From what I still remember of the late '90s, the Matrox cards had higher CPU overhead. The 3dfx and NVidia cards were the best choices for slow CPUs, especially 3dfx because Glide is lower overhead than Direct3D and OpenGL. With a K6-3 you are really measuring how efficient the driver is with the K6-3 because the CPU is the bottleneck in most cases.

GeForce4 Ti is a lot faster than a GeForce FX 5500. GeForce4 MX will be pretty competitive with a 5500. GeForce2 MX 400 is probably slower than a FX 5500. It's again hard to say how all of these will react to a K6-3 though. Particlarly the FX series because the architecture is so much different and might have higher CPU overhead.

Is there any means to make the website display those bar charts at full-size? They are only 15 KB.

Banshee (actually any 3dfx card up to Voodoo3) can't do 32bit, only 16bit. You should probably either remove the bars for 1152x864x32 for Banshee, or test the same resolution with some other cards if you want to have a comparison. This shows in some of the tests compared to other cards, especially TNT (3dMark2000, glQuake, Quake II, Quake III).

swaaye is probably right about driver overhead.

Finally, most of these cards (except Banshee) are optimized for AGP. I suppose a comparison of the AGP variant of these cards might give different results.

You need a Radeon 9100 PCI and FX5600 PCI for testing. They would both probably beat a GF2MX. Why don't you have a GF4MX, though?

Wow, tough crowd!

idspispopd, you are correct. I knew the Banshee was 16-bit only but it slipped my mind at the time of the write-up. The Banshee has no business on the 32-bit chart.

sliderider, because I live in Canada and my pockets aren't very deep. At one point, I was going to get a GF4MX 64 MB PCI card for $15 shipped, but the seller's brother "accidently sold it". Do you have reason to beleive the GF4MX will perform better than the FX5500 in Quake III or other 3D games of this vintage? I did not originally set out to do a graphics card comparison, but only to determine the PCI graphics card for the i430TX platform which yields the best results. I am not sure if you read the write-up, but I did try a Radeon 9000 and 9250, but was unable to find functional drivers. I also could not locate a FX5600 PCI.

GF4MX might be faster than FX5500 when CPU limited because firstly it is older and can use older drivers and secondly it is a DX7 card and might have lower driver overhead than a DX9 card like FX5500.
This should also be visible with the GX2MX. Are you sure VSync wasn't enabled with that card? I find it suspicious that glQuake doesn't exceed 60fps (a GF2MX should be able to go much faster), that the difference between the resolutions is so small (the CPU should be able to produce much better fps) and that chips like G450 and TNT are faster, hardware T&L should help in glQuake.

A GF4MX might also be faster than FX5500 when GPU-limited, depending on the memory interface. FX5500 can have either a 64bit or a 128bit interface, GF4MX tend to have a 128bit interface (MX420 only has SDR, MX4000 has a 64bit interface, other should have 128bit but you never know when manufacturers go cheap. But actually I don't think the GPU will be the bottleneck when using such a card.

feipoa wrote:

Wow, tough crowd!

idspispopd, you are correct. I knew the Banshee was 16-bit only but it slipped my mind at the time of the write-up. The Banshee has no business on the 32-bit chart.

sliderider, because I live in Canada and my pockets aren't very deep. At one point, I was going to get a GF4MX 64 MB PCI card for $15 shipped, but the seller's brother "accidently sold it". Do you have reason to beleive the GF4MX will perform better than the FX5500 in Quake III or other 3D games of this vintage? I did not originally set out to do a graphics card comparison, but only to determine the PCI graphics card for the i430TX platform which yields the best results. I am not sure if you read the write-up, but I did try a Radeon 9000 and 9250, but was unable to find functional drivers. I also could not locate a FX5600 PCI.

I was just curious since GF4MX is widely available and cheap. I thought everyone here had one. The Radeon 9100 and especially the FX5600 in PCI can be harder to find, so it's understandable that a lot of people wouldn't have them but it would have been nice to see them for completeness.

Just keep in mind that the FX5500 is essentially a FX5200 with just a slightly higher core clock.

I think that on the K6-3+ the step from GF2MX400 to GF2 to GF4MX is marginal.
A competitor in 32 bit may be a V4 4500 PCI or V5 5500 PCI due to its lower CPU driver overhead and games with glide support.

