3dfx
Voodoo 3 3000 review
Posted
by Julio
Franco on May 26, 1999
 3dfx
has been bringing us the fastest 3D chips for a while now.
Some of you might remember when the first decent 3D cards
were released, based on the Rendition’s Verite V1000 chip,
these cards offered us speed improvements we had never seen
before. Then the first 3dfx chip was released, the Voodoo1,
along with the speed improvements, this card gave us a
better visual quality.
After that chip 3dfx has released the Voodoo Rush, Voodoo
2, Voodoo Banshee and finally the recently released Voodoo 3
chip. All these chips are based on a similar 3D core of the
Voodoo1, of course changes and additions have been made, for
example, a 2D core was just added with the introduction of
the Voodoo Banshee. Also each one of the chips have offered
increased clock speeds thanks to better cooling solutions
and in the case of the latest chips, the use of a 0.25
micron fabrication.
All these chips have had an excellent fill-rate however
times are changing and great performance is not the only
point to consider anymore, that’s why other chips such as
the TNT/2, Savage4 and G400 are getting more and more
popular.
I consider the Voodoo3 should be the latest chip based on
the same core, visual quality is starting to show its age
and there are some very important features missing such as
32bit color rendering, bump-mapping and support for larger
textures. But no, don’t get me wrong, the Voodoo 3 is an
excellent chip and I wouldn’t doubt recommending it to a
serious gamer looking for great 3D performance. Anyway I’ve
to mention that 3dfx is working on a new 3D chip (Voodoo 4
maybe?) and although not a lot of info has been released on
it, I’m sure 3dfx will create a chip from scratch.
 Now,
on the Voodoo 3 3000...
The Voodoo 3 3000 card, based on the chip with the same
name is clocked (both core and memory) at 166mhz, this card
is oriented to the mainstream and gamer market, giving you
the best value, offering high level performance for a good
price. There are also available other cards based on the
Voodoo 3 chip. The Voodoo 3 2000, aimed at the OEM market
and the budget conscious gamer, this card offers similar
features than the V3 3000, the major differences are that
this card hasn’t got TV output and also it’s memory and
core are clocked at 143mhz, and of course it’ has got a
lower price.
Also the recently announced Voodoo3 3500 TV, although we
already knew about this card that should be out in a few
weeks, 3dfx just revealed that the card will come with
features such as a TV tuner, digital VCR and FM capture.
Clocked at 183mhz out of the box, this card will be more
expensive than the others previously mentioned, definitely
aimed at the high-end gamer and video enthusiast.
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