Does anyone know what happened to the display cards with the orange 3dfx logo's on them from Comdex 1999, or who has them?

1. 3dfx Voodoo4 4500 TV AGP x2 32MB Proto:
http://pc.watch.impress.co.jp/docs/article/991116/com_3_3.jpg

2. 3dfx Voodoo5 5500 AGP x2 64MB Proto:
http://pc.watch.impress.co.jp/docs/article/991116/com_3_4.jpg

3. 3dfx Voodoo5 6000 AGP 2x2 Proto aka de Voodoo5 6500:
http://pc.watch.impress.co.jp/docs/article/991116/com_3_5.jpg

I own one of the Voodoo5 6000 (aka Voodoo5 6000 2x2 design ;) ) Display cards.

As far as I know, 2 of them (used to) exist.

There are no orange Logos on the Chips though, I reckon those were stickers that were removed over time ?

The stickers on the 3dfx chips were probably just stuck on for promotion and photoshoot purposes (as witnessed here).

If the stickers are still on, I cannot imagine these cards are being used for operational purposes.  Those suckers would MELT!  :o

Those were pure, non-functional Display Cards anyway, never built to work (at least not the V5-6k 2x2 design).

Just for showcasing :)

And what a showcase.  ;D Truly brilliant.  :)

Do you have an operational version, FF?

There is no operational Version of the 2x2 Design existing...

How did 3dfx ever know it would work then?

Or was it a theoretical design?

Until they came to implement, they probably decided it wasn't feasible to design it that way, and did the V5 6000 4x1 design we all know so well.  :)

Actually 3dfx tried to make the 2x2 working, but because of bad circuitry it was replaced by the 4x1 design. I never knew that the orange logo's were stickers, I thought that just for one time they made them orange instead of cheap white. But if 3dfx knew the cards were not functional ( and i mean especially the 6K) why would they remove those stickers later. The cards look way better with those stickers. Maybe the 5500 and 4500 might work afterall. The 5500 seems to have a power input, so they must have known this design would work. There is no doubt about the 6K though. I already asked about that one, and it was not meant to be a working sample. Ill ask again if the 5500 and 4500 were already working samples back in 1999 (Comdex)  :)

@ FalconFly:

Since there are two 2x2 and you own one, do you know which one is yours? Do you have the Comdex 99 card or is that one still missing? If it is the Comdex 99 sample then you are right and the stickers were removed.

Well, from the design and Info from its previous owner, this is the Comdex '99 Card.

But AFAIK, those were two Comdex '99 Display Cards, both serving exactly the same purpose.

Well I always thought you had the 'other' 2x2 card but it seems I was wrong. There is no 2x2 with orange logo's only the regular white. To bad another mythe just died  :( I was always hoping a card with orange logo's would pop up.  

wrote on 06.11.04 at 12:23:47:

There is no operational Version of the 2x2 Design existing...

Well the clossest design's that that comes accros to the 2x2 V56K is the Quantum3D AAlchemy 4116 , but that one uses a quad chip SLi Avenger chip layout aka 4x Voodoo3 3000 with 4x 16MB SDRAM @ 166Mhz & Quantum3D AAlchemy 8164 which has Octa Chip SLi VSA-100 aka 8x VSA-100 in SLI and 8x 64MB SDRAM @ 166Mhz .

The 4500 card looks like a Compaq V3-3500 with a decal on it.

Notice the 2x AGP connector? I surprised no one else has pointed it out.

wrote on 08.11.04 at 12:16:25:

The 4500 card looks like a Compaq V3-3500 with a decal on it. Notice the 2x AGP connector? I surprised no one else has pointed it out.

Well That would be strange, why would 3dfx use a Compaq V3 3500 AGP as display for a V4 4500 AGP x2 proto?

Sounds a little vague dosn't it? Okay id does indeed look like a Compaq V3 3500 with TV-out, But I still reccon it's a V4 4500 AGP x2 + TV-Out., V4's with TV-Out do exsist, so it is still very possible that this is a very old design.

wrote on 08.11.04 at 19:58:33:

Well That would be strange, why would 3dfx use a Compaq V3 3500 AGP as display for a V4 4500 AGP x2 proto?

Because they were in a hurry, just like the early 6000 2 x 2 design. The V3 design is pretty unique and looks nothing like any of the 4500 boards. My money is on the fact that there is a V3 chip lurking under that decal.

You have to remember the 4500 was almost an after thought, the 5500 was where 3dfx expected to make their money and the 5500 in those pictures look pretty production.

Even the prototype 4500 Patience owns looks nothing like a V3.

wrote on 08.11.04 at 20:05:37:

Because they were in a hurry, just like the early 6000 2 x 2 design. The V3 design is pretty unique and looks nothing like any of the 4500 boards. My money is on the fact that there is a V3 chip lurking under that decal. You have to remember the 4500 was almost an after thought, the 5500 was where 3dfx expected to make their money and the 5500 in those pictures look pretty production.

Hmm okay, I suppose you're right here, the Compaq V3 3500 does indeed look like it, but it still sounds wierd hey :)

The press was hungry, 3dfx was late and they had to show something so 3dfx threw them together although they pretty much knew that the 2x2 design wasn't going to work at that point anyway. There were two cards made. One went to the photographer and the other went to Comdex. This is the story I was told from a friend inside 3dfx. The one from the photographer was returned to 3dfx where it went to the IT office - a room shared with all old computer part and scrap board storage.

I went in the room once with him and there were boards on top of boards and boxes of boards stacked and all over the floor. It looked like a tornado hit though it was a collectors dream because there were prototypes everywhere. I saw the 2x2 card with stickers partly torn off and bent pins and asked one of the guys if I could have it and he said that he would check and let me know. Later, I got it and a 3500 falcon card with prototype cable - along with a few other miscelanneous boards - for US $50. I later sold it all in my 3dfx collection to another collector - who later put some of it on ebay - and now Falconfly has it and most of my old boards. As far as I know, nobody knows where the other 2x2 card is. If it ended up where mine came from it was most likely destroyed.