Perhaps someone else with a K6-III+ 500 MHz could share their Quake III benchmark results at 1152x864x32? Searching for a reasonably priced PCI Voodoo4/5 or PCI GF4 MX440 (with delivery to Canada) would be more encourating if I knew the expected frame rates.

What games do you actually plan on playing significantly on that K6-3? I think your selection of cards is fine already for any games you might want to play on that hardware.

At the moment, my goal is to obtain the best possible Quake III scores at 1280x1024x32 for a K6-III 500 on the i430TX at default game settings. Eventual plans would be to test D3D and OpenGL games of similar vintage.

A graphics card other than what is currently installed (FX5500) would need to yield a benefit of 5 fps or more to make the search worthwhile. I am already using the oldest released NVIDIA driver for this card, 56.64. If what someone suggested is true, in that the FX5500 is merely an FX5200 with a faster clock, then could I force the system to use older detonator drivers for further refinement (tell the system the installed card is FX5200)?

OK, use this:

Putas wrote:

OK, use this:

Does this really help at all? I'd be interested in testing it out, but can't atm.

luckybob wrote:

well the idea is 2mb L2 with the MVP chipset (tyan 1598 & pa2013) or the Aladdin V (asus p5a)

I agree... These are the boards to get.

Era correct (mid-2000 for K6-III+) cards would be Voodoo5, Geforce 2, or Radeon 7500. If you don't go with AGP, all three of those 3D makers made PCI variants. Though, they may be hard to find for cheap.

Best VGA for K6-III+

Short answer: Voodoo5 5500 PCI / AGP
Drivers run fast on K6-III+, best 16-bit quality, Glide support & perfect compatibility.
But I'm totally happy with my Voodoo3 3000, wich isn't slower in low resolutions (K6-III+) & is having a good VGA quality.

------------------------------------------------------------------------------

In my experience 3dfx cards have a smoother framerate output.
30 frames on the Voodoo3 are much smoother than 30 on the Geforce3 Ti200 & GeforceFX5900XT.
They stutter on my mvp3 motherboard. I was running a Geforce3 Ti 200 AGP & a Voodoo5 PCI in my PC and switched in BIOS (Init Display First AGP/PCI).
It is everywhere, DOS (Doom), Windows software mode, direct3d, OpenGL

But maybe it's a VIA PCI latency timer problem
It helped to install the "PCI Latency" patch for VIA chipsets "vlatency_v020_beta21" http://www.georgebreese.com/net/dl0/
VIA's PCI Latency" patch "VIAPFD105" didn't change anything in the stutter problem (made screenshots before and after in WPCredit)
It also helped to set the clock on GPU & RAM to the same value e.g. 200 MHz.
Using my ISA soundcard (Crystal CS4237B) made it a lot smoother, compared to my PCI soundcards SB-Live & Vortex2.

Radeon 9700 Pro is a lot smoother at low framerates, compared to Geforce3 Ti200, but Voodoo3 is still better.
I wouldn't recommend to run a Radeon 9700, drivers are to slow in direct3d games w/o hardware T&L, compared to a Voodoo3.

But without the direct comparison you may not notice the problem. I was thinking it's the slow socket7.
But switching back to a Voodoo3, I was wondering how smooth a game can look, even if it runs only between 25-35 fps.

======================================================================================
======================================================================================
======================================================================================

K6-III+400ATZ @550MHz (5.5x100)
Tyan S1590 1MB L3 Cache ; VIA 4in1429v ; PCI latency timer at "0"
Aureal Vortex2 SQ2500 (driver 4.06.2050.18);
SBLive driver update sblw9xup.exe ( 2 May 00 )
GeForceFX5900XT (OpenGL-driver 53.06; driver 52.16;);
GeForce3 Ti200 (driver 12.90);
Voodoo5 5500 PCI (driver w9x-1.07.00b + miniGL 1.49)
256MB RAM (Turbo 2-2-2-5; 4-way bank interleave);
Win98SE + ServicePack "Win98se_sp21d_de"; DirectX9
Windows2000 SP4 ; DirectX9
monitor HP w2408h @ 60 Hz

======================================================================================
======================================================================================
======================================================================================

Kingpin (v121)

Vortex2 SQ2500
graphics max quality

timedemo 1
map poison.dm2
map badass.dm2
frames from second run!

