I am wondering what O/S to use for my 3dfx system.  I want to choose the most compatible and reliable for all my voodoo cards. It seems that the best out of these is the Win9x series (as there is not as many reliable compatibility drivers for Xp as the 9x machines).

But does Win9x means it covers Me, along with '95 and '98.  Do we assume that all drivers labelled for Win9x will work with Windows Me? ???

Or would I be advised better in using Win2k?? (I have all the operating systems, just want a vote on what 3dfx users think is the best one for their cards).

Your suggestions are very welcome.  Any advice would be much appreciated.

Janskjaer.

voodoo3 & voodoo5:
you're right, win 9x drivers cover win me..best choice for games released till the end of 2000.
well, win xp is very difficult (at least for me  ;D ); if you want to use it, take the actual amigamerlin drivers.
personally, i decided to choose win 2000+sp4 for best compatibility to old and new games (yes i know, nobody thinks so, but believe me..win 2000 just doesn't has all the useless stuff win xp is clutterd with..) beside, i can still use original 3dfx win2000 drivers (bundled with directx 9 a relativly good choice)

voodoo2:
here it's the same thing (see above).
for win xp/2000 use fastvoodoo2 drivers (maybe you still need a tuning tool, search the falconfly archive), for win 9x you can still use originals as they work fine with games up to the year 1999...for newer games choose win 2000/xp

decide by yourself...'cause i don't know which cards you have  ;)

I have (or will be getting  :D) ALL the Voodoo cards, and using the entire range in one system!!  Therefore I wanted to pick an OS to create a balance between all of them! What do you suggest? ???

If you're going to the extreme of putting multiple pieces of hardware, I'd have to recommend using multiple OS's!

Dual boot Windows ME and Windows 2000, or 98SE and XP, or any combination thereof.  The only reason I don't recommend XP in this situation is because XP is kind of tricky, some driver sets have Glide working, some don't, some have 3dfx Tools, some don't, etc...  But 98, ME, and 2K all work flawlessly with Voodoo 3's, 4's, and 5's - I've used all OS's and all cards!

And personally, under Windows 9x, I still recommend my own "NuDriver 5" - I can't say it's the best anymore, I'm not sure what else has come out - but at the time, it was simply the best driver; visually appealing, fastest, and and stable.  You can get it from http://drivers.NuAngel.net

On a side note, I recommend NuDriver 2K X^2 for Windows 2000 users, because, as I explain in the readme, it contains functionality and texture support from 3Dhq drivers that was dropped in later revisions of their own driver.  You'll be able to play some DX8 games, such as NHL 2002 and Unreal Tournament 2003 with few, if any, texture issues on Voodoo 5 cards!

I don't just brag these up because I'm the one who did them, I brag them up because THEY WORK.

NuAngel

@janskjaer:
well, what d'you mean by the entire range? that's not possible...would be amazing if you could manage to bring together a voodoo3/4/5 AGP with a Voodoo3/4/5 PCI and a Voodoo1/2..
as NuAngel said, dual boot could be the solution...i recommend win me & win 2000.

@NuAngel:
I use originals in win 2000 and can play ut2003, too..well, there are some arenas with texture issues (think you know the fault), sometimes this stuff even appears in max payne1/2. i heard the amigamerlin should handle that problem, but didn't try so far.
i got a big screen fault in NFL 2002 on a voodoo2, dunno about vsa-100..
unfortunately most directx 8 games work fine with original drivers, so i didn't see a driver update being necessary...just addicting ;)

Well I was thinking of building up a system containing a Voodoo1, Rush, 2xVoodoo2's, Voodoo3-3500/4-4500TV/VoodooTVFM and a Voodoo5 5500 AGP.
Obviously, I would have to keep swapping between them, but I wanted to ideally, choose one OS that would have drivers which are reliable as well as top performance. Suggestions?  :-/

Listen to 'the Micha'! ;)

It's pretty much physically impossible to install more than one Voodoo card in a single system... :o

WHY? ???

