This is a split follow up of the general topic "Group buy for the "Voodoo4/5 more memory" project"
http://www.falconfly.de/cgi-bin/yabb2/YaBB.pl?num=1220381997
Alot of informations have been allready posted there, so I will not create redundancy here, as there are many new datas to be presented.
From hardware point of view, I see the mod complete. First, see some pictures with the modded Voodoo5, but bare in mind that this card has taken alot of punishment when I was searching "in the dark" to find a way to make it functional.

http://img361.imageshack.us/img361/9287/frontlz1.jpg

http://img361.imageshack.us/img361/5193/backix3.jpg

Now, a picture showing the initialization sequence, when it displays the right amount of RAM:

http://img361.imageshack.us/img361/3807/bootsp3.jpg

As you allready know, The card runs perfectly on Windows 9x/Me, but it does not work yet on Windows 2000/xp/2003. This seems to be a driver issue, as setting it to "Standard VGA Graphics Adapter" produces a functional system. I had no time to circle through all available drivers, just tried a couple of them, so it is possible that a solution might be available, else maybe SFFT could have a look at it.

http://img229.imageshack.us/img229/3041/win128vd6.jpg

Anyways, you have seen in the previous topic 3DMark tests againts the regular 64Mb Voodoo5, as proof that the extra RAM does make a difference. But the big hit is that now, with 128 Mb, the card is able to run games that were not available to a Voodoo5 before.
As an example, when launching Codename Panzers: Phase Two on a default 64Mb Voodoo5 produces an error message complaining about not enough video memory:

http://img229.imageshack.us/img229/2761/panzers64gg5.jpg

But if I run the game on my modded 128Mb card, it works, as you can see in the next pic:

http://img229.imageshack.us/img229/8512/panzers128po9.jpg

I will get back with the technical details on how to duplicate this mod.
I want to offer my thanks to the 3DFX community for the support and my special gratitude to Rolo01, M14Radu and Skinnie (from 3DFXzone.it) who over the time have helped me continue working on 3DFX projects!

Congratulations on the success! :)

One question, will you  'clean up' the wiring in future mods? As it is with this card, it would be impossible to place heatsinks on the memory.

Nothing bad about your soldering skills though, I wouldn't be able to do it.

like i say in the other thread
i buy one modded card

@Komponent,
First tell U that U are impressive! :)

Have a question:
Did U try the card in single mode under Windows XP? The system hangs up too? How it works with only one VSA-100 64Mb?

Regards,
Oscar.

Are you ready to mod a Voodoo 5 5500 PCI yet?

Congratulations  !!!

A dream come true....finally.

Btw: the card looks famylliar to me  ;)

Congratulations Komponent!!!

Maybe you could add the urgency of the extra-wiring etc to your first post, in order to get all the informations in this thread. I don't like crossreading in two threads and the other thread has a different kind of topic...

next step : voodoo5 6000 with 256 Mb !
:) :) :) :) :) :)

NitroX infinity wrote on 03.10.08 at 12:19:47:

Congratulations on the success! :) One question, will you  'clean up' the wiring in future mods? As it is with this card, it would be impossible to place heatsinks on the memory. Nothing bad about your soldering skills though, I wouldn't be able to do it.

I personaly would advice against connecting the extra wires other way than my solution, but I could do it if asked for; that is to place them from the other side of the chip; yet it is my strong oppinion that it would be a bad ideea. There is a reason why the wires are glued ontop of the RAM chips: this restricts the wire from moving and stressing the solder joint and bending the pin and thus preventing a possible short circuit or damage to the memory. As for the heatsinks, I think that this card is more of a collector item than your every day video adapter, as there will probably be extremely few of them in the whole world; but it is a matter of owner's taste, I guess...
Ofcourse, next cards will have a better look; my first has been through many attempts of rework and it amazes me that it has survived...


exxe wrote on 03.10.08 at 13:05:24:

like i say in the other thread i buy one modded card

I will have none to sell, but I am just currious: I wonder how much would it end up in an Ebay auction one such card? Probably not so high, but I guess it would be cheaper to buy the RAM chips and to have a regular card modded. Maybe some of the friends that were able to buy a greater share would agree to sell a few chips to you? Anyway, I hope you manage to get yourself a 128Mb Voodoo5 5500 too!

m14radu wrote on 03.10.08 at 18:23:56:

next step : voodoo5 6000 with 256 Mb ! :) :) :) :) :) :)

Hehe, that might become true very soon if all works well...somebody here has a plan, can't tell more yet  :-X

osckhar wrote on 03.10.08 at 14:39:44:

@Komponent, First tell U that U are impressive! :) Have a question: Did U try the card in single mode under Windows XP? The system hangs up too? How it works with only one VSA-100 64Mb? Regards, Oscar.

Thanks, Oscar! So far, I have only tried Amigamerlin 3.1R11, SFFT 1.3 and 3DFX 1.4 drivers. There are many more 2D/3D cores available. I will give them a shot as soon as possible. But so far, when I start Windows 2000/XP/2003, the O.S. loads just until before the G.U.I. is activated. The loading logo is presented on the screen and just when the Windows desktop should appear, the video signal from the Voodoo5 is switched off. So I cannot test anything as long as I do not have any image on the monitor... This is clearely a driver issue, as proven in the first post of this topic. I also have not tested yet the card as a secondary display adapter. I will let you know when there will be news on this subject. So far, fortunately, Windows 9x drivers work very much OK with the 128Mb card.


Tritop wrote on 03.10.08 at 17:05:51:

Are you ready to mod a Voodoo 5 5500 PCI yet?

I have said before, I cannot be able to mod other types of cards until I sacrifice one of the same to reverse engeneer the PCB. That stands for Voodoo5 PCI and for Voodoo5 6000 too. I have to remove the GPUs of the research card and to find the connection points for the extra memory adresses and for the new strapping configuration. No other way is possible. Since I do not have a Voodoo5 PCI (or a 6000), I will try to buy a dead or damaged card to disassemble it, but I have no clue when will I be able to get one. So far, the only cards I can mod are Voodoo4 PCI and AGP from 3DFX and Voodoo5 5500 AGP. I will, no doubt, let you know when modding for more types of cards will get possible.


m14radu wrote on 03.10.08 at 17:43:09:

Congratulations  !!! A dream come true....finally. Btw: the card looks famylliar to me  ;)

m14radu wrote on 03.10.08 at 18:23:56:

next step : voodoo5 6000 with 256 Mb ! :) :) :) :) :) :)

Thanks for the congrats, Radu! But you and Roland also are entitled to your share of the credits, because a couple of years ago, just after another hit of mine, the Voodoo4 AGP with 64Mb, I had then so difficult time on my personal life that I was close to exit the 3DFX community. Yet, you two have helped me not to give up working on 3DFX modding.
It is not the same card you are refering to; this one was a non-functional one that I fixed back to life like 3 years ago. Someday I will try to resurect the other card too, but it will be hard.
There is a chance that the Voodoo5 6000 to 256Mb project will one day be completed. It is not my right to say more, but it would be one great honour for me if I could offer my help...


