legendary-3dfx-voodoo-5-gets-fresh-driver-update-to-support-modern-displays

Do you will have a DOS field? No, no, not the superb DOS emulator software program—I’m speaking a few devoted older PC for DOS software program. Mostly widespread amongst retro players, constructing a DOS field is a difficult process in 2022 as a lot of the required {hardware} has shuffled off to the good e-waste landfill within the sky.

Among the rarest of fascinating {hardware} are 3dfx’s Voodoo graphics playing cards, and few moreso than the final technology, the 3dfx Voodoo 5. Only one card ever really got here out, the Voodoo 5 5500 with two VSA-100 chips and 64MB of 166 MHz SDRAM onboard, though the quad-chip Voodoo 5 6000 has seen a little bit of a resurgence due to efforts by modern-day modders. By fashionable requirements they’re pathetically sluggish, after all, however retro gaming lovers swear by the Voodoo playing cards’ superior Glide efficiency and glorious picture high quality.

But additionally turning into uncommon and valuable are useful CRT displays. The drawback is, in case you hook up an outdated video card like a Voodoo 5 to a contemporary LCD, you are going to run into a difficulty that is really brought on by software program: no widescreen assist. Virtually all fashionable shows are in widescreen side ratios, but these resolutions are usually not supported by outdated graphics drivers.
Unreal Tournament operating on Voodoo 5 at 1920×800. Source: Dolenc @ 3dfxzone

Enter the 3dfx Wide Driver, simply printed by Dolenc over at 3dfxzone boards. It does precisely what it seems like: provides widescreen assist for 3dfx graphics drivers. Not simply on the Windows desktop, and never simply 16:9, both—you get 16:9 and 21:9 decision assist for OpenGL, Direct3D, and Glide video games, though the latter is form of a grotesque hack.

Non-enthusiasts might not be conscious, however driver growth for 3dfx playing cards continued effectively after the corporate folded. The newest drivers beneficial by most Voodoo followers really use a full OpenGL ICD ported from the Mesa mission. This driver relies on that work, and because the creator says, it is “kinda the best.”

For OpenGL and Direct3D purposes, all the pieces ought to work similar to on a contemporary machine—the widescreen resolutions ought to be enumerated and fully-supported. For Glide, you will have to make use of a decision override within the 3dfx Tools applet, and the resolutions aren’t going to be fairly what you count on; 16:9 tops out at 1600×900 and 21:9 tops out at 1920×800. That sadly means coping with non-native scaling artifacts on most fashionable LCDs.
Maybe a 128MB “Changeling” card would carry out higher?

The factor is, even these resolutions are getting fairly tough for an outdated Voodoo 5 card. Remember that these graphics processors have been created in an period of 800×600 and 1024×768 gaming. While a Voodoo 5 or GeForce256 may definitely push some video games from a couple of years previous to excessive framerates or impressively-high resolutions, you are still usually going to be topping out round one megapixel except you are fortunate sufficient to have a coveted Voodoo 5 6000.

These drivers are for Windows 98 and ME. You in all probability may get them to work on Windows XP, however good luck. You can seize the download from EasyUpload through the 3dfxzone boards for now, but it surely ought to ultimately be moved to a extra everlasting download site. We’ll update the article if it does.