I currently have two Diamond 8mb versions, and obviously seeking to have the best possible configuration, however im hesitating are there really other benefits to swap into 12mb versions if the only gain is that Quake3 works slightly faster. Would love to hear some solid facts about this 8mb vs. 12mb topic.

According to this review from Toms Hardware, the difference between 8mb vs. 12mb is non-existent…

https://www.tomshardware.com/reviews/creative … voodoo2,59.html

Im will be using the Voodoos with a P3 500MHz

That review from February 1998, was many months prior to Unreal and other texture heavy games so of course they couldn't spot that difference.

One of the more texture heavy games in that time were dense multiplayer games of Quake2 as there'd be unique skins loaded for everybody, new levels with new complexity with new lightmaps to keep track of, and still a ton of unoptimization regarding weapon and item models (made worse with vweps since the point release patches that shortly followed).

Battlezone's "large assets" were made for those 12MB Voodoo2s in mind.

Not sure why you see 12MB V2's an upside for Quake3 as it's noted to also run horribly there at picmip 0 (which Banshee/V3 handles much better)

Yeah even a 12MB Voodoo2 is not ideal for the Unreal games and Quake 3.

Joseph_Joestar wrote on 2022-08-14, 06:33:

I vaguely remember people saying that Diablo 2 is quite demanding on Voodoo 2 cards.

Voodoo2 12MB has problems in some game areas with the expansion pack's optional 800x600. Single digit framerate. I think 800x600 causes more textures to be loaded at once (because you see a larger area) and this runs the V2 out of texture memory causing PCI bus swapping.

Voodoo3 16MB does not have any problems with the game though as you said. Not sure about a Voodoo3 8MB.

In this video, there is no visible difference: https://youtu.be/welNORxVbLU

You don't see a dash board in NFS3 with 8MB version.

Quake 3 is a good test to see differences between the 8 and 12MB version: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0dFnDdBqNgY

Edit: Ok, the threadstarter has already posted the link.

@kixs
Also the 16MB 3dfx Banshee does not shown the dashboard in NFS3, but it comes back after installing the NFS3 Voodoo3 Patch.

kixs wrote on 2022-08-14, 18:23:

You don't see a dash board in NFS3 with 8MB version.

It's like with a Voodoo1. Because Voodoo1 4MB and Voodoo2 8MB have the same amount of texture memory.

I love all this voodoo 2 talk. I have a Diamond Monster V2 12 mb and another voodoo 2 8 meg card which I want to mod to make 12 MB.
I have the Monster in a P2 360 MMX at the moment and want to SLI it with the ot her once its upgraded.

I also have 2 voodoo 3 cards which I am on the fence about which systems to use them in.

I have a P1 , 2 P3s and this P2 (I also have a P4 and a 486, but im not looking ot use voodoos in those.

I’ve been umming and aahing about taking the plunge to mod my two 8MB cards to 12MB. I’ve got the chips, I’ve got the hot air station, but have I got the stones… not sure.

paradigital wrote on 2023-05-24, 16:58:

I’ve been umming and aahing about taking the plunge to mod my two 8MB cards to 12MB. I’ve got the chips, I’ve got the hot air station, but have I got the stones… not sure.

Do it!

Voodoo2 8 to 12MB RAM upgrade - is it really that straightforward?

Law212 wrote on 2023-05-24, 14:48:

I love all this voodoo 2 talk. I have a Diamond Monster V2 12 mb and another voodoo 2 8 meg card which I want to mod to make 12 […]
Show full quote

I love all this voodoo 2 talk. I have a Diamond Monster V2 12 mb and another voodoo 2 8 meg card which I want to mod to make 12 MB.
I have the Monster in a P2 360 MMX at the moment and want to SLI it with the ot her once its upgraded.

I also have 2 voodoo 3 cards which I am on the fence about which systems to use them in.

I have a P1 , 2 P3s and this P2 (I also have a P4 and a 486, but im not looking ot use voodoos in those.

Me too. It is really good chance to learn as much as possible about the Vodoo 2 cards. As mentioned in my other thread I get socket 370, pentium 800mhz system for almost nothing in June and I want to turn into either V2 sli system with a partner card (most likely geforce 2) or a Vodoo 3 2000 system. So I am really greatful for every chance to learn more about the Vodoo cards.

retep_110 wrote on 2023-05-25, 07:35:

Law212 wrote on 2023-05-24, 14:48:

I love all this voodoo 2 talk. I have a Diamond Monster V2 12 mb and another voodoo 2 8 meg card which I want to mod to make 12 […]
Show full quote

I love all this voodoo 2 talk. I have a Diamond Monster V2 12 mb and another voodoo 2 8 meg card which I want to mod to make 12 MB.
I have the Monster in a P2 360 MMX at the moment and want to SLI it with the ot her once its upgraded.

I also have 2 voodoo 3 cards which I am on the fence about which systems to use them in.

I have a P1 , 2 P3s and this P2 (I also have a P4 and a 486, but im not looking ot use voodoos in those.

Me too. It is really good chance to learn as much as possible about the Vodoo 2 cards. As mentioned in my other thread I get socket 370, pentium 800mhz system for almost nothing in June and I want to turn into either V2 sli system with a partner card (most likely geforce 2) or a Vodoo 3 2000 system. So I am really greatful for every chance to learn more about the Vodoo cards.

Ya, I didnt think much about voodoo 2 cards before, but now im trying to create a god voodoo 2 system. I'm even ordering memory to upgrade my 8 meg voodoo 2 card and thinking of an sli P2 system. Then ill move on to a build for each of my voodoo 3 cards.

paradigital wrote on 2023-05-24, 16:58:

I’ve been umming and aahing about taking the plunge to mod my two 8MB cards to 12MB. I’ve got the chips, I’ve got the hot air station, but have I got the stones… not sure.

I only have a moderate amount of soldering skill and I was surprised with how easy the upgrade was. I just used an iron and I was very patient... and it just worked!

I think the most important thing is just taking your time and not rushing it. Good luck. 😀

What would be the ultimate Voodoo2?
The specification states possibility of SGRAM, has it been tried before?

Putas wrote on 2023-05-26, 11:04:

What would be the ultimate Voodoo2?
The specification states possibility of SGRAM, has it been tried before?

I have heard in a youtube video that support for SGRAM was only mentioned in preliminary design documents but probably never implemented in the final chip. Yes, that's far from a definitive answer.

Minutemanqvs wrote on 2023-05-27, 15:54:

Putas wrote on 2023-05-26, 11:04:

What would be the ultimate Voodoo2?
The specification states possibility of SGRAM, has it been tried before?

I have heard in a youtube video that support for SGRAM was only mentioned in preliminary design documents but probably never implemented in the final chip. Yes, that's far from a definitive answer.

It is all over Voodoo2 documentation Revision 1.16 from December 1999. To my surprise, even the texturing chip is said to support it.