VOGONS


First post, by FFXIhealer

User metadata
Rank Oldbie
Rank
Oldbie

So I JUST caught this error after a few years.

In my 1997 Socket 7 built, I'm using a PCI card marked as the ATI Rage 2C. The card markings are as follows:

On the PCB itself:
ATI (logo)
PN 109-61800-00
©1999 ATI Technologies Inc

On the BIOS chip: RAGE2C PCI 61801.100 (on a sticker on top of the chip in the socket)

On the actual graphics chip:
ATI 3D (logo)
Rage IIc PCI
215R2PZUA21
B8S75
9942AA
Taiwan

But when I start the computer, the first VGA BIOS message I get says this:

ATI MACH64 BIOS P/N 113-61801-100

And within Windows 95, it has the following

Device Manager lists it as: ATI-264VT3 (English) (DirectX)
Advanced Display Properties:
Manufacturer: ATI Tech. - Enhanced
Chip type: Mach64GT
DAC type: Internal
Features: DirectDraw(tm)
Software version: 5.21-C9N-WEB

If it was just Windows saying it, I'd say I installed the wrong damned driver. Problem is, it's saying the same thing on first BOOT, so maybe someone flashed the wrong BIOS onto this card? If so, how do I correct? Help!

Attachments

292dps.png
3smzsb.png
0fvil8.png
lhbar1.png

Reply 1 of 8, by FFXIhealer

User metadata
Rank Oldbie
Rank
Oldbie

Nevermind... I think. I just found THIS PAGE: http://www.dosdays.co.uk/topics/Manufacturers/ati.php That says:

"The mach64GT (commonly known as the 3D RAGE) introduced hardware support for 3D operations. The 3D RAGE included all mach64VT features with the addition of hardware 3D acceleration, improved video filtering, and integrated motion compensation (RAGE PRO only)."

So I guess this is normal behavior. I mean, the card works. I guess I'll just live with it unless I can figure out something else.

I was gonna pull it out and stick it in my Windows XP system so I could copy the BIOS and identify it directly, but that means I gotta go upstairs and bring down my old 2001 AMD Athlon XP system. I was THINKING about just throwing it into my Windows 7 system since the MB has PCI slots, but that would require I remove those IO shields that you can't put back once you remove from the case.

292dps.png
3smzsb.png
0fvil8.png
lhbar1.png

Reply 2 of 8, by Putas

User metadata
Rank Oldbie
Rank
Oldbie
FFXIhealer wrote on 2022-01-01, 04:59:

Nevermind... I think. I just found THIS PAGE: http://www.dosdays.co.uk/topics/Manufacturers/ati.php

What a horrible copy pasted page, read with caution.

Your card seems to be 32-bit one, how is it's 3d performance compared to other Rage IIs?

Reply 3 of 8, by FFXIhealer

User metadata
Rank Oldbie
Rank
Oldbie

How would you like me to measure it's performance? I have 3dMax99 I could run and I have, but it's definitely worse than the Voodoo card at the same resolution. You know what? I'm gonna run it.

Ok, so I just installed 3dMax99 and I only had DirectX 5 installed. Now I'm installing 6.1. Now the computer is hanging on "Please wait while your computer shuts down."
Lemme work on this.

292dps.png
3smzsb.png
0fvil8.png
lhbar1.png

Reply 4 of 8, by FFXIhealer

User metadata
Rank Oldbie
Rank
Oldbie

OK, after a hard restart (the few times I like having a reset button on the case), I got 3DMax99 up. It's reporting the following for the ATI card

Total Video Memory: 4074 KB
Texture Memory Available: 2538 KB

Running the tests at 640x480, 16-bit color, 16-bit Z-Buffer Depth, and Double Frame Buffer for an apples-to-apples comparison between the ATI Rage IIc 4MB card and the Diamond Monster 3D Voodoo 4MB card right next to it. I fully expect the Voodoo card to do WAY better.

Running the ATI benchmark now - can we say glitchfest?

Attachments

  • ATI Setup.JPG
    Filename
    ATI Setup.JPG
    File size
    60.63 KiB
    Views
    956 views
    File comment
    ATI Rage IIc Benchmark Setup Window
    File license
    Fair use/fair dealing exception

292dps.png
3smzsb.png
0fvil8.png
lhbar1.png

Reply 5 of 8, by FFXIhealer

User metadata
Rank Oldbie
Rank
Oldbie

Ok, so the results for the ATI card are in.

Unfortunately, I cannot successfully test the Voodoo card right now because I keep getting this error:

3DMark could not initialize your 3D Accelerator.
Try to downgrade your display settings.
DirectX Error Message:
DirectDrawSurface4->Blt : DDERR_NOBLTHW

This error happens when trying to start the 2nd game demo. It runs the first game demo fine and is a lot smother than the ATI card.

Attachments

  • ATI Results.jpg
    Filename
    ATI Results.jpg
    File size
    43.88 KiB
    Views
    947 views
    File comment
    Individual test results
    File license
    Fair use/fair dealing exception
  • ATI Score.JPG
    Filename
    ATI Score.JPG
    File size
    47.65 KiB
    Views
    947 views
    File comment
    Final 3DMark score
    File license
    Fair use/fair dealing exception

292dps.png
3smzsb.png
0fvil8.png
lhbar1.png

Reply 7 of 8, by FFXIhealer

User metadata
Rank Oldbie
Rank
Oldbie

I'm not sure how to improve performance. The PC specs for the entire system are as follows:

Motherboard: Micronics M55Hi+ Rev. 2
BIOS: Phoenix Version 4.05
CPU: Intel Pentium P54C @200 MHz
Cache: 512KB on-motherboard Level-2
Chipset: Intel i430HX
RAM: 64MB EDO 72-pin SIMMs (4 sticks or 16MB)
CPU-z scores: CPU Speed 245.5, FPU Speed 1067.5
CPU-z Version: 1.09.0.w9x
PCI Slot 1: ATI Rage IIc 4MB PCI card
PCI Slot 2: Diamond Monster 3D 4MB Voodoo
PCI Slot 3: 3COM Etherlink 10/100 PCI
PCI Slot 4: Empty
ISA Slots 1-4: Empty
Sound: Creative Labs Vibra16 chip on MB with audio ports in ATX standard position (i.e. next to the parallel and serial ports)

292dps.png
3smzsb.png
0fvil8.png
lhbar1.png