Introduction
The VoodooІ chipset is available for some months now and still there is not much of a competitor to it yet. More and more manufacturers want to make money with it, maybe even more enthusiastic since the latest 3D chip review Tom has been doing revealed that there won’t be any 3D outperforming a dual VoodooІ solution in the short term. The original from 3Dfx is still first choice since it offers great performance, no matter whether you use one or two VoodooІ boards. Moreover it is the most compatible 3D accelerator, uniquely supporting Direct3D as well as the very successful 3Dfx own Glide engine.
Buying a VoodooІ card only according to benchmark results would be almost small minded. I doubt that performance differences do originate in any way from optimizations of hardware configuration or drivers. The drivers are basically provided by 3Dfx, only the appearance in Windows and maybe some settings of advanced options are different between the manufacturers.
As you know VoodooІ cards use single cycle EDO memory at 100 MHz clock speed. Since the limits of EDO memory have been reached here, performance cannot be increased by clocking the memory even higher. If you do this anyway, you will earn wrong colors, wrong or missing textures or similar effects and even hang-ups. I think it’s unnecessary to mention that you also risk your whole VoodooІ board which could end up dead easily.
The only way of obtaining higher performance is to overclock the VoodooІ chipset itself. The default clock speed is 90 MHz, nevertheless some manufacturers have their products running at up to 95 MHz by default. All drivers include the option to change the chip clock manually, only the Miro drivers warn that this could cause damage to your board. The different default clock speeds are the main reason for different benchmark results, so a recommendation has to be based on other factors: Does the card have TV outputs? How easy and comfortable are the installation and the drivers? What about the picture quality and the loop cable? Which software is bundled with the card? How temperature-sensitive is the card? Is overclocking possible?
I can provide one answer right now: the installation is not much of an effort. Since VoodooІ cards do not require an interrupt you may place them wherever you want. The software is also installed very quickly, either directly when Windows finds the new hardware during boot up or later on in the device manager. Some drivers (e.g. Miro, Hercules) have their own installation program.
Test Setup
In this review the benchmarks were actually not only done to find out a performance champion, but to make sure that all cards fulfil our expectations. The test computer was a Pentium II 400 MHz, 128 MB SDRAM from LGS, Soyo SY-6BA motherboard, Matrox Millennium II AGP 8MB video card and a Quantum Fireball ST 3.2 Ultra-DMA. Operating system was Windows 95 Release 2.1 (with USB supplement) and Microsoft’s DirectX 6 final release.
For benchmarking I used the Direct3D game demos of Incoming and Forsaken and the OpenGL based games Quake II (actual version 3.17) and the new demo version of Sin. Sin is based on the same 3D engine as Quake II, but consumes some more performance. All benchmarks ran at 85 Hz refresh rate.
The default chip clock speed of the cards differs: Some work at 90 MHz, others at 92, 93 or even 95 MHz by default. For benchmarking I did not change the default values, since every manufacturer defined the card’s maximum.
VoodooІ boards are quite a hot affair in two respects. On the one hand they deliver pretty fine 3D performance, on the other hand the three chips as well as the memory can reach pretty high temperatures. To check that the boards run stable even at higher temperatures, I did not test them in an open system on the desk as usual, but inside a closed ATX midi tower case. Each system was running one hour before I started benchmarking to make sure that there were at least 40 degrees Celsius inside the case.
Oh, by the way: You will see that most screenshots have German elements; the reason is that I am running a German Windows 95 on this hard disk. 😮
Canopus Pure3D 2
The little Canopus card is not based on the 3Dfx reference design. By placing most of the memory on the backside, this PCI card is the shortest PCI VoodooІ accelerator of this review. This could enable it to be placed in baby AT motherboards, where the CPU usually prevents the usage of VoodooІ cards. Canopus also uses a small and very quiet fan to reduce the temperature of the pixelfxІ chip; as the default chip clock is 93 MHz, this seems convenient. A little slider has been placed into the options windows to adjust the clock speed between 90 and 100 MHz. Of course, going for 100 MHz is a very touchy affair. I did not get the card running durably stable at 100 MHz inside the midi tower case. 95 MHz seems to be the maximum what you should allow to pass.
