Fallen Enthusiast GPU Manufacturers

News
By Michael Justin Allen Sexton
published

3dfx Voodoo5

3dfx's VSA-100 was also used on the Voodoo5, which actually surfaced before the Voodoo4. The Voodoo5 5500 contained two VSA-100 processors connected via on-card SLI. This had the effect of increasing performance, but also made the Voodoo5 relatively expensive.

Only the Voodoo5 5500 made it to market, and there weren't many of them sold either. 3dfx planned to create more models, including a Voodoo5 6000 with four VSA-100 chips. But it was cost-prohibitive and never saw the light of day. Not long after, the company went bankrupt and was sold to Nvidia.

Image Credit: VGAMuseum.info
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Michael Justin Allen Sexton
Michael Justin Allen Sexton is a Contributing Writer for Tom's Hardware US. He covers hardware component news, specializing in CPUs and motherboards.
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60 Comments Comment from the forums
  • apache_lives
    Voodoo II section for 3Dfx doesnt seem right - its talking about the Voodoo5 with a Voodoo5 picture...
    Reply
  • neblogai
    Kyro is missing!
    Reply
  • IInuyasha74
    18732147 said:
    Kyro is missing!

    I left Kyro and all PowerVR based graphics solutions out, because PowerVR is not a fallen GPU manufacturer. Technically, a company could still use PowerVR graphics on a GPU add-on card or as an integrated graphics solution.Intel did this a few years ago with its Atom-based systems. PowerVR also has a long list of graphics processors it has developed over the years, more than all of the companies listed above combined. More than enough to warrant a separate piece of its own when time permits.
    Reply
  • clonazepam
    I remember being so hyped about the Voodoo 6000 and its external power supply. Their marketing back then was fantastic. The box art was pretty amazing.
    Reply
  • Realist9
    I still remember the 3dfx voodoo2 and sli. When I finally got Jedi Knight Dark Forces II into "3d", it was awesome. Never will forget that.
    Reply
  • clonazepam
    18732836 said:
    I still remember the 3dfx voodoo2 and sli. When I finally got Jedi Knight Dark Forces II into "3d", it was awesome. Never will forget that.

    A memory that really sticks out for me is when glide was out, and games had to be patched to opengl. We're talking about hundreds of MBs over dial-up.

    I ended up selling my two Voodoo2s to an enthusiast around '99-00.
    Reply
  • DoDidDont
    3dLabs?? The company was a leader for years in the professional graphics market, and considered the "choice" brand for professionals. They brought many innovations that still exist today under different guises. I remember Nvidia buying up all the Realizm 800's after the company was sold and broken up by Creative. Cant believe their GPU support site is still up and running... Nvidia and ATi had nothing that could come anywhere near the performance of the Realizm 800 the year it was launched.
    Reply
  • Fixadent
    3Dfx and the Voodoo 2 are still legends in the world of GPU's.

    I wish that 3Dfx still existed and competed with AMD and Nvidia.
    Reply
  • Fixadent
    Back in the late 1990's, I was awed at the graphics of Quake 2 running on a voodoo 2.
    Reply
  • LORD_ORION
    I had a Diamond Vodoo 1, Mech Warrior 2 3dfx edition was so damn good.
    I also had a vodoo 5.... Heretic II was so heli-good with AA.
    The cards were expensive and quickly fell behind in performance though... so poor investments. :(

    Anyone remember the 3dfx commercials? ;)
    Like the one when they are makinf advanced medical equipment and then... everyone stop, we're going to use this tech to make video game cards instead.
    Reply