I have previously read many arguments on these forums between the 3dfx and nvidia camp. I suppose all that is practically pointless now due to the fact that 3dfx is gone. I did not take sides in the whole debate I didn't really care. Like most consumers I just used whatever product suited my needs the best. I had tried everything from a velocity 100 to a TNT2 to a Voodoo3 and more recently a Geforce 2. I lived with the cards, I had to due to money factors, I really got an understanding of how they worked. Which is a lot better than a couple page review done after using the card for a few hours. More recently i installed a Voodoo 5. I got it really cheap from buy.com due to one of those coupons I found in the hot deals; regardless, I was amazed at how great of a card it actually was. It was the first product that really drastically improved many of the games I played. Titles such as Ultima IX which would not run worth a damn on my geforce ran flawlessly. The antialiasing ran older games such as the star wars flight games, and made them worth playing again. I am not saying the geforce was a bad card, it worked well, but it really didn't do anything spectacular for the large chunk of change it cost me. For myself usability is my main concern. I firmly believe the voodoo5 was the most versatile card made to this date and at 200 dollars or less the best deal you can get. (hopefully the antialiasing works as stated on the nvidia website about the geforce 3.)
Why the Voodoo5 was the best video card ever made.
- Thread starter Grminalac
- Start date
Yes I loved my V5500 in PCI form as I use multiple Monitors (3-4 @ a time) and the hardest decision I ever made with Hardware was giving up my V5 because it would not work in Unison with the Radeon. I opt for the Radeon +G200 and am looking for the 3rd Vid card which is yet to be found (tried my Stealth Permedia2,and others...even the Twinview G4ce). I think I should have stayed with the G400, V5500, ATI-TV-Pro, and Stealth or TSeng 6000, along with the Hauppauge TV card instead of my current ATI Radeon and G200 with the D-Link USB radio but I ran out of PCI slots and am looking for a better way. I contacted Matrox to see if I could run the G200mms (4 Monitor support) with the Radeon and they stated yes so I will try this route and add the V5500 then I guess i will be one happy Camper 
...Vent!
...Vent!I partially agree with what you are saying. 3dfx cards were pretty much the best when it came to worry free operation. they simply worked.
the only problem people had was AGP bus not being utilized, and T&L.
3dfx cards are best for older games (games from Quake 3 era and older), but probably will not be very good with newer games, made with T&L in mind.
all this, is why I wish 3dfx didn't die.. the Rampage IMHO, would have been a sweet combination of new and old (at least, everyone was hoping they could continue good compatability while adding sweet new features at or beyond what the NV20 offered).
the only problem people had was AGP bus not being utilized, and T&L.
3dfx cards are best for older games (games from Quake 3 era and older), but probably will not be very good with newer games, made with T&L in mind.
all this, is why I wish 3dfx didn't die.. the Rampage IMHO, would have been a sweet combination of new and old (at least, everyone was hoping they could continue good compatability while adding sweet new features at or beyond what the NV20 offered).
Yes, a person has to ask themselves what they can actually do differently. I didn't really see THAT much of a difference between my geforce 2 and the TNT2, at least not one large enough to justify 300 dollars spent. A bit more smoothness in a resolution i never play was a bit pointless to me. The V5 though made alarge difference and was one of the only sole products that really improved a lot of what I did.
I especially miss the warm and cold setting with the 3DFX tools. I think the card was the best thing since I retired my Obsidian...loved the TV out feature with that card and SLI mode in 1 PCI slot
When I put value in a card, I also consider how long it will last me approximately. I am still using a TNT2 Ultra that does very nicely still in cs and quake2. Drivers still are updated and it runs good well after a year or two. Can't same the same for v5, so maybe it might have been the best performer, but not the best value.
Well I sort of think everyone that bought a geforce or a geforce 2, (myself included) were sort of suckered by nvidia and the hype that you needed this big bad card. I don't often believe company ads but I if the geforce 3 is anything what its made out to be the old cards will be pointless, just as pointless as a voodoo 5 will be at playing upcoming games.
When I put value in a card, I also consider how long it will last me approximately. I am still using a TNT2 Ultra that does very nicely still in cs and quake2.
wow, my V3 does well in those games too
I've played a bit of Quake 3 and UT, but I've never tried out the HSR drivers from x3dfx. I should one of these days.. if it turns out to give me a good performance boost, I might be able to play Quake 3 at 1024X768 pretty good!
wow, my V3 does well in those games too
I've played a bit of Quake 3 and UT, but I've never tried out the HSR drivers from x3dfx. I should one of these days.. if it turns out to give me a good performance boost, I might be able to play Quake 3 at 1024X768 pretty good!
