VOGONS


What Voodoo graphic to buy?

Topic actions

First post, by haker120

User metadata
Rank Member
Rank
Member

Short question from complete noob in this matter. 😁

I have 3 Voodoo ones, 2 from 3DFX and one on black PCB and one Voodoo 3 2000 (looks like someone tried to separate heatsink from main chip and looks 'smashed' in 2 places but works and I updated it to the newest BIOS for SDRAM) and PCs I'd like to use new Voodoo is either Piii 500 or 1GHz or 1.4GHz (I'm planning to buy modified Tualatin for Coppermine motherboard).

I thought about Voodoo 2 12MB but prices kill, replace V3 2000 to 3000, I have no idea with V4 (but I heard better to get PCI version of this one) and V5 and which model?

Any suggestions of course welcome. 😀

Reply 1 of 68, by framebuffer

User metadata
Rank Member
Rank
Member

I guess you first have to decide the CPU/platform (from P3 500 to Tua 1.4 is quite a big jump) then establish your budget and only then evaluate which voodoo card to get

Instead, if you decide to approach the decision from a games/period point of view, in my opinion the configuration that makes the most sense (also economically) is a voodoo3 3000 and a Pentium III around 1GHz.
In 1998-2000 (target period for the voodoo3) the games were developed with big consideration of 3dfx, they run well and many have Glide support, then this started to change from 2001...

Windows 98 and SAMBA | Quake CPU Benchmarks | GeForce2: GTS vs MX400

Reply 2 of 68, by haker120

User metadata
Rank Member
Rank
Member

I can stay at P3 1GHz and leave Vodoo 3 2000 with P3 500MHz. The thing is I have 3 AGP cards with support of DX8 at least and I'm a noob with Voodoo cards. Maybe P4 3GHz?

And I'm gonna buy V3 3000, thanks for this advice. 😀

Reply 3 of 68, by FioGermi

User metadata
Rank Newbie
Rank
Newbie

Don't touch a Voodoo 4/5 unless you like selling your kidney on the blackmarket 🤣. Prices on those are too silly to be practical.

V3 of any kind is where its at for 3DFX. I'd argue Voodoo 1 is too, but that is only if your doing a super old 1996/1997 build. Anything later can be done with a V3.

Reply 5 of 68, by haker120

User metadata
Rank Member
Rank
Member

So, having Voodoo 1s (I paid like 100PLN for each, around $25 years back xD) are good to have but not good to buy, same with overpriced v4/5.

However one thing confuses me, maybe someone will explain, I heard it's possible to have 800x600 resolution with V1 but this required V1 6/8MB RAM, did such cards exist or modded?

And the thing with Voodoo 3 being 'ultimate' for retro builds as they have API Glide (not sure what games, older ones or newer ones as some games work great with my V3 or V1, but others, Gex 3D for me, works way too fast and has dumb resolution my TV and monitor show as 1300x320 or something), what I need tbh, DX6 and 8(?) which is great for Half Life for example and OpenGL (not sure I ever used that one 😁). Is that true 'ultimativeness'?

And heck, what's the deal with numbers? V3 1000, 2000, 3000, 3500? I heard to avoid model 1000, 2000 and 3000 are good and 3500 requires something to even connect to TV/monitor.

Aaaaand why nothing about Voodoo2? I only know to have good experience I should put my hands on two with SLI?

Reply 7 of 68, by FioGermi

User metadata
Rank Newbie
Rank
Newbie
haker120 wrote on 2022-04-12, 15:50:

However one thing confuses me, maybe someone will explain, I heard it's possible to have 800x600 resolution with V1 but this required V1 6/8MB RAM, did such cards exist or modded?

Yeah that sounds about right. Some high end 6/8mb V1 cards did indeed exist. Miro Highscore 3D (6mb) and Skywell Magic3D (8mb). I'm pretty sure they can do 800x600 in most games where as a regular V1 could not outside of some very specific examples that didn't use Z-buffer or whatever its called. Although I'm not sure how well the performance would be. The V1 is a tad bit slow as is.

haker120 wrote on 2022-04-12, 15:50:

Aaaaand why nothing about Voodoo2? I only know to have good experience I should put my hands on two with SLI?