Chosen_One wrote on 03.10.08 at 18:05:26:

Congratulations Komponent!!! Maybe you could add the urgency of the extra-wiring etc to your first post, in order to get all the informations in this thread. I don't like crossreading in two threads and the other thread has a different kind of topic...

I am sorry, my English is so bad that I cannot understand what are you asking me to do. You want me to copy/paste something from the other topic to the first post of this one? Sorry, I take the fault, but please clarify what about the wiring you need here? Thanks for the congrats and for helping me over time with various BIOSes from your collection. You are of great help to the 3DFX community.


RaverX wrote on 03.10.08 at 23:05:18:

Hehe, that might become true very soon if all works well...somebody here has a plan, can't tell more yet  :-X

I know about it; it will be tough, not entirely safe and no way cheap one to pull through, but still the most spectacular possible. Let us hope that in the future this dream will become reality...

Friends, I dare to ask you for a favour. I need high res pics of the front (with no heatsinks) and back of a Voodoo5 AGP, as I have no digital cammera of my own and I do not want to borrow again one. I need them to mark on the pics the mods that need to be performed to activate 128Mb of RAM. After that, I will post those details here.

Komponent wrote on 04.10.08 at 06:16:17:

I am sorry, my English is so bad that I cannot understand what are you asking me to do. You want me to copy/paste something from the other topic to the first post of this one? Sorry, I take the fault, but please clarify what about the wiring you need here? Thanks for the congrats and for helping me over time with various BIOSes from your collection. You are of great help to the 3DFX community.

Yes, in order to get all the information in this thread, you could copy and paste all the information from the "group-buy-thread" in this thread. So noone have to crossread in order to get all the information about this really impressive piece of work!

@BIOS: No problem. If you need one, PM me ;)

Congrats on the successful mod Komponent!!  8-) Keep up the good work!!

Here are some high-res pics of a v5 5500 AGP card you requested. [ let me know if you need anything different ]
[ my apologies if the quality is subpar, I am not that good :) ]

/edit - updated better pictures...

http://www.abload.de/thumb/front3j3.jpg

http://www.abload.de/thumb/rear8ec.jpg

Thank you, Rottentreats; the pics are ritght what I wanted!
OK... Have a look: to duplicate the Voodoo5 5500 AGP mod to 128 Mb, you need to replace the orriginal 8Mb RAM chips with 16Mb memory modules, then follow the instructions described in the next pics:

http://img291.imageshack.us/img291/6392/frontmodhw3.th.jpghttp://img291.imageshack.us/images/thpix.gif  http://img75.imageshack.us/img75/1314/rearmodrt0.th.jpghttp://img75.imageshack.us/images/thpix.gif

No BIOS mod is required if you use this hardware strapping.
Happy soldering!




Chosen_One wrote on 04.10.08 at 14:26:14:

Yes, in order to get all the information in this thread, you could copy and paste all the information from the "group-buy-thread" in this thread. So noone have to crossread in order to get all the information about this really impressive piece of work!

Allright then. Bellow I will copy/paste what I think of as relevant pieces from the other topic:

I had the ideea that it would be fun to play with the strapping setups to initialize different values for the usable RAM on the card.
Anyone interested in an elusive Voodoo5 5000 AGP (16MB memory for each GPU for a total of 32Mb onboard)? Well, not realy the true one, but my test card with only a quarter of its installed RAM activeted:
http://img143.imageshack.us/img143/5272/bootosppj8.th.jpghttp://img143.imageshack.us/images/thpix.gif  http://img143.imageshack.us/img143/2664/3dmarkpmcyx6.th.jpghttp://img143.imageshack.us/images/thpix.gif
Ofcourse, the card runs OK with 2x16MB RAM, but with much reduced performance.

The 128Mb modded Voodoo5 5500 is now working with no problem on Single Chip setting.
You all are familiar with the next screenshots... They are taken when using the orriginal Voodoo5 5500 AGP on Windows ME and x3DFX drivers.When running 3DMark2001SE on a 64Mb Voodoo5 5500 AGP with Single chip setting, I got 1687 points.
http://img143.imageshack.us/img143/968/3dfxtools64dr3rc3.th.jpghttp://img143.imageshack.us/images/thpix.gif  http://img143.imageshack.us/img143/9882/result64ec7zx7.th.jpghttp://img143.imageshack.us/images/thpix.gif
Time to enter the "mutant" 128Mb Voodoo5 5500 AGP:
http://img143.imageshack.us/img143/5749/3dfxtools128vt3ki2.th.jpghttp://img143.imageshack.us/images/thpix.gif  http://img143.imageshack.us/img143/7546/result128ce1ba9.th.jpghttp://img143.imageshack.us/images/thpix.gif
As you can see, I got 1815 points, that is 128 3DMarks increase in performance, so the extra RAM is realy being used.

And it looks as it is working in full 128Mb.
3DMark 2001SE 64Mb 4x Anti-Aliasing: 733 points
3DMark 2001SE 128Mb 4x Anti-Aliasing: 823 points
http://img143.imageshack.us/img143/1166/result64slirazielcl0lr5.th.jpghttp://img143.imageshack.us/images/thpix.gif  http://img143.imageshack.us/img143/4232/result128slirazielka1uq9.th.jpghttp://img143.imageshack.us/images/thpix.gif
Not much, 90 3DMarks extra performance, but clearely better.

