Got a Voodoo3 2000 PCI yesterday. So far, it scores a big, big zero
from the standpoint of a racing and flight sim fan.
Firstly, the drivers don't work properly. My monitor is very dark,
so I need to adjust the gamma levels. However, although the gamma
sliders work correctly in adjusting the desktop and Direct 3D games,
all the gamma slider for Glide accomplishes is making the 3dfx splash
screen brighter or darker -- applications are unaffected, so the two
that I've got to work have been unplayably dark for me.
Speaking of which, here are the results of what I've run so far:
Running on a 75MHz bus with an AMD K6 300MHz processor (not K6-2),
40MB of fastpage RAM (gotta get that updated!), Turtle Beach Montego
PCI sound card, and, of course, the Voodoo3 2000 PCI video card.
Grand Prix Legends:
Works if set to limit texture memory at 2MB. Frame rate is slower
than it was on my Stealth II S220 (4MB Rendition V2100) card, though
I can run in higher resolutions. I have not downloaded the GPL patch
for OpenGL support, so can't give a report on whether that works with
this card.
Viper Racing (v 1.1):
Fails to load in Glide mode, even selecting the "-nointro" switch.
Works fine in Direct 3D. Can run at 800 x 600 with a benchmark of
over 38 frames per second. This is the only improvement I've had
over my old setup. I even reinstalled the whole game trying to get
it to work in Glide, but it would not. My monitor light goes yellow,
suggesting no signal.
NASCAR Racing 1999 Edition:
Works fine. No discernable difference over how it operated with
my old Monster 3D. Same frame rates. The new walls and ads I
recently downloaded still repaint themselves as I get near,
which really distracts me. I had hoped that this weird effect
was only happening because of the old 4MB Monster 3D not having
enough texture memory. In replays, the replacement ads are always
visible, and look terrific.
Pro Pilot 99 (two updates applied):
Works. I did not fly, though.
Need For Speed III - Hot Pursuit:
Fails to load in any configuration attempt.
Carmageddon 2 - Carpocalypse Now!:
Fails to load in any configuration attempt.
European Air War (latest patches; I forget the version number):
Fails to load in any configuration attempt.
My modem's speaker crackles with an incredible amount of noise.
My phone line is clear, so the noise is coming from the board.
Since this didn't happen until installing the Voodoo3, I blame
it. My two attempts at connection to the net have resulted in
31.2 connections -- slower than usual, but not terribly uncommon.
No disconnects have occurred yet, so I don't know if this noise
is actually getting into the line or if it's just on the speaker.
It's still quite disconcerting. There are two PCI and two ISA
slots open between the modem and the video card.
So for now I give up. Unless the STB/3dfx tech support response
suggests that this card is defective, and/or proper drivers are
provided within a day or so, I'll probably trade the card in for
a reliable Voodoo2 card, and put the Rendition board back in so
I can still soldier along at 12-30 fps in GPL, and actually be
able to see, as well as play the other games which don't work
at all with the Voodoo3 -- so much for "Highest software
compatibility" (from the front of the box).
(Note: I was only able to see with the Stealth because I was
using drivers designed for the Hercules Thriller, a Rendition
V2200 board, which has gamma controls for Windows 98, whereas
the Stealth drivers do not. And the gamma controls for the
Monster 3D Voodoo card worked also.)
--
http://www.racesimcentral.net/~keeper/toons.html - Animaniacs, P&TB, F!, etc. files
http://www.racesimcentral.net/~keeper/midi.html - My own MIDI files - Updated 5 Dec.