Voodoo II, and Racing Sim's

Looking for a bit of advice..... I've got $100 worth of gift certificates to CompUSA and would like to use it to upgrade my system with either a bigger hard drive, more RAM or most likely a Voodoo II board. They have the Diamond Monster Voodoo II on sale (with mail in rebate) for $150 this week. Is this a worthwhile purchase? I'm running a PII 266, with a PCI Riva128 4meg (Diamond Viper V330) and 64 meg's of RAM. I've got a 2.4 Gig SCSI HD which is my main boot drive. I'd like to add another HD, but am concerned that adding an IDE drive will cause problems, as it would most likely be recognized as the primary boot device by my system? Any ideas, suggestions ??? Thank you! Jay J

>I'd like to add another HD, but am concerned that adding > an IDE drive will cause problems, as it would most likely > be recognized as the primary boot device by my system? Only if you tell it to be the primary boot device... My recommendation is to get a Western Digital drive, use the handy dandy drive copy utility that comes with it to make your new drive look exactly like your old one (partitions, if present, will be proportionally the same) and then switch the jumpers so that the new drive is primary and the old drive is secondary. Then, boot up and re-format your old drive and use it for whatever... Of course, you can always just use the new drive as the secondary drive and save a few steps... My personal preference is to have the biggest and/or newest hard drive as the primary drive... no real reason for that though... I don't have a Voodoo card, so I can't really make any comments about it - that's up to someone else... But I have as of late installed a few new hard drives and haven't had any problems making the one I wanted to be the master or slave... - m. ============================================ Mike Holthouse - Indianapolis, IN Drop the "X" to e-mail me. ============================================

You might also need a BIOS update to let your PC recognize a HD of greater than 8.4GB - I needed one for my Dell PII 266. If your running Win98, you might want to format your new HD to FAT32 - saves a lot of disk space. Once you get everything running you can go back and convert the old drive to FAT32 and reclaim about 25-30% of your used disk space. Voodoo 2 cards are really cheap now - I just got a MaxiGamer 12MB for $150 CDN after rebate, or about $100 US. Brian

Quoted text (31 lines)

>>I'd like to add another HD, but am concerned that adding >> an IDE drive will cause problems, as it would most likely >> be recognized as the primary boot device by my system? >Only if you tell it to be the primary boot device... >My recommendation is to get a Western Digital drive, >use the handy dandy drive copy utility that comes with >it to make your new drive look exactly like your old >one (partitions, if present, will be proportionally the same) >and then switch the jumpers so that the new drive is >primary and the old drive is secondary. Then, boot up >and re-format your old drive and use it for whatever... >Of course, you can always just use the new drive as >the secondary drive and save a few steps... My personal >preference is to have the biggest and/or newest hard drive >as the primary drive... no real reason for that though... >I don't have a Voodoo card, so I can't really make any >comments about it - that's up to someone else... But I >have as of late installed a few new hard drives and haven't >had any problems making the one I wanted to be the >master or slave... >- m. >============================================ > Mike Holthouse - Indianapolis, IN > Drop the "X" to e-mail me. >============================================

I wish this were true, but the rebate expired 12-31-98. I think Compusa is tring to pull the ol okeydoke.

If your gun-shy about installing a 2nd drive, some stores (i.e. best buy) will install the drive for you for free when you purchase it from them.

I just read on a 3dfx newsgroup that Diamond is discontinuing the Monster II, which is why they are offering rebates, and apparently their driver support for that card will cease too! Look's like I'll wait until Voodoo III comes out to upgrade my video (perhaps by then the Voodoo II's will drop in price enough to buy two of them and run them in SLI mode!) So it's decided, another hard drive looks like the way I'll go... I've heard Western Digital is a good brand, any I should avoid? Also thank's J Craig, I'll see about their install policy, hell if they'll do it for free (included with the purchase price, then I'll let 'um go for it!) Jay J

I didn't see the original post of this thread, but if you put an IDE drive in a computer with only a SCSI HD, the IDE drive MUST be used as the boot drive. ~dx "religion is remedial spirituality" ---== http://www.newsfeeds.com - Largest Usenet Server In The World! ==---

Here's a news tidbit. A single Voodoo III card will out perform a 12meg Voodoo II running in SLI mode.