In Single-Chip mode, there is a clear difference in performance.
In Fastest-Performance mode, the scores are virtualy the same order.
In 4x Anti-Aliasing mode, the 128Mb is visible better than 64Mb.
In 2x Anti-aliasing mode, see below:
3DMark 2001SE 64Mb 2x Anti-Aliasing: 1662 points
3DMark 2001SE 128Mb 2x Anti-Aliasing: 1774 points
http://img143.imageshack.us/img143/9453/642xaast2ye5.th.jpghttp://img143.imageshack.us/images/thpix.gif  http://img143.imageshack.us/img143/1029/1282xaapv7zu8.th.jpghttp://img143.imageshack.us/images/thpix.gif
That stands for a difference of over 110 3DMarks, so I say it clearely shows that the extra memory is being used.
The other conclusion is that we need to find another much more texture intensive benchmark than 3DMark 2001SE, another test that could realy make use of more video RAM.
Thanks for the congrats and cheers, friends!

Edit:
The RAM used for modding is:
http://www.esmt.com.tw/DB/manager/upload/M12L128324A%2040%2085C.pdf
http://img84.imageshack.us/img84/9950/picture005lp1.th.jpg http://img84.imageshack.us/img84/2701/picture009rw1.th.jpg

Very detailed modding instruction !

Btw: The 4.7K resistor is for the strapping configuration ?

Thanks Komponent for the good work !!!

m14radu wrote on 05.10.08 at 12:54:46:

Very detailed modding instruction ! Btw: The 4.7K resistor is for the strapping configuration ? Thanks Komponent for the good work !!!

Yes, removing the 2 marked resistors and adding the other 4 realises the new strapping configuration for the 128Mb card. Regular 4.7 KOhm 5% resistors can be used.

Quote:

I have said before, I cannot be able to mod other types of cards until I sacrifice one of the same to reverse engeneer the PCB. That stands for Voodoo5 PCI and for Voodoo5 6000 too. I have to remove the GPUs of the research card and to find the connection points for the extra memory adresses and for the new strapping configuration. No other way is possible. Since I do not have a Voodoo5 PCI (or a 6000), I will try to buy a dead or damaged card to disassemble it, but I have no clue when will I be able to get one. So far, the only cards I can mod are Voodoo4 PCI and AGP from 3DFX and Voodoo5 5500 AGP. I will, no doubt, let you know when modding for more types of cards will get possible.

@Komponent

Your are the expert here.. I was wondering though, if the 5500 AGP uses the same GPU as the 5500 PCI wouldn't it stand to reason that for this memory mod connection points would be the same?? We aren't modifying the PCI/AGP bus interface only the memory configuration. Just thinking out loud.. I would think these cards would be very similar with the exception of the bus interface.

Keep up the good work Komponent 8-)

gamma742 wrote on 05.10.08 at 19:51:36:

Your are the expert here.. I was wondering though, if the 5500 AGP uses the same GPU as the 5500 PCI wouldn't it stand to reason that for this memory mod connection points would be the same?? We aren't modifying the PCI/AGP bus interface only the memory configuration. Just thinking out loud.. I would think these cards would be very similar with the exception of the bus interface.

I cannot know if they are similar enough to allow the same kind of aproach for modding. I never owned a Voodoo5 PCI. Looking at pics over the Internet, I can see that the PCI PCB is very much different, though is resembles is some areeas to the AGP model. It might be possible that the essential points could be identified by a close visual inspection, but I have no way to examine such a card. Quick example: 2 resistors have to be removed; they are obviously not in the same position on the PCI PCB, nor do they have the same numbering; what to do? What I know for sure is that in Voodoo4 case, not only the PCB looks very much different, PCI versus AGP, but they also work in different way: on AGP Chip Select signaling is controled at logical level by the GPU; but on the PCI model, Chip Select is hardwired on the PCB; and this is only the first note that crossed my mind now. I can only know for sure how to mod a card if I reverse engeneer it. It is not that easy and removing GPUs is required for the researcs, among others, but this method does produces results. Good, working results...

Does anyone have a dead Voodoo5 5500 PCI card that they would be willing to sell to me and ship to Komponent for engineering purposes?

Well I just bought a Voodoo 5 5500 PCI! I really hope it will be working though.

@Komponent - BIG KUDOS! 8-)

But you'd better put some tape between those resistors, or... :-/

ZAP! Shorting! ZOMG! :o

@ Komponent looking forward to the V4 PCI with 64Mb card.
Let's hope a dead V5 pci finds it's way to you for reverse-engineering and then we would see another world first.
Keep up the good work  ;)

@Komponent : The pin21 from each RAM chips must be conected to a specific point. ( like in the foto that u provided ).
On the PCB is no trace for this pin ?
If yes, where is it lead ?
The idea is to avoid the long wires, and minimize the noise effect :)
If it's hard to find a dead v5 PCI, then it will be "misson imposibile" to find a v5 6000 for this mod   :-?

Outstanding, had to login
Congratulations Komponent, quite a contribution :)

Quote:

If it's hard to find a dead v5 PCI, then it will be "misson imposibile" to find a v5 6000 for this mod   Huh

Hank is the key. I know that he has some v6k dead. If komponent talk via msn or email with him. Hank will help us in this project too.

About to find a V5 PCI. We can buy one functional model on ebay and later to share expenses between all the people interested to mod his V5 PCI.

Oscar.

@Komponent: you can use an E-Tag for each moded V5 !
There should be also a list with moded v5, and theyr user !
;)

paulpsomiadis wrote on 06.10.08 at 07:34:54:

@Komponent - BIG KUDOS! 8-) But you'd better put some tape between those resistors, or... :-/ ZAP! Shorting! ZOMG! :o

Ofcourse, future revisions will be much safer to use. I give another thought on using a glue gun to fix the added resisitors to the PCB.


G1nX wrote on 06.10.08 at 13:18:28:

@ Komponent looking forward to the V4 PCI with 64Mb card. Let's hope a dead V5 pci finds it's way to you for reverse-engineering and then we would see another world first. Keep up the good work  ;)

Yes; I cannot wait to start working on the Voodoo4 PCI with 64Mb. There is a chance, as you know, that I might begin this project tomorow evening.


m14radu wrote on 06.10.08 at 18:19:35:

@Komponent : The pin21 from each RAM chips must be conected to a specific point. ( like in the foto that u provided ). On the PCB is no trace for this pin ? If yes, where is it lead ? The idea is to avoid the long wires, and minimize the noise effect :) If it's hard to find a dead v5 PCI, then it will be "misson imposibile" to find a v5 6000 for this mod   :-?

