News Determined enthusiasts are building a custom 3dfx graphics card — VoodooX has 32MB RAM and DVI output

[Admin]

A still-ongoing 3dfx "VoodooX" project aims to slightly modernizes one of the first great names in 3D graphics and resurrect a classic.

Determined enthusiasts are building a custom 3dfx graphics card — VoodooX has 32MB RAM and DVI output : Read more

 

[King_V]

Ok, my past-life-as-an-English-major self is gonna nitpick here:

His custom "VoodooX" is based on the 3dfx VSA-100 GPU, which was used in a variety of 3dfx Voodoo cards, ranging from Voodoo4 through Voodoo5.

This should be written as: "which was used in the Voodoo4 4500 and Voodoo5 5500"

It was only two cards, it wasn't used in anything in between, unless you're counting cards that were never released.

 

[JarredWaltonGPU]

Ok, my past-life-as-an-English-major self is gonna nitpick here:



This should be written as: "which was used in the Voodoo4 4500 and Voodoo5 5500"

It was only two cards, it wasn't used in anything in between, unless you're counting cards that were never released.

There were more than those two that got released, as there were PCI and AGP variants as well, though I've tweaked the text as the Voodoo4 4500 and Voodoo5 5500 were the main offerings (just in PCI and AGP formats). But saying "between" does muddy the waters somewhat.

But yes, the 4000, 4800, 5000, and 6000 never were released to retail.

https://www.techpowerup.com/gpu-specs/3dfx-vsa-100.g946

 

[Beerfloat]

This is cool but it might be good to mention that there is at least one maker of 3dfx re-issues out there already; Anthony AKA zxc64 has a bunch of interesting cards available for ordering, including Voodoo 4 4500 and 5 5500 equivalent cards that feature both VGA and HDMI outputs, some Voodoo 5 6000 alikes, and also some pretty cool other stuff like Rendition Verite, PowerVR and Savage cards.

Not associated with the guy, other than having bought one of his Voodoo 5 5500s. He’s in Russia and the site isn’t very quick. But the product is legit.

ZXCLXIV's heaven of the heroes of the old battles. They are alive again for your pleasure.

Let's return to the hardware renaissance age again. See these things and indulge yourself with sweet memories of the golden age of 3D games. Now you can afford what was beyond your reach back then. Take your time, but not too long, IC spares are getting exhausted.

www.zxc64.com

 

[dtemple]

These are neat projects, but I wish somebody would sort out the stability with the DDR memory controller that was intended for use in the V4 4800. Anything less than that, I'd prefer just using a wrapper honestly.

 

[LabRat 891]

Isn't the lithography process used in those VSA-100s pretty ancient?
Any smaller-fabs that'd be willing to re-produce the chip?
(Or, yet another 'hang up' from nVidia buying 3DFX?)

Regardless, I'd be willing to shell out ~$100 for a PCI66 'new' Voodoo, and well over $100 for a PCIe slotable version w/ tunable PCI bridge clocks*.


*I've seen/read that VSA-100 can operate up into IBM's 133Mhz PCI clockrange (or higher), with performance increases every step of the way.

 

[sitehostplus]

Ok, and when do Nvidia's lawyers get involved and shut this down?

I'm thinking this probably violates a boatload of patents they hold.

 

[LabRat 891]

Ok, and when do Nvidia's lawyers get involved and shut this down?

I'm thinking this probably violates a boatload of patents they hold.

It's using already-manufactured(by 3DFX) GPU chips. There's no more issue here than folks throwing RV and Muscle Car V8s in Tube Steel DIY Chassis.

No one is building the IP-protected part(s), they're just kitbashing/salvaging+re-using.


The 'rub' would (potentially) come up if a fab/company wanted new silicon made (using 3DFX/nVidia IPs).

Even then, it might need to be settled in court.
I'm not sure if 3DFX's IP's (that nVidia inherited in the buyout) have technically expired.
It's been decades since the buyout, and it may be difficult for nV to claim those IPs are still 'in use'.

'Dunno. But, this project (and ZXC64's) aren't doing anything 'risky' in that regard.

 

[sitehostplus]

It's using already-manufactured(by 3DFX) GPU chips. There's no more issue here than folks throwing RV and Muscle Car V8s in Tube Steel DIY Chassis.

No one is building the IP-protected part(s), they're just kitbashing/salvaging+re-using.


The 'rub' would (potentially) come up if a fab/company wanted new silicon made (using 3DFX/nVidia IPs).

Even then, it might need to be settled in court.
I'm not sure if 3DFX's IP's (that nVidia inherited in the buyout) have technically expired.
It's been decades since the buyout, and it may be difficult for nV to claim those IPs are still 'in use'.

'Dunno. But, this project (and ZXC64's) aren't doing anything 'risky' in that regard.

IIRC, SLI was officially discontinued in 2019. I'm pretty sure there are patents Nvidia continues to hold.

 

[JarredWaltonGPU]

Ok, and when do Nvidia's lawyers get involved and shut this down?

I'm thinking this probably violates a boatload of patents they hold.

Technically these are just existing parts, being repurposed. It's not illegal to own and use a 3dfx card, nor is it illegal to modify such cards. I think this is honestly such a minute number of people involved and little to no money being made that it simply doesn't matter to Nvidia.

Now if someone were to try to fabricate new 3dfx chips and boards, that would be a different matter. But even making new boards would be effectively meaningless. As noted above by @dtemple, people could just use wrappers to run Glide games on far more potent hardware.