-----------------------------------------------------

32-bit

Poison.dm2
31.6 fps 640x480 Radeon 9700 PRO; driver Cat.4.4 ; Win2000 ; directX8.2; Windows-standard-AGP-driver
32.6 fps 1600x1200 GeForceFX5900XT ; driver 52.16 + OpenGL-driver 53.06 ; Win98SE
33.1 fps 640x480 Radeon 9700 PRO; driver Cat.3.2 ; Win2000 ; directX8.2; Windows-standard-AGP-driver; Anti-Aliasing 6x + 16x AF
33.4 fps 640x480 GeForceFX5900XT ; driver 52.16 + OpenGL-driver 53.06 ; Win98SE
33.6 fps 640x480 Radeon 9700 PRO; driver Cat.3.2 ; Win98SE ; directX8.2; AGP-Turbo; Anti-Aliasing 6x + 16x AF
36.1 fps 640x480 Radeon 9700 PRO; driver Cat.3.2+OpenGL-Cat.3.1 ; Win98SE ; directX8.2; AGP-Turbo; Anti-Aliasing 6x + 16x AF
36.3 fps 640x480 GeForce3 Ti200 ; driver 52.16 beta ; Win98SE
36.7 fps 640x480 Radeon 9700 PRO; driver Cat.3.1 ; Win98SE ; directX8.2; AGP-Turbo; Anti-Aliasing 6x + 16x AF
36.7 fps 640x480 Radeon 9700 PRO; driver Cat.3.2+OpenGL-Cat.3.0 ; Win2000 ; directX8.2; Windows-standard-AGP-driver ; Anti-Aliasing 6x + 16x AF
39.0 fps 1024x768 GeForce3 Ti200 ; driver 23.11 ; Win98SE
41.2 fps 640x480x16 Voodoo5 PCI ; driver w9x-1.07.00b + miniGL 1.49 ; Win98SE
41.5 fps 640x480 GeForce3 Ti200 ; driver 14.40 beta ; Win98SE
41.5 fps 1024x768 GeForce3 Ti200 ; driver 12.90 ; Win98SE ; VIA AGP-Turbo, AGP2x
41.6 fps 1024x768 GeForce3 Ti200 ; driver 14.40 beta ; Win98SE

-----------------------------------------------------

32-bit

Badass.dm2
31.7 fps 640x480 GeForceFX5900XT ; driver 52.16 + OpenGL-driver 53.06 ; Win98SE
32.2 fps 1600x1200 GeForceFX5900XT ; driver 52.16 + OpenGL-driver 53.06 ; Win98SE
39.3 fps 1600x1200 GeForce3 Ti200 ; driver 12.90 ; Win98SE ; VIA AGP-Standard driver, AGP1x
39.7 fps 1024x768 GeForce3 Ti200 ; driver 12.90 ; Win98SE ; VIA AGP-Standard driver, AGP1x
40.1 fps 640x480x16 Voodoo5 PCI ; driver w9x-1.07.00b + miniGL 1.49 ; Win98SE

======================================================================================
======================================================================================
======================================================================================

Quake2 3.20 + 3DNow! patch
to use miniGL-driver --> rename miniGL 1.49 to opengl32.dll and move in game directory

timedemo 1
map demo1.dm2

-----------------------------------------------------

32-bit

72.1 fps 1024x768 GeForce3 Ti200 ; driver 52.16 ; Win98SE ; directx8.2
76.0 fps 1600x1200 GeForceFX5900XT ; driver 52.16 + OpenGL-driver 53.06 ; Win98SE ; directx8.2; Sound performance
89.6 fps 1600x1200 GeForce3 Ti200 ; driver 12.90 ; Win98SE ; directx8.2
91.2 fps 640x480 GeForce3 Ti200 ; driver 12.90 ; Win98SE ; directx8.2
101.4 fps 640x480x16 Voodoo5 PCI ; Amigamerlin_2.9 + miniGL 1.49 ; Win98SE

-----------------------------------------------------

Voodoo3 3000 @190 MHz ; driver 1.07

320x240
44.1 fps software
56.4 fps 3DNow_software
67.3 fps default Opengl
78.8 fps 3DNow Opengl
81.9 fps miniGL 1.49
98.2 fps 3DNow + miniGL 1.47
99.1 fps 3DNow + miniGL 1.49

