3dfx Voodoo5 5500 vs nv geforce 2 GTS

[kami]

Love how this turned into a nostalgia thread. I was only 15 or 16 when GLQuake came out, and living in Canada my options were basically nothing for getting a Voodoo 1 card since online ordering was in its infancy, until a Canadian manufacturer came out with the Flash 3D(4MB Voodoo 1). They were even kind enough to ship me the card COD and I remember paying the delivery driver for some of it with fucking change. I had to scrounge everything.

But the first time I fired up GlQuake was a religious experience. All worth it.

Never did own a Voodoo5. Went vooodoo1 to voodoo2 to voodoo3 2000.

 

[tweakboy]

why settle..? I have em both!

btw, nice parody thread

the challengers

Why you hoard video cards LOL,,

 

[Gorthan]

I had both, the Voodoo5500 I bought after 3dfx went belly up though. Got the PCI version for a steal at the time. And thanks to being PCI I used to run it alongside my GF2. I remember the AA was amazing on the 5500, AvP2 looked stunning at the time on it.

Anyone remember the drivers that were released for it afterwards? I can't remember the name of the group that did it anymore, ex 3dfx employees from memory though. Was always anticipating the next release, they made the 5500 usable for years after 3dfx died.

Still have the 5500, last system I had it in was a P4 Northwood, just for Glide games. Might have to reassemble a box for it one day and break out the classics in Glide.

 

[Leyawiin]

Believe it or not there's someone in Italy still supporting Voodoo cards with drivers for Win 7.

http://www.3dfxzone.it/news/reader.php?objid=15994

Almost makes me wish I'd kept my Voodoo5 PCI.

 

[Anarchist420]

Believe it or not there's someone in Italy still supporting Voodoo cards with drivers for Win 7.

http://www.3dfxzone.it/news/reader.php?objid=15994

Almost makes me wish I'd kept my Voodoo5 PCI.

I was thinking about getting another Mac Voodoo5, taking the heatsink off, using something to get the crust off, replacing it with 2 new ones that I got that fit (copper heatsinks with ball bearing fan by vantec) +AC MX2, and flashing it to PC BIOS.

It uses centered timings (1:1 pixel mapping) over DVI and those drivers you posted a link to look pretty damn solid. However, nglide works pretty well, so I'd actually only be using it for DX 5/6/6.1 games that only used 16 bit color. Some day the dithering issue will probably fixed though drivers though since there are actually 2 easy ways around the dithering problem (either emulating dithering, or by simply forcing 32 bit formats through "create device"). Or maybe we'll eventually see the Voodoo5 emulated (either through the GPU via CUDA or through the CPU) since the Voodoo1 is already emulated on DOSbox via software. nvidia could probably even create a CUDA app that emulates the Voodoo5.

I damaged the other one because I didn't know how to get the heatsinks off when I first tried. I found out how to and did get them off just for the hell of it, but I had damaged it earlier so I'd need to get another one off of eBay.

 

[PingSpike]

I was thinking about getting another Mac Voodoo5, taking the heatsink off, using something to get the crust off, replacing it with 2 new ones that I got that fit (copper heatsinks with ball bearing fan by vantec) +AC MX2, and flashing it to PC BIOS.

It uses centered timings (1:1 pixel mapping) over DVI and those drivers you posted a link to look pretty damn solid. However, nglide works pretty well, so I'd actually only be using it for DX 5/6/6.1 games that only used 16 bit color. Some day the dithering issue will probably fixed though drivers though since there are actually 2 easy ways around the dithering problem (either emulating dithering, or by simply forcing 32 bit formats through "create device"). Or maybe we'll eventually see the Voodoo5 emulated (either through the GPU via CUDA or through the CPU) since the Voodoo1 is already emulated on DOSbox via software. nvidia could probably even create a CUDA app that emulates the Voodoo5.

I damaged the other one because I didn't know how to get the heatsinks off when I first tried. I found out how to and did get them off just for the hell of it, but I had damaged it earlier so I'd need to get another one off of eBay.

