Nicolas 2000 wrote on 2025-06-13, 13:03:

Ok that means this card will have to wait a few weeks until I have enough to order. Shipping costs for 1 cap...

See if you can find a polymer replacement part - Kyocera make some very good caps that I tend to use in GPU/Motherboard repairs where possible.

Contact with the p3 1000 seller ran dry, so after a week I've ordered a different one. Should arrive in a couple of weeks.

Meanwhile I'll look for caps for the Ti4200.

Still haven't ordered ti4200 caps, but I have upgraded the p3 733 to p3 1000. Not really worth it, some say. Let's 3dmark99 that, I say.

733 with Rage: 4709/11073
1000 with Rage: 4901/14083

So a <5pct gpu increase, and an expected 3000 cpu increase. Conclusion: good for cpu tasks, rather tiny difference for Rage gpu tasks.

733 with voodoo2 12mb SLI: 4392/10965
1000 with voodoo2 12mb SLI: 4796/13968

So a 10pct increase on the Voodi, bringing them close to the Rage (100pt less instead of 300).

Conclusion the upgrade from 733 to 1000, which costs less than $20, gives a good cpu boost and adds another stage to your Voodoo rocket. For other gpu's, the difference is a lot smaller.

Note that 3dmark99 is not the whole story as it isn't focussing on Glide afaik.

I haven't checked voodoo temps yet, but with open case and all the fans it felt cool during 3dmark.

In other news, I've found F15 Strike Eagle 2, Kixx big box edition, on a flea market. I haven't found any relevant bigbox games in years!

Have you installed the heatsinks on the voodoos yet? With that CPU upgrade, they've gotten hotter.

No heatsinks, but a pair of large fans blowing straight across them from the side and two extra large case fans. The last time I checked, they werent even hot to the touch.

I don't know what causes some people's voodoo2 to run so hot. Different brand? Fastvoodoo drivers/overclocking? Higher fsb/PCI bus speed? In any case mine are cool cucumbers and someone with a very similar setup had the same experience.

I'll do some more checks soon (hard to get to the chips with the fans in front...) but I'm quite confident they're fine.

At least more confident than in those Coppermine coolers that hoover loosely above a P3. Still seems to do the trick.

The BIOS was reporting insane cpu temps, like creaping to 70C immediately after a cold boot. Everest reports 41C in W98 though, which is far more believable. Although when gaming it can also spike to 80 and then drop 20 degrees C in 2 seconds...

The pc was also unstable with the new processor. Freezing during boot, loads of kernel32 errors...

HOWEVER! I found a loose metallic sticker (likely some heat spreader, but if it moves all over the place I don't want it!) between the cpu and heatsink, very off-center. Removed it, and lo and behold: the pc boots normally! I guess it was shorting something? There is still cooling paste between cpu and heatsink.

More tests later, at least I'm happy it boots again. If temperatures keep going over 70 when gaming, a different cpu cooler is the next step.

I could not reach the voodoo2 3dfx chips due to the fans, but the memory chips remained cold during 3dmark99. Hardly above ambient if at all.

The processor (p3 1000) has 1.7V written on it. Everest reports 1.78V. Normal deviation/measurement error or problem? The motherboard sets the core voltage automatically.

Apart from the above, the processor still works fine with that sticker removed. But Everest still reports >70C right after gaming, dropping to about 54C in 2 or 3 seconds. Soooo...on the lookout for a Golden Orb. 😀

I would not worry too much about slightly higher indicated voltage, but if you want to you could always measure it yourself - motherboard sensors, especially on older boards, can be quite inaccurate...

I'm shopping for a better cpu cooler to keep temps a bit more in check, as mine is a) a very simple petite one and b) really suspiciously loose.

Which one of these would you prefer?
-Thermaltake Dragon Orb (expensive and apparently not the best at cooling . Quite the looker though)
-Thermaltake TR2 M3 80mm (perhaps this is a good choice; I could always simply put a different fan on it. I can have it for under 20$ at home)
-Titan 65mm with speed controller (which would be welded at max in my case)
-Titan 70mm
-Titan TTC-D5T
-Spire 70mm
-Mentor 70mm
-low height copper heatsink with standard 60*60 fan
-generic 45mm Cooler Master

Before buying anything, I'll check to see if there are no broken tabs on my socket. I think it's fine, but just to be sure this is not the reason why the current heatsink is so loose. In any case, the Thermaltake TR2 M3 for example uses triple tabs instead of single on either side, so that should take care of business anyway.

IMO if you have an option to get something with 80mm fan - get it. Ability to easily replace fan and use modern fan is great. Also larger generally is better.

I actually have TR2 M3 on one of my socketA systems if i am not mistaken and it works well enough. P3 should be much cooler than later athlons...

TR2 M3 it is then! I've ordered it. I've got thermal paste at home. No fancy esoteric paste, just the stuff that I also use for other electronics.

Nicolas 2000 wrote on 2025-06-30, 20:44:

8><cut 733 with Rage: 4709/11073 1000 with Rage: 4901/14083 So a <5pct gpu increase, and an expected 3000 cpu increase. Conclusi […]
Show full quote

8><cut
733 with Rage: 4709/11073
1000 with Rage: 4901/14083
So a <5pct gpu increase, and an expected 3000 cpu increase. Conclusion: good for cpu tasks, rather tiny difference for Rage gpu tasks.
733 with voodoo2 12mb SLI: 4392/10965
1000 with voodoo2 12mb SLI: 4796/13968

Are those benchmarks at resolution 1024x768x16 ?

I wish! 😁 800x600x16; the free version that I use doesn't do 1024.

Edit: I know see that they provide the key to unlock the full version themselves. I'll do that next time around.

Is there any "gold standard" of settings to compare with others? 1024*768*16?

Nicolas 2000 wrote on 2025-07-03, 11:29:

I wish! 😁 800x600x16; the free version that I use doesn't do 1024.
Edit: I know see that they provide the key to unlock the full version themselves. I'll do that next time around.
Is there any "gold standard" of settings to compare with others? 1024*768*16?

I don't think it is a standard but this happens to be the optimal setting for Voodoo 2 sli.

OK I'll try to run them next time in 1024. And I'll post the results here.

800x600x16, 1000mhz with voodoo2 12mb SLI: 4796/13968

1024x768x16, 1000mhz with voodoo2 12mb SLI: 3875/13953

I haven't compared with the Rage yet.

Replaced the Rage Whatever with a Geforce 4Ti 4200 (Winfast, replaced a bulging cap).

1024x768x16: 5843/14007

So, it seems like I now have a fast Glide (Voodoo2 SLI) and Direct3d (Ti 4200) on my hands.

Time to test Rally Trophy, the least optimized game ever.

Well, after reducing some settings Rally Trophy now runs smooth, menus look ok, video looks ok. And it ALWAYS hard crashes when going from racing to main menu.

What a bugbear of a game indeed.

I'll try the V1.01 patch next time. Perhaps it's not yet included in my "the games collection" version and who knows it migh solve the problem. I never had that "crash when return to main menu" issue with the Rage or Voodoo though. Then again, those had totally messed up menus and videos.