Quoted text (16 lines)

>I just read on a 3dfx newsgroup that Diamond is discontinuing the Monster >II, which is why they are offering rebates, and apparently their driver >support for that card will cease too! >Look's like I'll wait until Voodoo III comes out to upgrade my video >(perhaps by then the Voodoo II's will drop in price enough to buy two of >them and run them in SLI mode!) >So it's decided, another hard drive looks like the way I'll go... >I've heard Western Digital is a good brand, any I should avoid? >Also thank's J Craig, I'll see about their install policy, hell if they'll >do it for free (included with the purchase price, then I'll let 'um go for >it!) >Jay J

The jury is still out on whether the V3 will outrun V2 SLI in multi-textured games (such as those based on the Quake 2 engine), but yes, with single textured games the V3 will rule. Since there are no racing sims which implement multi-texturing (yet), you ought to be golden with the V3. But if you already have V2 SLI there will be little incentive to upgrade to V3 and the better choice would be to wait on the "Rampage" from 3Dfx.

Quoted text (21 lines)

> Here's a news tidbit. A single Voodoo III card will out perform a 12meg > Voodoo II running in SLI mode. > >I just read on a 3dfx newsgroup that Diamond is discontinuing the Monster > >II, which is why they are offering rebates, and apparently their driver > >support for that card will cease too! > >Look's like I'll wait until Voodoo III comes out to upgrade my video > >(perhaps by then the Voodoo II's will drop in price enough to buy two of > >them and run them in SLI mode!) > >So it's decided, another hard drive looks like the way I'll go... > >I've heard Western Digital is a good brand, any I should avoid? > >Also thank's J Craig, I'll see about their install policy, hell if they'll > >do it for free (included with the purchase price, then I'll let 'um go for > >it!) > >Jay J

>I'll see about their install policy, hell if they'll >do it for free (included with the purchase price, then I'll let 'um go for >it!) Just make sure they keep your old drive in the system and not just keep it... BTW, the Western Dig installation utility will check to see if your BIOS will handle the drive, and if not, it will install it's own pseudo-BIOS on the drive itself... - m. ============================================ Mike Holthouse - Indianapolis, IN Drop the "X" to e-mail me. ============================================

Quoted text (7 lines)

> The jury is still out on whether the V3 will outrun V2 SLI in > multi-textured games (such as those based on the Quake 2 engine), but > yes, with single textured games the V3 will rule. Since there are no > racing sims which implement multi-texturing (yet), you ought to be > golden with the V3. But if you already have V2 SLI there will be little > incentive to upgrade to V3 and the better choice would be to wait on the > "Rampage" from 3Dfx.

Maybe you're confusing the V3 with the Banshee, which has only one texture unit. The V3 will have two like the V2, so there will be at least the same performance in multi-textured games. l8er ronny -- How to get rid of censorship in German game releases <http://www.gamesmania.com/german/maniac/freedom/freedom.htm> |\ _,,,---,,_ I want to die like my Grandfather, ZZZzz /,`.-'`' -. ;-;;,_ in his sleep. |,4- ) )-,_. ,\ ( `'-' Not like the people in his car, '---''(_/--' `-'\_) screaming their heads off!

Quoted text (9 lines)

> >>I'd like to add another HD, but am concerned that adding > >> an IDE drive will cause problems, as it would most likely > >> be recognized as the primary boot device by my system? > >Only if you tell it to be the primary boot device... > I didn't see the original post of this thread, but if you put an IDE drive > in a computer with only a SCSI HD, the IDE drive MUST be used as the boot > drive.

Only on older computers. Most motherboards nowadays have a "SCSI" option for boot devices. You just put that in the order you want it to scan, like A,SCSI,C or something like that. The only possible exception is the new Compaq's. They didn't appear to have this option, or very many options at all really.

>I didn't see the original post of this thread, but if you put an > IDE drive in a computer with only a SCSI HD, the IDE drive > MUST be used as the boot drive. D'OH!!!!! I just re-read the original post and Jay did say he has a SCSI hard drive!! So, Jay, sorry if I caused any confusion... I didn't read your original post correctly!! - m. ============================================ Mike Holthouse - Indianapolis, IN Drop the "X" to e-mail me. ============================================

Quoted text (9 lines)

>>I didn't see the original post of this thread, but if you put an >>IDE drive in a computer with only a SCSI HD, the IDE drive >>MUST be used as the boot drive. >D'OH!!!!! I just re-read the original post and Jay did say >he has a SCSI hard drive!! >So, Jay, sorry if I caused any confusion... I didn't read >your original post correctly!!

