Hello everyone,

I hope that you enjoyed christmas and had a good transition to this year.

It's 2018 now, more than 17 years after 3dfx's demise. But we're still here! And there are some German geeks that are still writing articles about 3dfx. They were even doing brand-new benchmarks with Voodoo cards and their competition. Please have a look at this retro special, which has been translated to English for your convenience:

http://www.pcgameshardware.de/3dfx-Voodoo-Hardware-255488/Specials/3dfx-Voodoo-Retro-Special-1246582/

The article contains some history, an interview with Oscar Barea (you all should know him) and, what is the most exciting thing, new benchmarks with games from 1999 to 2005. To make it even more special, a modified Voodoo 5 5500 AGP with 128 megs @ 210 MHz is included in the benchmarks. The results and analysis tell us what AGP and Hardware TnL were really worth - and much more.

Have fun! And please spread the word. Take all people in the world on this retro trip. 3dfx may be gone, but the audience is still listening.

Greetings from Germany,
Raff

Hey guys,

I know it won't be easy, but I'm completely serious about it: I want a Rampage.

Not any Rampage, a working sample. One of these famous Spectre cards in A1 revision that are said to be running. I've already asked Gary, but I can understand if he's not willing to sell his legend. Unfortunately I can understand anyone doing this. Your all are fans and collectors, it won't be easy at all.

I have a simple but "mighty" purpose in mind: testing this card. Since I'm editor at a quite big magazine and 3dfx fan for many years, I want to tell the world about this myth. The "goddess" V5 6000 is through, we know about the quality of this legend, but Rampage/Spectre still is a mystery. I just want to run some benchmarks and at least one DX8 demo on it!

This may sound crazy, but: If nobody is willing to SELL, maybe someone can LEND his working sample? Are there any sources to get one of these cards? I repeat: This is no joke.

Greetings from Germany,
Raff

PS: If anyone owns a WORKING Daytona card - that's a bit easier - it could get my attention (and money) too.

http://www.pcgameshardware.com/aid,670546/News/A_tribute_to_3dfx-_Eight_years_out_of_business/



MfG,
Raff

Well, almost.

As many V5 6000 owners know, this card suffered from SLI problems using Windows XP. Direct3D games were terribly slow when setting a resolution above 1024x768. In this case, the screen looked like a flickering dia-show (below 5 fps). Glide and OpenGL are not affected, D3D under Windows 98 is ok too.

Thanks to Hank Semenec, my V56k is fine again, so I restarted testing. I was really impressed when I noticed that the bug has (partially) gone. I tested 3DMark2000, 2001 SE, Max Payne, Expendable and NfS 4:

1600x1200x16 runs fluent! Even 1920x1440x16 works perfect!!

2048x1536x16 and 32 bit modes are still f*cked though. But this is a very big step into the right direction.

SFFT, many thanks for your great work! With your efforts, this card becomes even greater than it already is!

3DMark2000:


3DMark2001 SE:


V5 6000 Rev. A 3700, 167 MHz default.

Greetings from Germany,
Raff

It's done. Look at this one:

http://3dcenter.de/artikel/voodoo5-6000/

Only in German so far, but maybe we'll make an english translation. But at least the diagrams are self-explicative.

Hope you enjoy it. We did. =D

Greetings from Germany,
Raff

First: I want to thank again SFFT and all other people who are involved in the driver development for their continous nice work. But now we are at a point where we have to decide, I think. Newer games don't work with our Voodoos, as they don't with other older cards. Pixel-Shaders finally made their way to game domination, which represents a "game over" for these cards.

So, what does that mean for the drivers? Focussing on the things that really can be improved! Especially concerning the Direct3D core there are some things that would be nice to have.

I know that most of the last freaks out there primarily use a Voodoo5 5500 as the "biggest" card. 3dfx' masterpiece, the Voodoo5 6000, is rare. Well, it makes sense 'cause it's a prototpe. But: It's huge. In many ways. In the past few months I've tested many drivers using insanely many settings and games. All this results in a big article that will be released within the last weeks of this year. Main test subject: the goddess. And now we come to a problem ... one thing only the V56k has to fight with.

While testing I periodically fell off my chair. Why? Because of the insane power of this card! Holy ****, this beast can beat a GeForce3 and smells GeForce4 air in some cases and settings! The crux of the matter: only in OpenGL (using WickedGL) or Glide. 1600x1200 runs damn great there .... but in Direct3D it's impossible to get her to high framerates. My tests showed that a V4 4500 AGP almost always beats the goddess in 1600x1200 (resp. resolutions above 1024x768x32).

This is where my request starts: Dear driver programmers, SFFT, please focus on the SLI bug! I don't know how long it persists, but as far as I know, it has never been away. It somehow hurts to see what the card could perform with working SLI ... compared to reality in Direct3D. In the upcoming article, the V5 6000 kicks every card up to GeForce3 in OGL ... but loses with a big gap in newer games and/or higher resolutions above 1024x768. It's a crying shame. The card is extremely powerful but can't show it everywhere.

I don't know how much effort and time it would take to investigate and eliminate the problem but I think it deserves the highest priority. The masterpiece deserves it. Let her kick the GeForce's asses, k? I'm so damn impressed after the tests that I just had to write this. Thanks for reading. Took some time to write.

