retro games 100 wrote:I would really like to know if this hardware set up (KT333 mobo + AGP V5 + 2600+ CPU) would be just as fast in terms of frame rate compared to a more modern mobo (eg the KT400/nForce2 + PCI V5 + 3Ghz CPU) - even with FSAA at 4x and at high screen resolutions. If the benchmarking results are about the same, then does PCI really matter?
According to this firingsquad benchmark, performance difference between Voodoo5 AGP and Voodoo5 PCI decreases as resolution increases. Furthermore, the performance difference between AGP and PCI gets even smaller when you are using FSAA.
It makes perfect sense, though. Voodoo5 AGP is not a "true" AGP device. Of course, it still gets the benefits of AGP bandwidth, which is larger than PCI bandwidth, but that's all about it. As resolution gets larger, the card's own memory bandwidth and fill rate becomes the greater limiting factor.
As far as CPU goes, I don't remember the URL, but I remember reading somewhere that Voodoo5 reaches its performance peak at 2GHz. In other words, you won't get any performance increase with CPU faster than 2GHz.
retro games 100 wrote:Perhaps the PCI V5 set up would be faster, if the FSAA was set to 4x and also the screen resolution was increased to a high value.
Actually, it is the AGP V5 that gets slower when you increase resolution and/or use FSAA. 😉
I don't think PCI V5 would ever be faster though, since both cards have the same fill rate and memory bandwidth.
retro games 100 wrote:I just want to understand why people prefer to buy the PCI V5 on ebay, rather than the AGP V5.
I think it is because:
(1) V5 PCI is rarer, while V5 AGP is more plentiful.
(2) It's getting harder to find mobo that supports 3.3v AGP.
(3) It seems many 3dfx enthusiasts just want to test old 3dfx cards with new games like Doom 3 and Call of Duty, usually using tools like 3D-Analyze. Voodoo5 PCI is more convenient for such purpose, since newer games usually demands faster CPU as well.
Due to the lack of 3.3v AGP in newer boards, the fastest CPU that can be paired with Voodoo5 AGP is Barton 3000+, but you need the latest revision of Asus A7V333 mobo in order to do that (earlier revision does not support Barton). You should go to 3dfxZone forum and ask Obi Wan Kenobi for more details; he is the one who has successfully "gone the Barton route", and he is a nice and helpful guy.
As for myself, I have abandoned such thing. My running V5 5500 is plugged on an Epox 8KTA3+ mobo --a mobo with one ISA slot. The mobo only supports Palomino, though, but it is fast enough for older games I like.
For the future, I plan to build two separate systems for more "specialized" approach:
PC 1: this one will be based on intel 440BX and Voodoo5 5500 AGP. I think a Pentium III is slower than Palomino, but it should do nicely for old games.
PC 2: this one will be based on intel 845 mobo and Voodoo5 5500 PCI Mac. This is for games that demand more CPU (flightsims, what else? 😉 ), but still support GLide. Jane's F/A-18 and Total Air War comes to mind.