2 x voodoo 2 or 1 x voodoo 3 / 3000

Hy I'm interested on constantly better framerates (especially for GrandPrixLegends). I'm enjoying the graphics (and superb patches) and won't miss them Wich is the fastest solution: My system: P II 400 128 MEG Hercules Voodoo 2 Should I throw my voodoo 2 away and buy a expensive voodoo 3 3000 or should I buy a second Hercules Voodoo 2 and cascade them? Thanks in advance Rolf

Hy I'm interested on constantly better framerates (especially for GrandPrixLegends). Wich is the fastest solution: My system: P II 400 128 MEG Hercules Voodoo 2 Should I throw my voodoo 2 away and buy a expensive voodoo 3 3000 or should I buy a second Hercules Voodoo 2 and cascade them? Thanks in advance Rolf

I don't have a V3, or V2 SLI, so bear that in mind. But... If you are already getting the 36-37 fps max out of GPL, you won't get any better framerate (though you can go to higher res). A single V3 *2000* is probably faster than SLI'd V2's. It'll allow higher res too. And no passthru. The only downside to it is that if you want to eventually go to a non-3dfx maincard, you won't have the luxury of retaining Glide capability via the 3d-only card (so maybe hold onto that single V2!). If you can get a V2 for almost nothing, maybe consider it. But you'd just be buying old technology. V3 is the way to go.

Just remember that you'll have probably to install a fan on your V3 chip to make it work properly. The V3 is overheating, causing lockups (software drivers are not responsible for this). I had to UNDERclock it to 155mhz instead of the default 166mhz of the factory setting to suppress these lockups. Later, I installed a fan that i took from an old DX-4 processor (and stuck it with adhesive tape), and the V3 now runs perfectly at 166mhz. Shame on 3DFX people who released an overheating card (no need to say that they dont mention this problem on their website, not even in the support page) Anyway, the V3 is about 20% faster than 2 V2 SLI (we tested the difference with a friend who's got 2 V2 and same processor as me) Good luck with the fan :-) Thierry Cailleteau

Well, I have a V 3 3000 without fan (just heatsink) and I had never problems with overheating it. (And I`ve played hours of GPL without pause :) Peter Vienna, Austria

Sorry, but overheating V3's are a common thread you meet when you look into 3DFX related newsgroups. It happens with some motherboards, due to voltage problems (or something like). Other motherboards are going fine. You are lucky ! Thierry Cailleteau Mark Davison a crit dans le message >>Just remember that you'll have probably to install a fan on your V3 chip to >>make it work properly. The V3 is overheating, causing lockups (software >>drivers are not responsible for this). I had to UNDERclock it to 155mhz >>instead of the default 166mhz of the factory setting to suppress these >>lockups. Later, I installed a fan that i took from an old DX-4 processor >>(and stuck it with adhesive tape), and the V3 now runs perfectly at 166mhz.

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>>Shame on 3DFX people who released an overheating card (no need to say that >>they dont mention this problem on their website, not even in the support >>page) >I'd suggest taking it back to your supplier - it must be a dud. My v3k has >had no probs at all, and it's not a situation I've heard of before. >Mark >Reading, UK

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>My system: >P II 400 >128 MEG >Hercules Voodoo 2 >Should I throw my voodoo 2 away and buy a expensive voodoo 3 3000 or should >I buy a second Hercules Voodoo 2 and cascade them?

The v3 3000 should be a bit faster than SLI, but from what I've read, don't expect miracles. What might be more interesting is that I went from a V1 system to a v3k and the visual quality in GPL is -much- better - better even than Rendition. Never owned a V2 so can't compare there. If you go V3 you'll have to use the banshee patch (which is not really a problem, is it?) until v1.1 of GPL comes out. Mark Reading, UK

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>Just remember that you'll have probably to install a fan on your V3 chip to >make it work properly. The V3 is overheating, causing lockups (software >drivers are not responsible for this). I had to UNDERclock it to 155mhz >instead of the default 166mhz of the factory setting to suppress these >lockups. Later, I installed a fan that i took from an old DX-4 processor >(and stuck it with adhesive tape), and the V3 now runs perfectly at 166mhz. >Shame on 3DFX people who released an overheating card (no need to say that >they dont mention this problem on their website, not even in the support >page)

I'd suggest taking it back to your supplier - it must be a dud. My v3k has had no probs at all, and it's not a situation I've heard of before. Mark Reading, UK