VOGONS


S3 Savage 4 Questions

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First post, by son_dh

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Hi everyone,

Though I have been using computer since 1998, but as a little kid back then I didn't know exactly how things work. Now I am in possess of an intel celeron 500 mhz, along with a s3 savage 4 graphic card (16MB memory).

I have installed Windows 98SE and the latest driver for the graphic card (DriverVer = 08/30/2000, 4.12.01.8226). The DirectX included in this Windows 98Se is Dx 9.0, I think.

Anywho, I tried installing Quake 1 and Quake 2, and both of the games run in software renderer mode. For Quake 1, I have tried GLQuake (didn't work), and I have tried default OpenGL option in Quake 2 and did not work either. I assume it's because this card does not support OpenGL at all, correct?

Is there anyway to make the game use the graphic card to render?

Reply 1 of 17, by kolderman

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Should work fine. I have used it for q2 before, not sure about q1. The card def supports openGl. I prefer voodoo2 for both however.

Reply 2 of 17, by Cyberdyne

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Savage 4 is a slow, but feature ritch card. Opengl DirectX and af course S3TC. Good looking textures in newer games. And good compatible S3 VGA and VESA implementation. You just need good Windows drivers for functional 3D.

I am aroused about any X86 motherboard that has full functional ISA slot. I think i have problem. Not really into that original (Turbo) XT,286,386 and CGA/EGA stuff. So just a DOS nut.
PS. If I upload RAR, it is a 16-bit DOS RAR Version 2.50.

Reply 3 of 17, by son_dh

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Cool, thanks for the answers guys. But I have downloaded the drivers, where (and how) do I get OpenGL for the card?

Reply 4 of 17, by The Serpent Rider

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Drivers from vogons library already have OpenGL libraries. Alternatively you can download GLSetup.

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Reply 5 of 17, by Con 2 botones

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son_dh wrote on 2020-08-31, 16:27:

Cool, thanks for the answers guys. But I have downloaded the drivers, where (and how) do I get OpenGL for the card?

How did this turn out?
I currently have a Savage 4 Pro installed in a PII 450mhz, drivers are 8.20.31_win9X ( 4.12.01.8226).

You don´t need to install separate drivers for OpenGL, just install the main driver package.
What you do then, is copying "S3-MiniGL driver" inside the desired game, which consists in replacing a .dll named "opengl32.dll" with the one provided inside the S3-MiniGL driver package (not sure I can share links to ohter sites in this forum). This procedure only aplies to certain games (Quake 1&2 engine ones).

Both GlQuake and Quake2, not only work but look stunning, since this particular card outputs from DVI. The colours are impressively vivid.
I have tried a Voodoo 2 12MB with this system before and I don´t find any notorious performance difference in favor of the Voodoo 2 (this is a SGR vram based Savage 4 manufactured by "Number Nine"). When it comes to picture quality, it is more the other way around, the one coming from the S3 is terrific: sharp, crisp, vivid. Just average in the 3DFX one case.

Unreal looks excellent when ran through "S3 Metal" Api (see Phil´s Computer Lab episode on the Savage 4 to understand how to achieve it), and textures replaced by the improved ones (...).
I was also impressed this card ran Quake 3 and Unreal Tournament very well. You can even play Half Life at 640x480 with good framerate.

All that said, this is a card to play at 800x600 and 640x480 only , depending on the game, unless you don´t mind choppy framerate and stuttering. Its 64bit bus is to blame, I guess.

My only problems are in fact related with two 2D games, Age of Empires and Diablo, when you start them, you get just get image in the bottom left quarter of the screen. Weird, maybe I should try other driver. Any other ideas about it?

Last edited by Stiletto on 2020-09-18, 01:33. Edited 1 time in total.

Reply 6 of 17, by BigDaddyM

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Never had problems with Savage4 cards and I am almost always using 8.20.31 driver. Maybe you should install the card through the control panel

Reply 7 of 17, by kolderman

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Not sure what a s3 minigl would do if the main driver already includes an ICD.

Reply 8 of 17, by Con 2 botones

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I tried a DVI to D-Sub adapter and the image fills the whole screen as it should, when launching A.O.E and Diablo that way. Strange.