If there were PCB traces for the A11 memory adresses of the RAM chips I would have used them... No; the mod had to be done this way and I see no visible noise added.


osckhar wrote on 06.10.08 at 19:07:25:

Quote: If it's hard to find a dead v5 PCI, then it will be "misson imposibile" to find a v5 6000 for this mod   Huh Hank is the key. I know that he has some v6k dead. If komponent talk via msn or email with him. Hank will help us in this project too. About to find a V5 PCI. We can buy one functional model on ebay and later to share expenses between all the people interested to mod his V5 PCI. Oscar.

No rush going for the Voodoo5 PCI and even less for the Voodoo5 6000 modding. There are enough many requests for performing Voodoo5 AGP and Voodoo4 AGP/PCI mods and I have so little spare time, that I might be busy for some time. And after all, someone else than myself might succeed performing them before I will be able to finaly buy a Voodoo5 PCI...

Update:
I found the problem that prevents Voodoo5 128Mb from working with Windows 2000/XP/2003: it is the miniport driver (a file usualy called 3dfxvsm.sys in Voodoo5 driverpacks). With all the verssions, Windows will not start; with the 3dfxvsm.sys from Microsoft's driver included inside XP it does start, but with only 16 colors (4bit) and with Quantum3D miniport driver for AA5 (renamed to 3dfxvsm.sys) it works with full colours and resolutions, yet it looses all hardware acceleration.
I do not thinck there is a work around the bug; we need a new compiled miniport driver! SFFT could help, but would he work his magic for the benefitt of only a handfull of cards?

well,he did work his magic just for a couple of users until now,so that would not be a problem I guess.the real problem is-I doubt he can do it without physically having the modded card..

Well, maybe we should open a new thread to ask a driver for V5 5500 128 MB. If SFFT wants to write a driver, I would really like to see native widescreen support.  8-)

I finaly got the modded 128Mb Voodoo5 5500 AGP working under Windows 2000/XP/2003. For now, it only runs in single chip mode and I had to mix 'n' match a driver especialy for that, but I will do my best to produce a compatible fully functional driver, at least until a fresh compiled miniport would eventualy and hopefully appear.

http://img504.imageshack.us/img504/2049/128win2003vk3.jpg

Excellent new!!!!  :)

And how the card works in single mode?

Regards,
Oscar.

Nice to see we hit the news:
http://www.pcgameshardware.de/aid,662767/News/Voodoo5_5500_mit_128_MiByte_VRAM_-_Fans_machen_es_moeglich/
If this gets into the printed on paper edition of the magasine, I want to buy one piece. I hope a German buddy from here can help me with that.

osckhar wrote on 09.10.08 at 01:46:00:

Excellent new!!!!  :) And how the card works in single mode? Regards, Oscar.

3DMark 2001SE Voodoo5 64Mb Single Chip: 1181 points

http://img511.imageshack.us/img511/1904/3dmark64mbv5pd0.jpg

3DMark 2001SE Voodoo5 128Mb Single Chip: 1545 points

http://img511.imageshack.us/img511/2237/3dmark128mbv5az5.jpg

So a performance boost of 346 3DMarks in favour of the 128Mb Voodoo5 5500 AGP compared to the orriginal 64Mb card. That stands for 30% more speed in Single Chip mode.

Nice, nice, really nice... :)

Once more. Great work komponent. Keep up the good work.

Regards,
Oscar.

..and what is wrong with dual chip mode? lockups?

ps47 wrote on 09.10.08 at 22:37:30:

..and what is wrong with dual chip mode? lockups?

No. I have to use the miniport from Microsoft's Windows XP built in driver and it only allows for Single Chip opperations.

In the mean time I was able to finish modding Voodoo4 PCI too; this one works with no problems with any drivers on Windows 2000/XP/2003.

http://www.falconfly.de/cgi-bin/yabb2/YaBB.pl?num=1223587794

Very nice Work Komponent !

Congratulation !
;)

Ok Guys, $46 can get us a 5500 PCI. (that is BIN, or I could try and win it)

http://cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&rd=1&item=110299575817

If I win it I will pay for the shipping overseas.  Let me know if you can help purchase the card, and how much you can contribute.

We might need to act fast, as this card may not last long.  

/edit: ok guys, let me know what you want to do... if you want me to use the BIN funciton I will retract my bid and use BIN.  Or I can try and win it. please let me know asap. :)

rottentreats wrote on 14.10.08 at 23:01:25:

Ok Guys, $46 can get us a 5500 PCI. (that is BIN, or I could try and win it) http://cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&rd=1&item=110299575817 If I win it I will pay for the shipping overseas.  Let me know if you can help purchase the card, and how much you can contribute. We might need to act fast, as this card may not last long.   /edit: ok guys, let me know what you want to do... if you want me to use the BIN funciton I will retract my bid and use BIN.  Or I can try and win it. please let me know asap. :)

Count with me! :)

Oscar.

rottentreats wrote on 14.10.08 at 23:01:25:

Ok Guys, $46 can get us a 5500 PCI. (that is BIN, or I could try and win it) http://cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&rd=1&item=110299575817 If I win it I will pay for the shipping overseas.  Let me know if you can help purchase the card, and how much you can contribute. We might need to act fast, as this card may not last long.   /edit: ok guys, let me know what you want to do... if you want me to use the BIN funciton I will retract my bid and use BIN.  Or I can try and win it. please let me know asap. :)

http://i16.ebayimg.com/06/i/001/13/f1/640e_1.JPG

The picture of the auction looks to be a AGP Voodoo5, not PCI. Also I see no BIN. Wrong link?

He says in the auction he has a AGP too. Probably has the wrong pic for the auction. The BIN is gone because someone started the bidding process.

We need to make sure that we're bidding on the PCI card. A quick question to the seller should clarify..

You can count on me for support ;) Just don't get carried away  :o $$  :o  Bidding ;D

rottentreats wrote on 14.10.08 at 23:01:25:

Ok Guys, $46 can get us a 5500 PCI. (that is BIN, or I could try and win it) http://cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&rd=1&item=110299575817 /edit: ok guys, let me know what you want to do... if you want me to use the BIN funciton I will retract my bid and use BIN.  Or I can try and win it. please let me know asap. :)

3 way. me, you and Oscar would be around 20 USD. Should cover all the fees.


