pshipkov wrote on 2023-03-25, 17:38:

It is surprising how much V5 is holding back the interactive graphics. On this mobo+cpus, Q3 can be in the 200+ fps range with b […]
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It is surprising how much V5 is holding back the interactive graphics.
On this mobo+cpus, Q3 can be in the 200+ fps range with better video card.
But regardless of that, optics of the assembly are great - clean and tight.
Maybe put a “sock” on the molex cables to hide the yellow red black wires.
They stick out a bit from the otherwise uniform look.

Once I’ve got all the hardware I want in the build I’ll wire it up with individually wrapped cables, so the ones that I’m currently using to power the Voodoo5 will be removed!

I’m purposely using the Voodoo5 for this build, as I intend this build to be a showcase for this card! (It’s period specific to this hardware.)

The Voodoo5 may not have the best performance by a long way, but it’s a Voodoo5 and that makes it special! (The end of the line for 3dfx!)

When I eventually get around to building up a Pentium 4, then I’ll employ the best AGP card I can get my hands on!

It also seems to me that the Voodoo 5 spoils what a great computer it could be.
It would make sense in the S370DL3 without AGP, but having AGP, the Voodoo 5 does not make sense since any other AGP graphics card of the time and price would surpass it, except in GLIDE and some very specific detail of dubious justification from my point of view. I think we all know that. Whether it was the last 3DFX card, with ought to count the prototypes, it was so far behind the competition, 3DFX no longer counted at that point.
Or I am very wrong.
The GeForce 256, (December 1999), even the GeForce 2, (April 2000) were released before the Voodoo 5 5500, (June 2000) according to GPU database.
It would be curious to use an AGP pro card, but I don't know of interesting options to mention, I've never seen one.
For the rest, it's a beautiful computer, one of the most beautiful I've ever seen, and I'll surely see it for a long time.

From a collector’s standpoint, the MAC PCI Voodoo5 5500 is one of the rarer and therefore more expensive cards from that time. (It’s crazy, I know, as unpopular items usually end up being far more expensive as collectors items, due to rarity.)

The Voodoo5 6000 is ridiculously expensive, $15000 realm!

This 5500 cost me £1200 including shipping and taxes (maybe a little bit more expensive than it needed to be, but I wanted one that was guaranteed to work), so regardless of performance it is special and needs to be placed in a special system for that reason.

Maybe there is a way to make this build more interesting.

Is it possible to run a system such as this with a GeForce card in the AGP slot and the Voodoo5 in the PCI-X slot and only run the Voodoo5 when 3dfxgl is selected?

In this way, I could compare the Voodoo5 and GeForce cards directly in the same system.

I have a VGA switch which could be used to switch between the outputs of the two cards.

You should be able to choose the primary GPU in BIOS. That'd require a reboot each time you want to switch cards though.
I don't know if you can switch between them in OS on the fly.

As a matter of interest, this morning I ran Quake III timedemo on my Alienware machine equipped with a QX6850@3.65GHz and an Nvidia Quadro Plex 1000 Model IV (Essentially two 8800GTX's in SLI) and got the following result @1024x768 Max Settings:

So in actual fact the 65FPS achieved by the Voodoo5 5500 in this machine isn't too bad at all, if you consider the difference in machine power we're talking about here!

Doornkaat wrote on 2023-03-26, 07:44:

You should be able to choose the primary GPU in BIOS. That'd require a reboot each time you want to switch cards though.
I don't know if you can switch between them in OS on the fly.

Thanks for the info!

When I resume this build, I'll slot a GeForce2 Ultra into the AGP slot then! (And swap between them in the BIOS as needed.)

I've been doing some looking around for comparisons between the Voodoo5 and the GeForce2. (Apparently the Voodoo5 had superior image quality)

I suppose I'll be able to demonstrate the differences nicely once I have both cards in this system! (This will definitely make the system more interesting!)

Mobo is workstation class, so Quadro2 Pro will be more harmonious than GF2.
Its abilities in pro 3d graphics are on par with the more expensive 3D accelerators from that time, but same as GF2 for video games, which is much better than Oxygen, FireGL, Wildcat, etc., silicon.
It will take you to the 200 fps in Q3.

As for the V5 - it can be second card, or simply put it in a single PII-450mhz based rig. : )

Thanks for the advice, a Quadro2 Pro it will be then with the Voodoo5 as a secondary card. 😀

I've just fitted a GT 430 PCI Graphics Card into this machine and this is the 3DMark 2001 score:

For some reason I can't seem to get Quake II or III up and running with this card, is there not maybe a driver setting that needs to be changed in order to get these games to run?

Any help here would be very much appreciated!

Here's how the machine currently stands with the GT 430 PCI Graphics card installed: (This is the fastest PCI Graphics Card available!)

I now have Quake III and Unreal running, and it turns out that it was indeed the driver setup that was at fault!

Here's the Quake III "timedemo four" result:

The Graphics Card Info:

The current hardware configuration:

I really like that the CPUs are "aligned" and not sitting diagonally like on many dual S370 boards. Looks so much cleaner! Just like an Abit BP6 😀

H3nrik V! wrote on 2023-03-30, 19:59:

I really like that the CPUs are "aligned" and not sitting diagonally like on many dual S370 boards. Looks so much cleaner! Just like an Abit BP6 😀

It's a very good looking Motherboard and I'm very happy with it.

However due to the fact that the CPU's sit so closely together, it does limit you as to what heatsinks you can use, as I wanted to fit a pair of Gold-Plated Canopus heatsinks (They would have added to the aesthetics in a very positive way, as the matte Gold finish would have contrasted with the green anodised heatsinks on the rest of the board very well!), but they would never have fitted!

I may just keep the GT 430 in the machine, as this card gives a vintage machine such as this quite a few more modern graphics capabilities than the standard cards from its era are capable of! It even features an HDMI output!

In this video I show the benchmarking of this system with: The ATTO Disk Benchmark, Blender, 2DMark 2001, Unreal timedemo and a Quake III timedemo (demo four):

I've just secured a Quadro2 Pro, which I'll try next: (It will be very interesting to see how this card compares to the GT 430 in this system!)

Irinikus wrote on 2023-03-31, 10:23:

H3nrik V! wrote on 2023-03-30, 19:59:

I really like that the CPUs are "aligned" and not sitting diagonally like on many dual S370 boards. Looks so much cleaner! Just like an Abit BP6 😀

It's a very good looking Motherboard and I'm very happy with it.

However due to the fact that the CPU's sit so closely together, it does limit you as to what heatsinks you can use, as I wanted to fit a pair of Gold-Plated Canopus heatsinks (They would have added to the aesthetics in a very positive way, as the matte Gold finish would have contrasted with the green anodised heatsinks on the rest of the board very well!), but they would never have fitted!

Yes, aesthetics can present challenges. I want Golden Orb coolers in my BP6. Luckily someone made a tutorial many years ago 😀

H3nrik V! wrote on 2023-04-01, 20:38:

Yes, aesthetics can present challenges. I want Golden Orb coolers in my BP6. Luckily someone made a tutorial many years ago 😀

The Golden Orbs do indeed look very nice!

I’ll probably end up with a pair of very high quality pure copper coolers once I eventually get around to installing a pair of 1.13GHz Coppermine T’s but this won’t happen soon though! (This will be the last upgrade I perform on this system!)

These are the heatsinks I wanted to fit, unfortunately there's just not enough clearance! (They're just too wide!)

How thick is the base? Fin thickness is good, but spacing is bit tight.

Cheers,