Reply 9 of 17, by pixel_workbench

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Con 2 botones wrote on 2020-09-18, 13:26:

I tried a DVI to D-Sub adapter and the image fills the whole screen as it should, when launching A.O.E and Diablo that way. Strange.

I have the same card Number 9 Savage4, and when connected with a DVI cable the maximum resolution I can get is 800x600. Had to use a VGA Dsub adapter to use higher resolutions.

Another issue I had with every Savage4 I tried is the menu screen corruption in Unreal Gold in D3D. You basically have to use the Metal API in that game.

But otherwise it's a good card, actually clocked like a Savage 4 Extreme. Substantially faster than the Diamond Savage4.

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Reply 10 of 17, by BigDaddyM

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What driver are you using? I have two No9 Savage4 extreme cards and no problems up to 1280x1024 resolution 😀

Reply 11 of 17, by pixel_workbench

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BigDaddyM wrote on 2020-09-19, 16:39:

What driver are you using? I have two No9 Savage4 extreme cards and no problems up to 1280x1024 resolution 😀

I tried several drivers like 8008, 8226, 8228 - all with the same result. I think the card just has buggy compatibility with LCD monitors.
Even when I try the card in XP, using the built in driver, if using DVI cable then any attempt to set a resolution above 800x600 fails with a black screen.

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Reply 12 of 17, by kolderman

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I have an ELSA Savage4 32MB that runs a LCD at 1280x1024, and just manages to play Unreal Gold at 1024x768. Crisp and clear image quality.

Reply 13 of 17, by BigDaddyM

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Use an DVI to VGA adapter. I can see two possibilities, a damaged card or monitor can't handle Savage4 😀

Reply 14 of 17, by swaaye

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I think most DVI cards of that timeframe have a resolution limit of 1280x1024 / 1600x1024. If you connect it to a DVI monitor that uses a resolution beyond that you might have problems getting any output. It will probably have compatibility quirks with monitors nearing its resolution limit.

If it has nice VGA signal quality then there's nothing wrong with going that route.

Reply 15 of 17, by Con 2 botones

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pixel_workbench wrote on 2020-09-19, 14:31:
I have the same card Number 9 Savage4, and when connected with a DVI cable the maximum resolution I can get is 800x600. Had to u […]
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Con 2 botones wrote on 2020-09-18, 13:26:

I tried a DVI to D-Sub adapter and the image fills the whole screen as it should, when launching A.O.E and Diablo that way. Strange.

I have the same card Number 9 Savage4, and when connected with a DVI cable the maximum resolution I can get is 800x600. Had to use a VGA Dsub adapter to use higher resolutions.

Another issue I had with every Savage4 I tried is the menu screen corruption in Unreal Gold in D3D. You basically have to use the Metal API in that game.

But otherwise it's a good card, actually clocked like a Savage 4 Extreme. Substantially faster than the Diamond Savage4.

Well, it seems we´ve got some others (Number Nine) Savage 4 fans here. That´s good!
It seems this an OEM model that came inside IBM PIII systems (300GL).

In my case it is connected to one of those Dell UltraSharp line, with silver colour base, 5:4 aspetc ratio LCD. Can´t recall the exact model right now.

The problem seems to be occuring with 2D games (being Age of Empires Diablo and the only ones tested so far). As I stated above, when using a DVI-to-Dsub adapter the problem is gone.

I didn´t experience that up to 800x600 resolution limitation you mentioned above.
And yes, the corruption on Unreal´s menu screen does happen under DirectX too. I don´t mind to be honest beacause Metal is "the way it was meant to be played" for this card.

Reply 16 of 17, by dr.zeissler

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I really like the colors and the image-quality of the savage4. I am currently checking what small desktop has a savage4 onboard, or what the smallest AGP desktop-case for a savage4 system is.

Retro-Gamer 😀 ...on different machines

Reply 17 of 17, by 386SX

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I remember back in those days the Savage3D for sure and probably also the the Savage4 could be bought in big supermarkets with unknown brands/boxes but at discount prices in the IT department. Those were the times where almost every generic store had a computer specific sector. I remember 3DMark99 was running in loop on the CRT screens. Great times..