Here is what I can tell you. I own several Intel SE440BX-2's, It is my absolute favorite board! I also own different Voodoo3's and I use them together. I have not had the problem you describe but here is what I would do.

1: Have you tried something other than your Voodoo3 in the AGP slot?
2. In BIOS is video set to init AGP first?
3. Have you tried a different power supply?

Remove the battery and use the clear CMOS jumper.

Isn't the V3 known to draw more power than other cards? Maybe something to do with this?

Although the issue seems to lie with the video, do try different RAM. You never know 😀

Exactly Phil, I would like to know if a low-power card functions in the slot and if another PSU works.

Thanks, guys. I won't have time to test any more today because of the holiday here in the US, but here's more info:

1. I tested a Ti4600, a Geforce2 MX, a Banshee, and the two V3s. (Also an FX5500 on the PCI bus). The Nvidia cards never caused a beep. The Voodoo cards do so intermittently.
2. I have tried both init PCI and AGP. I've just tried both, and no beeps, either way. However, everything has been running for a while, so no cold boots after a long period off (not sure if this makes a difference).
3. Yes, I think so. I think I tried an old one with 30W on the +5v rail (the Corsair has 20W). I will test again after the holiday.

I have tried two sticks of 128MB PC100 RAM. I have taken one out and put both in. I was thinking this may be the case too. Will try other sticks later. Thanks again for now!

Is this in a case or in an open test setup?

I ask this because i have a few voodoo cards (incluiding v3 agp and pci) that do not make a perfect connection with the slot when inserted in various boards without keeping them straight up (or fasten with a screw in a case).
Could be a simple matter of cleaning the contacts of the cards, even when they work in another system.

BX has no problems with the powerdraw of the v3 3000 (when the psu is in good working condition ofcourse).

That's interesting. I am doing this on a bench without a case. I did notice that one of the cards fits more snugly than the other, and it is also the one that works. I will use some contact cleaner once I get back to the bench.

OK, I had a chance to test all the suggestions, with one exception. I tried different sticks of SDRAM using one or two sticks at a time; I used contact cleaner on the offending V3 (pretty clean already); I tried three different power supplies. I did not case the build, but I did make sure that the V3 was seated firmly as if it were secured.

Same problem.

Very weird. Right now, the only conclusion that I can come to is that the particular revision of this V3 is not compatible with my SE440BX-2 for some reason. It's possible that there's a problem with the mobo, but my money is on the V3.

I also tested a Radeon 7200 (PCI), TNT2 Ultra (AGP), and a Radeon 9500 Pro (AGP). All worked with no beeps.

Here are photos of my two V3 AGPs, just for kicks.

Doesn't work in SE440BX-2

Does work in SE440BX-2

Does the BIOS on the graphics cards differ?

I was booting up both cards in the OEM system to check the BIOS when I solved the mystery.

The problem card caused a beep in the OEM system this time. I swapped it with the good card, which booted up right away. I waited a bit, then swapped in the bad card. That's when I saw this following an artifacted Windows 98 splash screen:

The V3 was dying. A shame.

Sorry to hear your card is on the way out. You could always get the Compaq-branded 3DFX V3-3500 AGP (non-TV) for cheap - 183Mhz w/5.5ns RAM onboard:
http://www.ebay.com/itm/3DFX-COMPAQ-147286-00 … =item27b06841ee

I picked up 5 of these myself since they were hard to pass up for the money (and performance). Always loved the 2 x 12MB Voodoo2 setup for the 'retro' factor, but in a pinch, these have great visual quality with excellent 16-bit color performance without using a pass-through. Looks like Sqareguy has one himself (according to his sig).

I do! Great cards when you need a Voodoo3 and have an AGP slot that needs filling.

Artex wrote:

Sorry to hear your card is on the way out. You could always get the Compaq-branded 3DFX V3-3500 AGP (non-TV) for cheap - 183Mhz w/5.5ns RAM onboard:
http://www.ebay.com/itm/3DFX-COMPAQ-147286-00 … =item27b06841ee

I picked up 5 of these myself since they were hard to pass up for the money (and performance). Always loved the 2 x 12MB Voodoo2 setup for the 'retro' factor, but in a pinch, these have great visual quality with excellent 16-bit color performance without using a pass-through. Looks like Sqareguy has one himself (according to his sig).

Thank you for the suggestion! It's always nice to have a few of these on hand. Don't ever want to be without Glide.