Just thought I'd add some of my own thoughts here.
Via MVP3 wasn't such a bad chipset back in the days as some people seem to think. It was for a long time the recommended SS7 chipset, as long as you had up-to-date 4-in-1 drivers and such installed correctly.
The AOpen AX59Pro board was a solid performer back then, I remember Tom's Hardware Guide recommending it, and possibly also Anandtech if I remember correctly. I had one back then in a K6-2 300MHz system, and had very few problems. My system was in fact pretty stable, even compared to a friend's PII system. I also use an AX59Pro board in my current K6-III system and I'm actually surprised how well it performs.
Benchmark performance compared to "perceivable performance" isn't always one and the same, as benchmarks tend to focus on worst case scenarios. Playing Quake II, Quake III and Unreal on the K6-III using a Voodoo 2 or even Matrox Millennium G400 MAX offers pretty smooth gameplay at moderate resolutions. Granted, moving above 1024x768 on Direct3D/OpenGL will completely kill performance, but for 800x600 it runs smoothly enough with either graphics solution. I've not tried Half Life on this system, as I never really liked that game, but as I could run it acceptably on the K6-2 300MHz with Voodoo 2 back in the days, I'm pretty sure it would run alright today as well. If you expect constant 60fps with max settings @ LCD native resolutions, then you'll just have to resort to modern hardware. For period correct systems, you need to expect period correct performance. Back in those days, most hardware websites would consider 30fps "perfectly smooth gameplay". Yes, we've got spoiled over the years 😉

I'd say stick with that system, just keep your eyes open for a Voodoo 2 or Voodoo 3 card (I'm sure something will come along with some patience) and you'll get tons of fun out of a nice build like that.
Oh, and it sounds like you might not have updated the BIOS to the 2.36 release? Seeing as you're having trouble with larger hard drives. I'm currently using an 80GB Seagate on mine. Wouldn't even detect it at all before updating the BIOS.

Yeah that's a good point. The problem wasn't that the MVP3 chipset was hopeless, but that the motherboards varied greatly in quality. MVP3 is far from perfect but it can be quite functional.

But I still strongly recommend only going 3dfx for AGP cards on Super 7 motherboards. Unless you only plan to use the AGP card for 2D things. My experience is even if other cards seem stable in 3D, they may actually still be flaky but only lock up / crash over longer periods of time.

I did all my Voodoo 2 SLI tests on a DFI board with VIA MVP3 chipset. 12 CPUs, 5 games, 7 resolutions = 420 benchmarks. I had a handful of lockups but so did the Slot 1 Aopen board with BX440 chipset. I firmly believe that back in those days the hardware was simply not 100% mature and a bit glitchy.

I had less issues with the S370 i815E board and zero issues with the P4 i865.

I remember hardware sites actually giving a score for reliability in the old days. That tells you something 😀

Having said that, my benchmarking results do suggest that a V2 card is a great match for a 500 MHz K6-2+ or K6-III+.

@swaaye

Just to clarify, you recommend AGP cards over PCI, or did I misunderstand something here...

Mau1wurf1977 wrote:

Just to clarify, you recommend AGP cards over PCI, or did I misunderstand something here...

No I mean if you want to use AGP on Super 7, go 3dfx. Actually lets say if the chipset isn't made by Intel and it's from those days, go with 3dfx. 😉

swaaye wrote:

Mau1wurf1977 wrote:

Just to clarify, you recommend AGP cards over PCI, or did I misunderstand something here...

No I mean if you want to use AGP on Super 7, go 3dfx. Actually lets say if the chipset isn't made by Intel and it's from those days, go with 3dfx. 😉

I see, thanks for clarifying 😀

swaaye wrote:

Mau1wurf1977 wrote:

Just to clarify, you recommend AGP cards over PCI, or did I misunderstand something here...

