Rise from your grave! The 3dfx re-build

[TRWOV]

I was moving things around an found my old V5 5500:

So I thought it would be fun to build a P3 based rig for it.

Targeted specs:
- Pentium 3 FSB133 slot 1; anything from 733Mhz to 1GHz.
- VIA Apollo Pro 133 slot 1 board (Asus P3V4X)
- 384MB PC133 RAM
- SBAWE64 ISA or GUS ISA
- Samsung Syncmaster 794v 17" CRT (black)
- 30GB IDE ATA100
- PIONEER DVR116D
- Floppy drive
- 350w SFX PSU (FSP, SPI)
- Win98SE


Current specs:
- Pentium III Coopermine 600E FSB100 256KB
- Chaintech CT-6VTA2 VIA Apollo Pro Slot 1 ATX board
- 384MB PC133 CL3 RAM
- SB16 CT2970 ISA
- Samsung Syncmaster 794v 17" CRT
- FUJITSU 6.4GB IDE UDMA66
- PIONEER DVR116D
- Floppy drive
- el-cheapo 550w SFX PSU
- Cooler Master Elite 360 case
- Logitech Desktop MK120 combo
- Logitech S120 speakers
- Win98SE



LOG:
Oct 27 2011
- Found my old Voodoo 5 5500 AGP. Untested.

Nov 2 2011
- Unpacked my old Samsung Syncmaster 794v 17" CRT for testing. Working fine.
- Bought a floppy drive at a flea market. Untested.
- Due to Goodman's recommendation soundcard spec changed to SB16 for optimal DOS compatibility.

Nov 4 2011
- A member on a mexican forum offers a Chaintech CT-6VTA2 + 128MB PC133. Guy is within driveable distance so a pick-up is arranged for later.
- Backordered the CM Elite 360.

Nov 6 2011
- Got an SB16 CT2970 at a flea market. Untested.

Nov 8 2011
- Got a JetRam 128MB PC133 CL3 stick at a flea market. Untested.
- Found my old PII 350Mhz Deschutes to test the motherboard. Untested.

Nov 21 2011
- Bought a Logitech Desktop MK120 combo

Nov 26 2011
- Picked up the board and RAM (PQI 128MB PC133 CL3). Untested.

Dic 22 2012
- Cancelled order for the CM Elite 360 as the shop hasn't got it in about a month. Looking for other dealer.

Jan 14 2012
- Got another RAM stick from an unknow manufacturer (a Superman like "S" logo is the only mark on the RAM). An sticker says that it's 128MB PC133 though.
- Got an unidentified Pentium III (bare board) at a flea market. Looking for a cooler.
- Ordered the CM Elite 360 at another shop plus an SFX PSU.

Jan 17 2012
- Case shipped!!!

Jan 19 2012
- Case arrives.

Jan 21 2012
- Got 2 Fujitsu IDE drives at a flea market, one 20GB and 6.4GB the other.
- Build begins with these specs

Pentium II 350Mhz
Chaintech CT-6VTA2
384MB PC133 RAM (3x128)
Soundblaster 16 ISA
Voodoo 5500 AGP
Cooler Master Elite 360
el-cheapo 550w SFX PSU
20GB Fujitsu IDE UDMA100 drive
Pioneer DVD-R IDE drive
Samsung Syncmaster 794v
Logitech Desktop MK120

http://www.techpowerup.com/forums/showpost.php?p=2523645&postcount=114

Jan 22 2012
- ALL WORKING!!!
http://www.techpowerup.com/forums/showpost.php?p=2524166&postcount=118

Jan 24 2012
- Found a couple of PIII at a flea marker: PIII Katmai 500, PIII 600E.
- Got a Sidewinder Force Feedback Pro at the same flea market. Untested. Needs cleaning.

Jan 25 2012
- PIIIs tested and working fine. Switched the PII 350 for the PIII 600E.
- Having problems with the 20GB HDD, switched to the 6.4GB HDD for the time being.
- Benched 3dmark99MAX and 3dmark2000: http://www.techpowerup.com/forums/showpost.php?p=2527789&postcount=140

Jan 28 2012
- Bought a set of Logitech S120 speakers.
- Playing Half-Life for the nth time.

