I don't think that a even super socket 7 boards had a 1,5V AGP slot as this would mean they would have had AGP 4x.
There might be two reasons that your system does not boot properly:

- insufficient PSU
- insufficient power supply by the AGP slot (said to be a common problem with some boards - ask 5u3, he knows a lot about it)

If you only want to play early glide games, a Matrox G200 should fullfill your needs. Try to look for a later AGP model that comes with passive cooling.
Still signal quality might be reduced due to the Voodoo Graphics slower RAMDAC and the loop cable.

Silent Loon wrote:

I don't think that a even super socket 7 boards had a 1,5V AGP slot as this would mean they would have had AGP 4x. There might b […]
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I don't think that a even super socket 7 boards had a 1,5V AGP slot as this would mean they would have had AGP 4x.
There might be two reasons that your system does not boot properly:

- insufficient PSU
- insufficient power supply by the AGP slot (said to be a common problem with some boards - ask 5u3, he knows a lot about it)

If you only want to play early glide games, a Matrox G200 should fullfill your needs. Try to look for a later AGP model that comes with passive cooling.
Still signal quality might be reduced due to the Voodoo Graphics slower RAMDAC and the loop cable.

It's one of the last AT socket 7 boards made..

The PSU is fine, have measured all the currents so it must be a weak AGP interface then

mm..I remember 5u3 had problems with his previous socket 7 mobo

Is this a late or early G200 board?

Concerning the PSU: I didn't mean that it is broken or defective, but just to weak. If it is an AT-board the PSU should also be an AT form factor PSU with around 200W power output - which might be insufficient.

Concernig the Matrox: I have to correct myself, as "newer" or "later" is not the right word. In fact the model that requires no heatsink at all is a OEM version ("G250") that was most common in hp PCs of that time. The difference lies in the production process: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Matrox_G200

I'm not sure how to identify them. ( http://www.plasma-online.de/index.html?conten … ure/matrox.html )

As far as I understand, a 0.35 G200 should work fine in most cases with passive cooling. Nevertheless the G200 I got through ebay had active cooling, for what reason ever...

Yeah that looks like a G250, the process shrink of the G200. G200s always had at least passive heatsinks. They got pretty warm.

G2x0 is always AGP 2x though. Matrox didn't go AGP 4x until some select G400s. They are backwards compatible though so any G400/G2x0 should work fine in a AGP 2x slot. I've run G200 and G400 on 440BX mobos.

The fastest cards that work in AGP 2x are GeForce FX 5950 and Radeon 9700, I believe. I remember people benching Radeon 9700s in K6 systems in 3DMark 2001SE. And I use a GeForce FX 5950 in a Abit BF6 (440BX) occasionally. Part of my retro junk collection.

There are also compatibility concerns with new AGP slots. You can't run a G200 in a AGP 8x slot, for example, because it doesn't have the old voltage anymore. G400 is a problem too if it's not one of the 4x-supporting models.

Amigaz wrote:

mm..I remember 5u3 had problems with his previous socket 7 mobo

That's right, but it wasn't video card related. I have a Voodoo5, which probably works on any SS7 board.

What mainboard model do you use in this machine? With exact specs it would be easier to come up with suggestions... 😉

I wouldn't automatically assume a power supply/regulator problem, usually you only run into problems if you combine a very power-demanding card (TNT2 Ultra, GeForce 2 GTS/Ultra) with an AT board that doesn't get 3.3V from the PSU. Even with this combination, you should only expect crashes when running 3D accelerated games/apps.

Some time ago, I've successfully used the following cards on my P5A board:

• ATI Xpert 2000 (Rage 128)
• Nvidia GeForce 2 MX
• Matrox G100 and G200

5u3 wrote:

That's right, but it wasn't video card related. I have a Voodoo5, which probably works on any SS7 board. […]
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Amigaz wrote:

mm..I remember 5u3 had problems with his previous socket 7 mobo

That's right, but it wasn't video card related. I have a Voodoo5, which probably works on any SS7 board.

What mainboard model do you use in this machine? With exact specs it would be easier to come up with suggestions... 😉

I wouldn't automatically assume a power supply/regulator problem, usually you only run into problems if you combine a very power-demanding card (TNT2 Ultra, GeForce 2 GTS/Ultra) with an AT board that doesn't get 3.3V from the PSU. Even with this combination, you should only expect crashes when running 3D accelerated games/apps.

Some time ago, I've successfully used the following cards on my P5A board:

• ATI Xpert 2000 (Rage 128)
• Nvidia GeForce 2 MX
• Matrox G100 and G200

This is the board:

http://www.gigabyte.com.tw/Products/Motherboa … ductName=GA-5AA

It has an AMD K6-II+ 550mhz, 768mb RAM

Would use my Voodoo 5500 if I hadn't my Voodoo 1, I'm looking to run early GLide games mostly on this machine.

Tried these gfx cards without success:

Geforce 256
Geforce 2 GTS, Ultra
Hercules 3D Prophet II MX
Asus V7100 Geforce 2 MX

It goes thru the BIOS Post, as it's about to boot it just stops 😵

GeForce cards will usually not work well in a Super 7 board. Same with most Radeons, actually. The Super 7 mobos are low quality in construction and the chipsets are of equally poor quality compared to Intel hardware of the day. In my experience, 2D is usually fine, but 3D will range from completely non-functional to generally unstable. It's a combination of poor AGP compliancy and bad power stability on the boards.

