Voodoo5 modified into a Workstation Graphics card.

[Remedy]

Is there way to turn a V5 into a complete workstation graphics card for 3D apps, similar to the way Geforces can be turned over into a quadro?

 

[BenSkywalker]

No.

In all honesty, you would more then likely be much better off upgrading to a TNT2 then a V5 5500. 3dfx never made a card that was close to being acceptable for pro 3D applications.

The 3D accuracy is horrible, the rendering flaws severe(pixel pops most notably), the drivers are a mess not to mention most applications have stability problems working with the V5.

Of course, this does depend greatly on what applications you will be using. If it is a "lighter"(very relative of course) app like 3DSM or lower you should be able to do it with decent end results, though performance will of course be horrible to put it kindly. If you want to go Maya, Soft|Image, ProE or the likes then forget it.

The GF2 to Quadro hack simply enables certain features that are disabled through drivers on the GeForce boards, even without the modification the GeForce boards are still excellent pro 3D cards.

If you want a combination pro 3D/gaming card nVidia is the only choice you have right now. I was hoping that the Radeon would come through, but it has failed in both drivers and T&L performance(it is all about T&L in the pro 3D realm, fillrate means sh!t).

 

[Remedy]

Yeah ATi was a let down, they made a run for it but they never crossed the finish line.



<< I was hoping that the Radeon would come through, but it has failed in both drivers and T&amp;L performance(it is all about T&amp;L in the pro 3D realm, fillrate means sh!t). >>



Man your a brave dood for saying that, i bet if i was to say it you know who would flame my roof up!


See Ben, the thing i can get a GF2Ultra for cheap (150) and mod it to a quadro2 but wanted to experiment with other brands of cards like the ones mentioned. I'm just getting started in 3D and was wondering if you could link some examples of your work(does't have to be recent). Some links to Novice and intermediate apps would be cool too.

 

[da loser]

you probably already saw this, but just to point out the order in modified quadros is geforce 2, geforce, geforce 2 mx. how come the better T&amp;L doesn't make up for the less bandwidth? just because T&amp;L requires bandwidth, too? uh, i'd just get the ultra then sell the v5500 here.

 

[Remedy]

Hell no i aint selling my V5. This thing rocks for what i need it to do. I can still get a GF2Utlra for my Grapics workstation.

 

[da loser]

too bad you can't get a dual agp slot mobo

 

[Remedy]

Not dual AGP but V5 pci and GF AGP.

 

[Remedy]

Check it



<< Why is Quantum3D currently only making the card available for rendering machines? Does Quantum3D feel that the price of this card is just too expensive for gamers?



a. To support these high power graphic subsystems poses several requirements on the host system that include a 1000W power supply and the associated heat management issues. These graphic subsystems were never designed to be an after market product. >>



When they say rendering, are they talking professional 3D for apps like MaYa, 3dStudio MAX?

 

[Sunner]

No they're talking about stuff like military class flight sims etc, stuff that requires enormous amounts of fillrate.

Professional indeed, but another professional market than the one you're looking into

 

[BenSkywalker]

&quot;Man your a brave dood for saying that, i bet if i was to say it you know who would flame my roof up!&quot;

If anyone wants to argue the point, please do With Robo gone, I've missed out on ranting lately, but not even he would argue with me on this subject

&quot;See Ben, the thing i can get a GF2Ultra for cheap (150) and mod it to a quadro2 but wanted to experiment with other brands of cards like the ones mentioned.&quot;

I hear what you are saying. As of right now nV is the only choice for a games and pro 3D all in one card.

&quot;I'm just getting started in 3D and was wondering if you could link some examples of your work(does't have to be recent). Some links to Novice and intermediate apps would be cool too.&quot;

I honestly don't have anything available anywere that I can think of on line. Fact is that I haven't had much time to do anything for myself lately, and I don't often keep things for long after I'm done doing them for other people(after I hand it off to whoever needed it, its' gone from my HD).

Good basic apps? What do you want to do? Game models, stills, animation, which aspect do you want to get into to? Different apps for different needs. Also, what are you currently using?

Sunner beat me on replying about the flight sims and was correct(d@mn, that means he is up by two again).

 

[Remedy]

Ok, i'm almost finished building my dually rig which consist of;

dual 667 p3's
Epox dv3a dual sok
256mb pc-133 memory(infineon)
GF2U-moded quadro2 setup
21inch Mitsubishi 2040u
2-10 gig drives in RAID 0
win2k

I want to get into alittle bit of Game models. but i most defiently want to do stills, animation and Map making for UT and Q3A. Also website graphics.

I did some searching but i could only find like Bryce, Carrera Poser and PS 5 and 6. Anything else you think i could use?

 

[Remedy]

What happen to ROBO?

 

[rbV5]

3dsmax is SMP and has good exporters for game models. You can do almost anything in max and there are alot of resources on the net. I use my V3 2000 PCI in max and while its not a quadro, I find it acceptable. Remember, its the cpu's for the rendering not your video card and your dually will rock in Max. Try the V5 for now and when then NV20 comes out, get an ultra or pro ddr if you feel the need.

oops just saw you have the ultra, anyway...go for 3dsmax

 

[Remedy]

Whoa 3dSM cost like twice what my system is worth. Thats way out of my league.

 

[RichieZ]

Wanna buy me one of those Ultra's for $150?

