3dfx Voodoo2

discussed in 6,533 posts, 1997-2006 · overall tone positive

Posts per month

Key threads

• Diamond's Voodoo2 overheating claim disputed 1998-02-19 · 41 posts
  Ken of The Game Pad posted Diamond's claim that Voodoo2 boards had overheating problems. Most dismissed it as sour grapes because Creative had shipped 12MB boards first, pointing to 3Dfx's rebuttal and accusing GameCenter of bias. The thread turned into name-calling with Ken, then a discussion of why 3Dfx relied on board makers.
• GPL lacks TNT support; Papyrus releases beta OpenGL drivers 1998-10-12 · 125 posts
  A question about running GPL on an nVidia TNT card started a long argument over Papyrus supporting only 3dfx Glide and Rendition rather than Direct3D or OpenGL. Critics called it a business mistake and complained the box misstated requirements, while defenders said buyers should choose hardware for their software and that D3D was poor during development. The debate ended when Papyrus posted beta OpenGL drivers for GPL, and Eric Busch of Papyrus said the patch had been in the works and they would look at Permedia2 issues.
• Second NASCAR 4 screenshot hints at new engine 2000-04-29 · 177 posts
  Papyrus posted a second NASCAR Racing 4 screenshot showing Richmond at night. Dave Henrie and others argued that the straight pit lanes proved the old NASCAR 2/3 code had been retired in favour of a GPL-derived engine, while sceptics said only physics mattered. A poster who called GPL junk provoked a long side argument, with Jim Erb claiming most sim racers disliked GPL.
• Voodoo2 versus Banshee mix-up turns hostile 1999-06-30 · 23 posts
  A poster advertised a cheap '16MB Voodoo2' card, and regulars explained that no 16MB Voodoo2 existed and the card was actually a Voodoo Banshee. The poster reacted defensively and the exchange degenerated into insults, with others asking that it be taken elsewhere.
• GP3 hardware mode on Voodoo 2 cards 2000-08-08 · 31 posts
  Tony Whitley posted Hasbro's reply that GP3 works on 12MB Voodoo 2 cards but not properly on 8MB ones, and users compared results. This led to a broader argument over GP3's 3D-accelerated graphics, with Joe McGinn and others saying the engine was poorly architected and Graham Triggs defending it as aimed at newer cards. Complaints about pixellated textures on GeForce 2 cards were also raised.
• GP3 does not recognise Diamond Monster Voodoo2 cards 2000-07-25 · 23 posts
  Andre Warringa could not get GP3 to recognise his Diamond Monster Voodoo2 SLI cards, even after adding the SLI flag in cards.txt and updating drivers. Others with working Voodoo2s compared Direct3D driver versions 4.11 and 4.12 and suggested removing Diamond's drivers. The version number did not turn out to be the cause, and no fix was found.
• Microsoft details the CART Precision Racing patch contents 1997-12-08 · 105 posts
  Dean of Microsoft's CART Team listed the CART Precision Racing patch fixes: improved AI, 25-50% frame rate gains for all users, controller null zone, pit lane auto-pilot, gamma controls, larger steering ratio and better default setups, and said a new demo would follow. He explained that a native Glide version had been benchmarked but gave little benefit, sparking a long Direct3D-versus-Glide argument with 3Dfx owners. Later posts became a Voodoo versus Riva 128 hardware debate.
• Voodoo2 performance in CART Precision Racing 1998-02-15 · 20 posts
  A poster asked how much Voodoo2 would improve CART Precision Racing frame rates. After confusion over whether Voodoo2 runs Direct3D (it does), early owners reported around 26-40 fps on a K6-200. Others noted the initial Voodoo2 Direct3D drivers were unfinished.
• Adding a Voodoo2 for Glide in GPL on a 1GHz PC 2001-05-19 · 25 posts
  Ian Greenwood, unhappy with D3D patch artefacts on his GeForce2 MX, asked about adding a Voodoo2 for Glide in GPL. Replies said a single Voodoo2 is limited to 800x600, two in SLI are needed for 1024x768, and a Voodoo3 might be better; a claim of 70fps in GPL was ridiculed since GPL caps at 36fps.
• Voodoo3 versus TNT2 argument 1999-04-08 · 102 posts
  A new Voodoo3 2000 owner complained of driver and gamma problems with his sims, and others suggested a clean Windows reinstall. The crossposted thread became a long, quasi-religious argument between 3dfx and nVidia supporters over 32-bit color, AGP texturing, large textures and Glide support, with mockery on both sides and pleas to stop.
• The Pits' CPR review sparks 3Dfx versus Riva war 1998-01-18 · 110 posts
  A link to The Pits' top-rated CART Precision Racing review led to criticism of its recommendation of the Stealth II over 3Dfx. The thread became a long, heated argument between Greg Cisko and Randy Magruder over 3Dfx versus Riva 128 and Direct3D, including Longbow 2 support and Riva's market share. Joe McGinn and others backed 3Dfx while some Riva owners reported problems.
• Which 3D card to buy for Grand Prix Legends 1998-09-03 · 34 posts
  A player with a Matrox Mystique asked what hardware GPL needed. Replies agreed a 3dfx or Rendition card was essential, and beta tester John Wallace recommended the Rendition V2200 Hercules Thriller 3D as faster than Voodoo2 in GPL. Others preferred Voodoo image quality and debated memory size for replays.
• GPL frame rates collapse with full AI fields 1998-09-30 · 44 posts
  Early GPL buyers with Pentium 200 and even overclocked PII-333 machines complained of single-digit frame rates with a full field, making races unplayable. Others reported 30+ fps on PII-300s and faster systems, and Alison Hine stressed the need for L2 cache. Marc Collins argued Sierra misrepresented minimum requirements, while others noted the box listed a recommended PII-266.
• Choosing a 3D card for GPL on a Pentium 200 1998-10-17 · 25 posts
  A P200 owner asked which 3dfx card to buy for GPL. Advice favoured a Rendition V2200 card or a cheap Voodoo card for a slow CPU, while Vampy pushed the unsupported TNT and was rebuked, sometimes crudely. The discussion became a 3dfx versus TNT argument before being called off.
• Second Voodoo2 for SLI or a Voodoo3 3000 for GPL? 1999-06-28 · 28 posts
  Sondog asked whether to add a second Voodoo2 for SLI or buy a Voodoo3 3000 for GPL. Opinions differed: some said SLI gave real gains at 1024x768, others that the Voodoo3 was faster and allowed 1280x1024, with Hena Hakkinen noting SLI slowdowns are usually caused by vsync settings. Voodoo3 users needed to limit textures to 2MB, and the poster bought the Voodoo3.