No I mean if you want to use AGP on Super 7, go 3dfx. Actually lets say if the chipset isn't made by Intel and it's from those days, go with 3dfx. 😉

Most games from the end of the 90's will probably run best on Glide anyway 😀
I have to say that the moving lines that Voodoo 2 cards tend to cause, especially on the Windows desktop are MUCH less noticeable on my "new" CRT (2003 model) than it was on the LCD I was using. So for Voodoo 2 era systems, I thoroughly recommend CRT.

dave343 wrote:

Something must be wrong because this K6-2 550 should be ok. Maybe AGP drivers? The Nvidia Detonator 43 driver? Via chipset itself? Or just crappy FPU on the K6-2? The TNT2 Pro should be able to handle HL1 smoothly.

Back when I had a GF2MX on a VIA MVP3 board, I found that the fastest NVidia driver for me was 5.32. When I tried 6.whatever (current at the time), it slowed down noticeably, though it also fixed glitchiness with AGP 2X mode. I never tried much newer versions since 5.32 continued to work for me until the end.

In order to use v5.32, I had to drop back to AGP 1X mode to keep it stable, but this had only a negligible effect on performance so it was still a profit. I also used an older VIA driver with the "safe mode" option, but that's just because my board didn't have a BIOS option for the AGP speed.

I should add that I'm not 100% certain it was 5.32, but I think it was. I never had a TNT2 though, this was on an MX.

These days I prepare this 9xENTRY machine:

-Aristo AM-954 Socket Super7, VIA Apollo MVP3 chipset
-AMD K6-II 350AFR, 350MHz, 100fsb, MMX, 3DNow!
-Kingmax 2x128MB PC100 CL3
-3dfx Voodoo Banshee 16MB AGP
-WDC 64AA+205AA = 6+20GB 5400rpmn IDE UATA33
-Creative SoundBlaster PCI128! CT4700 EAX2.0
-D-Link LAN 10MBps PCI
-MSI CD-RW, FDD 1.44Mb
-ATX case +200W and 8cm FAN
-MS Win98 SE

That is the cream of the crop of Dos gaming you got there, in addition to some Quake 2 and Half Life.

You sure vsync is disabled? Think you should be hovering around 30-60 fps in Half-Life with 16 bit color at 1024x768.

I don't know how a K6-2 is supposed to perform in HL1, but Detonator 43 sounds much to new. I'd try something in the single digits, like 2.08, 3.68 or 5.12. (Somehow I remember these versions, please correct if I'm mistaken.)
I'm a bit confused about a TNT2 Pro 16MB. Usually TNT2's had 32MB, especially Pro's and Ultra's. Did you check that it's not a TNT2 M64 or Vanta? Just for fun: What happens if you lower the resolution?

idspispopd wrote:

I don't know how a K6-2 is supposed to perform in HL1, but Detonator 43 sounds much to new. I'd try something in the single digits, like 2.08, 3.68 or 5.12. (Somehow I remember these versions, please correct if I'm mistaken.)
I'm a bit confused about a TNT2 Pro 16MB. Usually TNT2's had 32MB, especially Pro's and Ultra's. Did you check that it's not a TNT2 M64 or Vanta? Just for fun: What happens if you lower the resolution?

There seems to have been a number of OEM TNT2 Pro cards out there with only 16MB on them (probably to save money). I have a Compaq one myself.

I like and prefer the Ali based p5a boards (but i prefer Asus and am biased). But i have multiple ss7 boards and if i was using a via mvp3 board it would certainly be my Aopen ax59pro, it is great.

I do use my v2 sli setup in a k6-3+ board and at 1024x768 the bottleneck isn`t so big (v2`s have to work hard for it). Yes, p2 or p3 is faster but the biggest gap is at 800x600 because the v2`s have performance to spare at that resolution in sli. (same story for the v3-2000).

For a single v2 the k6-2 is fine. At 550mhz it is in most games equal to a p2-350, only a few games benefit from the extra cache of the k6 + cpu`s.

Ss7 do indeed work best with 3dfx cards. My sli setup outperforms the Geforce 2Ti most of the time and are way more compatible with older games.

It is funny to see how good TnL games worked for Nvidia, trying a game that uses it makes it playable on this system, while the v2`s turn it into a slideshow. (ofcourse the geforce is wayyyy faster on a fast p3 system.)

Holering wrote:

Think you should be hovering around 30-60 fps in Half-Life with 16 bit color at 1024x768.

Hi!

Do you happen to know how to benchmark Half-Life?