The software includes a task bar utility, which can be used as some kind of replacement for the start menu. Other products like e.g. Norton Desktop are more flexible, however I think this is a nice bonus for all the ones that are going to buy the Canopus card.
The loop cable has a proprietary connector for the Pure3D 2 card, similar to a S-video connector. In spite of the cable being relatively thin the picture quality is okay for resolutions up to 1024×768. As with other VoodooІ cards, 1280×1024 becomes a bit blurred.
Last but not least the Canopus card also comes with TV outputs: One composite and one S-video. Of course you may chose between PAL and NTSC mode. The maximum resolution is 800×600, but the card itself does not support higher modes without a daughter board either. If you decide to get the Canopus board you will find the Quake II mission pack “the Reckoning” inside the package.
The options menu of the Pure3D 2 software:
The advanced options menu of the Pure3D 2 software:
You will see that one option within the advanced options windows pretends to let you change the memory clock, but as a matter of fact you will change the chip clock this way.
Homepage:
Creative Labs 3D Blaster VoodooІ
The Creative card is available with 8 or 12 MB memory. The design corresponds pretty much to the reference design by 3Dfx Interactive. The card runs at 90 MHz chip clock by default and thus complies with the chip specifications. Thanks to these conservative settings the 3D Blaster VoodooІ ran absolutely problem free, even overclocked to 95 MHz there were no signs of instability or problems resulting from the higher temperature. Tom had these cards running at even 100 MHz clock speed already, not very stable even with proper cooling though. I can only advise against doing this. The VoodooІ is one of the few chipsets I would not overclock, because you really risk your 3D board and the performance gain is very small even with a Pentium II 400.
The Creative drivers don’t allow the chip clock to be set, so you have to use either other drivers or utilities. First I had doubts about the loop cable since it doesn’t seem to be very solid. But the first impression was wrong: 1024×768 suffers only minimal quality loss. At 1280×1024 you should rather switch to large fonts, since the charts begin to fade gradually. 1600×1200 cannot be recommended in any way, it results in a fairly muddy picture.
The retail package includes the three games Ultimate Race Pro, Incoming and G-Police. In Europe you will get Actua Soccer 2 in addition.
The options menu of the 3D Blaster VoodooІ:
Homepage:
Diamond Monster 3D II
The Diamond card is available in 8 or 12 MB configurations and corresponds to the reference design by 3Dfx. The card runs at 92 MHz by default; a small slider allows the frequency to be set between 90 and 95 MHz. On the one hand maybe you won’t be able to max out this board, on the other hand this ensures that you won’t end up with an unstable system or a defect 3D card due to overclocking. Nevertheless the Monster II is one of the few cards, which does run more or less stable at 100 MHz chip clock – if you cool it properly.
Diamond ship their cards with a massive loop cable, which provides a quite sharp picture, even at 1280×1024. As with all other boards you shouldn’t go for 1600×1200 resolution.
Instead of integrating a TV output, Diamond revalues the Monster II with a vast amount of software, including both demo and full versions. Please refer to the Diamond website for detailed information.
The options menu of the Monster II:
The advanced options menu of the Monster II.
Homepage:
Hercules Stingray 2
The Stingray 2 is also based on the 3Dfx reference design for VoodooІ boards. Hercules equips the pixelfxІ chip with a passive cooler (no fan as with the Canopus card). The default clock speed is 93 MHz and cannot be altered with the Hercules drivers, which also hardly differ from the 3Dfx drivers. Installing the drivers out of the device manager is not very comfortable since the driver files are stored in three subdirectories and you will have to enter the path three times. Here it’s convenient to use the install program.