 

[FarENheiT]

I dont know what you guys are talking about...

I have a radeon, and its fast. Granted, not as fast as your nvidia cards...but the consellation prize is that my games look 10x better than yours do

 

[Remedy]

<< I dont know what you guys are talking about...

I have a radeon, and its fast. Granted, not as fast as your nvidia cards...but the consellation prize is that my games look 10x better than yours do >>



Maybe you should of ask before cutting in like that.

Where talking about Workstation boards, not what &quot;looks 10 times better&quot;. We already discussed the fact that the Radeon won't cut it for workstation class 3D modeling. Now we're dicussing which apps to use in 3D modeling for the novice and intermediate class.

 

[BenSkywalker]

How much do you want to spend?

Poser is probably the easiest to create player models with, but its' export tools are limited. On the plus side, you can pick up an older version off of e!ay for real cheap.

Bryce is OK for doing landscapes and stuff, but same limitations on exporting.

trueSpace is quite a bit more powerful then either of them, but also quite a bit more expensive(~$800). It exports to significantly more formats, though it may beyond your price range.

So, how much do you want to spend? There are several other apps available, the more powerful they get the more expensive they get.

 

[Remedy]

Wow there is a guy in the for sale forum selling TS for 400 bucks.

I was looking at this

I can get bryce 3D from a computer show that sells it for cheap, 250 last time i checked there.
Poser was the same price too but maybe cheaper i'll have to check the next time.

I had simply 3D, but you know its just simply simplistic now.

 

[BenSkywalker]

If it's ts 5 for $400 then it is a good deal. tS is much better then the Metacreation offerings, but with a bit steeper learning curve(though Carrara sounds like a not too powerful nightmare).

For all of the apps you are looking at, a V5 will do fine. In fact, with the exception of tS I'm not sure if any of them even use hardware T&amp;L.. been a while since I used them.

Bryce, Poser and trueSpace 4.3 can be had for about $475 total for all three off e!ay right now(just go into Computers and do a search). Several auctions going for all three with Bryce in the ~$50 range, Poser in the $~110 range and trueSpace in the ~$300 range.

Just to let you know, $250 for Bryce or Poser(or both) is a bit high. Don't know if you are comfortable buying through there or not, but I have picked up several slightly older titles(which Bryce, Poser and tS4 are) for dirt cheap myself that way.

I know you know about the Meta titles, but here is some linkage for info on tS. And remember, a Voodoo5 should have no problem with any of the applications in this tier of software, you start having issues the next step up

Edit-

Just checked Caligari's site, they have a downloadable demo version of tS 5 to try out.

Edit number two-

http://the-internet-eye.com/reviews/TS4/truespace_4.htm

Same site that reviewed Carrara, they give tS a bit better review though

 

[Remedy]

WOOT!! Benny is the man for this stuff. Did you actually goto school for this stuff or did you just go about it at your own pace by picking up the software just playing with it?

Yeah i always like figured since the V5 is working with 2 chips that it would be powerful enough to rock in 3D apps with FSAA 2x to get better visuals out of it. But every title you listed i am going to pick up after i do my taxes. When i goto the next level of this stuff i'm gonna pimp me a fat girl to be my lil source of funds. cause i can't afford to pay for this sheeeet!

 

[BenSkywalker]

&quot;Did you actually goto school for this stuff or did you just go about it at your own pace by picking up the software just playing with it?&quot;

They didn't have any school for this stuff when I started

Not ever going to get a job at ILM or anything, I'm nowhere near that good(I lack the required natural talent, by quite a bit I might add), but you might be surprised how simple most of the sh!t is people pay you to do

&quot;Yeah i always like figured since the V5 is working with 2 chips that it would be powerful enough to rock in 3D apps with FSAA 2x to get better visuals out of it.&quot;

Well, you don't really want FSAA the majority of the time when working. You lose accuracy in your texture maps, and wireframe can be headache enducing with it enabled. That said, certain applications(tS for instance) has built in L&amp;EAA that you can enable to get rid of most of the jaggies at least. For your final render, your vid card isn't involved with any of the above so no big deal there either.

&quot;But every title you listed i am going to pick up after i do my taxes.&quot;

You might want to dl the demo for tS at least, the appropriate one for the version you are looking to get would be best. Bryce and Poser combined will likely cost you quite a bit less then tS alone, so you may want to see if it is what you are looking for. Coming from S3D and moving to tS 4.x there is one thing you may not like, there is no 4up view. You can only chose one at a time or their regular 3D perspective window. Most people who move from an app with 4up have quite a bit of trouble adjusting to it(he!!, I never did like not having it). tS 5 does include it as an option, but that is a $300 upgrade from tS4.x(~$800 full version).

You can still download the ts 4 demo at the bottom of this page, you might want to check it and ts5 out to see if it worth the difference in price for you. In all honesty, I have found that starting off with earlier versions of software is almost always better. They tend to be simpler and cheaper and help give you a good idea if you want to move up to the more recent, powerful, expensive offerings.

I'm not sure where to even look for Bryce or Poser demos anymore, but I know that at least Bryce did have a demo at one point that you could download(I think it was restricted in saving if I recall correctly).

&quot;cause i can't afford to pay for this sheeeet!&quot;

Try an Onyx2 workstation with Maya, talking in the $40,000 range And you can still go up from there:Q