Why no love for Voodoo 2? Well, even the slowest Voodoo 3 is basically Voodoo 2 SLI on a single card. Unless you really need a V2 you might as well just get a V3. Save yourself money and a PCI slot for basically the same performance. 1 less card that could go wrong.

Reply 8 of 68, by Gmlb256

User metadata
Rank l33t
Rank
l33t
FioGermi wrote on 2022-04-12, 16:01:

Why no love for Voodoo 2? Well, even the slowest Voodoo 3 is basically Voodoo 2 SLI on a single card. Unless you really need a V2 you might as well just get a V3. Save yourself money and a PCI slot for basically the same performance. 1 less card that could go wrong.

The Voodoo3 is actually a Banshee with higher clocks and dual TMUs and doesn't have the registers that makes it compatible with most early Glide games unlike the Voodoo2.

Also Voodoo2 SLI doesn't really give you more memory available for textures.

VIA C3 Nehemiah 1.2A @ 1.46 GHz | ASUS P2-99 | 256 MB PC133 SDRAM | GeForce3 Ti 200 64 MB | Voodoo2 12 MB | SBLive! | AWE64 | SBPro2 | GUS

Reply 9 of 68, by haker120

User metadata
Rank Member
Rank
Member

So for P1 and 486 builds I should leave combo 2D S3 + V1 and for Piii 500 would be a good idea to leave V3 2000 (updated, working but previous owners tried to separate radiator leaving 3 marks on main chip, oof, I'm glad that works and I didn't kill it with update) and for Piii 1GHz to invest with V3 3000?

@FioGermi thanks for simple explanations, I was looking for answer but V1 is indeed a Voodoo magic for me. 😁

Also Voodoo2, I was thinking but I heard will be better to buy Voodoo Rush, I found it's really bad one, I was about to pay around 500PLN ~$120 last week for Voodoo Banshee BUT I found here Voodoo 3 equals Banshee but has two texturing units so I took Voodoo 3 2000 being unaware 3000 is better and even has better radiator in my opinion basing on pictures.

Since Voodoo topic, why is my Voodoo 1s misbehave with Gex? Stoopid resolution, a bit of up-down screen is cut, on V3 is waaaaaay too fast. Wai? xD

Reply 10 of 68, by Cuttoon

User metadata
Rank Oldbie
Rank
Oldbie
FioGermi wrote on 2022-04-12, 15:20:

super old 1996/1997 build

OK, I'll just assume I did not read that and carry on.

Honestly, if you have three voodoo cards, you should be buying none at all. The market is tight enough. Give others a chance without paying through their teeth 😉

I like jumpers.

Reply 11 of 68, by Gmlb256

User metadata
Rank l33t
Rank
l33t
haker120 wrote on 2022-04-12, 16:32:

Since Voodoo topic, why is my Voodoo 1s misbehave with Gex? Stoopid resolution, a bit of up-down screen is cut, on V3 is waaaaaay too fast. Wai? xD

It is the 2D game? If so then the Voodoo Graphics card does nothing at all and it is entirely done by the actual video card running at 320x240 resolution.

VIA C3 Nehemiah 1.2A @ 1.46 GHz | ASUS P2-99 | 256 MB PC133 SDRAM | GeForce3 Ti 200 64 MB | Voodoo2 12 MB | SBLive! | AWE64 | SBPro2 | GUS

Reply 13 of 68, by FioGermi

User metadata
Rank Newbie
Rank
Newbie
Cuttoon wrote on 2022-04-12, 16:39:
FioGermi wrote on 2022-04-12, 15:20:

super old 1996/1997 build

OK, I'll just assume I did not read that and carry on.

I'm 23 and call everything old. I call myself super old. I don't wanna be old.

At this point i'm just projecting ;-;

Reply 14 of 68, by Aebtdom

User metadata
Rank Member
Rank
Member

If you are using a pentium 1 ish system, use a voodoo 1 and play games up to 1997.
If you are using a pentium 2 machine up to a p3 500 ish, use a voodoo 2 card. And play games up to 1998 and some 1999.
If you are going to have a go with a pc faster then a 650mhz P3 or Athlon, go with the voodoo 3. For up to 2001 games. If you go for a 1ghz cpu that is.

