Over the years I had many Voodoo2 SLI builds. All eventually ended up disassembled because I didn't like the setup.
This time I decided to make really special one, that will last. 😀

V2 is probably the most common 3dfx product, so everyone has one and with few exceptions all the cards utilize reference PCB design... Therefore they all look 95% the same. I wanted to have something special in my build, so I decided to pick Quantum3D card. While the Mercury brick would be ideal, I'm not lucky enough to have one 😁 So the Obsidian2 X-24 will have to do.

Here are the specs:

• Intel Pentium III 650
• Intel SR440BX
• 256 MB SDRAM
• Onboard Riva TNT 16 MB
• Quantum3D Obsidian2 X-24
• Creative ES1373 onboard audio
• Intel SSD 120 GB SSD
• IDE DVD drive
• Intel Pro/100 LAN
• Corsair VS550
• Chieftec CI-02B-OP
• Windows 98 SE

The Voodoo card was set, now the rest of the HW. The famous competitor of V2 in 1998 was Riva TNT. The most hiend gaming rigs at the time used both TNT and V2 SLI... and I want that too. But regular TNT is too common and ordinary for my taste. Luckily I found just the right thing and it wasn't even that expensive. 😀

The Intel SR440BX - very nice board that combines all the features I want - microATX format, i440BX chipset....and integrated Riva TNT. 😁 At this time it was kinda popular move to put dedicated GPU on a motherboard. From the top of my head there are Rage Pro, Riva 128, Voodoo3 and perhaps some others. TNT on this board is almost as fast as regular dedicated AGP versions. It uses 16MB/128-bit SDRAM and AGP 1x bus. Clocked at 85/100 MHz (instead of 90/110 like most TNTs do). Integrated TNT is not the fastest one, but definitely unique and perfect fit for this build as it will serve as 2D card most of the time.

Another good feature is onboard audio. ES1373 is no hiend, but decent option for windows games. Not sure how it performs in DOS... but that is not the target here.

The original plan was to run PIII 500 with Katmai core. I have one with passive heatsink that fits nicely to this silent build. For some time the CPU was in (as can be seen on some photos). Unfortunately V2 SLI needs faster CPU to avoid bottlenecks. Luckily the SR440BX can run Coppermines, so PIII 650 was called to action. Faster CPU would be even better, but prices of 800+ native Slot 1 PIIIs are not very friendly and I don't like S370-S1 adapters. 😀

The Q3D slogan sounds funny these days as this brand is anything but affordable, at least when it comes to 3dfx based products 😁

V2 SLI can get very hot, proper cooling is a must have. Even with 80mm fan blowing directly at the chips, the CK runs at ~60°C. Not much more can be done unfortunately... glued heatsinks would look weird.