3dfx People - Check this out (pics)

Love this thread :D
3D history :

S3 Virge DX 4MB PCI (3D deceleration FTW!)
Canopus Pure3D
Canopus Pure3D II
Canopus Spectra TNT
Creative TNT2 Ultra
Creative GF2 GTS
Leadtek GF4 Ti4400
Saphire 9800 Pro
Connect3D X800GTO
ATi X1900XT 512MB
8800GTS 320MB
 
plenty of fanboys bitching about the external powerbrick even though it would save them from buying a new psu.
Yep, they bitched and bitched and bitched about that.

They were the same bitchers that complained that the Voodoo3 couldn't render 3D in 32bit. LOL, even the Super TNT2 Ultra bitch version couldn't render 32bit at 800x600 at more than 5fps.
 
OK, I never realized that the voodoo 3's and 5's were SLI!! :eek:

And that must be what the damn pin headers were for. Huh!

So how did one implement SLI with these early boards?
 
The 3s weren't, and the 5s only used SLI as an interconnect for the chips on the 5500 and 6000 if I remember correctly.
The Voodoo2s did and were add-on boards that each took up a PCI slot. They were not graphics cards of their own, just 3D accelerators.
All you did was connect the little ribbon cable between the cards, let Windows install the driver, and then flag it as SLI in the driver. Then you could game at a HUGE resolution of 1024x768(!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!) in GLide games. Quake at 1024x768 was honestly really awesome back then.
 
yeah.. I remember running quake 1 for the first time on my voodoo1.. it was so bad ass at the time.. my buddie got dual voodoo2's in SLI when those came out but I never got them.. I used the hell out of my voodoo1 and then went to a Riva 128 or something.. velocity 4400? anyways.. good times!
 
Working ones were engineering samples, they replaced the intel chip with the "hint" chip. I really dont think the card would have ever seen the light of day had 3dfx survied a year or so longer. Cost was rumoured at around $600+, plenty of fanboys bitching about the external powerbrick even though it would save them from buying a new psu.


The V5 6000 was going to retail for $599 in December of 2000. The card was going to come packaged in an aluminum "breifcase" with the 3dfx logo on it. I have one of those somewhere, I'll see if I can dig it up.
 
The 3s weren't, and the 5s only used SLI as an interconnect for the chips on the 5500 and 6000 if I remember correctly.
The Voodoo2s did and were add-on boards that each took up a PCI slot. They were not graphics cards of their own, just 3D accelerators.
All you did was connect the little ribbon cable between the cards, let Windows install the driver, and then flag it as SLI in the driver. Then you could game at a HUGE resolution of 1024x768(!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!) in GLide games. Quake at 1024x768 was honestly really awesome back then.



Also remember that Voodoo2 SLI was analog, whereas Voodoo5 SLI was digial. :)
 
Man I really miss 3dfx, this card brings back so many memories. RIP.


Heck, I remember back in the day when you got a Voodoo3, you were made. In TRIBES, it was godlike :)
 
...The card was going to come packaged in an aluminum "breifcase" with the 3dfx logo on it. I have one of those somewhere, I'll see if I can dig it up.
Hmmm... I love memorabilia. Hope you find it. I want to see pics!

...plenty of fanboys bitching about the external powerbrick even though it would save them from buying a new psu.
In defense of the fanboys, lol, if the 8800 series was offered with a wall-wart or brick, I think we'd still hear screaming and wailing today! Somehow, I don't think the gaming society would accept the premise of "saving them from buying a monstrous PSU"... :p
 
Also remember that Voodoo2 SLI was analog, whereas Voodoo5 SLI was digial. :)

Huh?

The SLI data was digital. The only analog part of the Voodoo or the Voodoo 2 was how it took the analog signal from your 2d card and fed it thru the Voodoo card. When the card kicked into Bad-Ass mode with the click and the 3dfx logo, the analog signal to your monitor was diverted from the 2D card and instead fed from the Voodoo card.
 
i didn't read the whole thread, so forgive me, but i agree with the sentiment.... i still get all misty eyed when i see my voodoo stuff.

i have a 3dfx lanyard on my desk, and across the room is my voodoo 5 5500 agp, it still works, and i still have the box though its not nearly as clean as the pictures.

i also remember fondly when i had *gasp* 2 voodoo 2 12mb accelerators to help my matrox rainbowrunner not suck at 3d. i felt like such the shit having 2 of those things.
 
The V5 6000 was going to retail for $599 in December of 2000. The card was going to come packaged in an aluminum "breifcase" with the 3dfx logo on it. I have one of those somewhere, I'll see if I can dig it up.

While that was the plan they would have to have had a substantial stock of retail 6k boards. Ive yet to see any retail versions of the board at all. Just about everyone using the hint chip version is tagged as an engineering sample. Were there any 6k boards that were retail product and if so any idea what happened to them? :confused:
 
Hmmm... I love memorabilia. Hope you find it. I want to see pics!