Anyone else want to help us out?? Brothers...


I think the PCI mod should be self supporting... You want a 128MB 5500 PCI Card, You pay a premium to support the R&D for the project. It shouldn't come at the cost of a few nice guys :D Come on my friends.. Show your support for our community here @ The 3dfx Archives. Contribute what you can :-?

I have confirmed with the seller that the card is indeed the PCI version.

I have ALSO retracted my bid and used the BIN option. ( I just bid on it temporarily so no one else could use BIN)

Long story short - WE HAVE A 5500 PCI for the More Memory Project!  :D

(just so you all know, I have no plans of getting a modded 5500 PCI, I just want to help out the community. With that being said, if any of you can help out, even $5 would be greatly appreciated!)

I would be inclined to cip in with some $ for the v5 pci modding project.
Just need to be clear for everyone on the final price for the card including shipping to Komponent. and then establish what anyone interested needs to put up.
10q rottentreats for your help in this.

Ok, the Grand Total to buy and ship the card to Komponent is $58.

I will update the list as contributions come in. (and whether or not they are payed up)

* I have not payed for the card yet, I would prefer to have the funds in my Paypal account before proceeding. Sooner the better.*

gamma742 wrote on 15.10.08 at 08:02:56:

3 way. me, you and Oscar would be around 20 USD. Should cover all the fees. Anyone else want to help us out?? Brothers... I think the PCI mod should be self supporting... You want a 128MB 5500 PCI Card, You pay a premium to support the R&D for the project. It shouldn't come at the cost of a few nice guys :D Come on my friends.. Show your support for our community here @ The 3dfx Archives. Contribute what you can :-?

I agree with Gamma742.  If you want one, it's time to pay up for the R&D costs.

If someone has 8-10 spare chips I can buy for a V5 PCI mod, I'll pitch in $15-20 for the sacrificial card Rottentreats acquired.  I have a V5 PCI DVI that really want's an upgrade:)  Reply here or PM me ASAP so I can send Rottentreats the cash.

 

Since the diss-assembled card will probably remain in my posession, it is only fair that I should contribute too; but I am so low on money these days... would it be OK if I step in with only, say, USD 8$ to leave a round difference?

Tritop wrote on 03.10.08 at 17:05:51:

Are you ready to mod a Voodoo 5 5500 PCI yet?

I will be interesting to see if this member steps up to be a respected forum member and get on board with us. He or She is new to the forum and has shown an interest in wanting to mod a PCI 5500.

What's a few $$ among friends 8-)

I will complete the last contribution for this card. Already sent a pm to rottentreats. Let's hope everything goes according to plan and we will soon see v5 pci with 128megs

Komponent wrote on 15.10.08 at 18:02:09:

Since the diss-assembled card will probably remain in my posession, it is only fair that I should contribute too; but I am so low on money these days... would it be OK if I step in with only, say, USD 8$ to leave a round difference?

Well, if Komponent agrees, I'd pay that 8$ he offers + the rest that it needs, but I'd like to have the dead card for my display collection, if that's ok with Komponent and all the guys here that gave money. I hope that this message won't be misinterpreted, I'd like to help the project, but I'm not interested in a modded V5 PCI, but a dead V5 would be cool on my 3dfx vitrine.

RaverX wrote on 15.10.08 at 22:20:03:

Well, if Komponent agrees, I'd pay that 8$ he offers + the rest that it needs, but I'd like to have the dead card for my display collection, if that's ok with Komponent and all the guys here that gave money. I hope that this message won't be misinterpreted, I'd like to help the project, but I'm not interested in a modded V5 PCI, but a dead V5 would be cool on my 3dfx vitrine.

You do realize that he needs to remove the VSA 100 chip(s) from the card? Plus it may cost more than that to return ship the card..

I realise that, it can also put the chips back, I don't care about functionality. As for shipping, I doubt it would cost more than 2 euro (max). Romania to Romania, in case you're wondering why so cheap  ;)

My bad :-X

I didn't realize you were both in Romania :)

I hope you get it. I am donating my old memory chips to Komponent as I have no use for them. A VSA 100 GPU would be nice to have but not this time around. Also the backplate would be worth something to someone that has a V6K that is missing one :-/

Can someone please clairify the amounts that each will pay below..or even if this list is accurate?
Or if you are one of the people below please let me know how much you are going to contribute.  We need $58 total.

V5 5500 PCI Fund -
osckhar -        
gamma742 -  
Komponent -  
G1nX -
RaverX -          
rottentreats -

I got a bit lost in all of this...

I think (and correct me if I'm wrong) Oscar and I agreed to donate matching funds to make up the difference of whatever is needed after everyone contributes.

Does that make sense :-/

Okay Guys, Pledge your donations...

Well, I'm in with 15 $ (if komponent and all others agree that the bad cards gets to me) (if anyone feels that's not ok, that i'm sorry, but i can't offer more now)

I would offer also 15$  given the fact i do have a v5 pci awaiting modding.
My opinion would be that because rottentreats and Komponent should be excluded from the donations list given the fact, that one helps procure the card and the other retro-engineers it for the needed modd to take shape.

RaverX wrote on 16.10.08 at 00:10:53:

Well, I'm in with 15 $ (if komponent and all others agree that the bad cards gets to me) (if anyone feels that's not ok, that i'm sorry, but i can't offer more now)

That sounds good to me but you might want to send a PM to Komponent.

In reality what you are getting is a 15 $ R&D prototype card (DOA) that paved the way for 128 MB V5 5500 PCI Cards. I think that in itself, makes it a collectors item 8-)

Although I cannot speak for Oscar, I think 15$ each is a fair price.

If another member wants to pledge a few dollars, it should lower each of our contributions equally. Wouldn't you agree?

V5 5500 PCI Fund -
*osckhar -          $12 [payed]   
*gamma742 -     $12 [payed]
*G1nX -              $12 [payed]
*RaverX -           $12 [payed]   
*rottentreats -     $12 [payed]
-----------------------
Total =              $60 [we only needed $58]

This is perfect and leaves a bit of cushion.  I will be sending PM's to the people in the list above.  

