It depends.

While I never bought the only Voodoo2 card that I have as "for parts only", there are chances that it works, and the previous owner never had a way to test it. Except when there are descriptions saying that it died or have artifacts.

Regarding SLI, it is recommended to be the exact same model and manufacturer for guaranteed functionality. Otherwise, you will be needing drivers with mismatched SLI support.

fractal5 wrote on 2023-09-30, 13:00:

It seems that some sell cards that are listed as "for parts only" for 280 USD. While allegedly working cards, might sell for 170 USD.

But these are just listings, doesn't mean that they sell.

I would always look at the seller's other items and sales history. Is it someone who sold other old untested computer parts, but got positive ratings for it? This is the most trustworthy category, it could be working, but the seller genuinely has no way to test it. Or did he sell a lot of tested stuff, but the Voodoo is the only untested item? Red flag. Is it a seller who sells a lot of "parts only", grubby looking stuff, and has a high percentage of non-ratings for his sales? Then the card probably comes from a recycling center, doesn't have to be a scam but expect a high defect rate. And another red flag is "for parts only" and a high "buy it now price". If I was a scammer and knew the card was defective, this is exactly how I would try to sell it.

And finally, if the loop cable is included, it means a high likelihood that the card has been stored in working condition, which is always a good sign.

Gmlb256 wrote on 2023-09-30, 13:32:

It depends.

While I never bought the only Voodoo2 card that I have as "for parts only", there are chances that it works, and the previous owner never had a way to test it. Except when there are descriptions saying that it died or have artifacts.

Regarding SLI, it is recommended to be the exact same model and manufacturer for guaranteed functionality. Otherwise, you will be needing drivers with mismatched SLI support.

Thanks.

Exact same, so say it is a Creative Labs Voodoo 2 CT6670, is it good enough to get another Creative Labs Voodoo 2 CT6670, or do they have to be even more closely matched, as in be from the same stepping, batch, more fine granular model number/version (more exact than CT6670)?

fractal5 wrote on 2023-09-30, 15:47:

Gmlb256 wrote on 2023-09-30, 13:32:

It depends.

While I never bought the only Voodoo2 card that I have as "for parts only", there are chances that it works, and the previous owner never had a way to test it. Except when there are descriptions saying that it died or have artifacts.

Regarding SLI, it is recommended to be the exact same model and manufacturer for guaranteed functionality. Otherwise, you will be needing drivers with mismatched SLI support.

Thanks.

Exact same, so say it is a Creative Labs Voodoo 2 CT6670, is it good enough to get another Creative Labs Voodoo 2 CT6670, or do they have to be even more closely matched, as in be from the same stepping, batch, more fine granular model number/version (more exact than CT6670)?

It is good enough to get another CT6670 and doesn't need to have the same stepping or be 100% exact.

fractal5 wrote on 2023-09-30, 13:00:

Are most Voodoo 2 cards on eBay defective, even the ones that are listed as working? […]
Show full quote

Are most Voodoo 2 cards on eBay defective, even the ones that are listed as working?

It seems that some sell cards that are listed as "for parts only" for 280 USD. While allegedly working cards, might sell for 170 USD.

This leads me to believe that perhaps those that are listed as working are in fact also defective.

Any experiences?

I'm also curious, if you have a Voodoo 2 CT6670, do you need another CT6670 to get them to work in SLI?

What are these insane prices?! Recently I got two perfectly fine Voodoo2 videocards from ebay for about EUR 70 each, but listed as "for parts only/not working - not tested". One is miroMedia and other is Creative card and they do work in SLI, but with non-official Win9x driver.

analog_programmer wrote on 2023-10-01, 17:08:

fractal5 wrote on 2023-09-30, 13:00:

Are most Voodoo 2 cards on eBay defective, even the ones that are listed as working? […]
Show full quote

Are most Voodoo 2 cards on eBay defective, even the ones that are listed as working?

It seems that some sell cards that are listed as "for parts only" for 280 USD. While allegedly working cards, might sell for 170 USD.

This leads me to believe that perhaps those that are listed as working are in fact also defective.

Any experiences?

I'm also curious, if you have a Voodoo 2 CT6670, do you need another CT6670 to get them to work in SLI?

What are these insane prices?! Recently I got two perfectly fine Voodoo2 videocards from ebay for about EUR 70 each, but listed as "for parts only/not working - not tested". One is miroMedia and other is Creative card and they do work in SLI, but with non-official Win9x driver.

I think it's because of the spate of voodoo1/2/3/5 recovery/repair videos on YT in recent times

giantclam wrote on 2023-10-02, 00:09:

I think it's because of the spate of voodoo1/2/3/5 recovery/repair videos on YT in recent times

You mean the insane price rise, right? Because I bought these two voodoo2 cards about a month and a half ago and I didn't have to wait for long for auctions with normal starting prices.

analog_programmer wrote on 2023-10-02, 06:00:

giantclam wrote on 2023-10-02, 00:09:

I think it's because of the spate of voodoo1/2/3/5 recovery/repair videos on YT in recent times

You mean the insane price rise, right? Because I bought these two voodoo2 cards about a month and a half ago and I didn't have to wait for long for auctions with normal starting prices.

Yep.... popularity breeds $$$ =)

I recently bought one, not on eBay but from another auction site. It was rma'd and stored in a box for over 20 years. I think I bought it for $80 for parts and repairs.

It was detected in Windows 98 but I had driver issues and once the driver was working, I got a garbled image.

I examined the card with a microscope (I repair vintage electronics) and about 50% of the pins of the lower TMU were disconnected. After reflowing all the pins, the card worked. It was an easy fix this time.

giantclam wrote on 2023-10-02, 06:53:

analog_programmer wrote on 2023-10-02, 06:00:

giantclam wrote on 2023-10-02, 00:09:

I think it's because of the spate of voodoo1/2/3/5 recovery/repair videos on YT in recent times

You mean the insane price rise, right? Because I bought these two voodoo2 cards about a month and a half ago and I didn't have to wait for long for auctions with normal starting prices.

Yep.... popularity breeds $$$ =)

Not to mention that it increases demand for a product that isn't manufactured anymore. 😉

True that ~ I've still got a pair of ct6670 (different brands but same ramfields so they SLI fine)... https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0eQyHIqklNk