In defense of the fanboys, lol, if the 8800 series was offered with a wall-wart or brick, I think we'd still hear screaming and wailing today! Somehow, I don't think the gaming society would accept the premise of "saving them from buying a monstrous PSU"... :p

True :p people are like "I don't care if I have to spedn another 300$ on a quality PSU ontop of your product!!! just GIVME GIVME GIVEME (with no powerbrick bastards)
 
Ahhh...those were the days. I will never forget gaming for the first time in Glide....man I wish there were more inovators around like that now.
 
Fun thread :)

My first 3d card was the Diamond Multimedia Edge3D (nv1) with the sega saturn controller and ports of virua fighter, panzer dragoon, virtual cop, and nascar racing. I seem to remember later playing the first tomb raider in openGL or glide on it too but I could be confusing it with the next 3dfx card I bought. Tomb raider and quake were early 3d accelerated favorites.

Large pic of the diamond edge3D card:
http://bbs.yjfy.com/UploadFile/2005-11/20051126133844549.jpg

This was way back when I had a brand new P90 when the pentium logo was still pretty new. I sprung for these upgrades to my order: 16mb system ram vs 8mb , 4x cd drive vs 2x (no burners they were like $3000 if even available back then), and a 17" crt vs 15" and probably a 2gig harddrive. It ran me around $3300.

I did a light dig through some of my old junk and the edge3D didn't show up, but I know I have it somewhere. I did find my old creative 3dfx card with the pass-through cable though.

Here are some links related to the Diamond Edge3D card that bring back memories for me:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/NV1

Diamond Edge 3d BELLSNWH demo
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_XSV50W8P7I&feature=related

Diamond Edge 3d LOCOMOTV demo
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uULZsLKpOV8

Diamond Edge 3d STANSTEL demo
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fNmhcHPdTB8&feature=related

Tech blurb from way back when:
========================
"The boards are PCI-based and sport a digital gameport for precise joystick control, as well as two video gameports that allow specialized, multi-player versions of Sega Saturn titles, such as the arcade hit Virtua Fighter Remix, to be played on Windows 95 PCs. It is expected to be initially shipped in late October at consumer prices starting from $249 - $299.

With Diamond Edge 3D accelerators, game developers can support resolutions as high as 1024x768 with 65,000 colors while still achieving fast, realistic action. In the past, this type of technology was available only to engineers and designers with prices topping $2,000.

The 3D functions of the Diamond Edge 3D were designed specifically for the consumer multimedia market where the primary application is interactive entertainment. Traditionally, 3D graphics were created by drawing large numbers of successive polygons using the CPU, which resulted in a tradeoff between detailed graphics and speed of interactivity. With the Diamond Edge 3D, the hardware engine accelerates polygon rendering of real-time, texture-mapped 3D images at the highest possible frame rates without unduly slowing the CPU. In addition, the Diamond Edge 3D can create realistic 3D graphics by using nine control points to create a curved surface, called quadratic texture mapping (QTM).

Features of the Diamond Edge 3D engine include fast polygon rendering, texture-mapping for photo-realism, quadratic texture-mapping for perspective correction and rendering of curved surfaces, as well as special effects including diffused lighting, specular highlights, reflection mapping and alpha blending for fog, smoke and transparency.

High Performance 2D Acceleration

The Diamond Edge 3D delivers fast 2D Windows acceleration at resolutions as high as 1280x1024, color depths to 1 billion and refresh rates of up to 120Hz.

The DRAM version of the Diamond Edge 3D, based on SGS Thomson's STG2000 multimedia accelerator chip, is available for PCI-bus in 1MB upgradable to 2MB (the Diamond Edge 3D 2120XL) or 2MB standard (the Diamond Edge 3D 2200XL.) The VRAM configuration, based on NVIDIA Corp.'s NV1 multimedia accelerator chip, is available for PCI in 2MB upgradable to 4MB (the Diamond Edge 3D 3240XL) or 4MB standard (the Diamond Edge 3D 3400XL.) Both chips are based on NVIDIA's NV1 technology. Diamond estimates pricing for the 2000 series to start at $249 to $299 and for the 3000 series to start at $399 to $449."
 
Oh boy, I had used tons of old graphics cards. I still own a few of them.

I still have a Diamond Voodoo Banshee that still works. It is in an old server box for now. It still runs a toasty after running for a while.

I got a Voodoo 5 5500 AGP that is now dead. It look like one of the resistors ate it. It ran anything with GLIDE like butter.

I had a S3 ViRGE PCI somewhere that was my old test card.

I used to have a Visiontek Geforce 3 and Geforce 4 Ti4400 that I have both given away.

I still have my working 9700PRO which is now collecting dust. Best $349 that I ever spend on computer hardware. It was the card that made Nvidia panicked and its underlying architect lived on until X1xxx family. ;)
 
Their box art was interesting imo, damn sight better than dogs with helmets on, or some kind of robot with a frogs head (palit cards), can't say i care much for the ruby character either. The old voodoo 5 boxes definately were eye catchers.

Remember the days when you couldn't hear your video card at all and your card didn't take up 2 slots and require a chunk of copper heatsink so heavy you had to lift it into your case with a crane? :p

ruby is a whore.. i heard she was with the entire cast of mario bros
 
Here's my stash of new, never-worn 3dfx baseball caps. I keep these in a large ziplock bag. 3dfx gave these to us to wear when we would visit a CompUSA or Best Buy, etc. They were never used as giveaways, and strangely, I've never seen one of these on Ebay or anywhere else.

263x7og.jpg
 
While that was the plan they would have to have had a substantial stock of retail 6k boards. Ive yet to see any retail versions of the board at all. Just about everyone using the hint chip version is tagged as an engineering sample. Were there any 6k boards that were retail product and if so any idea what happened to them? :confused:

got lost in the page switch ^^
 
I had that same card back in the day, it was brilliant for Unreal Tournament on my old P2 computer. :)
 
I feel so left out...our first computer was a Cyrix of some sort with onboard S3 graphics. Only a computer later did we upgrade to a GeForce 4, whose fan broke and fried the card. The next card was the (previous, now) current 7600GT. :p
 
While that was the plan they would have to have had a substantial stock of retail 6k boards. Ive yet to see any retail versions of the board at all. Just about everyone using the hint chip version is tagged as an engineering sample. Were there any 6k boards that were retail product and if so any idea what happened to them? :confused:

No, none made it to the retail channel. It did come close, though.
 
lol my parents have my old voodoo3 3500 in their computer.. working like a champ
 
Oh boy, I had used tons of old graphics cards. I still own a few of them.

I still have a Diamond Voodoo Banshee that still works. It is in an old server box for now. It still runs a toasty after running for a while.

I got a Voodoo 5 5500 AGP that is now dead. It look like one of the resistors ate it. It ran anything with GLIDE like butter.

I had a S3 ViRGE PCI somewhere that was my old test card.

I used to have a Visiontek Geforce 3 and Geforce 4 Ti4400 that I have both given away.

I still have my working 9700PRO which is now collecting dust. Best $349 that I ever spend on computer hardware. It was the card that made Nvidia panicked and its underlying architect lived on until X1xxx family. ;)

Remember the special version of Descent (or was it D2?) for the the S3 Virge! It Rocked!
 
wow this thread brings back memories. my first 'real' 3d card was a voodoo3 2000, one fine piece of work that thing was. i remember overclocking it to the speed of the 3500. that baby was on the ragged edge of disaster lol. just kept on going! then my asshole dad threw it out....fucker.
 
LOL, I've still got my EVGA eTNT2 Riva M64... AGP 32Mb... and even a cooling fan!! :p

Actually, I should list ALL of my nostalgic video cards. Yeah, I got a small collection!

Remember the ATI Rage Fury Maxx? Had TWIN Rage 128 GPU's. Was supposed to contend with the Voodoo 5, but the architecture wasn't supported above Win98. Ooops!
And, yes, I still have one, fully functional!

http://ati.amd.com/products/rage128pro/ragefurymaxx/index.html

Rage_fury_maxx_board.jpg
 
Ill never forget my Dual Voodoo II in SLI with a Matrox G200... I had the sweetest setup EVER! 600$ worth of cards that later would get dominated by a much cheaper voodoo 3 I overclocked. Id kill for one of those 3dfx hats!
 
LOL, I've still got my EVGA eTNT2 Riva M64... AGP 32Mb... and even a cooling fan!! :p

Actually, I should list ALL of my nostalgic video cards. Yeah, I got a small collection!

Remember the ATI Rage Fury Maxx? Had TWIN Rage 128 GPU's. Was supposed to contend with the Voodoo 5, but the architecture wasn't supported above Win98. Ooops!
And, yes, I still have one, fully functional!

http://ati.amd.com/products/rage128pro/ragefurymaxx/index.html

Rage_fury_maxx_board.jpg


I remember this, and I was furious with this brand new card with an opperating system that wasn't supported.

It was a pretty sick card too.
 
I first saw a voodoo 1 in action in my friends system, he was playing the demo of quake 2 on a monster 3d.

Next week I went out and bought a Canopus Pure 3d lx (6mb voodoo 1)

Still have it, along with the box and all the cds that came included.

Voodoo1-> Creative Tnt -> Erazor(sp) Geforce DDR -> Radeon 9000 -> Radeon 9800aiw -> Xfx 7800gtx

(hard to justify spending so much on graphics cards so I make them last) lol
 
Here's my stash of new, never-worn 3dfx baseball caps. I keep these in a large ziplock bag. 3dfx gave these to us to wear when we would visit a CompUSA or Best Buy, etc. They were never used as giveaways, and strangely, I've never seen one of these on Ebay or anywhere else.

263x7og.jpg

You should send one of those out to Canada for me XD Sick hats...
 
Memories, memories, memories. Great stuff.

I remember being 11, 12 years old seeing these things in the store! It feels like yesterday. I was the only kid my age that I knew that was into PC games. Played 'em all...Half Life in special 3dfx mode, Quake 3, Duke Nukem 3D, Need For Speed 2. And more...

Too bad 3dfx isn't around anymore, as said earlier in the thread...the industry would probably be far ahead of where it's at now.

Still, there's just something about playing Half Life w/ glide. Miss it. :(
 
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