analog_programmer wrote on 2024-12-29, 21:42:

Try MOJO.EXE reports/logs.

analog_programmer wrote on 2024-12-29, 21:42:

Try MOJO.EXE reports/logs.

MOJO is normal, other than saying SLI = NO for both cards, but, that might be normal when in dos. I tried the STB card with the Innovision card and that didn't work either. Neither did STB + Monster 3d II.

I'm thinking it's a driver issue, is there a good full "clean install" of mismatched-sli drivers? The one I found is just the glide files, not a complete install. I'd prefer not to use fastvoodoo on account of it being crap (really bad stability issues, imo).

"SLI = No" report is normal for pure DOS.

I don't know what you mean with "just the glide files, not a complete install" for the drivers, for my Voodoo2 SLI configuration I use "Mismatched SLI Glide Driver Files (based on V3.02.02)" and this driver works fine in win98.

analog_programmer wrote on 2024-12-29, 22:56:

"SLI = No" report is normal for pure DOS.

I don't know what you mean with "just the glide files, not a complete install" for the drivers, for my Voodoo2 SLI configuration I use "Mismatched SLI Glide Driver Files (based on V3.02.02)" and this driver works fine in win98.

That file is just an EXE that installs a few glide files but doesn't extract to a folder you can install from. It seems to just overwrite some stuff in Windows\System

aspiringnobody wrote on 2024-12-29, 23:21:

That file is just an EXE that installs a few glide files but doesn't extract to a folder you can install from. It seems to just overwrite some stuff in Windows\System

I see. I don't remember if I installed official drivers before those for mismatched-SLI combo. Did you try to install official 3.02.02 drivers first and after that 3.02.02 mismatched?

analog_programmer wrote on 2024-12-29, 23:30:

aspiringnobody wrote on 2024-12-29, 23:21:

That file is just an EXE that installs a few glide files but doesn't extract to a folder you can install from. It seems to just overwrite some stuff in Windows\System

I see. I don't remember if I installed official drivers before those for mismatched-SLI combo. Did you try to install official 3.02.02 drivers first and after that 3.02.02 mismatched?

I already had 3.02.02 installed before I started. I'm going to try to find a 3Dfx driver cleaner and start over.

It worked with fastvoodoo 4.6. I'll have to reinstall windows and try again with a fresh install and the official drivers. I was able to run 3dmark99 at 1024x768 so I think that means it's working. I'm not sure what I was expecting, exactly, but I'm a little underwhelmed by the performance improvement. At 800x600 test 1 of 3dmark99 went from 28fps to 36fps. It's an improvement, for sure, but I always thought V2SLI was the ultimate setup. I'm glad my parents didn't spend the money in the 90s I'd have been disappointed I think.

Should I have put this in my Pentium III system instead? Is the P2-450 not fast enough to take advantage of the V2SLI?

https://www.philscomputerlab.com/voodoo-2-and … ng-project.html

V2 SLI also means 1024x768.

If the Monster 3D II has 8MB (4+2+2), then in SLI mode on another Voodoo2 12MB, only 4MB of TMU memory will be used. You will get lower results in tests, compared to 2x12MB

sdz wrote on 2024-12-30, 05:01:

https://www.philscomputerlab.com/voodoo-2-and … ng-project.html

It seems like anything faster than PIII 550-600 MHz has no effect on Voodoo2 performance at higher resolutions (800 x 600 and 1024 x 768), regardless of whether using single Voodoo2 card or SLI configuration.

analog_programmer wrote on 2024-12-30, 12:05:

sdz wrote on 2024-12-30, 05:01:

https://www.philscomputerlab.com/voodoo-2-and … ng-project.html

It seems like anything faster than PIII 550-600 MHz has no effect on Voodoo2 performance at higher resolutions (800 x 600 and 1024 x 768), regardless of whether using single Voodoo2 card or SLI configuration.

That's a good read with some interesting results. I wonder if the relative lack of performance increases after a certain point is due to the voodoo2's themselves, or, if it is more tied constrictions of the pci bus running at 33mhz. It would be interesting to see some comparisons of 2 cards running SLI on a 66mhz pci system of similar specs (not sure if this is addressed in the article- just skimmed through it fairly quickly)

Any ideas on which boards actually have 66mhz pci?