640x480
69.6 fps WickedGL 3.02
74.0 fps 3DNow + WickedGL 3.02

-----------------------------------------------------

Voodoo5 PCI ; Amigamerlin_2.9 + miniGL 1.49 ; Win98SE

640x480

CPU scaling FSB 100 MHz

MHz FPS
200 52.9 / 39.9 FPS w/o 3DNow!
300 71.3
350 78.5
400 85.2
450 91.4
500 96.7
550 101.4
600 105.8

-------------------

640x480

CPU scaling FSB 60 MHz

MHz FPS
120 32.7 / 24.5 w/o 3DNow!
180 45.3
210 50.5
240 55.0
270 59.7
300 63.7
330 67.0
360 70.7 / 57.0 w/o 3DNow!

======================================================================================
======================================================================================
======================================================================================

MDK2 (unpatched)

36.42 fps 640x480x16 Voodoo3 3000 AGP ; driver Amigamerlin_2.9 ; "3dfx Installed OpenGL Driver" ; Win98SE ; w/o Hardware T&L ; SBLive ; bilinear filter
38.07 fps 640x480x16 Voodoo5 PCI ; driver Amigamerlin_2.9 ; "3dfx Installed OpenGL Driver" ; Win98SE ; w/o Hardware T&L ; 2x-Anti-Aliasing
38.28 fps 640x480x16 Voodoo5 PCI ; driver Amigamerlin_2.9 ; "3dfx Installed OpenGL Driver"; Win98SE ; w/o Hardware T&L
38.72 fps 640x480x32 Radeon 9700 PRO ; Catalyst 3.2+OpenGL-Cat.3.0 ; Win2000 ; DirectX8.2
38.82 fps 640x480x32 Radeon 9700 PRO ; Catalyst 4.4+OpenGL-Cat.3.0 ; Win2000 ; DirectX8.2; 4x Anti-Aliasing + 8x AF
39.31 fps 640x480x32 Radeon 9700 PRO ; Catalyst 3.2 ; Win98SE ; DirectX8.2
39.38 fps 640x480x16 Voodoo3 3000 AGP ; WickedGL3.02-hires ; driver Amigamerlin_2.9 ; Win98SE ; w/o Hardware T&L ; SBLive ; bilinear filter
40.87 fps 640x480x16 Voodoo3 3000 AGP ; WickedGL3.02-normal ; driver Amigamerlin_2.9 ; Win98SE ; w/o Hardware T&L ; SBLive ; bilinear filter
41.61 fps 640x480x16 Voodoo3 3000 AGP ; WickedGL3.02-normal ; driver Amigamerlin_2.9 ; Win98SE ; w/o Hardware T&L ; Aureal Vortex2 SQ2500 ; bilinear filter
43.59 fps 640x480x32 Radeon 9700 PRO ; Catalyst 3.2+OpenGL-Cat.3.1; Win98SE ; DirectX8.2; 6x Anti-Aliasing + 16x AF
44.59 fps 640x480x32 Radeon 9700 PRO ; Catalyst 2.2 ; Win98SE ; DirectX8.2
49.8 fps 640x480x32 GeForce3 Ti-200 ; driver 12.90 ; Win98SE ; SB-Live
51.3 fps 640x480x32 GeForce3 Ti-200 ; driver 12.90 ; Win98SE ; Aureal Vortex2

======================================================================================
======================================================================================
======================================================================================

Quake3 1.32 + 3DNow!-Patch

3DNow!-Patch Aaron Gordon "q3k6-132opt(K6_all).exe"
see Putas post or
http://web.archive.org/web/20071114113702/htt … 3speedddls.html
http://web.archive.org/web/20031211131233/htt … wageoc.com/opt/

-----------------------------------------------------

Settings:

GL Extensions: On
Video Mode: 640x480
Color Depth: 16 bit & 32 bit
Fullscreen: On
Lighting: Lightmap
Geometric Detail: Low
Texture Detail: 4/4
Texture Quality: 16 bit & 32 bit
Texture Filter: Bilinear

Simple Items: on
Marks on Walls: on
Ejecting Brass: on
Dynamic Lights: on
Identify Target: off
High Quality Sky: on
Sync Every Frame: off
Force Player Models: on
Draw Team Overlay: off