Is the DosBox voodoo emulation working? I remember reading about that a long time ago and thought it was awesome. If they could get a windows driver or something working that would solve a ton of compatibility problems with old games. As mentioned the dithering problem has been ignored for years now and a lot of 16bit color games have worse problems than dithering, they flat out don't render. I wonder what the performance is like on a modern processor? During the voodoo 1 days I think the fastest chips were like Pentium MMX 233mhz or something.

 

[Remobz]

I remember the first time I bought Tribes 1, I had no ends of trouble trying to play it on a 4mb Matrox video card. Someone told me to get a 3dfx card. I bought a Canopus Pure 3D (6megs) card and the difference was like light and day. I was in pure gaming heaven and words cannot describe my feelings..lol!!

Eventually, I upgraded to kyro II video card but not after getting GOOD use out of my Canopus Pure 3D.

 

[Magic Carpet]

I dont think anything has come close the the fluid like glass motion and look of Glide...It truly was beautiful

That's right. Glide games look different. To this day, I still occasionally fire up Need for Speed 2 SE to play it in all its glory at 4xAA on my Voodoo5. That game is epic. Check it out folks, it works fairly well using nGlide too.

2) Glide API was much faster than anything else at the time. I remember watching system specs for games of that era, and if you had a non-Glide video card, cpu requirement was significantly beefier.

 

[Leyawiin]

I remember when I first got Diablo II and was using an Nvidia card with Direct3D. Didn't realize how choppy it was until I put the Voodoo 5 in the PC. Switched to Glide and it was like buttah.

 

[sandorski]

I really need to find a Socket A mobo with 2x/4x AGP and Barton 2800+ compatibility so I can resurrect my Voodoo 5 5500 for a Win98 Gaming Box.

 

[Golgatha]

I still have a 32MB Voodoo 4 4500 AGP still in my retro gaming system. I compared my Voodoo 5 5500 I had back in the day with a Geforce 2 Ultra, and the IQ was much better on the Voodoo 5 5500. Games always just worked with 3dfx's drivers as well. Too bad they went belly up. I think they just go greedy and pissed the whole industry off when they stopped selling chipsets and started producing all their own hardware in the Voodoo 3 days.

 

[BFG10K]

The AA quality on the VSA boards was amazing, far better than what had been seen in consumer space up until that point.

I also remember moving from my Voodoo 3 to a GF2 MX and experiencing a plethora of driver issues I never had with the 3dfx card.

 

[tviceman]

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ldiYYJNnQUk

The end is GOLD.

 

[sandorski]

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ldiYYJNnQUk

The end is GOLD.

:biggrin:

 

[cmdrdredd]

Anyone remember that custom QUake 3 map that used T&L and would not run on 3dfx hardware?

 

[BenSkywalker]

During that time era I played a lot of the latest games that came out, and in many of them the V5 was only able to run low end settings due to the lack of features(Giants, Evolva, MDK2, Sacrifice, SoF). The V5 came out very late, late enough that several games had already shipped that used features beyond the V5(Sacrifice which shipped shortly after the V5 was a game I played for several years that always looked bad on the V5).

 

[Ventanni]

I owed a Voodoo5 and a Geforce 2 GTS back in the day. The Geforce 2 was definitely a lot faster, especially after the Detonator driver released. I also remember had nowhere near the image quality that the Voodoo5 did in anything that used texture compression (like Quake 3).

3d quality differences I could live with though. What I couldn't stand was the fact that in 2d mode, the Geforce 2 simply hurt my eyes. The image quality and filtering was a lot better on the Voodoo5 than it was on the Geforce 2, and using the Geforce 2 lead to a lot of eye strain. It wasn't until the Geforce 3 that Nvidia finally cleaned that up, and by then, there wasn't much point in using a 3dfx product anymore.

 

[SirPauly]

Imho,

Even though the Voodoo 5 had some immense quality strengths it really wasn't a balanced product considering DirectX 7 titles were being offered. 3dfx' competition was far too balanced with not only the original GeForce 1 and 2 but the much cheaper MX, which was pretty balanced. And, with ATI releasing the feature rich Radeon -- just too much competition for 3dfx' business model to over-come at that time. Gamers were moving away from 3dfx and 3dfx's management didn't read the markets correctly and paid the ultimate price, sadly.

However, that quality of their full-scene anti-aliasing was dramatic when compared to what nVidia and ATI offered at that time. It kinda started the ball rolling for gamer control to enhance their titles, which continues today.