Hercules uses a standard 15pin D-SUB loop cable that doesn’t make the same good impression as the VoodooІ board itself. And indeed the fonts are a bit blurred when using a black background (as I usually do) at 1152×864. Even at 1024×768 the picture could be better. This proves that the high signal quality the Millennium II card provides gets lost with cheaper loop cables.
The card is also available as Hercules Stingray 2/TV with integrated TV out (S-video and composite) which would make it possible playing your favorite 3D games on your TV. The bulk version of the Stingray 2 does not contain games.
The options menu of the Stingray 2:
The advanced options menu of the Stingray 2:
Homepage:
Miro HiscoreІ 3D
Miro’s HiscoreІ 3D is only available with the maximum memory size of 12 MB. The drivers are set up completely different to the others in this test and also include a slider to change the chip clock speed. Default is 90 MHz, but I had the card running fine at up to 98 MHz. Again, more is not very recommendable, since you could easily face corrupted graphics or hang ups.
The picture quality you get is some kind of phenomenon. Usually the loop through method results in visibly decreasing picture sharpness. In spite of the very thin loop cable the picture quality is fine even at 1280×1024. But the loop through system has one great advantage: If the card has a TV output, the standard Windows desktop can be displayed on the television, too. Luckily, the HiscoreІ is equipped with a composite and a S-video output which enables you to enjoy games on the much larger TV screen.
The package did not include any games or game demos and on the website is no hint on games which may be bundled; what a pity.
The options menu of the HiscoreІ:
The game options menu of the HiscoreІ:
Homepage:
Quantum 3D Obsidian 2
When I first saw the really big package I was quite impressed. There could have easily been six cards inside, but of course it was only one. Nevertheless such a big package creates big expectations. But you won’t be disappointed, since you will find three CDs. One with the drivers and software, two other with the following game demos: World Cup 98, Wing Commander Prophecy, Need For Speed II, Nuclear Strike, Longbow 2, Mango Grits Barrage, Incoming, Forsaken, Turok Dinosaur Hunter, Formula 1 Championship Edition, G-Police, Shadow Master, Shipwreckers and Wipeout XL.
A SLI cable is inside the package as well; but this cable it smaller than others and can only be used for Quantum3D cards. The board differs clearly from the 3Dfx standard design, however this has no effect on performance. The default clock speed is 90 MHz and can be changed between 83 and 100 MHz. I had it run stable at max. 93 MHz, more than that was followed by complete system crashes.
Quantum 3D does not use a D-sub loop cable, but a round connector at the card’s side. The picture quality is excellent at 1024×768 and still okay at 1280×1024. Once again 1600×1200 is simply too much for the loop through solution, the fonts begin to fade away.
Quantum 3D does rely on plug and play and did not include an installation program. The software is very flexible, since you can use one and the same drivers for the PCI, the AGP or the X-24 SLI version. Finally the card is also equipped with a S-video and a composite TV output.
The options menu of the Obsidian 2:
The TV options menu of the Obsidian 2:
Homepage:
Quantum 3D Obsidian 2 AGP
Here we have a very special VoodooІ accelerator. First you will be staring at the strange design: A small daughter board is mounted at the back side with an own slot cover and requires two things you should look after. First you absolutely need another case opening ABOVE the one for the AGP slot, second the CPU has to be as far away from the case as possible (along the direction of the slots). The little daughter board can make the installation of this card impossible if the CPU is in the way. Therefore I couldn’t test the card with the Soyo motherboard; I had to use a Chaintech 6BTM motherboard instead. This mechanical problem is more important than you may think. If you want to get the Quantum 3D AGP card, be sure it fits into your board. With Socket 7 system this is no issue, but the Pentium II could interfere with the little TV add-on board.
Thanks to the double bus clock (66 MHz AGP) the benchmark results are better than those from PCI accelerators. The design is very smart: Each side of the board carries 6 MB memory. One texelfxІ, the pixelfxІ and as well the RAMDAC are placed on the front side, the back side accommodates the second texelfxІ. Above the AGP connector the card does only require about 1.5″. That’s the shortest VoodooІ card I’ve seen so far.