Sound Quality: High

r_ext_compress_textures 1
cg_gibs 0

-----------------------------------------------------

DEMO FOUR

640x480 32-bit

41.9 FPS FX5900XT ; driver 56.55 ; Win98SE ; cg_gibs 1 ;
43.4 FPS FX5900XT ; driver 56.55 ; Win98SE
43.8 FPS FX5900XT ; driver 53.06 ; Win98SE
44.2 FPS 640x480x16 Voodoo5 PCI ; driver vs-w9x-1.09-beta10 ; Win98SE ; Aureal Vortex2 driver 4.06.2041.04
44.6 FPS 1024x768x32 Radeon 9700 PRO ; Catalyst 3.2 ; Win2000 ; K6-III+@600MHz ; Force Player Models off; Simple Items off;
44.6 FPS FX5900XT ; driver 52.16 ; Win98SE
44.7 FPS FX5900XT ; driver 53.06 ; Win98SE
44.8 FPS GeForce3-Ti200 ; driver 14.10; AGP1x ; Win98SE
45.1 FPS GeForce3-Ti200 ; OpenGL-driver 12.90, driver 14.10; AGP1x ; Win98SE
45.2 FPS GeForce3-Ti200 ; driver 12.90; AGP1x ; Win98SE

no sound
59.1 FPS FX5900XT ; w/o Sound; Win98-ServicePack "Win98se_sp30b5-de"
62.9 FPS GeForce3-Ti200 ; w/o Sound; driver 14.10; AGP1x

======================================================================================
======================================================================================
======================================================================================

System Shock 2 version 2.3

Fraps 1.9d + my savegame
resolution set in "cam.cfg" file e.g. "game_screen_size 1280 1024"
for custom & widescreen resolutions use "DarkWidescreen-v6r3.zip" (corrects Field Of View)

Sound channels 16

16-bit rendering

31/32 fps 1024x768 Radeon 9700 Pro ; Cat. 3.1 ; Win98SE ; SB-Live EAX; 6xAntiAliasing+16xAF
(34)35(36) fps 1024x768 Radeon 9700 Pro ; Cat. 3.2 ; Win2000 ; SB-Live EAX; 6xAntiAliasing+16xAF
(37)38(39) fps 1024x768 Radeon 9700 Pro ; Cat. 3.1 ; Win98SE ; SB-Live EAX
42/43 fps 1024x768 Geforce 3 Ti200 ; Det.23.11 ; Win98SE ; Vortex 2 SQ2500 A3d
(42)43(44) fps 1024x768 Radeon 9700 Pro ; Cat. 3.2 ; Win2000 ; SB-Live EAX
(41)42/43((44)) 1024x768 Geforce 3 Ti200 ; Det.12.90 ; Win98SE ; SB-Live DirectSound
(42)43(44) fps 1920x1080 (DVI !) FOV changed ; Voodoo5 PCI ; AmigaMerlin 2.9 ; Win98SE ; SB-Live EAX sound
42/43/44 fps 1024x768 Geforce 3 Ti200 ; Det.12.90 ; Win98SE ; SB-Live EAX
42/43/44 fps 1600x1200 Geforce 3 Ti200 ; Det.23.11 ; Win98SE ; Vortex 2 SQ2500 no Hardware Sound
43/44 fps 1024x768 Voodoo5 PCI ; AmigaMerlin 2.9 ; Win98SE ; Vortex 2 SQ2500 EAX: a3d.dll from SB-Live
(42)43/44(45) 1024x768 Geforce 3 Ti200 ; Det.23.11 ; Win98SE ; Vortex 2 SQ2500 DirectSound: a3d.dll from SB-Live
(42)43/44(45) 1024x768 Geforce 3 Ti200 ; Det.23.11 ; Win98SE ; Vortex 2 SQ2500 no Hardware Sound
(43)44(45) fps 1024x768 Voodoo5 PCI ; AmigaMerlin 2.9 ; Win98SE ; Adlib_MSC 16 PnP (Crystal CS4237B) no Hardware Sound
(43)44/45 fps 1024x768 Geforce 3 Ti200 ; Det.12.90 ; Win98SE ; SB-Live no Hardware Sound
(43)44/45 fps 1600x1200 Geforce 3 Ti200 ; Det.12.90 ; Win98SE ; SB-Live no Hardware Sound
45/46 fps 1024x768 Voodoo5 PCI ; AmigaMerlin 2.9 ; Win98SE ; Vortex 2 SQ2500 a3d sound
(46)47/48 fps 1024x768 Voodoo5 PCI ; driver 10400 WHQL ; Win2000 ; SB-Live EAX
47/48 fps 1024x768 Voodoo5 PCI ; AmigaMerlin 2.9 ; Win98SE ; SB-Live DirectSound
47/48 fps 1024x768 Voodoo5 PCI ; AmigaMerlin 2.9 ; Win98SE ; SB-Live EAX sound
47/48 fps 1024x768 Voodoo5 PCI ; AmigaMerlin 2.9 ; Win98SE ; Vortex 2 SQ2500 DirectSound: a3d.dll from SB-Live
47/48 fps 1024x768 Voodoo5 PCI ; driver 10400 WHQL ; Win2000 ; SB-Live DirectSound