Were they common or actually limited to servers?

Isn't 66 MHz PCI bus clock more of a PCI-X slot thing?

AGP slot uses 66 MHz bus speed, so it will be interesting to compare Voodoo3 2000 AGP vs Voodoo3 2000 PCI vs Voodoo2 SLI performance with PIII CPUs faster than 600 MHz.

Voodoo2, single card or SLI, doesn't benefit a lot from running on a 66MHz PCI bus. Only a few % difference, but only in Glide or D3D (don't remember which one).

Also, the V2 only supports 5V PCI signaling (it internally connects the PCI VIO to the 5V rail), so you would need to plug it into a 5V 66MHz slot. If I recall correctly the PCI specs, 66MHz support was only for 3.3V slots.

analog_programmer wrote on 2024-12-30, 18:28:

AGP slot uses 66 MHz bus speed, so it will be interesting to compare Voodoo3 2000 AGP vs Voodoo3 2000 PCI vs Voodoo2 SLI performance with PIII CPUs faster than 600 MHz.

I can maybe help a bit with that using a couple of my builds:

Abit BH6, Intel Pentium III 700 MHz (Slot 1, Coppermine), 128MB ram, 2x Voodoo 2 12MB in SLI
3DMark99 Max - 5394 (3D), 10914 (CPU)
3DMark2000 - 2482

Gigabyte GA-7IXE, AMD Athlon 700 MHz (Slot A), 128MB ram, Voodoo3 3000 AGP
Pluto chip:
3DMark99 Max - 5348 (3D), 11040 (CPU)
3DMark2000 - 2847
Thunderbird chip:
3DMark99 Max - 5542 (3D), 11597 (CPU)
3DMark2000 - 2939

There is obviously a slight difference between Intel vs AMD at play, although I think the earlier Pluto core Athlons are quite a good match for the PIII at the same clock. The Thunderbird has a clearer advantage though. At any rate, my experience comparing V2 SLI and V3 3000 AGP is there's not much in it, and that matches with reviewers comments from the time. If you already have V2 SLI there's not much to be gained by upgrading to the V3, other than saving an expansion slot and not dealing with SLI issues.

You can compare V2 SLI, V3 PCI and V3 AGP in my tests here http://hw-museum.cz/article/2/benchmark-vga-1 … 2011-edition-/1

I eved had Obsidian2 S-12 AGP borrowed at the time. The resume is - no difference between PCI and AGP for these GPUs. 😀

analog_programmer wrote on 2024-12-30, 18:28:

Isn't 66 MHz PCI bus clock more of a PCI-X slot thing?

Not necessarily. I have both socket 3 and socket 7 boards that the pci (5volt) can be set to run at 66mhz. Obviously this doesn't mean they are fully compliant to the standard, however even with that I have gotten IDE controllers and graphics cards (sis 6326, tnt2 m64, voodoo 2) to work fine on them at that speed. I'd be surprised if there wasn't any newer slot1/s370/etc hardware that couldn't do the same.

havli wrote on 2024-12-31, 10:05:

You can compare V2 SLI, V3 PCI and V3 AGP in my tests here http://hw-museum.cz/article/2/benchmark-vga-1 … 2011-edition-/1

Thanks for the link. So, even o'ced Athlon XP doesn't help Voodoo2 (and V2 SLI) in GLQuake and Quake II to gain some frames per second comparing to Phil's results 😀 And Voodoo3 2000 seems equal to V2 SLI performance no matter if the V3 2000 is AGP or PCI card. Аgain the same conclusion: PIII 600 MHz is enough for Voodoo2/3 videocards.

bertrammatrix wrote on 2024-12-31, 16:12:

Not necessarily. I have both socket 3 and socket 7 boards that the pci (5volt) can be set to run at 66mhz. Obviously this doesn't mean they are fully compliant to the standard, however even with that I have gotten IDE controllers and graphics cards (sis 6326, tnt2 m64, voodoo 2) to work fine on them at that speed.

Interestnig. I have not a single (s)s.7 mobo that officially supports more than 33 MHz for PCI slots even if "PCI version 2.1" is enabled in BIOS. And currently I have 8 fully working (s)s.7 boards with all kinds of chipsets (intel, SiS, VIA). The same thing also applies to the slot 1 boards that I have (2 pcs).