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Voodoo 2 = Voodoo 3 ? (Read 775 times)
Baoser
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Voodoo 2 = Voodoo 3 ?
09.08.02 at 07:54:08
 
I used to have a 12Mb Voodoo 2 card running with an AMD K6-2+ 500 @ 550. I recently bought a Voodoo 3 to replace it.

In Quake 3, I could get 65fps with the Voodoo 2, but since putting in the Voodoo 3, it has actually dropped down to 64fps. (All settings were kept the same ie. everything off/kept to a minimum)

I know my system may be CPU limited, but then that's why I bought the Voodoo 3 to compensate for it. I even tried overclocking the Voodoo 3 up to 180Mhz but that only gave me an extra 1.2fps.

I'm running this on Win98SE and am using the latest drivers from Falconfly's site. Any ideas on this please ?
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crx
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Re: Voodoo 2 = Voodoo 3 ?
Reply #1 - 09.08.02 at 12:39:28
 
Remember to put vsync off.. or it will not render faster than your monitor refreshrate..
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fuztec25
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way to go!!! ;-)

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Re: Voodoo 2 = Voodoo 3 ?
Reply #2 - 09.08.02 at 19:18:01
 
Quote:
Remember to put vsync off.. or it will not render faster than your monitor refreshrate..



I agree with CRX: if you don't Vsync "OFF", You won't notice that extra "oomph" the Voodoo3 can give.

CheerZ, Fuz!
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« Last Edit: 09.08.02 at 19:20:50 by fuztec25 »  

Is M$ the answer?&&M$ is the question....&&The answer is NO!!!
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FalconFly
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Re: Voodoo 2 = Voodoo 3 ?
Reply #3 - 10.08.02 at 09:14:01
 
I could also think, the CPU is limiting the Game at least in lower Resolutions (e.g. 800x600)...

The actually slower fps might very well be because of the different OpenGL ICD (which has more functions than the old V2 OpenGL, but is therefor a tad slower).

With a K6-2+ and a Voodoo3, the main advantage is probably to be able to play in higher Resolutions.

Remember a Voodoo3 3000 (166MHz) can scale about upto Athlon 1000MHz levels in average (largely depends on Game, though). It is capable to give ~100fps in 1024x768 with average Geometry and Detail levels.

I could imagine only one reason it is slower than expected with Quake 3 :
I remember using max. Texture detail slowed down fps on a Voodoo3 quite a bit. Using one setting lower than maximum made framerates return to expected levels again...

Greetings
FalconFly
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« Last Edit: 10.08.02 at 09:15:46 by FalconFly »  
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Baoser
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Re: Voodoo 2 = Voodoo 3 ?
Reply #4 - 10.08.02 at 11:22:28
 
I have vsync set to disable in the 3Dfx tools. (I think that's the right place). The monitor is running in 1024x768 @ 85Hz. However, I set Quake 3 to 640x480 with everything turned off and geometry and texture details kept to a minimum to get the benchmarks I do.

I guess falconfly is right. I do have the option to run at 1024x768 now but at 43fps with everything turned off, I think I may still have to stick with the lower resolutions.  Sad
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FalconFly
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Re: Voodoo 2 = Voodoo 3 ?
Reply #5 - 10.08.02 at 11:53:10
 
Hm, the key to a bit higher Framerates might be to tweak your Motherboard  if possible.

Since you run a K6-2+, the Bios needs to fully support this CPU. While I guess you already took care of that, double-checking for the K6-2+'s advanced Features (Write Combining, Linear Frame Buffer) with some of the existing Tools might help.

If the Bios does not fully support the CPU, enabling those Features could increase performance somewhat.

Also, if you run a VIA MVP3 based Motherboard, you should try to enable 4way Memory Interleave (increase RAM performance by ~10%)...

Finally, freeing the CPU of all unnecessary background Tasks (realtime Antivirus protection, MS Office background components e.g. Findfast, Firewall, ICQ, IRC, AIM etc...)

That should get you some more performance...

What dazzles me a bit here, is that you (it sounds like it) get significantly get higher Framerates in lower Resolutions (e.g. ~64fps), than in 1024x768 (~40fps).

Especially when already using low Detail settings, there should not be such a big difference, unless you are using a Voodoo3-2000 (143MHz). The Voodoo3-3000 should not bother too much about running in 640x480 or 1024x768 when low details are used.
Only with max. Details I could imagine it going down by 30%, otherwise it seems strange it breaks off at 1024x768 (?)