Soundcard deactivated in device manager
54 fps 1024x768 Voodoo5 PCI ; AmigaMerlin 2.9 ; Win98SE ; no sound

======================================================================================
======================================================================================
======================================================================================

Unreal version 225f:

graphics on maximum
Sound: 44kHz; directSound; Surround

Cycle #1
60.95 fps 640x480 Voodoo5 PCI ; driver Amigamerlin 2.9 ; Vortex 2 SQ2500
62 fps 640x480 Voodoo3 3000 AGP ; driver Amigamerlin 2.9 ; Vortex 2 SQ2500

======================================================================================
======================================================================================
======================================================================================

Viper Racing Patch 1.2.3(Beta)
add -nocanary to shortcut to disable CD check --> Viper Racing.exe" -nocanary

graphics on maximum
sound on maximum quality
Track: Ridge Valley, start position, view: press F3
press "1" to disable HUD

Fraps 1.9D
read fps before the cars start! (tire marks on track lower fps),
to read fps restart the race if necessary (does not clear tire marks on track!)

K6-III+ @200 MHz
Aureal Vortex2

with HUD
11 fps 1024x768 Radeon 9700 PRO ; Cat.3.4 ; Win98 ; VIA AGP-Turbo; directX8.2
14 fps 1024x768 Radeon 9700 PRO ; Cat.3.2 ; Win98 ; VIA AGP-Turbo; directX8.2;
16/17 fps 1024x768 GeForceFX5900XT ; driver 52.16 ; Win98
19 fps 1024x768 Radeon 9700 PRO ; Cat.3.0 ; Win2000 ; Windows-standard-AGP-driver ; directX8.2
21 fps 1024x768 GeForce3-Ti200 ; driver 7.76 ; Win98 ; directx7.0a ; VIA AGP-driver Standard mode
23 fps 1024x768 GeForce3-Ti200 ; driver 12.90 ; Win98 ; directx7.0a ; driver 12.90 ; AGP-texturing off ; VIA AGP-driver Standard mode
24 fps 1024x768 Voodoo5 PCI ; driver w9x-1.07.00b ; 2xAntiAliasing ; Win98 ; DirectX8.2
31 fps 640x480 Voodoo3 3000 AGP ; driver voodoo3-10500 ; Win98SE ; directx7.0a ; Aureal Vortex2 SQ2500
32/33 fps 640x480 Voodoo3 3000 AGP ; driver voodoo3-10102 ; Win98SE ; directx6.1 ; Aureal Vortex2 SQ2500

w/o HUD
14 fps 1024x768 Radeon 9700 PRO ; Cat.3.4 ; Win98 ; AGP-Turbo; directX8.2
19/20 fps 1024x768 GeForceFX5900XT ; driver 52.16 ; Win98
21 fps 1024x768 Radeon 9700 PRO ; Cat.3.2 ; Win98 ; VIA AGP-Turbo; directX8.2;
24 fps 1024x768 Radeon 9700 PRO ; Cat.3.0 ; Win2000 ; Windows-standard-AGP-driver ; directX8.2
27 fps 1024x768 GeForce3-Ti200 ; driver 12.90 ; Win98 ; directx7.0a ; driver 12.90 ; AGP-texturing off ; VIA AGP-driver Standard mode
27/28 fps 1024x768 GeForce3-Ti200 ; driver 7.76 ; Win98 ; directx7.0a ; VIA AGP-driver Standard mode
34 fps 1024x768 Voodoo5 PCI ; driver w9x-1.07.00b ; 2xAntiAliasing ; Win98 ; DirectX8.2
35 fps 640x480 Voodoo3 3000 AGP ; driver voodoo3-10500 ; Win98SE ; directx7.0a ; Aureal Vortex2 SQ2500
37/38 fps 640x480 Voodoo3 3000 AGP ; driver voodoo3-10102 ; Win98SE ; directx6.1 ; Aureal Vortex2 SQ2500

