Artist Graphics, either "2000 Pro 1600 2 MEG" (according to card) or "NetVision 2000i PCI 2MB" (according to manual)
It has the 3GA 3D accelerator, which - as far as I know - has no game support. Bigger mystery is the SIMM slots. According to the manual they accept max 4MB each allowing 8MB of (FP) DRAM to be added to the onboard VRAM. What neither manual nor archive.org version of the website explains though is what it actually does or how to use it. Also, previous owner seems to have installed 2x 16MB EDO... anyone have a clue?
Have been looking for a 3GA card since I gave away my bright red NetVision 2500i when moving years ago. Am happy now, even if it turns out to be just a paperweight.
How about 8 Pentium IIs a Pentium 3 and a unknown board without the cover for ...27 bucks.
I'm curious what kind of board would take those with the heatsink protruding below the connector 😕
Compaq Deskpro EN series machines with angled Slot 1 connector.
Yup, not hard to remove these heat sinks and I have some normal ones in my parts box. ..Im really looking for the unlocked Pentium II models here, the Pentium II might also be interesting.
Artist Graphics, either "2000 Pro 1600 2 MEG" (according to card) or "NetVision 2000i PCI 2MB" (according to manual)
It has the 3GA 3D accelerator, which - as far as I know - has no game support. Bigger mystery is the SIMM slots. According to the manual they accept max 4MB each allowing 8MB of (FP) DRAM to be added to the onboard VRAM. What neither manual nor archive.org version of the website explains though is what it actually does or how to use it. Also, previous owner seems to have installed 2x 16MB EDO... anyone have a clue?
Have been looking for a 3GA card since I gave away my bright red NetVision 2500i when moving years ago. Am happy now, even if it turns out to be just a paperweight.
Wow, that one looks really cool 😀
I assume the additional RAM is used just like the internal memory for frame buffer, Z-buffer and texture buffer. It was surely targeting the professional market and not gamers.
Artist Graphics, either "2000 Pro 1600 2 MEG" (according to card) or "NetVision 2000i PCI 2MB" (according to manual)
It has the 3GA 3D accelerator, which - as far as I know - has no game support. Bigger mystery is the SIMM slots. According to the manual they accept max 4MB each allowing 8MB of (FP) DRAM to be added to the onboard VRAM. What neither manual nor archive.org version of the website explains though is what it actually does or how to use it. Also, previous owner seems to have installed 2x 16MB EDO... anyone have a clue?
Have been looking for a 3GA card since I gave away my bright red NetVision 2500i when moving years ago. Am happy now, even if it turns out to be just a paperweight.
Oh cool! I just read through that thread and it sounds like a typical story of a 1990s tech company. Big ideas, lots of promises, then a complete flop, followed by economic troubles, followed by legal troubles. And yet, somehow these weird hunks of fiberglass and silicon survive for 30 years and make it into the hands of people who want to know where they came from.
This one is definitely an oddball device though. It sounds like only the NT3.5 drivers have any inkling of hardware acceleration? I have been using computers for nearly 30 years and I don't recall ever using NT (closest was Windows 2000). I can't imagine why the software would be set up this way.
I'd love to know if this thing actually... you know... does anything once it is installed properly in a PC. 😀
... and what is the purpose of the extra memory? Seems absurd to be able to add so much to a card back in those days.
Ran into this Trident GPU today and was just going to ignore it but ..I stopped to have a closer look because of the weird sodimm type of module it has. Has anyone seen one of these before ? WTF is it ?
TrashPandawrote on 2023-02-16, 01:34:Ran into this Trident GPU today and was just going to ignore it but ..I stopped to have a closer look because of the weird sodim […] Show full quote
Ran into this Trident GPU today and was just going to ignore it but ..I stopped to have a closer look because of the weird sodimm type of module it has. Has anyone seen one of these before ? WTF is it ?
It doesnt look like a memory expansion ...
WTF is the module.jpg
The white connectors above it make me believe that there should be a breakout card perhaps .. possibly a Mpeg decoder ?
Never seen anything like that before. I would have gotten hung up on that too. I would agree that it's probably related to the "DVD" part of the card.
Artist Graphics, either "2000 Pro 1600 2 MEG" (according to card) or "NetVision 2000i PCI 2MB" (according to manual)
It has the 3GA 3D accelerator, which - as far as I know - has no game support. Bigger mystery is the SIMM slots. According to the manual they accept max 4MB each allowing 8MB of (FP) DRAM to be added to the onboard VRAM. What neither manual nor archive.org version of the website explains though is what it actually does or how to use it. Also, previous owner seems to have installed 2x 16MB EDO... anyone have a clue?
Have been looking for a 3GA card since I gave away my bright red NetVision 2500i when moving years ago. Am happy now, even if it turns out to be just a paperweight.