The software bundle contains the same game demos as the PCI version. The drivers allow you to overclock the chips to 100 MHz, but this wasn’t running stable at all. Better leave the slider at the default of 95 MHz, this is hot enough and works properly.
Good news from the loop cable: The picture quality is fine for resolutions up to 1024×768, higher resolution become visibly worse.
The options menu of the Obsidian 2:
The TV options menu of the Obsidian 2:
Homepage:
Quantum 3D Obsidian X-24
Sorry! No picture!
Quantum 3D is the only manufacturer who offers a dual VoodooІ solution on one card. The base card carries one VoodooІ chipset and 12 MB memory, the RAMDAC and a PCI bridge from Digital as well. The daughter board is placed on the topside and accommodates the second VoodooІ chipset and the second RAMDAC. This procedure allows getting dual VoodooІ performance by using just one PCI slot.
The loop cable is the same type Quantum 3D uses with the Obsidian 2 AGP (on the other hand the PCI card uses a standard D-sub loop cable…) and provides quite good image quality at up to 1152×864. At 1280×1024 you will see the picture loosing some of its sharpness.
The chips run at 95 MHz by default which can be changed between 83 and 100 MHz. Even at 95 MHz I had some hang ups and strange errors. This can be explained by the sandwich design, which heats up very easily. Cooling improves the stability at 95 MHz. The other way is underclocking it to 94 or 93 MHz.
The card and its drivers are very easy to handle. Instead of needing special drivers, Windows 95 simply detects two Obsidian 2 cards. The drivers recognize the SLI devices and link them.
The options menu of the Obsidian 2:
The TV options menu of the Obsidian 2:
Homepage:
Incoming Benchmarks
For some reason the Quantum 3D cards are more than 10% slower in Incoming at 640×480.
The Obsidian 2 AGP benefits from the higher clock of the AGP bus and is the fastest single VoodooІ card for Incoming at 800×600 resolution.
Again the Quantum 3D card is clearly slower than the others, but only at 640×480.
It’s surprising that two 8 MB Diamond Monster II cards are still slightly faster than a pair of 12 MB Creative cards. Once again the Obsidian 2 SLI card shows performance deficits; in this benchmark even at 800×600.
1024×768 is what really will count in the Future. The Obsidian 2 X-24 card rates much better now. I think it is amazing to see the 8 MB Diamond SLI cards being faster than other 12 MB solutions. This shows that there are still only few performance advantages with 12 MB cards.
Forsaken Benchmarks
The differences are too small to start talking about winners or losers. The only thing this benchmark makes clear is that the AGP card can obviously benefit from the higher bus speed again.
I think I don’t need to comment those differences. The Creative card is only “slower” due to its lower default clock speed.
PcPlayer Direct3D Benchmark
The benchmark reveals the Quantum 3D cards to be almost 20% slower with Direct3D games as you could already see with the Incoming and Forsaken benchmarks.
At 800×600 the performance gap of the Obsidian cards decreases to approximately 10%.
Direct3D doesn’t seem to be the domain of the Obsidian cards (or at least their drivers). The top model X-24 is clocked at 95 MHz and runs quite a bit slower than the others still.
Quake II Benchmarks
Quake II seems to benefit some more from overclocking the 3D chips. With the Glide drivers the Quantum 3D cards are as great as the others, the AGP version is even a bit faster than the rest.
Differences only between the higher and the slower clocked cards.
Here the 12 MB cards are slightly faster, but as before, values about 1% are hardly worth mentioning.
No practical differences at 800×600. Maybe we could see more different results on a Pentium II 500…
The Quantum 3D Obsidian 2 X-24 is clocked at 95 MHz and has the maximum possible memory. Nevertheless the 8 MB Diamond cards at only 92 MHz chip clock achieve the same performance.