THANK YOU EVERYONE WHO CONTRIBUTED!!!

gamma742 wrote on 16.10.08 at 00:36:15:

In reality what you are getting is a 15 $ R&D prototype card (DOA) that paved the way for 128 MB V5 5500 PCI Cards. I think that in itself, makes it a collectors item 8-)

Indeed, it would be quite a collector item, a true prototype (only ONE). That's why I want it  :P

Quote:

Total =              $60 [we only needed $58] This is perfect and leaves a bit of cushion.

The cushion will pay for the PayPay fees ;)

Cool! You guys had it so fast made that I just noticed it to be completed... Thanks Rottentreats for organising this group buy and thanks friends for stepping in! I guess it would be soon time for another world's first... he-he...
I have nothing against RaverX receiving the killed card after the work is done with it, if all others are OK with that. One question to him: Do you want to get the complete Voodoo5 PCI, or would it be possible to let some parts go to interested contributing perssons? Like one VSA100 GPU for Gamma742, the backplate for Osckhar, etc? I would also want a cooler out of it, if possible, and it would be a pitty not to have at least a part of the good RAM chips for future use on fixing other cards. I could make you a "special" look of the card, to show the punishment it has gone through, with one half that will seem untouched (I will glue the GPU back on its place), with the fan cooler attached and all the RAM chips in place opposing the other half populated with blanks (no GPU, no memory, just the empty spaces on the PCB and the exposed solder points). Now, this is art; 3DFX art! And I imagine, quite a nice display piece... What do you thinck about my ideea?

Whatever you guys decide is fine by me :D

Komponent, that would be a great look indeed, a card modded "to the death". So, no problem here  8-)

Sorry guys,
I have been out. I have sent the money to rottentreats.

@komponent,
I am agree.

Regards,
Oscar.

Awesome!

Thank you osckhar, gamma742, G1nX, and RaverX for conributing to such a great cause, and sending payment so quickly.  Everyone is payed up.

If anyone would like to track the card from the seller to my house, you can do so here: Track the card

-rotten

The 5500 PCI is in the hands of "the man" aka Komponent.  8-)

http://trkcnfrm1.smi.usps.com/PTSInternetWeb/InterLabelInquiry.do?origTrackNum=CJ180732897US

Oops, I read the first status message wrong, it appears the package just arrived in Romania on the 3rd.  Komponent might have to go to the post office to pick up the package if he isn't home for the next attempted delivery...

"We attempted to deliver your item in ROMANIA at 10:48 AM on November 5, 2008. "

:(

The card is here. Thanks friends! Sorry for my lack of updates those past 2 weeks, but there have been tough times for me. The international crisis is threatening the company where I work; I had to do many, many over-time hours at work; still I may even lose my job; hope things will not go as far... So for the last 2 past weeks I reported nothing new here simply because I had bigger issus on my mind and no time to work on 3DFX cards, please excuse me, friends.
Anyway, I will try tomorow evening to re-start modding. I will keep you in touch.

Good luck - with the modding AND the job! ;)

If they fire you - they are OFFICIALLY morons. ::)

After a too long time, another finished modded Voodoo5 5500 AGP with 128Mb. The card belongs to RaverX/G1nX and it has passed perfect function tests.

http://img296.imageshack.us/img296/525/imag006wu1.jpg

http://img296.imageshack.us/img296/2107/imag008um2.jpg

Another job well done Komponent!  Glad to see progress being made, looks great! Keep up the good work!

Uh, that was my first V5 5500 card...

I got it half dead, it was all dirty, no fan, it had a tiny black heatsink on a GPU and a V3 heatsink on the other GPU.
I cleaned it, put on some nice coolers and that was it, the first V5500 i ever had.

Nice job Komponent, from one almost dead card there it is a piece of history now  ;)

Hum a question : what do you do of the old ram chips ?

Would it be possible to send you a V4 4500 tu put in some extra ram chips  :) ?

Possible - yes, but not soon. I do things like this as a hobby in some spare time I so rarely have.
On another line, I might produce a surprise in a couple of weeks, a totaly new 3DFX card mod (not a Voodoo5). Finger crossed because if this goes as planed, it will be supreme...

Hi Komponent,
It sounds enticing do share with us more details at least what type of 3dfx card is it?
Keep up the good work  ;)

Komponent wrote on 17.01.09 at 18:43:04:

Possible - yes, but not soon. I do things like this as a hobby in some spare time I so rarely have. On another line, I might produce a surprise in a couple of weeks, a totaly new 3DFX card mod (not a Voodoo5). Finger crossed because if this goes as planed, it will be supreme...

Ok, thanks just do a litlle sign when you have time  ;)

What are you modding ? A voodoo 5 6000 @256mo ?
A Voodoo3 PCI SGRAM @ 32mo (as there are blank space on the PCB )

Narmounet; the V3 supports a maximum of 16MiB. Giving it 16MiB extra would do nothing.

Komponent wrote on 17.01.09 at 18:43:04:

Possible - yes, but not soon. I do things like this as a hobby in some spare time I so rarely have. On another line, I might produce a surprise in a couple of weeks, a totaly new 3DFX card mod (not a Voodoo5). Finger crossed because if this goes as planed, it will be supreme...

Uhmmm... V2 24 MB  ::)

Preferably 2 V2 24MiB cards. ;D

NitroX infinity wrote on 18.01.09 at 22:29:05:

Narmounet; the V3 supports a maximum of 16MiB. Giving it 16MiB extra would do nothing.

I didn't know this fact, I still have a lot to learn  ;D

I go for a V2 with 16Mb ! ;)

m14radu wrote on 19.01.09 at 18:01:14:

I go for a V2 with 16Mb ! ;)

Not supported.

Komponent wrote on 17.01.09 at 18:43:04:

[...] On another line, I might produce a surprise in a couple of weeks, a totaly new 3DFX card mod (not a Voodoo5). Finger crossed because if this goes as planed, it will be supreme...

Done!!!

http://img232.imageshack.us/img232/47/128mbnewtx2.jpg

Guess what it is?
Hint: it is something out of specs...

Edit: As always, perfect function, clear performance gain; but this time something you always took for granted is trashed...
And I would be happy if you would point correctly to what my supreme mod yet is...

