3dfx cards have a habit of hogging the PCI bus. I had the problem of choppy audio back in the day with my Voodoo1.

Does that mobo have PCI Delayed Transaction and/or Passive Release BIOS options? Those options can fix issues like this with ISA cards sometimes. Enabling/Disabling them till it works better.

I also recommend search Google Groups.
http://groups.google.com/groups/search?hl=en& … oups.google.com

One guy claims adding some SB16 drivers to config.sys helped.

DEVICE=C:\SB16\DRV\CTSB16.SYS /UNIT=0 /BLASTER=A:220 I:5 D:1 H:5
DEVICE=C:\SB16\DRV\CTMMSYS.SYS

There are also some 3dfx environment variables that can help with bus hogging. I can't remember what they are though.

Note that Carmageddon doesn't use your installed drivers at all. It has Glide and direct hardware access built into the game.

The soundblaster is ISA and the Banshee is PCI so i am not sure what is going wrong. The bios for the motherboard does not have the option for "PCI delay transaction"..... the Intel bios is a bit limited or restricted.

I am using Creative Win9x drivers for the soundcard and it works in both Dos and Windows 98se so i am not sure if i want to add any more lines to the config.sys as the drivers are already being used.

I have noticed my Voodoo Banshee does not have an IRQ assigned to it! and there is no way to assign one in the mobo bios! I know newer graphics cards need an IRQ but i am not sure about older ones? I tried updating the Banshee bios using 3DFX's own refernce bios and it came up as a "Velocity 100" when it is a Guillemot Maxi Gamer Phoenix!... The Guillemot bios update would not install for some strange reason and came up with an incorrect hardware ID??

Ok ive now updated to the last Guillemot 3DFX bios and have the latest official reference drivers installed... still the same with Carmageddon causing choppy sound with my ISA Soundblaster (only when run in 3dfx mode).

This Banshee card also gets extremely hot!! It's too hot to touch and has only got passive cooling! I think i might just get a Matrox card and a seperate Voodoo 2 and ditch the Banshee.... I do not like the Voodoo 3 either. I have another old system and a few other bits so i might just do a re-build.

Don't worry about the heat. Those old 3dfx cards have lasted 10 years even though they are furnaces, you know. 😀

I think you should try a different sound card.

From all the posts on usenet about 3dfx and carmageddon sound problems, I think the problem is with the game or the 3dfx support.

I have just stuck an old S3 Virge DX and Orchid Righteous 3DFX Voodoo 1 into another system and installed Windows 98 and now Carmageddon is working great in 3DFX mode!

The other system is:

Compaq Deskpro 4000
Pentium 200 MMX
64mb PC66 memory
4mb S3 Virge DX PCI
4mb Orchid Righteous Voodoo 1 PCI
Creative Soundblaster AudioPCI 128 (Ensoniq 5880)
10gb HD

so far this system works great for old games! It did not work with my Banshee card.... just got a blank screen with some beeps on boot up?? I am not going to use an ISA sounblaster either as the PCI one has got excellent SB16 support/emulation.

Hi all. I know that I'm kind of reviving this thread but as the matter of fact, I'm trying to do kind of the same thing as powerpie was in June. I got this Compaq DeskPro 4000 (133mHz). It has a video card installed: a Cirrus Logic 5446 with 2MB of memory. I would want to know if it is possible to install a second video card in this system so as to boost its performance.

1)I was thinking of a Voodoo3 3500 or something alike. Would that work?

2)the card that's already installed is of the PCI-type. Does that mean that the new one also has to be PCI or can it be AGP?

3)Do you know whether these two card (the cirrus logic and voodoo3) could be used together with a hardware decoder card like the RealMagic Hollywood Plus? (that last card would allow this desktop to play DVDs).

Thanks for your help.

Oh, and I can figure people wondering why I want to upgrade THAT computer. I know I could just buy a new one, but I'm trying to develop my computer skills. I figure installing hardware myself is a good way of learning how to deal with such parts.

I hate to double-post, but I had a remaining issue.

After placing those two extra parts (voodoo3 card and hardware decoder card): which type of system fan should I use to keep this system adequately cooled? How about the power supply?

I would be thankful for help!!

Odiseo wrote:

Hi all. I know that I'm kind of reviving this thread but as the matter of fact, I'm trying to do kind of the same thing as power […]
Show full quote

Hi all. I know that I'm kind of reviving this thread but as the matter of fact, I'm trying to do kind of the same thing as powerpie was in June. I got this Compaq DeskPro 4000 (133mHz). It has a video card installed: a Cirrus Logic 5446 with 2MB of memory. I would want to know if it is possible to install a second video card in this system so as to boost its performance.