Rush or banshee should be avoided in my opinion, same as the Velocity 100.
The first is a 2/3d combo but slower then a vd1.
2nd is a single texture voodoo 2 2/3d combo, so slower then a voodoo2,
third one is a single texture voodoo3 with less memory.

Just what I have experienced on what runs best with what cpu gpu combo.

Voodoo4/5 is a collectors item with mediocre to bad 3dfx support for older 3dfx games (pre 1998). If you want to go for games after 2001 get a 2ghz athlon or p4 at the least and combine with a GF4 or 9600 card.

Builds:

Xp3000+ gf3 ti200 + vd2 SLI 12MB + 768MB + SB live @ WinXP & 98 Dualboot.

P2 350mhz + Diamond Viper V550 + 3Dfx Voodoo 2 12MB + AWE64 + 128MB SDR @ msdos / win98.

Reply 15 of 68, by Meatball

User metadata
Rank Oldbie
Rank
Oldbie
haker120 wrote on 2022-04-12, 15:50:
So, having Voodoo 1s (I paid like 100PLN for each, around $25 years back xD) are good to have but not good to buy, same with ove […]
Show full quote

So, having Voodoo 1s (I paid like 100PLN for each, around $25 years back xD) are good to have but not good to buy, same with overpriced v4/5.

However one thing confuses me, maybe someone will explain, I heard it's possible to have 800x600 resolution with V1 but this required V1 6/8MB RAM, did such cards exist or modded?

And the thing with Voodoo 3 being 'ultimate' for retro builds as they have API Glide (not sure what games, older ones or newer ones as some games work great with my V3 or V1, but others, Gex 3D for me, works way too fast and has dumb resolution my TV and monitor show as 1300x320 or something), what I need tbh, DX6 and 8(?) which is great for Half Life for example and OpenGL (not sure I ever used that one 😁). Is that true 'ultimativeness'?

And heck, what's the deal with numbers? V3 1000, 2000, 3000, 3500? I heard to avoid model 1000, 2000 and 3000 are good and 3500 requires something to even connect to TV/monitor.

Aaaaand why nothing about Voodoo2? I only know to have good experience I should put my hands on two with SLI?

Yes, several possibilities exist to get 800x600 resolution out of a Voodoo1 (the worst negative of each method for each bullet point are: 1 - slow, 2 - expensive, 3 - not exactly a Voodoo1)

1 - Game/application programmed without Z-buffer. 2MB would be enough. There are several threads on the subject: Voodoo 1 6MB and Quake 2 doesn't work at 800x600 & Rather suprising Voodoo 1 search results...
2 - Quantum3D SB100 series. It has two Voodoo1-based boards in SLI. 2MB + 2MB framebuffer allows 800x600 resolution.
3 - Voodoo Rush, which can often be found with 4MB framebuffer.

For the Voodoo 3500, you don't need the ungodly breakout cable/pod. You can use a M1-A(P&D) Male to VGA (HD-15) Female Adapter: https://smile.amazon.com/gp/product/B001TILQO6?psc=1 (or get an OEM 3500 which is standard db15, if you can find one...) The P&D needs some slight modifications to fit properly, but the metal is soft. Several seconds with needle-nose pliers and you're all set.

Attached is my Voodoo 3500.

Attachments

Last edited by Meatball on 2022-04-12, 21:42. Edited 1 time in total.

Reply 16 of 68, by Gmlb256

User metadata
Rank l33t
Rank
l33t
Aebtdom wrote on 2022-04-12, 21:25:
Rush or banshee should be avoided in my opinion, same as the Velocity 100. The first is a 2/3d combo but slower then a vd1. 2nd […]
Show full quote

Rush or banshee should be avoided in my opinion, same as the Velocity 100.
The first is a 2/3d combo but slower then a vd1.
2nd is a single texture voodoo 2 2/3d combo, so slower then a voodoo2,
third one is a single texture voodoo3 with less memory.

Among of these the Voodoo Banshee is useful despite having a single TMU. It has the advantage of using higher resolution than 800x600 without SLI and more memory available for textures.

Don't even do the mistake of saying that it is a dumbed down Voodoo2 which isn't actually, or like FioGermi did with the Voodoo3 that it had the same architecture as the Voodoo2 for the 3D part.

Last edited by Gmlb256 on 2022-04-12, 22:23. Edited 1 time in total.