Greetings from Germany,
Raff

Well, SFFT continues his good work on the best Direct3D driver – but what about Glide and OpenGL? While testing I noticed that there is no "best" Glide DLL.

UT for example: The Glides included in the SFFT Alpha 42 are damn fast without FSAA ... but they lack of speed when using high resolutions and forcing 32 Bit causes artifacts. The Glides included in Alpha 41 are a little slower in 1024x768x16 but kick ass in 1600x1200x16 – but 32 Bit doesn't work at all (no effect)! The Glide XP finally is very slow, but 32 Bit works ... at cost of much speed. Is there anybody that can combine all of these abilities into one or even improve it? Koolsmoky maybe?

And what about MesaFX? Is the project still alive? I hope so! I think it has much potential. Forcable FXT1 would boost Call of Duty & co. Are there any newer drivers or working alternatives?

Where are all the people that built great drivers in the past? If the last ones stop developing ... 3dfx will be dead. Ultimately. Forever.

Greetings from Germany,
Raff

Shot with 8x AA and texture LOD @ -8 ... but AA isn't visible on Direct3D shots. Starts without problems and is fully playable without graphic anomalies. I used SFFT Alpha 42.

Greetings from Germany,
Raff

Aye!

I've opened this topic to explain a problem with my "goddess", the Voodoo5 6000. Since I own her, many hours of testing have passed. And there is one problem that occurred all the time: a colored square "in front" of the rendered 3D scene. Its size is maybe 30x30 pixels and it appears mostly in quite disturbing positions in the middle of the screen, but sometimes a little sideways, too. In some cases it blinks or changes colors ...

After some testing I can say that the problem only appears in Direct3D-based titles, so I think it's an SFFT issue. I've tested SFFT's from Alpha 39 to 41 with my 6k, and it always showed up. But not in all games and not all the time ... that's what makes it a little weird.

Once visible, it's hard to make it disappear. Sometimes it helped to set 4x/8x AA. So maybe it's really a SLI-problem? But I also have to say that there are days when nothing helps ... like today. This artefact sucks and I hope that we can solve the problem. As far as I know, I'm not the only one with this problem.

Testing with Windows 98 and/or other drivers will follow!

Greetings from Germany,
Raff

I've consistently read something about AF on VSA-100 based cards. So: Is it possible to do it, or not? T-Buffer should allow to use the same subsamples used by the AA. So it's just a matter of the driver!?

SFFT, is it possible to implement experimental AF support into your driver? Or are there any serious problems while calculating the line of anisotropy? I wonder why it wasn't ever implemented into the drivers ... there must be a reason. But ... 64-tap AF on a Voodoo! Whoooaaa!

Greetings from Germany,
Raff

Yep, is that possible? My V5 6k screams for more CPU power and a Mobile could give it to her. At MSI's product page no Mobiles are listed. Has anybody tried to use a combination like mine?

Greetings from Germany,
Raff

Yeah, I think that would be nice. I'm always happy when a new SSFT driver sees the daylight – but in most cases you have to do much trial and error in many games to check what's new. Some releases had notes about what's been fixed etc., but most don't.

So my request @ SFFT and 3dfxzone: please list some of the new things in later SFFT's, so that we can test more exactly.

Greetings from Germany,
Raff

Age of Empires III Demo
1280x1024x16 @ 1024x768



The shot was taken at my Voodoo4 4500 AGP @ 185/185. Runs smooth with max details (which means you can turn all textures and effects to the max, but you won't see pixel shading or bloom effects, of course) @ 800x600x16 with 2xRGSSAA!

Impresssive performance for an old lowcost card!

Greetings from Germany,
Raff

The next miracle made by 3dfx (resp. SFFT ): MotoGP 3 runs on a VSA card!

800x600x16 + 4xSGSSAA/LOD @ -8:

http://img128.imageshack.us/my.php?image=mgp3v513tq.jpg
http://img128.imageshack.us/my.php?image=mgp3v524xt.jpg
http://img128.imageshack.us/my.php?image=mgp3v532dc.jpg

Well, no Pixel Shading or highres textures -- but absolutely fluent gameplay in these settings! Looks better when in motion (you don't see the 16 Bit artefacts that obvious then).

I had to do a long "trial and error" until I found out the max settings that don't let the game crash:



"Wet reflections" don't work at 16 Bit, you need 32 Bit. And, very important: 3DAnalyzer is necessary to start a race -- emulate Cube Mapping!

Greetings from Germany,
Raff

World of WarCraft
@ 1024x768x16:


This happens if you are at the wrong place: No ground texture and looow fps. Well, **** happens.


The "Lost Fleet". Some texture problems in the background don't disturb much.


This is my 3rd Ego: Bloona.


And this is Capitain Halyndor. Looks nasty -- is nasty.


No, I'm no cheater. This wallhack is integrated in the driver and occurs sometimes.

Well, you can see some texture problems -- but I'm still impressed. The card is 6 years old, the game is almost brand-new. 15 fps average while playing is not much, but sufficient after some time of adaption and staying alive. ;-)

Greetings from Germany,
Raff