1)I was thinking of a Voodoo3 3500 or something alike. Would that work?

2)the card that's already installed is of the PCI-type. Does that mean that the new one also has to be PCI or can it be AGP?

3)Do you know whether these two card (the cirrus logic and voodoo3) could be used together with a hardware decoder card like the RealMagic Hollywood Plus? (that last card would allow this desktop to play DVD's).

Thanks for your help.

Oh, and I can figure people wondering why I want to upgrade THAT computer. I know I could just buy a new one, but I'm trying to develop my computer skills. I figure installing hardware myself is a good way of learning how to deal with such parts.

The VooDoo3 is an AGP card (normally) that combines 2D plus 3D, and TTBOMK, does not need to have any other video card to supplement it. IMO, it's not as generally useful as ATI's or nVIDIA's same-period graphics processors. AGP and PCI-e are data busses that provide video cards with a dedicated connection to the main system bus and the CPU. Your old Compaq is probably too old for the usual VooDoo3 -- it most likely hasn't any AGP slot in it.

PCI (plain old type) is a general-purpose system bus that all of the cards plugged into it must SHARE, which reduces its value for video. It is slow, at least compared to a dedicated bus, but was the most commonly used bus for the video cards when the VooDoo1 cards were brand new. AGP arrived on the scene at about the same time that the VooDoo2 did.

Both the VooDoo and VooDoo2 cards were strictly 3D, and needed a 2D video card for text handling and oridinary day to day video chores. The VooDoo2 was the first video card that could connect in SLI mode with another VooDoo2, and share the video load (3D). It doesn't "share" in that manner with the 2D card, and 2D cards cannot share that way with each other.

The PCs of that era predate DVDs by a great deal, and are comparatively slow for running movies on. PCI video is pretty slow, generally, so AFAIK, it makes no difference what CPU, movies are most likely beyond the pale for that Compq. The software at the time was on CDs, not on DVDs, so there is no other practical requirement to worry about using a DVD.

The video cards of that period, VooDoo2 included, were comparatively cool-running. It was the CPUs and hard drives that generated the most waste heat at the time, especially Intel's CPUs. If the case includes a fan mount in the front, with a decently free-flowing grill through the front panel, and a good-sized intake in the bezel, an intake fan will help the hard drive out a lot.

(Many of the cases for the period will need modification to breathe better. I know this, because I've recently assembled two period-correct systems myself.)

Hi Kiwi. Well, I'll think I'll have to go for a PCI card anyway: I opened up the PC and apparently it doesn't have an AGP slot, only PCI slots.

I found an auction for a cheap Voodoo3 on ebay: http://cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem … e=STRK:MEWAX:IT
Would that one work in my system - while the original gpu card is still in place, with the (desired) effect that the amounts of RAM on the cards aggravate to one single amount?

Oh, and would I have to insert a cable into the new video card and connect it to another system device??? Or does it suffice to insert the video card into the PCI slot?

With a 133 MHz CPU a Voodoo 3500 is a waste of performance.
Appropiate cards would be a Riva128, Voodoo 1, Banshee or similar.
For DVD Movie playback you need at least a celeron 400 MHz. So if you want to use such drive it is only useful because of the higher capacity. From the games of this age only a few had DVD versions, like baldurs gate (there were all CDs on one DVD).

The GD5446 is not too bad as 2D card if you don't want to run at high resolutions (1024x768x16 bit should work fine).
Most of the 2D-games will also run fine with 2 MB, like Silver f.e.
edit: what do you mean with "boost performance"? where is your bottleneck?

elianda wrote:

For DVD Movie playback you need at least a celeron 400 MHz.

I read that's the case if you use a software decoder. If you use a hardware decoder, however, even a Compaq Pentium like mine can playback DVD video (according to my sources). I intend to install such decoder card. Maybe a waste of money on first sight, but the thing is I want to get the hang of this kind of thing before ever replacing parts in my newer PC (which is a much better one).

elianda wrote:

edit: what do you mean with "boost performance"? where is your bottleneck?

Well I don't intend to go so far as to squeeze out every bit of performance this PC has to offer. With regard to the video card, I just intend to install one in such way that it works simultaneously with the card that's already installed, with the goal being more speed and video RAM (10 or 12, maybe 16 MB) than would be possible with either card as the only one installed.
The bottom-line is that I want to install 'some' video card - as long as it's supported by the motherboard - and get it to work simultaneously with the one that's already installed.