That's not entirely true. On most (if not all) P2 motherboards, and most (if not all) newer Socket-7 motherboards, you have a choice of booting off of SCSI, CD-ROM, floppy, or "C:". I know, because I've done it (10gb IDE with two SCSI drives, booting off SCSI drive). -- ========================================================= John Simmons - Redneck Techno-Biker (Zerex12) http://www.members.home.net/jms1/index.html John Simmons - Barbarian Diecast Collector http://members.home.net/jsimm/diecast_index.html IGPS Director http://members.home.net/jms1/igps.html If you want to send me email, go to either of the URL's shown above & click "Send Me Mail" in the contents frame. =========================================================

>On most (if not all) P2 motherboards, and most >(if not all) newer Socket-7 motherboards, you have a choice of booting >off of SCSI, CD-ROM, floppy, or "C:". Thanks for the clarification on that... I remember hearing about the SCSI/IDE thing awhile ago, but I don't have any recent experience with SCSI (by choice!) - it's just easier that way! :-) I will now file this tidbit of information away in my mind so I can pull out later in a barely recognizable form... - m. ============================================ Mike Holthouse - Indianapolis, IN Drop the "X" to e-mail me. ============================================

Thank's for the help guys!!!! I've got a Micronics LX440 PII Motherboard, with an Intel PII 266 chip. I know there is a bios setup screen I can enter when I start my PC by hitting the delete key. But frankly haven't messed around with it since I set the machine up in the first place (some time ago) Hopefully I'll be able to keep the SCSI drive as my primary boot device (I actually have two 1.2 Gig SCSI drives) and add another Hard Drive too! Jay J remove NOSPAM for email reply

Quoted text (18 lines)

>>On most (if not all) P2 motherboards, and most >>(if not all) newer Socket-7 motherboards, you have a choice of booting >>off of SCSI, CD-ROM, floppy, or "C:". >Thanks for the clarification on that... I remember >hearing about the SCSI/IDE thing awhile ago, but >I don't have any recent experience with SCSI (by >choice!) - it's just easier that way! :-) >I will now file this tidbit of information away in my mind >so I can pull out later in a barely recognizable form... >- m. >============================================ > Mike Holthouse - Indianapolis, IN > Drop the "X" to e-mail me. >============================================

The ability of SCSI and IDE drives co-habitating in your computer is completely up to your BIOS. If it is an older system, then I would not do it. However,if it is a newer system, then you should not have any problems. For example, I build my own systems (PC). I use the Asus P2B motherboard, which handles all this just fine. The BIOS has a selection for whether to boot from IDE or SCSI, and what drive to boot from (floppy, C, D, SCSI, CD-ROM, Zip, LS-120, etc...). Look at your BIOS. If you see this sort of support, I wouldn't worry. If not, stick with one technology. -Larry

Quoted text (10 lines)

> I'm running a PII 266, with a PCI Riva128 4meg (Diamond Viper V330) and 64 > meg's of RAM. I've got a 2.4 Gig SCSI HD which is my main boot drive. I'd > like to add another HD, but am concerned that adding an IDE drive will cause > problems, as it would most likely be recognized as the primary boot device > by my system? > Any ideas, suggestions ??? > Thank you! > Jay J

I've become very partial to the new Maxtor DiamondStor's. Their performance is excellent, and their repair proceedures are first rate if you should ever need them. It's been a long time since I felt this way about Maxtor :) I've seen way too many WD failures to consider them for my equipment. -Larry > My recommendation is to get a Western Digital drive

Not on very current-day machines. The Asus P2B motherboards (and their others along with some other manufacturers) allow you to specify whether the system boots from IDE or SCSI, as well as allowing you to choose C, D, CD-ROM, Zip, LS-120 and in some cases Network as the boot device. If you have a higher-end adaptec SCSI card, you can also choose which of the SCSI devices on the chain is the boot device. It's is considerably more of a pain in the ass than the Macintosh is, but at least it can be done these days. -Larry > I didn't see the original post of this thread, but if you put an IDE drive > in a computer with only a SCSI HD, the IDE drive MUST be used as the boot > drive.