... and what is the purpose of the extra memory? Seems absurd to be able to add so much to a card back in those days.
This source says about their previous chip:
"The AIB had 2 Mbytes of VRAM and a 72-pin SIMM socket for DRAM expansion which could hold up to 8 Mbytes of 80S DRAM used for Z-buffering and for display list storage."
The 3GA supports 32 bit color modes, texture mapping and high resolutions which all require a lot of memory. That thing sounds pretty impressive for the time. I never heard about the company.
Ozzuneojwrote on 2023-02-16, 01:59:Never seen anything like that before. I would have gotten hung up on that too. I would agree that it's probably related to the " […] Show full quote
TrashPandawrote on 2023-02-16, 01:34:Ran into this Trident GPU today and was just going to ignore it but ..I stopped to have a closer look because of the weird sodim […] Show full quote
Ran into this Trident GPU today and was just going to ignore it but ..I stopped to have a closer look because of the weird sodimm type of module it has. Has anyone seen one of these before ? WTF is it ?
It doesnt look like a memory expansion ...
WTF is the module.jpg
The white connectors above it make me believe that there should be a breakout card perhaps .. possibly a Mpeg decoder ?
Never seen anything like that before. I would have gotten hung up on that too. I would agree that it's probably related to the "DVD" part of the card.
Ozzuneojwrote on 2023-02-16, 01:59:Never seen anything like that before. I would have gotten hung up on that too. I would agree that it's probably related to the " […] Show full quote
TrashPandawrote on 2023-02-16, 01:34:Ran into this Trident GPU today and was just going to ignore it but ..I stopped to have a closer look because of the weird sodim […] Show full quote
Ran into this Trident GPU today and was just going to ignore it but ..I stopped to have a closer look because of the weird sodimm type of module it has. Has anyone seen one of these before ? WTF is it ?
It doesnt look like a memory expansion ...
WTF is the module.jpg
The white connectors above it make me believe that there should be a breakout card perhaps .. possibly a Mpeg decoder ?
Never seen anything like that before. I would have gotten hung up on that too. I would agree that it's probably related to the "DVD" part of the card.
So, if you needed to run some kind of all-in-one LCD panel display PC that also played DVDs, then THIS is your card. It's amazing to think of all the oddball things a desktop-class PC was used for back in the day, and many of those things required specialized hardware like this.
Ozzuneojwrote on 2023-02-16, 02:11:Actually, those chips are for an LVDS interface! Presumably, that's what the white connectors are for as well.
https://datasheet […] Show full quote
Ozzuneojwrote on 2023-02-16, 01:59:Never seen anything like that before. I would have gotten hung up on that too. I would agree that it's probably related to the " […] Show full quote
Never seen anything like that before. I would have gotten hung up on that too. I would agree that it's probably related to the "DVD" part of the card.
So, if you needed to run some kind of all-in-one LCD panel display PC that also played DVDs, then THIS is your card. It's amazing to think of all the oddball things a desktop-class PC was used for back in the day, and many of those things required specialized hardware like this.
Intersting .. would be a card built for Kiosk type things or running a display panel.
Ozzuneojwrote on 2023-02-16, 02:11:Actually, those chips are for an LVDS interface! Presumably, that's what the white connectors are for as well.
https://datasheet […] Show full quote
So, if you needed to run some kind of all-in-one LCD panel display PC that also played DVDs, then THIS is your card. It's amazing to think of all the oddball things a desktop-class PC was used for back in the day, and many of those things required specialized hardware like this.
Intersting .. would be a card built for Kiosk type things or running a display panel.
Exactly.
Probably not much use these days, but eh... I've never seen one of them before, so it's a neat find either way. I wonder if that particular chip has the same 3D "capabilities" (or incapabilities) as the Trident 3DImage chips from the same time period.
As for retro PC purchases, I have some on the way and a few that were delivered recently that I meant to post about.
One is this fairly uncommon Rockwell RWA010 based DCS S717 ISA (Audio Wizard?) sound card, complete with a manual and CD in a white box. I wish it had an outer retail box, but this is still pretty cool. I have never come across one of these before, and the price for this one with the accessories was very reasonable. I've read some posts about it on VOGONS and it sounds like a pretty solid card, despite the generic bargain-bin appearance.
Also found this just chilling out on a popular auction site since November. The price was very reasonable for a complete, boxed Matrox Parhelia 512 ("full" version of the card with 128MB of memory on a 256bit bus). I'm guessing it was either just missed by anyone who would have cared or the price has crept down over time without anyone noticing. This will be my first Parhelia, so I'm quite pleased to have one in this condition while spending less than a bare card usually goes for.
Found this on a marketplace. These cards aren't terribly interesting, but the price was right for a boxed Terratec Promedia Base1. The box itself is really neat... it's small and very solid compared to most computer card boxes. Feels more like a box that would house some expensive software-on-cassette from the mid 80s.