EDIT:
The seller of the voodoo3 says he doesn't want to ship to continental Europe, so I turned my eyes on this card, a Voodoo2: http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/12mb-3DFX-Voodoo-2-PCI- … id=p3286.c0.m14

Do you think it would be possible to install this one in a Compaq DeskPro 4000 and get it to work together with the Cirrus Logic 5446 and a hardware decoder card (the latter is there to watch DVDs)????

Odiseo wrote:

Hi Kiwi. Well, I'll think I'll have to go for a PCI card anyway: I opened up the PC and apparently it doesn't have an AGP slot, […]
Show full quote

Hi Kiwi. Well, I'll think I'll have to go for a PCI card anyway: I opened up the PC and apparently it doesn't have an AGP slot, only PCI slots.

I found an auction for a cheap Voodoo3 on ebay: http://cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem … e=STRK:MEWAX:IT
Would that one work in my system - while the original gpu card is still in place, with the (desired) effect that the amounts of RAM on the cards aggravate to one single amount?

Oh, and would I have to insert a cable into the new video card and connect it to another system device??? Or does it suffice to insert the video card into the PCI slot?

Review what I already wrote to you. I've made a few slight changes, in hopes you understand it better. 2D cards differ from 3D cards. They do not add anything anywhere, but the VooDoo and VooDoo2 simply didn't include any 2D functionality. There was an EXTERNAL passthrough cable that connected the 2D card's VGA output port to an input port on the VooDoo card, and as long as the PC was only dealing with 2D, the VooDoo was in passive mode, doing nothing.

When 3D output was on the PCI bus, the VooDoo shut off the input it was getting from the other card (if it tried sending any), and went to work itself.

Two VooDoo2s (I don't know about the original VooDoo) in the same PC were connected via a ribbon cable to share duties. I've not had such a cable, myself, and would not know where to get one.

Kiwi wrote:

Review what I already wrote to you. I've made a few slight changes, in hopes you understand it better. 2D cards differ from 3D cards. They do not add anything anywhere, but the VooDoo and VooDoo2 simply didn't include any 2D functionality. There was an EXTERNAL passthrough cable that connected the 2D card's VGA output port to an input port on the VooDoo card, and as long as the PC was only dealing with 2D, the VooDoo was in passive mode, doing nothing.

When 3D output was on the PCI bus, the VooDoo shut off the input it was getting from the other card (if it tried sending any), and went to work itself.

Two VooDoo2s (I don't know about the original VooDoo) in the same PC were connected via a ribbon cable to share duties. I've not had such a cable, myself, and would not know where to get one.

OK, I understand that it would most likely be impossible to install a voodoo3. Thank you for pointing that out! 😀

So I decided to forget about that plan, but how about a Voodoo2? Could such one be installed, like in this auction?
http://cgi.benl.ebay.be/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?View … e=STRK:MEWAX:IT

Moreover, would it be possible to connect the output port of my 2D card (the Cirrus Logic) via an external passthrough cable to one of the input ports on the Voodoo 2? (supposing the latter can be installed)
Would that result in the Cirrus Logic taking care of 2D graphics and text, with the voodoo2 only working while playing a 3D game?

Do you know any brands (as of today still) making such cables, maybe some good models? In that case, where could they be bought?

PS: I re-read all what you said several times. Sorry if I missed something that would rule out the possibility of what I asked in the previous paragraphs 😀

Just see the Voodoo2 as a completely independent second graphics card without VGA-BIOS.

For everything you do in 2D the Cirrus will be used and its output gives you the screen.

For 3D-graphics the Voodoo2 driver installs dll-libraries that render the image with the voodoo2 card instead of the cirrus (if the cirrus would have any 3d capabilties).
This means in this case the screen output is generated by the voodoo2, the 2D desktop from the cirrus will just stay.

Lets assume you got 2 Monitors, one attached to the cirrus vga-connector and the second to the voodoo2 vga connector.
As you boot up and enter the windows desktop the cirrus will give you the desktop on monitor one, while the second stays black.
If you start a 3D-game the voodoo2 libraries render on the voodoo2 and so the second monitor will show the 3D-Szene, while the first one still shows the windows desktop of the cirrus.
Now using two monitors for this can be replaced by switching the signal. Nowadays you might simply use a KVM-Switch to switch video from the two outputs to one monitor.
If you start a 3D-game you switch to the voodoo and if you end it you switch back.