What is your source for this information? If true, this is the back-stab of the decade... -Larry > I just read on a 3dfx newsgroup that Diamond is discontinuing the Monster > II, which is why they are offering rebates, and apparently their driver > support for that card will cease too!

Actually, I stay away from WD these days... I prefer Maxtor now. Their drives are fast, priced competitively, and their warranty repair proceedure is the best I know of. -Larry > I've heard Western Digital is a good brand, any I should avoid?

Found this on the "3dfx.oem.products.diamond.monster3d" usenet newsgroup. Granted you can't always believe what you read/hear, but it does make sense that all of a sudden that Diamond Voodoo II cards are on sale at places like CompUSA.

Quoted text (12 lines)

>What is your source for this information? >If true, this is the back-stab of the decade... >-Larry >> I just read on a 3dfx newsgroup that Diamond is discontinuing the Monster >> II, which is why they are offering rebates, and apparently their driver >> support for that card will cease too!

Well, don't believe everything you read. Go check one of those Monsters yourself that are on sale at CompUSA. It is a new version of the Monster - Diamond has dropped the software bundles in order to lower the card's pricing. There is even a new part number for these cards. Diamond will keep making Monsters until 3Dfx stops selling them the chips, which will be somewhere around March when the 3Dfx/STB merger is completed. As for support, there was never any support from Diamond to begin with, so nothing's lost there. Use 3Dfx reference drivers.

Quoted text (20 lines)

> Found this on the "3dfx.oem.products.diamond.monster3d" usenet newsgroup. > Granted you can't always believe what you read/hear, but it does make sense > that all of a sudden that Diamond Voodoo II cards are on sale at places like > CompUSA. > >What is your source for this information? > >If true, this is the back-stab of the decade... > >-Larry > >> I just read on a 3dfx newsgroup that Diamond is discontinuing the Monster > >> II, which is why they are offering rebates, and apparently their driver > >> support for that card will cease too!

Here's another one of those rumors again :) Recently on AOL, someone who is heavy into this stuff said that 3dfx is going to keep VooDoo 3 close to the chest. We won't see oem's like Diamond and Creative with VD-3 cards. Instead, 3dfx is going to market them directly and to OEM's, as well as one other company only. FWIW (which may not be much) :) -Larry

Quoted text (8 lines)

> Well, don't believe everything you read. Go check one of those Monsters > yourself that are on sale at CompUSA. It is a new version of the > Monster - Diamond has dropped the software bundles in order to lower the > card's pricing. There is even a new part number for these cards. > Diamond will keep making Monsters until 3Dfx stops selling them the > chips, which will be somewhere around March when the 3Dfx/STB merger is > completed. As for support, there was never any support from Diamond to > begin with, so nothing's lost there. Use 3Dfx reference drivers.

I believe 3dfx acquired STB, so perhaps there will only be STB Voodoo 3 cards. Dave Ewing

Quoted text (7 lines)

> Here's another one of those rumors again :) > Recently on AOL, someone who is heavy into this stuff said that 3dfx is > going to keep VooDoo 3 close to the chest. We won't see oem's like > Diamond and Creative with VD-3 cards. Instead, 3dfx is going to market > them directly and to OEM's, as well as one other company only. > -Larry

Quoted text (22 lines)

> Here's another one of those rumors again :) > Recently on AOL, someone who is heavy into this stuff said that 3dfx is > going to keep VooDoo 3 close to the chest. We won't see oem's like > Diamond and Creative with VD-3 cards. Instead, 3dfx is going to market > them directly and to OEM's, as well as one other company only. > FWIW (which may not be much) :) > -Larry > > Well, don't believe everything you read. Go check one of those Monsters > > yourself that are on sale at CompUSA. It is a new version of the > > Monster - Diamond has dropped the software bundles in order to lower the > > card's pricing. There is even a new part number for these cards. > > Diamond will keep making Monsters until 3Dfx stops selling them the > > chips, which will be somewhere around March when the 3Dfx/STB merger is > > completed. As for support, there was never any support from Diamond to > > begin with, so nothing's lost there. Use 3Dfx reference drivers.

Larry, maybe this has something to do with 3Dfx aquiring STB? Trev