 

[Subyman]

I was voodoo all the way. I remember upgrading from a Voodoo2 -> 3500 -> 5500 right when it was launched. Oh the good times when videocard power exponentially increased. The first time I was ever blown away by computer graphics was when I left the Unreal ship and saw the open world. Very fond memories.

Remember the Voodoo box art? Nothing comes close to how awesome those boxes were.

IMO their downfall was marked by the public announcement of not supporting DirectX. Very dumb move. That's when I upgraded away from 3DFX with a Hercules GeForce 2 GTS, which was a fantastic card as well.

 

[Magic Carpet]

A quad-chip card that never got released?

The Voodoo 5 6000 is the unreleased high-end product in the Voodoo5 line. It was to use four 166 MHz VSA-100 processors, each with its own 32 MB of 166 MHz SDRAM, resulting in the first 128 MB graphics card (consisting of sixteen 8 MB chips). Approximately 1000+ test cards were produced. Because the card used more power than the AGP specification allowed for, a special power supply called Voodoo Volts was to have been included with it. This would have been an external device that would connect to an AC outlet. Most of the prototype cards utilized a standard internal power supply drive power connector.
With regards to performance, little was known until enthusiasts were able to get pre-release hardware and run tests on it. The results showed that the Voodoo 5 6000 outperformed the GeForce 2 Ultra and Radeon 7500, which were the fastest iterations of the GeForce 2 and Radeon R100 lines, respectively. (It was rumored that GeForce 2 Ultra was intended to prevent 3dfx taking the lead with their Voodoo 5 6000.) In some cases, the 6000 was shown to compete well with the next-generation GeForce 3.[7]
Unfortunately the production cost of the Voodoo5 6000 would have likely hampered its competitiveness from a profitability standpoint. Compared to the single-chip GeForce and Radeon cards, a Voodoo5 6000 is burdened with much redundancy and a complicated board. It was projected to have a $600 USD price tag, considerably higher than competing parts. Despite its high price point, the Voodoo5 6000 would not have offered next-generation DirectX 8.0 vertex and pixel shaders that would be found in the GeForce 3 (which was intended by Nvidia to replace the short-lived GeForce 2 Ultra as its flagship product) and Radeon 8500. The precarious financial situation of 3dfx was another factor contributing to the 6000's demise.
There were five revisions of the Voodoo 5 6000: (the numbers after the model state the build week: 10 for week 10, 00 for year 2000).

 

[Remobz]

A quad-chip card that never got released?

Interesting indeed....imagine that beast inside a mid size tower

 

[Magic Carpet]

Now Rampage could have made a difference. But as we know that didn't happen.

Note- The flagship product Specter 3000 would have been a killer piece of hardware for the time frame. 2 Rampage chips in SLI mode with Sage combined with DDR ram would have had 10.2 GB/S bandwidth with a fillrate of 1600-2000Mpixels/S.

To give you a point of reference Nvidia didn't have anything matching these performance specs till some Geforce 4 models were released years later.​

​

 

[Anarchist420]

Now Rampage could have made a difference. But as we know that didn't happen.
[/LEFT]

I believe that Rampage exceeded the pixel shader 1.x spec so nvidia didn't match it until after the Geforce 4 Ti. But your point is well-taken

 

[nenforcer]

3DFX VooDoo 5 was done in by the same thing that killed the Kyro 2, a lack of a T&L engine.

It was however, the pinnacle of Glide based games.

 

[Magic Carpet]

3DFX VooDoo 5 was done in by the same thing that killed the Kyro 2, a lack of a T&L engine.

Yeah, well PowerVR has been busy paving the way for the iPhone. And 3dfx is only seen casually on eBay every now and then.

Mistakes are great for experience but if you can't afford... you go out! Simple as.

Glide API was tailored to 3dfx. As much as console games are .. to their hardware. End result? Sheer speed. That was the best thing about 3dfx. The mentality.

I remember a 468x60 gif animation on one gaming site a decade ago which just said "If you aren't at 60 FPS, you can't play". That was epic.

Now we have games like Skyrim that can't use PC hardware properly. Glide games never disappointed in the same way :thumbsup: