3dfx Voodoo 2 Review - Was this the ultimate 3D video card | Part 3
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- Опубліковано 2 лип 2024
- Update: Forgot to mention that in the video, the TNT2 was in fact TNT2 Ultra
Third part of the 3dfx Voodoo series. This time it's about the famous Voodoo 2.
00:00:00 - Intro
00:00:09 - Brief history
00:04:25 - Test setup
00:06:10 - Tests / APIs
00:06:22 - Tests / DOS
00:06:46 - Tests / Voodoo Graphics
00:08:12 - Tests / Ati Rage Pro Turbo
00:08:46 - Tests / S3 Savage 3D
00:09:09 - Tests / nVidia Riva TNT
00:10:12 - Tests / nVidia Riva TNT2
00:10:35 - Conclusion
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For a short time there was a Voodoo 2 8MB upgrade for the Apple iMac's first two versions using a secret mezzanine slot tucked on the bottom of the motherboard. As the first 4 versions of the Apple iMac used the ATI Rage Pro 6MB - cap soldered onto the motherboard, the Voodoo 2 card was a revelation. I remember playing Deus Ex with both cards all the way through and feeling gobsmacked, like I had just been catapulted into the 21st century of graphics and gameplay, by the VooDoo 2.
Thanks for this trip down memory lane. When the Voodoo2 came out, prices for Vodoo1 dropped and made it affordable for me. It was such a great experience! I skipped the Voodoo2 and later on bought a Banshee and a Vodoo3 before I left 3DFX for Nvidia and ATI. But even today the 3DFX cards held a place in my heart, and I still own several of them for my Retro PCs. (There was a time when they were cheap)
Those times are long gone. Today's prices are almost on par with the list prices :)
Great video. Im actually testing out a Riva TNT 2 vs my Voodoo 2 cards right now. THis was a nice video to find.
How did the test turn out?
Yes, yes and again - yes - it was the ultimate video card (at that time)! My friend´s aunt was from America and she sent him SiN - and as you know, it was pretty demanding game. And I had VooDoo2, so it was very fluent gaming. And then Force Commander, not to mention Star Wars Racer - which was amazing experience. He was (and still is) big SW fan, so it was pretty cool time :)
It's nice seeing another 3D Monster II paired with the Viper V550. I had both come together in a temporarily dead PC (Pentium II 233+Asus P2L97/440LX based), with the original passthrough cable and original SLI cable attached to the Monster as if it were the second card. Was extremely excited as soon as I saw the back of the PC as I had been planning to buy one (prices have over quadrupled since them).
Cards, case, CPU and motherboard still have the inventory stickers from the (now defunct) business that originally owned them.
Very nice, man. Thanks.
Sure, I'm glad you fancy the video.
Hey KITR, I really enjoy your content and find it very interesting. Would you be able to include captions in your videos? I would greatly appreciate it as I don't speak English fluently. Thanks for all the amazing content you share!
Thanks. What about auto-generated captions?
Excellent video and benchmarks. The TNT2 results are a little too low in Quake 2. A TNT2 128-bit 125/150 mhz should get around 57 fps in 1024x768.
And I used faster drivers.
Interesting that they were already talking about moving to AGP at this point, considering even the Voodoo 3 didn't really use it as much more than a PCI bridge. I wonder if they actually planned to do something with it, or if it was mostly marketing.
With regards to Unreal, which is the first benchmark you show - you're using the GOLD version which is using the 1.5 engine from Unreal Tournament.
The initial retail relase 1.0 runs better on V1 and for added performance, lowering the resolution from 640x480 to 512x384 gives a few more frames per second on top as well without ruining the gameplay experience (it still looks great honestly).
The Gold version was the only Unreal I had lying about, so I used that one :)
only one thing that was better than a voodoo2..
2 of them
6:55 how do you get an fps tracker in turok?! Is it a command line prompt or is there a secret console in the game or something because the ~ button dose nothing :/
It's a program called fraps.
@@KITR-UK I thought fraps have that yellow frame counter in the corner also how is it working with glide?
Sorry, I'm a retard. It wasn't fraps, it was Turok's built-in benchmark. You have to run the game with parameters -benchmark -alldrivers . Additionally, you can can add -nosound
Will the Banshee be next? Was my first card, It made Pentium 90 Shine
It will, however, I've got some problems with the card.... as usual.
I wish I never sold my Banshee. But it was back in the day and I sold it to buy a new Voodoo 3 , which I still have .
TnT2 should get more in Q2 if its 128 bit version.
TnT2 put rope around 3dfx neck and Geforce strangle it to death.