Maybe I'm missing something cause I'm not much of 1 Gamer but the G4ce cards 2D visuals are not appealing to me like the V5 or Matrox, Tseng (nowATI), and ATI. I thought that 2D had reach it's peak but when the G4ce came out I actually saw a degression with it
"I am not saying the geforce was a bad card, it worked well, but it really didn't do anything spectacular for the large chunk of change it cost me." --Grminalac
Well said! That's been my point ever since the V5 was released. But at the time, the only thing that most people on these boards seemed to care about, was how long the bar graph was for Q3. Actually, that's all that the reviewers seemed to care about as well.
Well said! That's been my point ever since the V5 was released. But at the time, the only thing that most people on these boards seemed to care about, was how long the bar graph was for Q3. Actually, that's all that the reviewers seemed to care about as well.
BFG10K
Lifer
- Aug 14, 2000
- 22,709
- 2,997
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Why the Voodoo5 was the best video card ever made.
I wouldn't go that far. As far as stability and compatibility it was. But a lack of features was a major minus toward it, in addition to size and heat output.
It was a great board though, make no mistake about it.
I wouldn't go that far. As far as stability and compatibility it was. But a lack of features was a major minus toward it, in addition to size and heat output.
It was a great board though, make no mistake about it.
I don't think the V5 was lacking too much, I used all the features of the card, i wanted a card that would run everything, and run it well. It still is. Maybe not a year from now, but neither will a geforce2.
- Mar 20, 2000
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<< But a lack of features was a major minus toward it >>
and now we see how pointless the geforce and gf2 t&l really was, since nearly no one will support it with GF3 t&l around. so we get... q3 and tribes 2 using gf t&l? yay. bfd.
<< and heat output. >>
did you ever have a geforce? the original one? that sucked down 16 watts? and had power problems on old motherboards? that thing should have had a molex connector on it just like the v5. the gf3 probably needs one too. if not a brick.
It truly is sad that 3dfx went down, I would have liked to have seen hsr implemented. I never tried the new drivers due to win2k. I grow tired of the same item tweaked and passed off as a new product.
People complain about the engineering of the V5, quite frankly who cares. I could care less if it was built with chicken bones and black magic, as long as it worked. It is the best video card ever produced.
People complain about the engineering of the V5, quite frankly who cares. I could care less if it was built with chicken bones and black magic, as long as it worked. It is the best video card ever produced.
I've been hearing and reading the total crapola about V5s not lasting a year or about no driver updates....GET OFF IT!
Your just jealous and you know it!
I'm still building systems with Vodoo3s in them and NOT ONE PERSON complains! In fact they brag endlessly to their friends while the watch Quake3 and other demos run Flawlessly!
Computer sales for high end systems are not only flat, but in a sharp decline. People want inexpensive systems that WORK! Without the need for endless driver updates. For 99% of users, 32bit is not only no big deal...they've no idea what it is!
Remember when we all had VoodooIIs and if you were real lucky, SLI? Remember how the first TNT would run at higher resolutions and all the 3DFX haters preached doom and gloom for Voodoo? There are tens of thousands of Voodoo2 cards out there...and they are STILL RUNNING EVERY GAME! It is amazing to me just how few you see for sale.
I am absolutely thrilled with my V5 5500....and it's lack of features!
And now I'm going to use Power-Color cards as I've found the Evil-King is just as good as the 3DFX products...and with talk of V4s and the possibility of V5s.....I'll stick with what works...and works...and works...
Your just jealous and you know it!
I'm still building systems with Vodoo3s in them and NOT ONE PERSON complains! In fact they brag endlessly to their friends while the watch Quake3 and other demos run Flawlessly!
Computer sales for high end systems are not only flat, but in a sharp decline. People want inexpensive systems that WORK! Without the need for endless driver updates. For 99% of users, 32bit is not only no big deal...they've no idea what it is!
Remember when we all had VoodooIIs and if you were real lucky, SLI? Remember how the first TNT would run at higher resolutions and all the 3DFX haters preached doom and gloom for Voodoo? There are tens of thousands of Voodoo2 cards out there...and they are STILL RUNNING EVERY GAME! It is amazing to me just how few you see for sale.
I am absolutely thrilled with my V5 5500....and it's lack of features!
And now I'm going to use Power-Color cards as I've found the Evil-King is just as good as the 3DFX products...and with talk of V4s and the possibility of V5s.....I'll stick with what works...and works...and works...
