Odiseo wrote:

Should I get a Voodoo 5? They sell for a ton on ebay 🙁, but I was planning on getting one anyway so as to smoothly play Diablo 2 in full HD. The Banshee can get up to only 1280x1024 before the game starts lagging. If I get a Voodoo 5, I might even try WarCraft 3.

Voodoo 5 is ok for warcraft 3 but that's a dx8.1 game. A geforce ti4 is much better. Voodoo5 does not do it justice.

Diablo 2 only does 800x600 max resolution [in glide anyway, unless you have some hack in mind], I use a v5 but I expect a voodoo3 would not be noticeably slower. You still get slowdowns loading textures [eg leaving harrogath] on a v5 with an athlon xp2000.

Diablo 2 in directx on approx 1ghz cpus runs like a dog if you have the LOD expansion so voodoo cards and glide would be best.

Can't help with Abe, I have the pc version but to me it's a plastation game.

Maybe try benchmarking some other games (Unreal etc) or 3DMark99 and such for people to see if everything performs as expected. And why are you using Banshee if you have Voodoo3?

ratfink wrote:

Diablo 2 only does 800x600 max resolution [in glide anyway, unless you have some hack in mind], I use a v5 but I expect a voodoo3 would not be noticeably slower. You still get slowdowns loading textures [eg leaving harrogath] on a v5 with an athlon xp2000.

Diablo 2 in directx on approx 1ghz cpus runs like a dog if you have the LOD expansion so voodoo cards and glide would be best.

When I play Diablo 2 on my Pentium 3, I indeed use a resolution hack that injects itself into the game (D2 is a game I play on the WINXP-SP3 partition, by the way).
I read that Glide graphics, which 3DFX cards natively support, are nicer, and so I use the Voodoo Banshee, which I had lying around, in this system.
I would like to play the game in full HD, and therefore I have been thinking about buying a Voodoo 5.

d1stortion wrote:

And why are you using Banshee if you have Voodoo3?

I couldn't get the V3, which like the Banshee I had lying around, to work back half a year ago when I bought the system. The interface on the V3 I have is PCI, and the motherboard would not switch from AGP to the PCI slot in which I had installed the V3. The motherboard lets me choose whether I want AGP or PCI graphics, and somehow after choosing PCI (and switching the VGA cable from the Banshee to the V3) the screen would go dark. I left it at that, as I had heaps of work for my master's thesis paper. Now that I'm graduated, here I am again tinkering with my Pentium 3. My partitions are the way I wanted them, Windows 98 and XP are updated, I installed some games, and made a full disk image, and I was thinking I might now do something about the lowly Banshee.

I could again try to get the V3 to work, and see if this time around I have any succes, but as I've already said I'm thinking about getting a stronger card. I was considering a Voodoo 5, because it would provide full Glide support in games like Diablo 2, but is it advisable to do so? Are there any stronger classic cards (like the geforce ti4 mentioned by ratfink) that natively support Glide?

No, the Voodoo5 is the fastest authentic hardware you can get for Glide. Whether it's worth the price or not depends on how much gaming you want to do on it. For some old 640x480 Glide games the FSAA is really nice.

Have you tried just having the voodoo 3 installed and removing the banshee altogether? Sounds like you had both in at the same time, which can be hard to get working how you might wish.

ratfink wrote:

Have you tried just having the voodoo 3 installed and removing the banshee altogether? Sounds like you had both in at the same time, which can be hard to get working how you might wish.

In fact, I did have both of them in when I tried installing the Voodoo 3. I didn't think there would be any difference, seeing as how systems with more than one graphics card (intended for multi-monitor setups) have been a common thing for many years. But in fact it does matter to pull out an AGP card when installing a PCI card?

I'll try installing the Voodoo 3 again, this time taking into account your advice. Do you think the Voodoo3 would allow me to hit 1920x1080 in Diablo 2?

The truth is, I prefer a graphics card bearing the AGP interface. The Voodoo 3 I have would occupy a PCI slot (if I get the card to work, that is), while I would prefer not to have to install my graphics card in such kind of slot. I want to keep PCI slots for other types of card.

I would sooner flip around with dxdiag and command-line parameters before messing with the video card switching for a 2D game with MMX pixel scaling...

ratfink wrote:

Have you tried just having the voodoo 3 installed and removing the banshee altogether? Sounds like you had both in at the same time, which can be hard to get working how you might wish.

I just tried doing what you suggested but without success.

I went into the BIOS, and set the primary slot for graphics cards to PCI. I powered off the computer, disconnected all cables and took out the Voodoo Banshee AGP card. I then slided the Voodoo 3 PCI into the one available PCI slot. I connected all cables, including the VGA cable on the Voodoo 3. I powered up the computer, but my TV flatscreen did not show any image, not even a simple BIOS message. I did hear several beeps, BIOS errors I imagine. The LED light on the display did not change color, which I suppose indicates the display did not detect a signal from the Voodoo 3. I tried connecting the monitor cable to two different displays which I know both work (on my regular PC's graphics card as well as on the Banshee when I have it installed in my Pentium 3 system); first my TV screen (which has both a HDMI and a VGA adapter), then my other smaller VGA computer display.

I figured I might need to reset the BIOS. I powered down the system, disconnected all cables and took out the BIOS battery. I left the battery out for a while, then reseated it in its socket, connected all cables and once again powered up the computer. Still results were as earlier: several consecutive beeps, while there was no image on the display.

Any ideas on what I might be doing wrong?

Just curious as to why you would want both a V3 and a Banshee in the same machine instead of pairing the V3 with some other card. The V3 is going to multi-texture a hell of a lot better than the Banshee.

sliderider wrote:

Just curious as to why you would want both a V3 and a Banshee in the same machine instead of pairing the V3 with some other card. The V3 is going to multi-texture a hell of a lot better than the Banshee.

I'm not at all trying to install the V3 alongside the Banshee on the same motherboard.

As I said in my previous post, I'm simply trying to get the Voodoo 3, which in my case has the PCI interface, to work.

Odiseo wrote:

I powered off the computer, disconnected all cables and took out the Voodoo Banshee AGP card. I then slided the Voodoo 3 PCI into the one available PCI slot. I connected all cables, including the VGA cable on the Voodoo 3.

The problem is that the motherboard won't switch from AGP to PCI as its primary graphics port. When I turn on the computer after having installed the Voodoo 3 on the one available PCI slot, my display doesn't show any image at all. And that's what I would like to resolve.

How many PCI slots are on your board. Did you put the voodoo pci card in the slot next to the agp? Not sure if it matters though.

The board has an AGP slot (obviously, as the Banshee I have had installed in this system has th AGP interface) and 5 PCI slots.

I hadn't yet tried doing what you suggest, but I have now. I again pulled out the Banshee, and put the Voodoo 3 in the uppermost PCI slot, the one right under the AGP slot. I turned on the PC and connected the VGA cable on the VGA out of the Voodoo 3. Still no image.

I then figured maybe the V3 is broken, so the motherboard would have no way of detecting the card. I slided the Banshee in the AGP slot next to the uppermost PCI slot, and connected it to my TV screen (which has a VGA in) using the VGA cable. I booted into Windows 2000 as well as Windows XP, and both operating systems informed me that a new display device had been detected. Windows 2000 soon identified it as a Voodoo 3. But still, after having connected the VGA cable to the Voodoo 3's VGA out the card did not show any image. In Windows XP I installed a driver for the card that I found on falconfly.de/voodoo3.htm. The one I tried is named 'AmigaMerlin V2.5SE WinXP/Win2k' (under Voodoo3 - WinXP).

All in all, I doubt the card is really broken. It still *might* be, but I figure in case it was so malfunctioning it is not even able to put out a signal to my display, then the board would probably not even detect the card.

What else can I try?

Odiseo wrote:

The board has an AGP slot (obviously, as the Banshee I have had installed in this system has th AGP interface) and 5 PCI slots. […]
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The board has an AGP slot (obviously, as the Banshee I have had installed in this system has th AGP interface) and 5 PCI slots.

I hadn't yet tried doing what you suggest, but I have now. I again pulled out the Banshee, and put the Voodoo 3 in the uppermost PCI slot, the one right under the AGP slot. I turned on the PC and connected the VGA cable on the VGA out of the Voodoo 3. Still no image.

I then figured maybe the V3 is broken, so the motherboard would have no way of detecting the card. I slided the Banshee in the AGP slot next to the uppermost PCI slot, and connected it to my TV screen (which has a VGA in) using the VGA cable. I booted into Windows 2000 as well as Windows XP, and both operating systems informed me that a new display device had been detected. Windows 2000 soon identified it as a Voodoo 3. But still, after having connected the VGA cable to the Voodoo 3's VGA out the card did not show any image. In Windows XP I installed a driver for the card that I found on falconfly.de/voodoo3.htm. The one I tried is named 'AmigaMerlin V2.5SE WinXP/Win2k' (under Voodoo3 - WinXP).

All in all, I doubt the card is really broken. It still *might* be, but I figure in case it was so malfunctioning it is not even able to put out a signal to my display, then the board would probably not even detect the card.

What else can I try?

It is very possible for a video card to put out a signal and still not work correctly. I have a Radeon 9800 like this; it'll display 2D, but no 3D.

Mm ok. My case is a bit different though. Just after I turn on the PC (with the Voodoo 3 PCI installed in a PCI slot) I hear several beeps, while if I connect the VGA cable to the V3 there is no image on my display. But still Windows 98, 2000 and XP all do detect the card (I leave the Banshee AGP in so as to be able to log into these OSes). When I am in these OSes and connect the VGA cable to the Voodoo 3 there is still no image.

It's no use leaving out the Banshee AGP. I tried this, and still my display would not show an image from the V3.
I also tried installing it in the uppermost PCI slot, the one just under the AGP slot.

I would like this card to work. I take it would be faster than the Banshee in displaying the non-standard resolution (1280×1024) I use to play Diablo 2. It might even allow still higher resolutions, or solve the slow-downs I experience to play Abe's Exoddus.

What can i do to find out whether the card is defective?
Does installing a PCI video card require specific steps that I left out? (read my previous messages for the procedure that I followed)

Other question: can I make a topic on this board with a list of old hardware that I am selling?

Odiseo wrote:

Other question: can I make a topic on this board with a list of old hardware that I am selling?

No: VOGONS is no marketplace!

A bit of a lame suggestion admittedly, but you could just get a Voodoo3 3000 AGP and call it a day. They are very common and literally go for just a buck. This might save you a lot of hassle.