Sin Benchmarks
Again you can see the order of importance, now for Sin (Glide): First bus speed, second the chip clock. Of course there is not much of a practical difference at only 640×480.
The higher clocked cards are faster. Sin is based on an enhanced 3D engine of Quake II, which has some additional features and thus consumes much more performance.
All five SLI solutions are fast. At higher resolutions the amount of data becomes larger, there’s where we should go looking for differences.
The Diamond cards prove to be better optimized for large data amounts. It has pushed the faster clocked Quantum3D card from first place.
The same result as with Quake II: The 8 MB Diamond cards are indeed faster than others at the high resolution of 1024×768.
Quake II highest visual quality benchmarks
In spite of the few differences between 8 and 12 MB cards in most current games, there IS a way to see the advantages of a 12 MB card. The highest visual quality configuration files for Quake II, courtesy of ‘Three Fingers’ Brett Jacobs (thanks Brett!!), improves the Quake II image quality by enabling all 3D features the VoodooІ supports. You will be surprised to see the differences between 8 and 12 MB:
Even two 8MB VoodooІ cards are a lot slower than a single 12 MB model.
The amount of data increases at 800×600, that’s why the single 8 MB cannot keep up with the other configurations. Still the 12 MB single Monster II is faster than both the SLI and the single VoodooІ
Conclusion / Summary
Recommending one of the cards is not particularly easy. The only card which doesn’t run absolutely stable at their default chip clock setting is the Quantum 3D Obsidian 2 X-24, but its default is a pretty high 95 MHz. I had to clock it down to 94 MHz to have it run properly for a longer time. Considering the high performance a dual VoodooІ system provides, almost every card could be recommended. The Quantum 3D X-24 card only consumes one slot; but this is the only real advantage. The Direct3D performance and the temperature problems keep me from recommending it straight away.
Diamond proved to have a very fine VoodooІ 3D accelerator. First it is possible to overclock it to 98 MHz with some cooling (and the case left open of course), second the package contains some CDs with various games or game demos, which should keep you busy for a while.
The test showed that 8 MB cards are still more or less equivalent to the 12 MB types in regards to performance. As you have seen with the Quake II high quality benchmarks however, this could easily change with games using more 3D features like e.g. trilinear filtering, so going for a 12 MB card now is the best you can do.
TV-out Feature
Not all test boards have TV out, and it may be that you don’t even need this feature. However, if you’ve got the chance playing your games on a large TV monitor screen, you will certainly enjoy it. Cards that are equipped with TV-out are the Canopus Pure3D 2, the Hercules Stingray 2/TV, the Miro HiscoreІ and all Quantum3D cards.
2D Picture quality
The second generation of Voodoo cards is certainly much better than a standard Voodoo1 card. Some cards have proven that they can pass through a pretty good signal, even for resolutions of up to 1280×1024. These are the Diamond Monster II cards, the Quantum 3D Obsidian 2 PCI and the Miro HiscoreІ.
Overclocking
The best cards for overclocking are the Diamond Monster 3D II and the Miro HiscoreІ. Both are able to run at up to 98 MHz – if you accept the expenses of cooling! Otherwise you will face serious temperature problems. Canopus’ Pure3D 2 is the only card that comes with a little fan, but unfortunately it was still not as highly overclockable as the above mentioned boards.
The performance gains of overclocking a VoodooІ are only around some per cent even with a Pentium II 400. Maybe it could be worth it with a 500 MHz CPU, but in this case I would rather recommend going for a Voodoo3 card, once 3Dfx decides to supply it!
Price!
In my opinion a very important factor for buying a VoodooІ board is still the price. As you’ve seen the performance differences are not much worth talking about. As long as the card doesn’t spoil your decent picture quality you can buy almost every product. If I would have to decide between e.g. the Miro and the Canopus card, I would take the cheaper. Please also take a look at a possible TV output. It may be a reason for you to spend some extra money on a card with this feature. The same applies for bundled software.