Well... :P

1. Drivers will get overwritten causing driver conflicts... ::)

2. Hardware will also conflict (multiple D3D, OGL, GLiDE devices competing for system resources)... ::)

3. Too many cards means NO SLOTS LEFT - are you willing to have no sound card? ???

4. FAN NOISE...lots of cards means lots of fans...NOISY! :(

It's not like I'm being pessimistic, but someone's gotta' be realistic about this thing! ::)

Nuff said! 8)

Hey NuAngel,
your NuDriver5 for Win9x is still the most compatible set released so far. With this one I was able to play NFS:Underground as well as Colin McRae 3.
So I still recommend this driver set for everyone on Win9x.
Thanks a lot...

@paulpsomiadis:
rock on dude!  8)

@Rolo01:
awesome point...well, as i can't play nfs-u with a voodoo5 in win 2k. i'll go check these drivers out

Nice amount of Smileys, paulpsomiadis!  ;D

I understand your concern, but it's not PHYSICALLY impossible to install all those Voodoo cards in one machine (big phat case with loadsa PCI's).  It's nearly SOFTWARELY (see what I did there? 8)) impossible but...


Quote:

1. Drivers will get overwritten causing driver conflicts...

I don't mind uninstalling and re-installing drivers all the time, between the switches.  During benchmarking, something's got to give, right?


Quote:

2. Hardware will also conflict (multiple D3D, OGL, GLiDE devices competing for system resources)...

The pattern they will be run in will be one main 2D/3D card with one accelerator.  I know my limitations and the boundaries involved, just involves a little swapping and switching between the cards.


Quote:

3. Too many cards means NO SLOTS LEFT - are you willing to have no sound card?

Ever heard of the old 'Onboard Dolby 5.1 Sound cards'?  I'm not after anything major in sound, more visual. After all, a lot of 3D Benchmarking will be involved.


Quote:

4. FAN NOISE...lots of cards means lots of fans...NOISY!

Turn the music up! :P  No, seriously, it doesn't bother me, and if it gets too bad, it's easy to get hold of sound proofing equipment for the PC.  Plus, there is no fans on the Voodoo1, Rush and 2x Voodoo2's. That leaves only a couple of fans to run.

Janskjaer.

Hm, the trick would be to rename the Core Driver Files, and modify the .inf Files accordingly.

That way, each Card would have its own, unique Set of Driver Files...

(that would work, until a .dll or a Game references another known 3dfx .dll with a fixed name :P )

But honestly, I don't know in what exact places e.g. a 3dfxogl.dll needs to be "3dfxogl", and not (for example) voodoo5gl.dll to keep them nicely separated.
(that might be 'accomplishable' via Hex-Editing thou...)

Otherwise, one would have to write a Batch routine (or a little control Program), that for example replaces the current glide, Direct3D and OpenGL Core in the System Directory, so that the aimed Card scheduled to be called into action nexy, uses those respectively.

(Dirty workaround stunt to pull off, but might actually work ;) )

Hey everyone!

I am trying to find a driver for this card.  But so far nothing has worked.  Is there a generic (or all inclusive) download that can detect what driver would work for a STB 3DFX card.  I have tried several downloads and nothing has detected it.  the SNU31649007d if that helps or BMG312.

Any direction or help is GREATLY appreciated..

David

Could it be this? :

http://www.hardwarezone.com/reviews/video/blackmag/blackmagic.htm

STB BlackMagic 3D (12MB Voodoo2)

Recommended safe Driver to start with :
Win9x V3.02.02
http://www.falconfly.de/voodoo2.htm

If that works, you can always step it up to the more current 3rd Party releases, e.g. FastVoodoo2 for Win9x (also WinME) :)

---- edit ----
Score 1:0 for Patience, for beating me by 9 (nine) Seconds ;D

Hello everyone,

THANK YOU ALL!!!

I appreciate your help in getting this thing up and running.  I GREATLY appreciate all your help.

I am currently with Patience's 'safe' driver - will slowly experiment beyond.  

Thanks again

ps, I wish I knew the 'inside' comments.....
have a good one!!

doG