Busiest threads

• Diamond's Voodoo2 overheating claim disputed (26 posts about it)
• GPL lacks TNT support; Papyrus releases beta OpenGL drivers (21 posts about it)
• Second NASCAR 4 screenshot hints at new engine (19 posts about it)
• Voodoo2 versus Banshee mix-up turns hostile (19 posts about it)
• GP3 hardware mode on Voodoo 2 cards (17 posts about it)
• GP3 does not recognise Diamond Monster Voodoo2 cards (17 posts about it)
• Microsoft details the CART Precision Racing patch contents (15 posts about it)
• Voodoo2 performance in CART Precision Racing (15 posts about it)
• Adding a Voodoo2 for Glide in GPL on a 1GHz PC (14 posts about it)
• Voodoo3 versus TNT2 argument (14 posts about it)
• The Pits' CPR review sparks 3Dfx versus Riva war (13 posts about it)
• Which 3D card to buy for Grand Prix Legends (13 posts about it)
• GPL frame rates collapse with full AI fields (12 posts about it)
• Choosing a 3D card for GPL on a Pentium 200 (12 posts about it)
• Second Voodoo2 for SLI or a Voodoo3 3000 for GPL? (12 posts about it)

Sentiment by year

Each post that discussed it was rated from −2 (very negative) to +2 (very positive).

Who talked about it most

Greg Cisko · 91 Andre Warringa · 73 Michael E. Carver · 72 Ken Beard · 61 Paul Jone · 54 Joe McGinn · 49 Chris "Hollywood" Schletter · 49 Lutrell · 45 Larry · 42 Byron Forbes · 41 Eric Busch · 40 Nathan Wong · 37 Jan Verschueren · 36 BRH · 36 Dave Henrie · 35 Kirk Lane · 34 Chris Bloom · 33 Jay · 32 Ronald Stoehr · 31 Brett C. Cammack · 31

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