Feb 05 2012
- Got a 10GB HDD. Reinstalled everything.

 

[qubit]

This sounds like an awesome retro build. Good luck with it.

 

[erocker]

Nice!

I actually used to run that exact card on a PIII 733Mhz system. What O/S are you going to use? Hopefully there's a decent driver out there for that card and XP.

 

[AsRock]

Cool, funny that the same sticker on mine is all so coming off too lol.

 

[TRWOV]

I guess I had a brain fart. The monitor isn't beige, it's black so the target specs have changed:

New target specs:
- Pentium III Coopermine slot 1 CPU. Anything from 733Mhz to 1GHz.
- VIA Apollo 133 based board
- 1GB PC133 SDRAM
- Voodoo 5 5500 AGP
- Soundblaster AWE 64 Gold ISA
- Samsung Syncmaster 794v 17" CRT (black)
- CDRW (black)
- Cooler Master Elite 360 case
- Win 98 SE

 

[Sasqui]

LOL, I just realised I have an ORIGINAL Ad-Lib sound card... I think it was the first PC sound card made.

Anyway, I might have a Slot1 CPU kicking around, I'll have a look-see.

 

[qubit]

Nice!

I actually used to run that exact card on a PIII 733Mhz system. What O/S are you going to use? Hopefully there's a decent driver out there for that card and XP.

It is nice, isn't it?

My first "3D high performance" card was a Voodoo 3 2000 PCI (yes, PCI!) lol, which I bought new in a retail box and still have to this day. I ran it on a much weaker rig than yours though. I think it was an AMD K6 something or other, I honestly can't remember.

For drivers, yes, I remember the problem well...

Card supports DirectX 7 and that will work fine on XP, with the Windows 2000 driver (3DFX went under before XP came out). However, OpenGL/Glide is another matter, as there was intrinsic support for it in Windows 2000, but got pulled in XP for some reason. This meant that card companies had to implement the full functionality in the driver, but by then 3DFX had been borged by NVIDIA... There were a few hacked drivers around, but none of them were completely problem-free as I remember. Man, this takes me back a decade. I feel old.

Our OP will be fine on Win98 though. Can't wait to see some benches.

 

[Easy Rhino]

if i can get a nice p2 chip,mobo i can assemble a competing voodoo2 build with a 4 meg ati card

 

[m4gicfour]

I've been waiting for a reason to use this

 

[Red_Machine]

Hey, this is just like my old legacy build I had my 5500 in. I think I still have the 1GHz PIII from it, but it was a Super Socket 7 version.

 

[Luciel]

I think the right sound card for this should be a Creative Sound Blaster Live! : )

Also, why a beige case? Mod the shit out of it, make it 3dfx themed, that´d be awesome

 

[TRWOV]

I think the right sound card for this should be a Creative Sound Blaster Live! : )

Also, why a beige case? Mod the shit out of it, make it 3dfx themed, that´d be awesome

Because I thought my old Syncmaster was beige but I got it out of its box and turns out it's black. I'll use a CM Elite 360 for the case.

Is the Live available for ISA slots? EDIT: No, it isn't. The AWE64 and GUS Extreme are, apparently, the best ISA sound cards available.

LOL, I just realised I have an ORIGINAL Ad-Lib sound card... I think it was the first PC sound card made.

https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/c/cd/Adlib.jpg/744px-Adlib.jpg

Anyway, I might have a Slot1 CPU kicking around, I'll have a look-see.

That's an ISA 8bit card. Nice!

 

[Luciel]

Good question, one to which I do not have an answer sorry : /

 

[Goodman]

Want to sell it?

It would be nice addition in to my 3Dfx collection...
The only cards i don't have are Voodoo1 & any Voodoo5 series & of course the ultimate V5 6000...

I got like 3x V2 & two of them in SLI in my old Pentium 1
2x V3 2000 one PCI & the other AGP
1x V3 3500 (i think , got to check that again)
2x V4 4500 AGP

They are all in good working condition , last time i checked/tested few years back...