VIA C3 Nehemiah 1.2A @ 1.46 GHz | ASUS P2-99 | 256 MB PC133 SDRAM | GeForce3 Ti 200 64 MB | Voodoo2 12 MB | SBLive! | AWE64 | SBPro2 | GUS

Reply 17 of 68, by Meatball

User metadata
Rank Oldbie
Rank
Oldbie
Gmlb256 wrote on 2022-04-12, 21:37:
Aebtdom wrote on 2022-04-12, 21:25:
Rush or banshee should be avoided in my opinion, same as the Velocity 100. The first is a 2/3d combo but slower then a vd1. 2nd […]
Show full quote

Rush or banshee should be avoided in my opinion, same as the Velocity 100.
The first is a 2/3d combo but slower then a vd1.
2nd is a single texture voodoo 2 2/3d combo, so slower then a voodoo2,
third one is a single texture voodoo3 with less memory.

Among of these the Voodoo Banshee is useful despite having a single TMU. It has the advantage of using higher resolution than 800x600 without SLI and more memory available for textures.

Don't even do the mistake (like FioGermi did with Voodoo3) of saying that it is a dumbed down Voodoo2 which isn't actually.

I disagree with most of what FioGermi said.

1 - The Banshee is only slower than a Voodoo2 with multi-pass textures. For Single textures it can beat a single voodoo2 in single-pass. It's also less finicky than a voodoo 2 and no need for pass-through, of course.
2 - Velocity 100 is great. It's a Voodoo3 2000 just with RAM cut in-half. Registry tweak to enable 2nd TMU makes the cards exactly the same (less the RAM), otherwise, and basically equal performance. It's a great card to have and is cheaper than the Voodoo3's at current prices.
3 - Voodoo Rush is not as bad as everyone says. When it first came out, yes. But those days are long gone. It plays Turok at 800x600 and that's all that matters! Just don't use the latest drivers and downclock the Alliance Chip and good to go.

Reply 18 of 68, by FioGermi

User metadata
Rank Newbie
Rank
Newbie

Whoa, what did i do to kick the beehive with both of you ;-;

I didn't say there isn't any reason to buy a V2, Banshee (which i forgot existed tbh. So that was my fault), or even a Voodoo 1. I was suggesting to op that I personally wouldn't recommend buying one of those if you want a "it just works" Voodoo card. Keyword "I". OP can take this thread and buy what he/she pleases. If that is a Banshee or V2 SLI, by all means that is awesome!

Regarding the whole Voodoo 2 being able to play Voodoo 1 stuff. Yeah, my bad. I forgot about that. Whiplash with the 3DFX patch is actually one of my favourite games and i don't believe that works on a Voodoo 3. If those games matter to you, get a Voodoo 2. Or maybe a Banshee. I think some V1 games can be hacked to play on that. I'm evidently not 100%

Gmlb256 wrote on 2022-04-12, 21:37:

Don't even do the mistake (like FioGermi did with Voodoo3) of saying that it is a dumbed down Voodoo2 which isn't actually.

Friend, i never said the V3 was a dumbed down V2. I said a V3 2000 is on par with Voodoo 2 SLI performance (plus some, if you have one of the higher end models). That is not dumbed down. That's actually really impressive if they could squeeze the performance of 2 cards in SLI into one single card. That's also not including the other improvements the V3 family has like better quality video out.

Last edited by FioGermi on 2022-04-12, 22:20. Edited 2 times in total.

Reply 19 of 68, by Gmlb256

User metadata
Rank l33t
Rank
l33t
FioGermi wrote on 2022-04-12, 22:15:

Friend, i never said the V3 was a dumbed down V2. I said a V3 2000 is on par with Voodoo 2 SLI performance (plus some, if you have one of the higher end models). That is not a dumbed down. That's actually really good performance if they could squeeze two cards into one.

Sorry. Didn't mean that the Voodoo3 was actually a dumbed down Voodoo2 in your case, it was that architecture-wise isn't related to it.

VIA C3 Nehemiah 1.2A @ 1.46 GHz | ASUS P2-99 | 256 MB PC133 SDRAM | GeForce3 Ti 200 64 MB | Voodoo2 12 MB | SBLive! | AWE64 | SBPro2 | GUS