Hi Komponent,
Nice to see new fruits of your labor.
My guess would be a V4 AGP with 128mb if you say out of specs...
Please do post some pictures of the card as well  
Cheers

Perhaps a Voodoo4 4500 AGP 128MB with TV-Out and DVI/DFP? :)

2048 textures
must be a VSA100 or VSA101 card
or a rampage

deviceID 0x0009 hmmmmmm

http://www.pcidatabase.com/ says :

Vendor Id : 0x121A = 3dfx Interactive Inc
Device Id : 0x0009 = Chip Number : Voodoo5
Voodoo4 has a Device Id = 0x0007

But, there's a few reports on the web that :

Device ID: 0x0009
SubSys ID: 0x0004121A
Revision ID: 0x0001

equals Voodoo4 4500 AGP.

And, indeed, pluging a V4 4500 return in "device manager"

the "Device Instance Id" : \PCI\VEN_121A&DEV_0009&SUBSYS_0004121A&REV_01\000800

So, I'd have to say it's a V4 4500 that you have there.

Well, can we all now dream of a V5 6000 with 512 MB ?  :o

dont know a VSA100 can address 128MB Memory



for a 256MB V5 5500 or 512MB 6k you need eaven bigger memory stones or more solder spots

A v5 5500 with one disabled VSA ?
;)

I supposed that it's a hardware trick....

Mmmmm... could be:

- V5-6000 4.5ns sdram
- 2 V4 4500 64Mb SLI
- 2 V5 5500 64Mb SLI

Oscar.

Come on Komponent, reveal the mistery !
Can't wait anymore man  ;)

Another newly finished Voodoo5 AGP with 128Mb for G1nX/RaverX.
Too bad that I found no driver that would allow runing such card full function under Windows 2000/XP/2003/Vista...

http://img502.imageshack.us/img502/4509/imag003du6.jpg

Looks great. Thanks Komponent we'll talk more privately about future modds.
Keep in touch...

The V5 128mb alive and working great under Win2k/XP.
Both chips active and no artifacts or glitches.
Drivers used were AM3.1 R11 and SFFT1.5 these had no issues. But with the Koolsmoky and SFFT alpha xx drivers the card exhibited artifacts and system freeze in some cases.

First off the card itself:
http://img9.uploadhouse.com/fileuploads/3613/3613119-100x100-659b73896737f90a576dc038e639bef8.jpg

Then boot-up information:
http://img7.uploadhouse.com/fileuploads/3613/3613117-100x100-e231d108ad9b9a05508ab985c6bcfc52.jpg
Then some tests under WinXP on a Tyan S2466MPX with 2xMP2800+ and 2GB ECC Reg.

V5 128Mb @166 NoAA AGP - AM
http://img0.uploadhouse.com/fileuploads/3613/3613130-100x100-a7567ba9a8d7c90c69f67defcd5100a9.jpg

V5 128Mb @166 NoAA AGP - SFFT
http://img2.uploadhouse.com/fileuploads/3613/3613132-100x100-c89909910075393dc701a5512dc367a9.jpg

v5 128mb @188 NoAA AGP (max performance and stability over 188mhz artifacts would show up)
http://img4.uploadhouse.com/fileuploads/3613/3613154-100x100-fcbf1afc08e19b284a8d0fc78a382093.jpg

So we have driver support under win9x/2k/XP for these new 3dfx creations and hopefully also for the future v5 128mb pci as well.

I cannot get a modded 128Mb Voodoo5 AGP to run under Windows 2k/XP/2k3. Windows would not even finish loading...
Please give more details about your setup. Are you using the retail verssion of the operating system, no updates or tweeks... or exactly what?

EDIT:
Loaded a clean copy of retail Windows XP SP2 on my KT333 machine, yet the same result: Windows will not work with my 128Mb Voodoo5.
I somehow envy you, G1nX... I wish you could find the detail that prohibits normal opperation with my setup, yet allows yours...

UPDATE:
So... it is a motherboard incompatibility. Epox KT333 (8k3a) and Toshiba i815 (Equium 8000s) will not run with a modded 128Mb Voodoo5 under Windows XP.
But the socket 775 ECS RS400-A with AGP Express has no such problems. Weird in some kind...
A screenshot as a proof:

http://img25.imageshack.us/img25/6243/128v5agp.jpg

@Komponent

Have you had a chance to start modding the (guinea pig) PCI V5 card we sent you? No rush, take your time ;) I know you are busy. There are only a few of us hoping to get one modded from you 8-)

Just for a refresher, here is the card just before I sent it off -

http://img148.imageshack.us/img148/7642/clipboard01.jpg

gamma742 wrote on 20.03.09 at 17:30:53:

@Komponent Have you had a chance to start modding the (guinea pig) PCI V5 card we sent you? No rush, take your time ;) I know you are busy. There are only a few of us hoping to get one modded from you 8-)

Not yet. Will do the Voodoo5 PCI after I finish modding the Voodoo5 AGP that I'm working on these days.

Just completed modding a Voodoo5 AGP card for Rottentreats. A pic fresh from the workbench:

http://img440.imageshack.us/img440/9053/rottenv5.jpg

An update form my side on this project.
I know a few people have been wondering if the memory modules could accommodate heat sinks. So I made a few delicate changes to my card and here it is:
http://img6.uploadhouse.com/fileuploads/3879/3879776-100x100-c10d19b3bcf245f9f2afa23a6b508887.jpg
I works perfectly I'm just searching for the right sinks to add.
On the front I'm still working out the layout as I want to change the cooling for the VSA100 chips as well.

Is komponent or g1nx interested in modding a 5500 agp for extra cash? If so, how much.    ;)

sb306 wrote on 03.06.09 at 20:51:00:

Is komponent or g1nx interested in modding a 5500 agp for extra cash? If so, how much.    ;)

Well I'm more of an amateur doing small repairs and rewiring.
Komponent is the proffessional doing the hard part of replacing the memory modules and actually modding the cards.
Unfortunately he has little time to spare for this project and there's already a cue of people waiting for him to mod their cards (me included). If we could only trade cash for time  ::)
Komponent if you're lurking around we're eagerly awaiting updates.

After some more tinkering around here is how my card looks like now:
http://img6.uploadhouse.com/fileuploads/4062/4062986-100x100-9df25cf13a266da52b284b2f445542a2.jpg
http://img0.uploadhouse.com/fileuploads/4062/4062990-100x100-56cafa13867ad4bdd50869b477460f6c.jpg
http://img4.uploadhouse.com/fileuploads/4063/4063004-100x100-b2a165ef8c5768e7eb6781d1c4e1a7a2.jpg
It works ok but still to be completed...