I had TnT2 in 99 friend had Voodoo 2 over time well Voodoo 2 could not keep up, especially when never games used more memory. For example SOF Double Helix.
Friend tried to justify Voodoo 2 but i had one sentenca 32 bit colors.
It was silly but everytime i said that his eyes glow red.
I still have my OG TnT2 pro, still works.
And i got 2x Voodoo 2 but sadly both of them are artifacting one slightly less than other.
I could've tested the cards in newer games, but unfortunately, one of the Voodoos I used went tits up during the testing :)
@@KITR-UK
RIP voodoo, hold on it maybe someone can fix it.
I've come across at least one game that looks much better on 12MB Voodoo2 vs 8MB because it uses a different set of textures. I'd be willing to bet there are more games like that, but I always run 12MB nowadays. Screamer 2 is, as I learned, a notorious PITA to get working on Voodoo 2's - but I did eventually put together a set of executables that works reliably. It's actually much easier to get it working with Voodoo 1 or surprisingly Voodoo 3.
Really? Do you remember what game that was, that looked better? It could help for the next review.
@@KITR-UK Yeah I do. It's Need For Speed Porsche Unleashed running in true Glide mode, 1024x768. By default the game treats Voodoo2 as a DirectX device, not Glide, and limits resolution to 800x600 even with SLI. I edited the game's 3dsetup text file (or you can edit the registry) and changed the Voodoo2 line to the actual Glide renderer, like the setting that's already there for the Voodoo1. It renders faster that way and it'll do 1024x768 - that's how I play the game - but I know if I set "limit texture memory to 2MB" (2MB per TMU, like an 8MB Voodoo2) via the 3dfx settings panel, it'll still run 1024x768 but the textures are much lower quality! This may or may not still hold true without changing the rendering setting but I'm not certain so that's why I'm including that configuration info.
Thanks a lot, I'll check it out.
It does use the memory of both cards but it's mirrored so you don't get any "more" memory. You can't set the resolution any higher than you could with just 1 card.
Sure you can. Maximum resolution with one card is 800x600 and 1024x768 with two.
@@KITR-UK that is hardcoded into it, more processing power = more power for the higher resolution... it's nothing to do with the memory... so they don't share the memory but they both store the same info
6:37 what game is that???
That's Extreme Assault.
أرحب
"All Voodoo2 cards use the PCI connector" - this is false, I personally own a V2 AGP (made by Quantum3D).
It seems like I was wrong, I have to find out more about that card.
هلا
لا تسولف
Dude you can't compare the TNT 2, on a bad driver choice, to VooDoo 2 SLI and say "The TNT 2 is bad!". Compare it with a single 12MB VooDoo 2, the price difference was just 10-15%. Whereas the price difference of 24MB of V2 SLI compared to a single TNT 2 is 80%!
TNT2 was a VooDoo2 slayer, in everything except Glide games. 32bit colour support AND better performance, and better resolutions.
What do you mean 'bad driver'?
I was comparing the best solution 3dfx was offering at the time, which was 2x Voodoo 2, against the best cards the competition was offering.
Nobody usually cares about bit depth and stuff like that while playing games. What matters in the end, is if the game runs fast and plays well and that's where the Voodoo 2 was simply unbeatable for a long time.
@@KITR-UK But it's a bad comparison. That's like comparing a Porsche 911 and a Ford Focus in a drag race.
The VooDoo 2 SLI were £270, the TNT 2 just £140.
Like I said, compare a SINGLE card, because they cost the same. And ensure you have the correct drivers for the TNT 2. The drivers released 6 months after the cards release, is the safest bet.
@@TheVanillatech it was the choices we had back then, take it or leave it... ppl went with V2 SLI...
@@LiLBitsDK Bullshit. You don't compare a race between a porsche 911 and a landrover discovery, because the outcome is a forgone conclusion and one costs £160k, the onther costs 75k.
TNT2 is a better card than a VooDoo 2 for gaming, simple as that. Both were about the same price.
TNT2 Render quality was always much more better then v2 specially on 32bit all voodoos was always just blurry for me i had them all back then for testing tnt2 was real good d3d and open gl and for workstation use voodoo was more just for lower quality render but more speed if you used sli but not long after the first Geforce came and crashed everything
TNT2's picture quality was, indeed, better. But the Voodoo 2s were simply faster and that's what mattered the most (at least to me).
KITR: Voodoo² ...was it the ultimate video card?
Me: I was there, KITR. I was there, 3000 years ago. When 3Dfx took the market. I was there the day the strength of all other 3D chips failed.