3DFX

Komponent píše:The 128Mb modded Voodoo5 5500 is now working with no problem on Single Chip setting. I do not have time today to finish the other half of the card, so I will post the first results of a functional 64Mb for a VSA100 GPU. When I will complete my work on this card, I will open a new topic and present alot of details; but for now I will offer a snek peak.
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.



Time to enter the "mutant" 128Mb Voodoo5 5500 AGP:







And now, time for a quick benchmark:



As you can see, I got 1815 points, that is 128 3DMarks increase in performance, so the extra RAM is realy being used.

Now, if only I would be able to free some time to finish the modding of the card...

Komponent píše: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.





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



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.



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:



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



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!

Komponent píše:Another mod has been completed: standard 8Mb chips were replaced with 16Mb modules on a Voodoo4 PCI with the extra memory adresses hardwired. After that, strapping configuration for the memory initialisation was modded on the PCB (and finding the right setup was harder than expected). No BIOS mod was required. The card works with no problems in Windows 9x and 2000/XP/2003. Have a look at some pics:





When the computer starts, it displays 64Mb video RAM:



Ofcourse, it was time to test the modded 64Mb card against the regular 32Mb Voodoo4 PCI.

3DMark 2001SE Voodoo4 32Mb No AA: 1563 points



3DMark 2001SE Voodoo4 64Mb No AA: 1686 points



3DMark 2001SE Voodoo4 32Mb 2x AA: 690 points



3DMark 2001SE Voodoo4 64Mb 2x AA: 867 points



To summarise: we have 123 3DMarks in No AA mode and 177 3DMarks in 2x AA mode counting as the performance gain by adding 32Mb video memory.
As always, I will soon provide detailed instructions about how to replicate yourself this mod.
My thanks go to G1nX/RaverX for offering me the chance to work on theyr card and especialy to Rolo01 for the over the years help and support.