G1nX wrote on 04.06.09 at 00:14:38:

sb306 wrote on 03.06.09 at 20:51:00: Is komponent or g1nx interested in modding a 5500 agp for extra cash? If so, how much.    ;) Well I'm more of an amateur doing small repairs and rewiring. Komponent is the proffessional doing the hard part of replacing the memory modules and actually modding the cards. Unfortunately he has little time to spare for this project and there's already a cue of people waiting for him to mod their cards (me included). If we could only trade cash for time  ::) Komponent if you're lurking around we're eagerly awaiting updates. After some more tinkering around here is how my card looks like now: http://img6.uploadhouse.com/fileuploads/4062/4062986-100x100-9df25cf13a266da52b284b2f445542a2.jpg http://img0.uploadhouse.com/fileuploads/4062/4062990-100x100-56cafa13867ad4bdd50869b477460f6c.jpg http://img4.uploadhouse.com/fileuploads/4063/4063004-100x100-b2a165ef8c5768e7eb6781d1c4e1a7a2.jpg It works ok but still to be completed...

Understood. I hadnt seen any updates so I figured Id ask. Thanks.

@G1nX:
Very nice modification. One could think at first view that this is a Radeon 9600 or something like that. Anyway, first cooler modification that looks cool to me. ;)

Voodoo_Freak wrote on 04.07.09 at 22:59:14:

@G1nX: Very nice modification. One could think at first view that this is a Radeon 9600 or something like that. Anyway, first cooler modification that looks cool to me. ;)

Thank you. Well most importantly it keeps the card cooled.
I still need to find the right memory heatsinks for the front of the card and maybe a 3dfx sticker instead of NV Silencer :P
Here is the back.
http://img181.imageshack.us/img181/5079/img2926.th.jpg

Nice work G1nx !
The card looks good, i'm also working on such a coling.
My ideea is to have a single cooper heatsink for both GPU's ( like a bridge between the VSA's ).
Like i see you are using two independent heatsink. ( the originals ?)
And yes, an 3dfx sticker would give to the card another look.
;)

Thank you.
The heatsinks are from Intel chipset OEM boards and are held to the VSA chips by thermal adhesive. Because of this the card occupies also the PCI near the AGP slot.
The single cooper cooling for the V5 might be difficult as you have a few caps between the VSAs and you would have to make openings for them in the cooper plate.
Another approach I found difficult to implement was using the Zalman ZM80 but the heat pipe would not be long enough to link both VSAs and loop to the back of the card. In this case no fans would be need even if OCed.
Good luck.

Is Komponent still modding voodoo 5s? I still have chips there and a voodoo 5 ready to mod.

Well I am interested too!

@LtComDATA

Do you have chips?

Where is Komponent? I am a bit worried, my chips are paid and I am ready to mod :(

Hello guys!
I am very interested in implementing the change made by the Komponent Voodoo5, raising it from 64 to 128 mb, you tell me where to buy the RAM modules needed for the change?
I tried to contact the ESMT and Memphis.de, he replied only by saying that it only sells the lots of 500 pieces, a bit too much!
Some of you have already made the change? Has more advice for me? It has modules to sell?
In what ways can desolder and solder the chip? Some have advised me a hot air welding, unfortunately I think it is a very expensive procedure and industrial
I already contacted Komponent, but unfortunately has other problems on his mind
Anyway, I'm on forumzone.it, I opened a discussion about it.
Thanks and sorry my bad English

I think I read somewhere that you can use chips from a Donor card, think from some of the geForce 2 cards but could be wrong. Would mean more solder work but if you have the skilsl and equipement to solder chips in the first place it should be no problem.

I think I also read somewhere that you can desolder the chip of a GeForce2 Asus V7100 (4x16), which has the same memories of hyundai Voodoo5 but with latency 5.5!
http://www.anandtech.com/print/618
I'll try to get me a pair of these cards on ebay hoping to have the same memories:)
What type of tools should I get?

Lol, i got one of those but its the Pro version. Its not for chip harvesting :)

@Phil, oldskool,
The GF2 cards mentioned don't have higher capacity memory modules 16Mb but 8mb just like the voodoo5 cards but they are faster some even 4ns (250mhz rated) but as you can read in the link bellow very high frequencies will be limited to what the VSA100 installed on the card can achieve and only the V6k had the last silicon revision 320.
http://www.voodoo3dfx.com/Noticias_3Dfx/Noticias_3Dfx.htm
The way Komponent achieved the creation of the 128mb V5 was with a group buy of trays with 16mb memory modules from a German supplier.
There's still quite a few of us waiting for Komponent to resume his modding practices and continue this project.
Cheers,
G1nX

It has been a while since he last posted some news here...maybe he will return some day in the future. Anyway it is an interesting modification and I believe lots of people are interested in having a 128MB V5 5500 ;)

Well, I hope he will return soon. I already paid for the chips and now there´s no sign of him...

I"m in the same situation.
Komponent, where are you ?

Well it has been months and no word for most of those who have lined up for modding are left wondering. Has any one heard from him lately? I got a V5 5500 my self but unfortunately I am to broke to be doing any of my own projects let alone get mine modded. I hate this economy. :(

Cze chłopaki,

Anything more on this topic?  I would really like the chance to get hold of a 128Mb V5 5500, but it seems noone has heard from Komponent?

Did anyone get responses from him?

Is it possible that someone else can pick up the work where he left off.  Did he document his work somewhere?

any news from Komponent ?

well,

i send some emails, and there is a supplyer who can sale the same memory cips that Komponent used for memory upgrade.
Price is 5$/pcs, and the saler has 70pcs now available.
Unfortunately i don't have the time and resources to organize a group buy.
If someone of you want to organize a group buy, then i will provide him the needed information.

I'm also interested to buy 20 pcs ;)

that reminds me,Komponent  should still have a couple of my modules from the first group buy-wonder what happened to those..

i'm in the same situation...i have 20 pcs at Komponent...
the ideea is that i still want to get such a moded card :)
i don't know if the Komponent will show up or not....

It has been some time since I last announced a new Voodoo5 5500 AGP 128Mb mod...
As it happens I just finished the work on a fresh one. This is M14Radu's card:
http://abload.de/thumb/05052013001u1cj1.jpg http://abload.de/thumb/05052013eyepp.jpg

Great News Komponent !

Can"t wait to test this baby  :D

Thanks mate !