-----------------------------------------------------

Viper Racing Version 1.0

K6-III+ @200 MHz

internal benchmark function
52.0 fps 1024x768 fps-limit! ; Voodoo5 PCI ; 2xAntiAliasing ; Win98
53.6 fps 1024x768 No Sound ; fps-limit! ; Voodoo5 PCI ; 2xAntiAliasing ; Win98

framerate limiter at about 50 fps,
can be overridden with CPU power and V-Sync enabled --> 60 fps @ 60 Hz

-----------------------------------------------------

Viper Racing Patch 1.2.3(Beta)

K6-III+ @550 MHz

with HUD
28 fps 1024x768 Radeon 9700 PRO ; Cat.4.4 ; Win2000 ; Windows-standard-AGP-driver AGP1x; directX8.2
34 fps 1024x768 GeForceFX5900XT ; driver 52.16 ; Win98
35 fps 1024x768 GeForce3-Ti200 ; driver 52.16 ; Win98 ; directx8.0a ; SB-Live ; VIA AGP-driver in Standard mode
37/38 fps 1024x768 Radeon 9700 PRO ; Cat.3.0 ; Win2000 ; Windows-standard-AGP-driver AGP1x ; directX8.2
41 fps 1024x768 Voodoo5 PCI ; driver w9x-1.07.00b ; 2xAntiAliasing ; Win98SE
44 fps 1024x768 Voodoo5 PCI ; driver w9x-1.07.00b ; Win98SE
45/46 fps 1024x768 GeForce3-Ti200 ; driver 12.90 ; Win98 ; directx8.0a ; SB-Live ; VIA AGP-driver in Standard mode

w/o HUD
35 fps 1024x768 Radeon 9700 PRO ; Cat.4.4 ; Win2000 ; Windows-standard-AGP-driver AGP1x; directX8.2
43 fps 1024x768 GeForceFX5900XT ; driver 52.16 ; Win98
46 fps 1024x768 GeForce3-Ti200 ; driver 52.16 ; Win98 ; directx8.0a ; SB-Live ; VIA AGP-driver in Standard mode
50 fps 1024x768 fps-limit!? ; Radeon 9700 PRO ; Cat.3.0 ; Win2000 ; Windows-standard-AGP-driver AGP1x ; directX8.2
52 fps 1024x768 fps-limit!? ; Voodoo5 PCI ; driver w9x-1.07.00b ; Win98SE
56/57 fps 1024x768 fps-limit!? ; GeForce3-Ti200 ; driver 12.90 ; Win98 ; directx8.0a ; SB-Live ; VIA AGP-driver in Standard mode
57 fps 1024x768 fps-limit!? ; Voodoo5 PCI ; driver w9x-1.07.00b ; 2xAntiAliasing ; Win98SE

Yeah I don't know exactly how many times it's been said that Voodoo3/4/5 are the best choice now. Though considering the performance level of a K6-3+, I think a Banshee or Voodoo2 setup is fine too.

The only time I would consider non-Voodoo is if really high resolutions are desired, like 1600x1200 or higher. Then I would choose a GeForce 4 Ti or FX 5900.

F2bnp wrote:

Does this really help at all? I'd be interested in testing it out, but can't atm.

I forgot about the DLL mods.

Basically Quake3 has good Intel optimization. It has poor AMD optimization. 3DNow support is poor. These DLLs rework some things to get a nice boost on AMD hardware. There are versions for K6-2/3, Athlon/Duron and Athlon XP/Duron Morgan.

Very thorough research falloutboy! I'm still in the midst of taking it all in, but it's quite impressive.

I will surely give those DLLs a try, I'd love to know how much they boost performance in some of the tests I've already done.

Some benchmarks Tyan S1598 1 MB vs 2 MB L2 cache 😎

http://translate.google.com/translate?hl=&sl= … bytes-l2_4.html