ATI AIW 128 PCI in the same system with Voodoo3 3000 AGP?

[Engr62]

I currently have an ATI AIW 128 PCI (32 mb) video card in my system (SiS 5591 mother board w/ AMD K6-2 450 processor) along with two Diamond Monster 3D II voodoo2 cards in SLI. Unfortunately, from what I've read, if I upgrade from DirectX7.0a to DirectX8 in Win98SE, I will loose the Voodoo2's in Direct3D games (I'm not sure if they will still work in OpenGL and Glide games, but I suspect they will). I have access to a Voodoo3 3000 AGP card, which I think will work with DirectX8 if I use the drivers available from x3dfx.

What I would like to do is use the AIW 128 PCI in system with the Voodoo3 3000 AGP. That way, I would still have the TV & DVD features of the ATI card, but I could play the games I want to play on the Voodoo3. If I just use the Voodoo3, I'll lose the DVD features from the ATI card, and I'll have to buy a separate DVD decoder card (the Voodoo3 won't play the DVD's on my slow system since it doesn't really have any DVD acceleration).

I've seen a little about the multiple monitor support in Win98SE, but I'm not sure if it is feasable with these two cards (or even if it is the proper feature to use). I don't really need it to display on two monitors at the same time. I would like to be able to set one as the primary display when I want to use it, and hook the monitor to it.

I remember seeing a system from one of the gaming system manufacturers (Alien or Falcon) a couple of years ago that had a Voodoo3 and a TNT2 in the same system. They had a switch box attached to the video out ports of each card. The monitor was then attached to the switch box so that you didn't need to physically move the monitor cable between the two cards.

Any help would be greatly appreciated. I know that it is time to upgrade, but I have to keep peace in the family (my wife doesn't appreciate my computer/gaming habit).


My current system specs. are:

Motherboard: M-Technology R581A (SiS 5591 chipset)

Video: ATI AIW 128 PCI (32 Mb), (2) Diamond Monster 3D II (12 Mb each)

Sound: Creative Labs Soundblaster 16 ISA


Thanks in advance.

 

[Workin']

Just so you know that in order to use the TV and DVD features of the ATI card it has to be designated as the primary display. And to use the 3D acceleration of the Voodoo it must be designated as the primary display. Sounds like a big hassle, based on my meager knowledge. Maybe someone else knows a workaround?

 

[Engr62]

Thanks workin'.

Any other thoughts? How do I go about making one primary and the other secondary... then switch them when I want to use the other? Will I lose any features of either of the cards, even when it is primary?

 

[Workin']

<< How do I go about making one primary and the other secondary... then switch them when I want to use the other? >>

You have to change it in your system's BIOS where it asks which display to initialize first, PCI or AGP. I haven't used dual displays myself, but I would imagine (although I am by no means sure) that some Windows driver configuration issues would have to be resolved every time you switch the primary display.

<< Will I lose any features of either of the cards, even when it is primary? >>

All the features should work on the primary card. Only when it is secondary would you lose certain functionality.

 

[Mday]

the secondary card cannot be used for anything other than an extension of your desktop. no games, no tv, no dvd (for the most part)...

in windows 2000, switching between primary and secondary can be done via the OS itself, &quot;hot swap &quot;

while in win98, or win98se, or winme as far as i know, it must be done via the BIOS, requiring a reboot. doing so will certainly mess up certain settings. the aiw 128 is faster than the V2, i am pretty sure SLI also. you will only lose the glide. unless you use a glide emulator.

 

[Kroze]

sell me that 2d graphic card for cheap!