VOGONS


Ideal Voodoo 2 SLI configuration?

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Reply 62 of 76, by bytesaber

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PhilsComputerLab wrote:

I very much prefer using a V3. For me V2 and V2 SLI is indeed all about nostalgic and coolness 😀

I think Windows games should all run just as well on the V3. But some DOS games can have issues on the V3, but also on the V2 and run better on the V1. 🤣

The only thing I don't like about this, is that it kind of commits the system to the Voodoo3, since it is a primary video card. I have been enjoying Geforce 2 combined with Voodoo2 SLI. It does take up space, but I do get a more convenient way to switch between Glide, D3D, OpenGL, with the added performance of the Geforce 2 for D3D and OpenGL. What do you think?

Reply 63 of 76, by Tertz

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meljor wrote:

What cpu is too fast? For these games i didn't go any higher than a p3-700 slot1.

As he's using
"Asus P4P800 SE/Pentium4 3.2E/2 Gb DDR400B"
too fast may to be something higher than P4, what's redundant for Win9x/DOS games, anyway

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Reply 64 of 76, by Godlike

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Asus P2B/P3B-F
256MB SDRAM
Pentium II 450 MHz/PIII 500 MHz
Canopus Pure3D II Voodoo2 12MB x 2 (SLI mode)
Canopus Spectra-5400
Turtle Beach/GUS/Sound Blaster Live!

5xv2YSm.png
ASUS P2B-F, PII 450Mhz, 128MB-SDR, 3Dfx Diamond Monster 3D II SLI, Matrox Millennium II AGP, Diamond Monster Sound MX300

Reply 65 of 76, by vetz

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Many people mention the Canopus Pure3D II SLI with a Spectra 2500 or 3200 as the ultimate setup. I have both of those cards and a Pure3D II and yes, it does work with FastVoodoo drivers (don't need 2x Pure3D II for Witchdoctor to work, can be mismatched cards). The only problem is that it requires alot more ribbon cables inside the case which are not shielded in the same way a proper external VGA cable is. Also the SLI connector location on the on the Pure3D II isn't great. It also means you're stuck with a TNT card as your Direct3D option. No Geforce/Matrox for you. Paying over 400 USD for that is NOT worth it IMO!

I think the best setup is any two type of matched 12mb cards (allows greater flexibility with drivers) with a VGA switchbox for the best of two worlds.

Godlike wrote:

Canopus Spectra-5400

Do not use that card with Pure3D II cards, if you try and hook up witchdoctor you'll see smoke and bye bye Pure3D II (yes this is from personal experience). Should work fine with a regular external cable.

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Reply 67 of 76, by Godlike

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Hi VooDooMan! Your pimary graphics is great for gaming itself 😀

5xv2YSm.png
ASUS P2B-F, PII 450Mhz, 128MB-SDR, 3Dfx Diamond Monster 3D II SLI, Matrox Millennium II AGP, Diamond Monster Sound MX300

Reply 68 of 76, by Munx

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VooDooMan wrote:

Tha is my ideal V2 SLI Configuration:

Does your build also contain 2 RAM sticks 128MB each? 🤣

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The FireStarter 2.0 - The wooden K5
The Underdog - The budget K6
The Voodoo powerhouse - The power-hungry K7
The troll PC - The Socket 423 Pentium 4

Reply 69 of 76, by VooDooMan

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Munx wrote:
VooDooMan wrote:

Tha is my ideal V2 SLI Configuration:

Does your build also contain 2 RAM sticks 128MB each? 🤣

Of course 😁
and TWO soundcards installed:
- Creative Sound Blaster AWE64 GOLD
- Aureal Vortex 1 (Diamond)

Those are old pics from 2015, before the upgrade 😉
7mi8TF.jpg
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vT9c70.jpg

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ECS P6S5AT at 166 MHz
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Reply 70 of 76, by Retromania

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maximus wrote:

I'm guessing that a matched pair (same brand, equal RAM) would be ideal, though it's been brought to my attention that this is no longer a requirement with newer drivers.

Sorry for resurrecting this thread, but ive 2 different voodoo 2, one its a diamond monster 3d II - 8mg and the other its a creative voodoo 2 - 12mb
Its possible to connect both via SLI? even if they are from a different brand and different in memory size? or this only works with a matched pair?

713_creative_labs_ct6670_3dfx_voodoo2_top_hq.jpg

Diamond_Monster_3_D_II_8_MB_F.jpg

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Reply 71 of 76, by Trekkie4

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Greetings! 😀

To quickly answer your question, yes you can match up both of your Voodoo cards in one (SLI) system, but the 12mb one will be reduced to 8mb capacity, because they both need to be identical in order for SLI to work. So therefore, it's not possible to have 12+8 configuration as you'll only be able to utilize them as "8+8". With that being said, here's problem #2 - in order to do something like that, you need specialized, fan-made drivers to pull it off, because the stock drivers require both cards to be from the same brand & have same memory capacity. I would recommend FastVoodoo drivers (available here: http://www.falconfly.de/voodoo2.htm), although running aftermarket drivers (and therefore mismatched cards) won't be as stable as official ones, with identical cards.

Reply 72 of 76, by Retromania

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Trekkie4 wrote:

Greetings! 😀 To quickly answer your question, yes you can match up both of your Voodoo cards in one (SLI) system, but the 12mb one will be reduced to 8mb capacity, because they both need to be identical in order for SLI to work. So therefore, it's not possible to have 12+8 configuration as you'll only be able to utilize them as "8+8". With that being said, here's problem #2 - in order to do something like that, you need specialized, fan-made drivers to pull it off, because the stock drivers require both cards to be from the same brand & have same memory capacity. I would recommend FastVoodoo drivers (available here: http://www.falconfly.de/voodoo2.htm), although running aftermarket drivers (and therefore mismatched cards) won't be as stable as official ones, with identical cards.

That was a really lifesaver, thank you so much for all the detailed information 😉

Btw if i had the same ammount of memory on both cards, (which is not the case) but from different manufacturers, that would work with official drivers? or the problem its always the same if i have different brand cards?

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Reply 73 of 76, by Trekkie4

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No prob, you're welcome 😀

And unfortunately the answer is no, in order to use the official drivers you need to have both cards from the same company/brand. Although the actual PCBs (cards, themselves) are identical, their BIOS IDs are different, so therefore they're not being recognized upon driver check.

My advice would be to take that 12mb card & put it into the upper PCI slot and 8mb into the lower one. The idea is that you should be able to use primary (12mb, in this case) card for single, non-SLI games and it should be recognized as such, 12mb model while the lower card will only be used for SLI, in the combination with card #1. And since the upper card (the one closer to the CPU) is considered & used as primary, you should take advantage of higher amount of memory, those 12mb to be exact.

Reply 74 of 76, by Retromania

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Trekkie4 wrote:

No prob, you're welcome 😀

And unfortunately the answer is no, in order to use the official drivers you need to have both cards from the same company/brand. Although the actual PCBs (cards, themselves) are identical, their BIOS IDs are different, so therefore they're not being recognized upon driver check.

My advice would be to take that 12mb card & put it into the upper PCI slot and 8mb into the lower one. The idea is that you should be able to use primary (12mb, in this case) card for single, non-SLI games and it should be recognized as such, 12mb model while the lower card will only be used for SLI, in the combination with card #1. And since the upper card (the one closer to the CPU) is considered & used as primary, you should take advantage of higher amount of memory, those 12mb to be exact.

More clean than that its impossible, thank you so much for sharing your knowledge 😉

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Reply 75 of 76, by Trekkie4

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Once again, no prob! Glad I could help 😀 I got my share of Voodoo2 cards over here, both single ones & SLI pairs, these things are truly amazing!

Oh, and here's one more tip - if for any reason you need to disable the 2nd card, the 8mb one in your case you can do so without removing it from the computer. There's a checkbox, option under the Voodoo2 control panel settings to (and I quote) "Disable SLI". This will ignore your other card & use only the 1st Voodoo2 card, the one with 12mb. Normally you don't really have to mess with this, but there are some games which don't support and/or are having problems with SLI, so you might want to disable it, if needed. No reboot required, just tick it on or off & close the window afterwards, and you should be good to go.

Reply 76 of 76, by Retromania

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Trekkie4 wrote:

Oh, and here's one more tip - if for any reason you need to disable the 2nd card, the 8mb one in your case you can do so without removing it from the computer. There's a checkbox, option under the Voodoo2 control panel settings to (and I quote) "Disable SLI". This will ignore your other card & use only the 1st Voodoo2 card, the one with 12mb. Normally you don't really have to mess with this, but there are some games which don't support and/or are having problems with SLI, so you might want to disable it, if needed. No reboot required, just tick it on or off & close the window afterwards, and you should be good to go.

Thats a really awesome tip i didnt know about, thanks!! 😎

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