Elfenix
"and now we see how pointless the geforce and gf2 t&l really was, since nearly no one will support it with GF3 t&l around. so we get... q3 and tribes 2 using gf t&l? yay. bfd."
ROTFLMAO!
So true! Just don't go into any software stores, those b@stards are in some sort of conspiracy with nVidia. D@mn near every new game they carry uses it, that is what really killed 3dfx. nVidia charges us $85,986.23 for every video card so they can give kickbacks to stores to only sell new games that use it. What's worse, they paid off nearly every magazine and website that deals with gaming to give GOTY awards to those lousy @ss hardware T&L titles. That's the real reason why nVidia charges so much, they have to pay off all the companies.
Another example is all the cash they gave Intel, making the V5 incompatible with the PIV. Intel uses some lame @ss excuse of following specifications that were around for a long time, blah blah blah. We all know that nVidia only spends $.67 making each card and uses the other $85,985.56 for bribing everyone else to make every other vid card company look bad.
"and now we see how pointless the geforce and gf2 t&l really was, since nearly no one will support it with GF3 t&l around. so we get... q3 and tribes 2 using gf t&l? yay. bfd."
ROTFLMAO!
So true! Just don't go into any software stores, those b@stards are in some sort of conspiracy with nVidia. D@mn near every new game they carry uses it, that is what really killed 3dfx. nVidia charges us $85,986.23 for every video card so they can give kickbacks to stores to only sell new games that use it. What's worse, they paid off nearly every magazine and website that deals with gaming to give GOTY awards to those lousy @ss hardware T&L titles. That's the real reason why nVidia charges so much, they have to pay off all the companies.
Another example is all the cash they gave Intel, making the V5 incompatible with the PIV. Intel uses some lame @ss excuse of following specifications that were around for a long time, blah blah blah. We all know that nVidia only spends $.67 making each card and uses the other $85,985.56 for bribing everyone else to make every other vid card company look bad.
Too bad you guys always just argue about games. I'm not jealous of anyone with a 3dfx card.
Who has drivers good enough for Pro CAD applications? It isn't 3dfx. Anand did Pro/Engineer benchmarks a while ago and the T&L unit of the GeForce 1 card cut the benchmark time roughtly in half compared to a TNT 2 Ultra. These features like T&L that 3dfx people bash are important, just not important for most games. A standard GeForce2 GTS with reference drivers destroys many of the much more expensive pro CAD cards. If you only play games, then 3dfx is fine, but I see Nvidia's cards as a more complete and well rounded solution.
Who has drivers good enough for Pro CAD applications? It isn't 3dfx. Anand did Pro/Engineer benchmarks a while ago and the T&L unit of the GeForce 1 card cut the benchmark time roughtly in half compared to a TNT 2 Ultra. These features like T&L that 3dfx people bash are important, just not important for most games. A standard GeForce2 GTS with reference drivers destroys many of the much more expensive pro CAD cards. If you only play games, then 3dfx is fine, but I see Nvidia's cards as a more complete and well rounded solution.
- Mar 20, 2000
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oh did the t&l titles actually come out? oh, i forgot MDK2. are there others worth playing? i really want to know i feel like my t&l unit isn't doing anything.
<< These features like T&L that 3dfx people bash are important, just not important for most games. A standard GeForce2 GTS with reference drivers destroys many of the much more expensive pro CAD cards. >>
the geoforce is a gaming card, last i checked. they happened to put a t&l unit on there that was pretty good for CAD, but not all that great for games, which is why they have completely scrapped that t&l unit and stuck a general purpose microprocessor on the geforce 3.
<< These features like T&L that 3dfx people bash are important, just not important for most games. A standard GeForce2 GTS with reference drivers destroys many of the much more expensive pro CAD cards. >>
the geoforce is a gaming card, last i checked. they happened to put a t&l unit on there that was pretty good for CAD, but not all that great for games, which is why they have completely scrapped that t&l unit and stuck a general purpose microprocessor on the geforce 3.
Mem
Lifer
- Apr 23, 2000
- 21,476
- 13
- 81
The Voodoo5 is not the best video card ever made, I was disappointed with the specs etc,infact I would say there is no best card ever made,each card has its good & bad points & at the end of the day it`s what your happy with that counts,one thing we all seem to agree on is prices need to come down on new models, if things keep going the way they`re $1000 video cards will soon be a reality "scary".
<< oh did the t&l titles actually come out? oh, i forgot MDK2. are there others worth playing? >>
GIANT. You will love this game, it kicks ass.
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