Anyhow here where you can still get drivers for 3Dfx...
http://www.3dfxzone.it/index.php

Need help with anything building your retro gaming PC , just let me know

 

[TRWOV]

Want to sell it?

It would be nice addition in to my 3Dfx collection...
The only cards i don't have are Voodoo1 & any Voodoo5 series & of course the ultimate V5 6000...

Sorry but no. I know that I could sell it for about $60 but it's a piece of computer history plus it was in my first self-built rig.

In fact I've thinking about picking up some old graphic cards for collecting purposes. I went to a flea market and bought a floppy drive ($1) and the guy had a Trident Blade 3D and some unidentified nVidia and Matrox cards. I think I'll go again next week to pick up the Blade 3D and maybe the Winfast 3D (nVidia Vanta). There was an Acer one that I think it's a TNT2 by the looks of it.

Pictures of the monitor later.

 

[Wrigleyvillain]

Thoooose weeeere theeeeee daaaaaays!

 

[TRWOV]

Would it be worth to hunt a MIDI controller? Maybe a Roland MPU-401? I don't recall having a use for one, though.

 

[Goodman]

Sorry but no. I know that I could sell it for about $60 but it's a piece of computer history plus it was in my first self-built rig.

In fact I've thinking about picking up some old graphic cards for collecting purposes. I went to a flea market and bought a floppy drive ($1) and the guy had a Trident Blade 3D and some unidentified nVidia and Matrox cards. I think I'll go again next week to pick up the Blade 3D and maybe the Winfast 3D (nVidia Vanta). There was an Acer one that I think it's a TNT2 by the looks of it.

Pictures of the monitor later.

Was not serious about the sell , although if price is right.... what about $61 box?

Stop collecting 3Dfx long time ago because i couldn't find one in any computers stores or flea market in my region (i don't ever buy online)

As for the TNT2 , i also got one TNT2 Pro 64MB & yes still working condition also have one S3 , Matrox , Trident 512K lol! , Sis , Ati Rage 3D Pro & possibly one or two more that i don't remember right now
I got so many old PC's & PC parts (Boards , Sound Blaster , Floppy 3"1/2 & 5" 1/4 , etc..) in my basement it's almost unbelievable
I should make a thread about it one day , when ever i make the time to clean up the mess that it's in right now...

 

[Mussels]

look at windows 2000 for a system this old, it runs almost everything XP does, but with less overheads.

 

[Goodman]

look at windows 2000 for a system this old, it runs almost everything XP does, but with less overheads.

If it's for playing older games Win98se is the way to go since it's "Dos" base , so lots of older Dos games (MS-Dos) works just fine under Win98... as long as you got an SB 16bit

 

[Mussels]

If it's for playing older games Win98se is the way to go since it's "Dos" base so lots of older Dos games (MS-Dos) works just fine under Win98...

98SE then, at least.


i found 2K to be incredibly stable, whereas the 9x systems ran like carp.

 

[Goodman]

98SE then, at least.


i found 2K to be incredibly stable, whereas the 9x systems ran like carp.

Agree more stable but very few games can play on W2000 & when it does it plays like crap!

 

[stinger608]

Can't wait to see pictures!!!!!!!

 

[MilkyWay]

Dual boot a lightweight linux distro and win 98se for the old gaming compatibility. This should be really cool once its finished. Don't forget a power supply, 350w should be more than enough right?

 

[Goodman]

Dual boot a lightweight linux distro and win 98se for the old gaming compatibility. This should be really cool once its finished. Don't forget a power supply, 350w should be more than enough right?

A 300w would be enough , in fact i used to run more than that with only a 250w with not problem at all

@OP re-read all your system specs you want to built & i see two important thing you should change...

1- 1GB of ram for older software/games is way overkill beside Win98se will not like it
go between 256-512MB that will be more than enough (256MB if only playing older games)

2- Don't get the SB AWE 64 you will run into problems with games & some software (one of the worst card that creative made IMO) believe me what you want to get is , the older SB16bit or a good SB 128

If you can't find a good old SB16bit let me know i can always check in my basement & see if i have more than one?