I suggest sticking with Voodoo cards for such systems. Even an overclocked K6-III+ can not really fuel a GeForce or Radeon anyway. Voodoo5 is the perfect match for those CPUs because Glide was a much superior API (lower CPU overhead, etc) compared to D3D back then.

swaaye wrote:

GeForce cards will usually not work well in a Super 7 board. Same with most Radeons, actually. The Super 7 mobos are low quality in construction and the chipsets are of equally poor quality compared to Intel hardware of the day. In my experience, 2D is usually fine, but 3D will range from completely non-functional to generally unstable. It's a combination of poor AGP compliancy and bad power stability on the boards.

I suggest sticking with Voodoo cards for such systems. Even an overclocked K6-III+ can not really fuel a GeForce or Radeon anyway. Voodoo5 is the perfect match for those CPUs because Glide was a much superior API (lower CPU overhead, etc) compared to D3D back then.

Agree....wonder if it was the form factor that restricted them making a technical good board

My Epox Via MVP3 based ATX board is rock solid with my 64mb Geforce 2 Ultra...it has a AMD K6-III+ @500mhz...runs like a clock even with demanding 3d games.
Only thing I don't like about it is that it's picky about what RAM sticks you put into it and that max RAM it can take is 384mb.

Amigaz wrote:

http://www.gigabyte.com.tw/Products/Motherboa … ductName=GA-5AA […]
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http://www.gigabyte.com.tw/Products/Motherboa … ductName=GA-5AA

It has an AMD K6-II+ 550mhz, 768mb RAM

Geforce 256
Geforce 2 GTS, Ultra
Hercules 3D Prophet II MX
Asus V7100 Geforce 2 MX

It goes thru the BIOS Post, as it's about to boot it just stops 😵

Hmmm, that IS an AT board, so it could as well be the power issue... Which revision do you have? According to some fragments on the net, revision 1.x boards have a very weak power converter, revision 2.x should work better.

If you're using an AT PSU, swap it for an ATX model (the board has connectors for both types). In case you're lucky, the board then takes 3.3V directly from the PSU instead of converting them from 5V through the weak power regulator. Try the GF2MX cards, as the other ones draw much more power.

As a last resort you could try to exchanging the power regulator for a stronger one.

swaaye wrote:

I suggest sticking with Voodoo cards for such systems. Even an overclocked K6-III+ can not really fuel a GeForce or Radeon anyway. Voodoo5 is the perfect match for those CPUs because Glide was a much superior API (lower CPU overhead, etc) compared to D3D back then.

Correct, if you want to max out a fast K6 system without trouble, take a V5. But to really enjoy a V5 card, you'll need at least a GHz CPU 🙄

Amigaz wrote:

wonder if it was the form factor that restricted them making a technical good board

To a certain degree, yes, but primarily it was price. In order to compete against Intel with their awesome BX chipset, Socket7 hardware had to be cheap. That explains the wimpy power regulators and the generally low quality of later Socket7 boards.

5u3 wrote:

Hmmm, that IS an AT board, so it could as well be the power issue... Which revision do you have? According to some fragments on […]
Show full quote

Amigaz wrote:

http://www.gigabyte.com.tw/Products/Motherboa … ductName=GA-5AA […]
Show full quote

http://www.gigabyte.com.tw/Products/Motherboa … ductName=GA-5AA

It has an AMD K6-II+ 550mhz, 768mb RAM

Geforce 256
Geforce 2 GTS, Ultra
Hercules 3D Prophet II MX
Asus V7100 Geforce 2 MX

It goes thru the BIOS Post, as it's about to boot it just stops 😵

Hmmm, that IS an AT board, so it could as well be the power issue... Which revision do you have? According to some fragments on the net, revision 1.x boards have a very weak power converter, revision 2.x should work better.

If you're using an AT PSU, swap it for an ATX model (the board has connectors for both types). In case you're lucky, the board then takes 3.3V directly from the PSU instead of converting them from 5V through the weak power regulator. Try the GF2MX cards, as the other ones draw much more power.

As a last resort you could try to exchanging the power regulator for a stronger one.

swaaye wrote:

I suggest sticking with Voodoo cards for such systems. Even an overclocked K6-III+ can not really fuel a GeForce or Radeon anyway. Voodoo5 is the perfect match for those CPUs because Glide was a much superior API (lower CPU overhead, etc) compared to D3D back then.

Correct, if you want to max out a fast K6 system without trouble, take a V5. But to really enjoy a V5 card, you'll need at least a GHz CPU 🙄

Amigaz wrote:

wonder if it was the form factor that restricted them making a technical good board

To a certain degree, yes, but primarily it was price. In order to compete against Intel with their awesome BX chipset, Socket7 hardware had to be cheap. That explains the wimpy power regulators and the generally low quality of later Socket7 boards.

Going to check the revision when I get home...

Think I also have some spare ATX PSU's and ATX power buttons

Hope my GF MX2 cards work if the PSU can help so I'm not stuck with these crap AGP cards I will be stuck with otherwise

Thanks for the tips so far, guys 😀

Just checked my revision..it's 3.2

Must test with an ATX PSU now.....when I feel like doing that "operation" 😁