just be sure to consider the regret of wishing you hadn't resold them in the future.

Meatball wrote on 2022-04-10, 22:43:

Here is what you do: Work an extra day - then buy every card recommended and derided in this thread. After you're happy with the results, resell the cards you won't have any use for... just be sure to consider the regret of wishing you hadn't resold them in the future.

I do like the way you think.
But, it's already to late for that. He already spent that extra day reading through this nerd bukkake here....

I am now set on a ESLA Victory 3DX (S3 Virge/DX 4MB)
I have tried the card emulated in PCem and liked it.
If I won't like it, I will spend more on a better card at later date.

it's not about building the best gaming PC of the Era, it's about the experience along the way and I bet I will have fun with S3 Virge/DX.

Cuttoon wrote on 2022-04-10, 22:40:

I understand that, but how much practical difference is it going to make, with how many actual applications?
Could it hurt to try before going on a wild goose chase of some arcane contemporary card?

Recently @bloodem did a comparison between a GeForce2 MX using 7.76 drivers and a GeForce4 MX440 using 40.72 drivers on a K6-3 CPU.

The GF2 MX delivers better performance in lower resolutions due to using older drivers, despite the GF4 MX being a newer, more advanced card. I imagine that the performance gap would have been even higher if he had used a GeForce FX with 5x.xx drivers or something even newer.

Joseph_Joestar wrote on 2022-04-11, 06:41:

Cuttoon wrote on 2022-04-10, 22:40:

I understand that, but how much practical difference is it going to make, with how many actual applications?
Could it hurt to try before going on a wild goose chase of some arcane contemporary card?

Recently @bloodem did a comparison between a GeForce2 MX using 7.76 drivers and a GeForce4 MX440 using 40.72 drivers on a K6-3 CPU.

The GF2 MX delivers better performance in lower resolutions due to using older drivers, despite the GF4 MX being a newer, more advanced card. I imagine that the performance gap would have been even higher if he had used a GeForce FX with 5x.xx drivers or something even newer.

Seems plausible. I did not check, but could be that even a PCI Gf2 MX is much cheaper / easier to find than a V2. AGP Gf2 MX are truly everywhere.

Also, IIRC, we're talking about a p133 bottleneck here.

koleq wrote on 2022-04-11, 06:27:

I am now set on a ESLA Victory 3DX (S3 Virge/DX 4MB)

see you in two weeks asking same question again 😀

koleq wrote on 2022-04-11, 06:27:

I am now set on a ESLA Victory 3DX (S3 Virge/DX 4MB) I have tried the card emulated in PCem and liked it. If I won't like it, I […]
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I am now set on a ESLA Victory 3DX (S3 Virge/DX 4MB)
I have tried the card emulated in PCem and liked it.
If I won't like it, I will spend more on a better card at later date.

it's not about building the best gaming PC of the Era, it's about the experience along the way and I bet I will have fun with S3 Virge/DX.

Enjoy it for what it is while you save money for a card with better 3D acceleration.

You have games with S3D support to play with that ViRGE card. The following link has a list on the S3D section: 3D Accelerated Games List (Proprietary APIs - No 3DFX/Direct3D).

My Elsa Victory 3DX (S3 Virge/DX 4 MB) is finally on the way to me.
Can't wait to play S3D games, and the likes of Resident Evil 1.

I know the terminology is incorrect, but i still often find myself calling 3DFX cards and the like "GPUs" out of habit. Just what video cards have always been called in my life.