What the heck is a Voodoo3 1000??

[PowerMax]

I just got my latest Fry's Electronics Ad in the paper to drool over today and I noticed an advertised Voodoo3 1000 16MB video card for $49.

This sounds great but, what the heck is a Voodoo3 1000?? I guess its not a Voodoo3 2000 and its not a Voodoo2 1000 because those only came with 12MB of ram.

Does anybody have any info on this cheap mystery video card?

I can't find any info on 3DFX's web site about it.

Topper

 

[Goi]

I think its just mislabelled as a Voodoo3. Its probably a 3dfx Velocity 1000. It has the same core as a Voodoo3, but with 1 TMU enabled and clocked lower. The TMU can be enabled via a registry hack though, and the chip can be overclocked, which makes it a great value for casual gamers.

 

[PowerMax]

Can someone explain to me or show me where to go to get some info on enabling that extra TMU and also what software will allow me to overclock this card?

Heck, for $49. This is a good kick around video card! )

Topper

-------------
Celeron II 533A @ 902MHz
Abit BE6-II
128MB PC100 SDRAM
Voodoo3 2000 @ 166MHz
Seagate Barracuda 7200RPM 7.8ms ATA/66
Sound Blaster Live!

 

[Goi]

Before you buy that card, I suggest you go find out if its indeed the Velocity 1000. I'm almost sure it is, but I can't gaurantee it, and I don't want to be bashed if I'm found to be wrong when you buy the card only to find out its some other piece of crap

 

[tweakr]

Powermax

If that card IS indeed the Velocity, then the specs on it are exactly the same as a standard V3-2000 (including 143mhz clock speed) with the following exceptions:

1)SGRAM, and only 8mb of it compared to 16mb of SDRam on a 2000
2)One TMU disabled in the shipping drivers

The first problem you cannot get around, but simply download the latest Voodoo3 drivers, replace the Velocity ones, and you'll have 2 TMUs...

You should be warned though, that the 8mb of RAM does tell in some games..for example in UT I get serious stuttering at any resolution above 800*600, and that's with just low quality textures. Same kinda problem with Q3A. However, at 640*480 it kicks ass....just kinda blocky...

hope this is helpful
tweakr

 

[TopperDrake]

Well, I did see on 3DFX's website that there is a Velocity card with 16MB of ram so I don't think that the ad in the paper is inaccurate when they say 16MB of ram.

Thanks for the info on the TMU's though.

Topper

 

[RupertPupkin2]

The Vodoo3 1000 is apparantly an OEM version of the Voodoo3 (it is not a velocity based product). I purchased one from Onvia.com and have been using it for a few weeks now. The card comes in a white box with no software bundle (only a drivers CD). The default speed is 125 MHz. I have am running mine at around 160 MHz. The memory on the card is 5.5 ns SGRAM, so I was hoping to go higher, but ran into some stability problems. The card comes without a heatsink, so I put on a heatsink and fan.

The card seems to work fine and I don't have any major complaints. I get just over 3000 on 3dMark2000 on my MSI6309 with a 550E running at 733.

 

[Tominator]

If you want a 'cheap' Velocity, try Eb0y. The velocity has 8 mb of Sgram memory and performs on par with a V3 2000.
http://www.anandtech.com/showdoc.html?i=1076
As RupertPupkin2 properly says [where did he come up with that name?!] they are quite different cards.

 

[ssjgohan1]

let me straighten this out. The v3 1k was intended as an oem for compaq's. Now I guess that they sell them as oem's. They are exactly the same as the voodoo3 2k or 3k's except they are clocked lower and don't come with heatsinks.

Don't buy one, they are oem, get a retail v3 2k and use the coupons.

 

[TopperDrake]

Well, I went ahead and bought that 3DFX Voodoo3 1000 "OEM" card and indeed it is the exact same chipset as the normal Voodoo3 cards.

The bum is that it doesn't come with a heatsink. But heck, for $49, I think this is a good buy!


Topper

 

[Eug]

Good price. The V3 2000 heatsink and glue job isn't great anyway, and the glue is very difficult to remove once you get the heatsink off. So just go out and buy yourself a 50 mm heatsink fan combo for $8, slather on some thermal grease, and then super glue it on.

Works wonders.

Anand seems to think that it overclocks as well as a 2000, but I have my doubts. However, it should still overclock way past 2000 stock speeds though.

 

[Tominator]

Hold on!
This gets confusing, but the Velocity 100 is what almost reaches V3 2000 performance, and not the Voodoo3 OEM!
Two different cards. The Velocity has Sgram and the OEM has Sdram memory. The Velocity has a heatsink, but no fan.

On one of my comps, the Velocity 100, using V3 2000/3000 drivers, OCs to 153mhz from the default 143 without a fan! I'm building another shortly and will use a fan on this one....How high can it go...??

 

[Eug]

Oh yeah, you're right. Doh! Velocity 100 is the overclocker, so I shouldn't have mentioned Anand's review in my post.

I bet with a fan it will hit 166+

 

[novice]

Voodoo3 1000 AGP?
Direct from the 3Dfx web site:

From 3dfx Interactive, the architect of the 3D revolution, comes a new dimension of high-resolution gaming. A snap to install, the Voodoo3 1000 AGP replaces tired, old 2D cards in just a matter of minutes. Fusing the world's fastest 2D with a dual 32-bit pipeline, the Voodoo3 1000 AGP pumps out over 100 billion operations per second to bring you resolutions as high as 2046x1536 and speeds of up to 60 frames per second. Generating 6 million triangles per second to bring to life 500 of the hottest titles, the Voodoo3 1000 AGP's Patented Single pass, Single Cycle, Multi-Texturing delivers the brilliant color and amazing clarity that has made it the standard in PC entertainment.
*Please note that this is an OEM product only. No rebates apply.

Sounds to me like a Voodoo 3 2000 AGP, slightly underclocked. Not a bad deal, but when you can get a Voodoo 3 2000 retail for $79.95 at Egghead.com and a $30 mail in rebate from 3Dfx, why bother?
Chuck
By the way, for those who don't live near a Fry's, 3Dfx is offering the V3 1000 cards for the same $49.95 on their website.
http://www.shop3dfx.com/product.asp?sku=1576055