Also grabbed this recently. I seem to be a sucker for weird sound card and video card boxes. This one is still sealed, though I am moderately curious what is in the box.
The packaging is really cheesy but the attempt at selling this as a fancy product really took me by surprise since it's a Digital Research Technology brand card. It's almost like they were trying to hide their brand name with it shown almost as a watermark on the box. For those that haven't seen them, Digital Research Technology's sound card boxes tend to look super generic with flat colors, a normal list of specs and a picture of the exact (maybe) card in the box. It's actually very practical packaging for a budget card.
... this thing though. Oh boy. Get ready to dive into the storm with THUNDERSOUND!
... No no, not Thunderboard! That's a different sound card. Though, Media Vision did eventually become Aureal, and made the Vortex. I also love how they specify that it's a Vortex 1, just so people don't accidentally buy it thinking it's a Vortex 2. I get the feeling this company may have actually been run by decent human beings...
This source says about their previous chip:
"The AIB had 2 Mbytes of VRAM and a 72-pin SIMM socket for DRAM expansion which could hold up to 8 Mbytes of 80S DRAM used for Z-buffering and for display list storage."
Indeed, the same article says of the 3GA:
"The chip supported 4 Mbytes of VRAM for resolutions up to 2048 × 2048 and refresh rates up to 90 Hz at 1600 × 1200, as well as up to 8 Mbytes of DRAM."
There's more out there about it, including this article claiming that the 3GA was essentially designed in 1992 but due to manufacturing economics (it would have cost USD 500 per card back then) it didn't actually get made until 1995. https://thisoldtech.ca/the-saga-of-the-artist … cs-accelerator/
That explains the odd dichotomy of - for the period - huge amounts of RAM being run incredibly slowly.
The 3GA supports 32 bit color modes, texture mapping and high resolutions which all require a lot of memory. That thing sounds pretty impressive for the time. I never heard about the company.
Don't think the DRAM can be used as plain frame buffer, the documentation's pretty clear on available modes being limited by the mount of VRAM on board.
Z-buffering makes sense, but despite name-dropping in both these articles I'm struggling to find anything resembling a list of supported software.
Also grabbed this recently. I seem to be a sucker for weird sound card and video card boxes. This one is still sealed, though I am moderately curious what is in the box.
If the card inside is the one shown in the picture, then I have it and there is nothing special about it.
It's as good as any other vortex 1 👍
Edit : this may be a standard design as mine is from Aztech
dionbwrote on 2023-02-16, 07:06:Indeed, the same article says of the 3GA:
"The chip supported 4 Mbytes of VRAM for resolutions up to 2048 × 2048 and refresh rat […] Show full quote
Indeed, the same article says of the 3GA:
"The chip supported 4 Mbytes of VRAM for resolutions up to 2048 × 2048 and refresh rates up to 90 Hz at 1600 × 1200, as well as up to 8 Mbytes of DRAM."
There's more out there about it, including this article claiming that the 3GA was essentially designed in 1992 but due to manufacturing economics (it would have cost USD 500 per card back then) it didn't actually get made until 1995. https://thisoldtech.ca/the-saga-of-the-artist … cs-accelerator/
That explains the odd dichotomy of - for the period - huge amounts of RAM being run incredibly slowly.
In 1992, such a card would actually make sense.
Before VLB, there was strong motivation to avoid the ISA bottleneck by keeping everything graphics-related on the card - see TIGA monsters with 4 MB of VRAM for frame buffer + 8 MB of DRAM for software running on the GPU.
Such cards were mad-expensive, nevertheless they did sell.
But in the PCI era, such design was doomed to fail.
Żywotwór planetarny, jego gnijące błoto, jest świtem egzystencji, fazą wstępną, i wyłoni się z krwawych ciastomózgowych miedź miłująca...
The 3GA supports 32 bit color modes, texture mapping and high resolutions which all require a lot of memory. That thing sounds pretty impressive for the time. I never heard about the company.
Don't think the DRAM can be used as plain frame buffer, the documentation's pretty clear on available modes being limited by the mount of VRAM on board.
Z-buffering makes sense, but despite name-dropping in both these articles I'm struggling to find anything resembling a list of supported software.
Yes, the additional RAM will be too slow for a frame buffer, hence I cited the line about its use in the previous chip. I assume the 3GA uses it for the same data. To me that sounds pretty clever to keep the costs for the card down.
In the CAD market, texture mapping wasn't really important but you still need quite some amount of memory for a 16 bit Z-buffer at a high resolution (4MB @ 1600x1200) and CAD models can become pretty big so the resulting display lists can easily fill the rest.
Stason has some info about which drivers it came with.
Maybe we should ask the RetroCAD guy if he has some information? 😀