A final possibility could be to play with some other 3dfxogl.dll (OpenGL ICD) Versions. While many newer ones have more functions, they are often also optimized better for PentiumIII/Athlon CPU's, than for K6-2 class CPU's.
So, using different, depending on current Version maybe even older OpenGL ICD's might result in higher framerates indeed.

The earliest 3dfx OpenGL ICD to fully support Quake 3 should be the V1.00.0508. Anything from there upwards is worth testing, upto V1.00.0761.
Since the 3dfxogl.dll can be quickly renamed/replaced while running under Windows, testing should be fairly easy and quick. This is the last resort I can think of to maximize your System's performance with good chance of success Smiley

Hope some of this helps !

Greetings
FalconFly
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nudgegoonies
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Re: Voodoo 2 = Voodoo 3 ?
Reply #6 - 10.08.02 at 21:53:54
 
Imho vsync off only makes sense if a game runs much!!! too slow or for benchmarking. Depending on the vertical frequence vsync can be much more annoying than a slower framerate.

I run Q3A 1.27h under 3dfxo(v)gl 421 without problems.  But thats on my strange voodoo 1  Wink ...

Bye,
Andreas
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Board: Asus CUSL-2-C (Chipset: Intel i815), CPU: Intel PIII 933, RAM: 2 Infineon 128MB (1 PC133-333, 1 PC133-222) and 1 Infineon 256MB (PC 333-333) SD-RAM, Video: 3dfx Voodoo 3 3000 AGP, TV: LifeView FlyKit (Chipset: BT848, Tuner: No), Sound: Creative Labs Soundblaster PCI 512, NET: 3COM Etherlink XL Combo OS: Windows 98SE with SESP21D, Video Driver: 1.07.00 with GLIDE and OGL from 1.07.00b
 
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n3B
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Re: Voodoo 2 = Voodoo 3 ?
Reply #7 - 12.04.03 at 08:14:18
 
Anyone also might want to try entering  " /com_maxfps 0 " into your quake 3 console.  the '0' setting should turn off the q3a rendering engine limiting feature.  I think the q3a engine reads the speed of your cpu (if not overall system preformance) and adjusts this setting accordingly.  It makes sense for ID to do this, to help improve overall gameplay, I mean this helps to keep the frame-rate steady so that it does not appear jerky. Remember what ever resolution you choose , consequently , you should adjust this to whatever fits you needs.  On higher resolutions , If the game does not render faster than 190fps and drops down to 50fps in some areas, /com_maxfps 60 (60fps is fast enough) should clear up alot of stuttering.

All this is very simular in most q3a engine based games I've played... Return to Castle Wolfenstein , Soldier of Fortune 2.. some others..

On the other hand, I might be full of , you know...

Peace
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« Last Edit: 19.05.03 at 12:19:49 by n3B »  

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nudgegoonies
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Re: Voodoo 2 = Voodoo 3 ?
Reply #8 - 28.04.03 at 22:12:45
 
Because my 2D Wink ATI RAGE PRO failed i bought a a V3K AGP to replace it and i experienced similarities. The race benchmark in 3dmark99max raised only from 27 to 37 (in all resolutions): 36 fps without k6-2ctx mtrr set. Strange that i have to activate it with ctu because the V2 activated both mtrr's (remeber the thread in tech-talk) by default. In quake3  (updated to 1.32) and using the 1.32 demo i get only 20 fps. But that were at default settings.

Regards,
Andreas

P.S.
I had a Voodoo1 two posts up  Grin
By the way, does it make sense and/or does it work to have Voodoo˛ and Voodooł in one system  ???
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Board: Asus CUSL-2-C (Chipset: Intel i815), CPU: Intel PIII 933, RAM: 2 Infineon 128MB (1 PC133-333, 1 PC133-222) and 1 Infineon 256MB (PC 333-333) SD-RAM, Video: 3dfx Voodoo 3 3000 AGP, TV: LifeView FlyKit (Chipset: BT848, Tuner: No), Sound: Creative Labs Soundblaster PCI 512, NET: 3COM Etherlink XL Combo OS: Windows 98SE with SESP21D, Video Driver: 1.07.00 with GLIDE and OGL from 1.07.00b
 
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cap
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Re: Voodoo 2 = Voodoo 3 ?
Reply #9 - 16.05.03 at 02:46:16
 
Maybe this is still relative.

I also have a K62 and V3 combo. The K6 chip supports write allocation and write combining, check your BIOS to ensure those settings are enabled. If your bios is limited and does not show any settings relative to that then try this exe (freeware) from ftp://ftp.heise.de/pub/ct/ctsi/setk6v3.zip to correctly set your K6-II with CXT core.

It gives a 5%-10% increase overall on CPU performance.
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