Now there is some manual action involved, so there is even a better option:
The Voodoo2 features a VGA-Input where the signal is siimply routed through, as long as the voodoo2 is not used for rendering 3D-scenes.
So you can connect the vga-out from the cirrus to the vga-in of the voodoo2 and attach on voodoo2s vga-out you monitor. And you will see the cirrus 2D windows desktop.
As soon as the voodoo2 renders a 3d scene it will disable routing through the signal and show its own output. So no manual switching involved here.
As this signal routing decreases analog vga signal quality its usually not recommended for high resolution and/or frequencies.
For the cable you can use any cable that connects a VGA-Out to VGA-In. Shorter and shielded is better.

If you don't have such a cable and no KVM and only one monitor, you can simply unplug your cirrus and plug your voodoo2 after you started a 3D-game and replug it afterwards.

There are a few programs that use the Voodoo2 for 2D-output as a second screen, like the SoftICE debugger. Though Voodoo2 is not VGA compatible and made for 3D-rendering primarily. It can be switched to a 2D-graphics mode and 2D graphics can be drawn on the Voodoo2, but thats something your 2D-card usually is better at.

Cool, elianda, I'm gonna try that as soon as I get that voodoo2 card (still a week until the end of the auction =( ).

I would, however, like to be sure first I know what exactly are the VGA-out and VGA-in ports.

In this image of some GPU card, the blue port on the left is the VGA-out? Where is the VGA-in?
A VGA-out to VGA-in cable would be a normal cable you use to connect your screen to your graphics card?
How would I have to get such cable from the VGA-out of the Cirrus Logic back inside the case of the computer to connect it to the vga-in of the voodoo2, seeing as the PC's interior is completely covered?

Would it -- after or before installation of the voodoo2 and with the Cirrus Logic still in place -- be possible to also install a hardware decoder card, namely a Hollywood Plus?

I know especially that last part sounds a bit crazy but I'd just like to see whether I would be able to get that setup working... 😁

Personally, I wasn't running games in 1997/1999 that required very fast screen rendering, and at the time, the VooDoo cards were more expensive than anything else you could buy for video. I have built the two oldie PCs, not from any branded product, but the basics started out mostly from my own stock of removed parts that have been replaced during upgrades.

I do have VooDoo2s now, not yet in service, and I did not have any other old PCI ("plain" PCI to differentiate from modern PCI-e) cards in my discards, so I have some of those now, from eBay. I had almost nothing but SB "Live" audio processor cards in the drawers and boxes, none of which worked for me in Windows98se (nor Windows95 OSR2 when I'd tried that), so I bought some new ausio cards, also on eBay.

When I want to test my own VooDoo, I will use a 5' long extension cord I found in a discount PC storefront (they are a reseller of used, cleaned, reformatted Dell PCs). When I suggested a re-read, I specifically had in mind your query about having non-SLI video cards somehow share their VRAM, and that part may have been less clear originally than I intended it to be.

Kiwi wrote:

When I suggested a re-read, I specifically had in mind your query about having non-SLI video cards somehow share their VRAM, and that part may have been less clear originally than I intended it to be.

OK, well, no problem, I really just assumed that video cards of all kinds could share their RAM, but thanks for pointing that out.

Odiseo, the card you linked is a combination of 2D/3D card and does not require a VGA-In.
Just check a Voodoo2 in comparison http://mail.lipsia.de/~enigma/neu/pics/3dfx_voodoo2.jpg
You can even see the circuit running and the small IC for switching the signal between VGA In and Voodoo 2 DAC as source for the Voodoo 2 VGA-Out.

elianda wrote:

Odiseo, the card you linked is a combination of 2D/3D card and does not require a VGA-In.

oh on the image I linked to? OK ...... 🤣

elianda wrote:

Just check a Voodoo2 in comparison
You can even see the circuit running and the small IC for switching the signal between VGA In and Voodoo 2 DAC as source for the Voodoo 2 VGA-Out.

I lost track here again.... Which part of the card do you mean?

I see a blue VGA-out, and another connector beneath it. Is the latter connector the VGA-in? Would the VGA-out passthrough cable have to be inserted into that connector?

EDIT:
Hello, I'm getting a bit confused because I asked the seller of the voodoo2 on ebay whether the voodoo card could be connected to a 2D card and he says that's not possible..... Any thoughts? Actually I'm inclined not to believe him, seeing as I have already read on several forums (this one and some other ones) that it is actually necessary to connect the voodoo2 to a 2D card, if you want to get 2D graphics.