(NOTE - Older news posts below and links often are no longer valid now)

iMac Game Wizard Voodoo2 Drivers page (from June 10th, 2003 news page - updates here have been non-existant since 3dfx sold out to nvidia years ago).
As mentioned in the past here (older Voodoo2 articles, past news pages, etc.), unlike the PCI Microconversions (and other PCI Voodoo2 cards) - the Mezzanine slot iMac Game Wizard card must be used with the original Microconversions Glide 2.x extension that is included on the CD that came with the card.
If you've lost your CD, a reader (thanks Chun lei Chen) sent a link to a web page that has the driver downloads for the iMac Game Wizard. See http://homepages.ihug.co.nz/~rojaws/game_wizard/downloads.html. That page also had links to the original PDF manual, test program and a link to Apple's OpenGL 1.2.1.
Notes on OS/OpenGL Compatibility: There are no current OS X drivers for any 3dfx card and as mentioned previously here, the OpenGL 1.2.2 version installed by OS 9.2.x is not compatible with 3dfx cards - use OpenGL 1.2.1 or earlier (and I recommend disabling the OpenGL ATI extension if you want the 3dfx card to handle OpenGL games). I've added the iMac game wizard drivers page to the previous FAQ's 3dfx section item on sources of 3dfx card drivers.

(info from June 2001 and before follows)

The 6/26/2001 news page Voodoo3 owner report on problems with the Tomb Raider Chronicles Level Editor. Ray Swartz, former programmer at 3dfx (and ATI) wrote with comments on the issue:

" I don't have any solutions for you concerning 3dfx and the TR Editor, but I did want to clear up some misunderstandings.

The Voodoo 1 & 2 drivers were built on top of Glide2, which was only full screen. But beginning with the Voodoo 3, all the drivers were built on top of Glide 3, which supports windowed mode and 32-bit color. This includes the RAVE and OpenGL drivers.

From my experience trying to support multiple-window RAVE apps, like 3D World and the French Touch modelers, there was a bad bug in Glide 3 which often gave various "fifo" errors when more than one window was being rendered to. These bugs were never fixed. Sorry.
Ray Swartz
Macintosh 3D Engineer formerly with 3dfx & ATI. "

One Voodoo3 owner noted similar errors with some of the Setting Sun OpenGL screensaver modules (but not all of them). [6/27/2001]

Voodoo3 Beta13 Update: The Dec 28, 2000 xlr8yourmac news page had info on an unofficial Beta13 ROM/driver update for Voodoo3, (Also see this www.xlr8yourmac.com Video articles page Voodoo3 beta13 driver feedback and links) as well as more feedback on the Voodoo4/5 1.1.3 beta drivers. [12/28/2000]

Voodoo5 Maps for Quake2 and Quake3 - I've not tried them on the Mac yet, but www.3dfxliveson.com had a downloads page with Voodoo5 Quake2 and Quake3 Maps.

More Feedback on 3dfx Driver v1.1.3 beta: - The 1.1.3 beta drivers feedback page has been updated with more reader comments on the latest beta drivers. A Lightwave 3D user reports the problems are still not resolved.

Motion Blur/T-Bufffer Voodoo5 Q3Test Demo (PC Only) Although it's a PC only version, the "Reverend" (3D Pulpit web site) has a story and download link on a T-Buffer enhanced (Motion Blur) version of Quake3 test that was previously unreleased. Read the article which has a download link to the appx. 50MB Q3 version at www.3dpulpit.com/Q3Arena/3dfx/ (link removed after page removed)

3dfx 1.1.3 beta Drivers: - As of 3:45PM 12/20/2000, the only working link to the 1.1.3beta 3dfx drivers was at ftp://ftp.ausmac.net/pub/mac/Games-SW/MacGameFiles/updates/MacVoodoo.sea.bin. [12/20/2000]

Brian Burke of Nvidia Comments on 3dfx Buyout: I asked Nvidia's Brian Burke (who recently left 3dfx) for comments on the buyout noted earlier today:

Any comments on the purchase of 3dfx assets/products?

NVIDIA and 3dfx have signed an agreement for NVIDIA to purchase the core graphics assets of 3dfx. Those assets include all the patents, pending patent applications, trademarks, brand names and chip inventory related to the graphics processor business of 3dfx. The agree does not include their products. This is a purchase of their core assets and not their current product line. The remaining 3dfx entity is responsible for their current product lines and retail channel. Check those details with 3dfx.

We are very excited about getting an instant influx of award-winning graphics technology and to end the litigation between the two companies.

Will you continue to sell Mac voodoo cards?

The remaining 3dfx entity is responsible for their current product lines and retail channel. It is best to check those details with 3dfx management. I do not know their plans. NVIDIA is not announcing any future plans related to the Macintosh market at this time.

Any other comments?

The combined expertise and technology of the two companies will give NVIDIA even more technical strength than we have today.

Brian Burke
Senior PR Manager
NVIDIA Corp."

When asked about future driver updates for 3dfx cards, Brian indicated that was 3dfx's responsibility and he could not comment for them on that issue. (I've asked Bryan Speece of 3dfx for comments on future driver updates/support, but if the company closes, then the answer would be obvious unless they license or sell the rights to another company.)

3dfx to Sell to NVIDIA and Dissolve business: is the title a press release at Yahoo. There's also another one titled "NVIDIA To Acquire 3dfx Core Graphics Assets. (links removed after PR pages removed) The press releases indicated 3dfx has sold their "core business" including technology, company and product brands and other assets and that the 3dfx board of directors has recommended the dissolution of the company over the next few months. [12/15/2000]

Driver Demo Tips - Extra Missions: The www.xlr8yourmac.com game news page has tips for extra missions in the Driver demo from MacSoft. (Also added to the Games section of the FAQ).

Voodoo4 AGP Card in Mac Rene's post on flashing a PC Voodoo4 4500 AGP card with the Mac Voodoo4 PCI rom, noting it worked.

" Hi,
I've flashed a PC Voodoo4 AGP with a Mac ROM and it works in my G4-400 AGP Someone already tested it with a Voodoo5 AGP but failed.

The Voodoo4 Flasher can be downloaded here: http://www.coolmedia.de/Voodoo4Flasher.sit

The Mac ROM are NOT included in this archive. The ReadMe file tells you how you can extract the ROM images of 3Dfx MacTools.

Would be interessting to see if a Mac Voodoo4, relfashed with a PC ROM will enable the DVI connector when used in a PC....
Rene "

Warning on Flashing PC Voodoo5 AGP Cards w/Mac Firmware: I was the person that tried flashing a PC Voodoo5 AGP with the Mac Voodoo5 PCI ROM and it *DID NOT WORK*. All I got was a gray screen and attempting to reflash the PC ROM back in hung the installer (repeatedly). The card would not work in a PC after this, so beware flashing PC Voodoo5 AGP cards with the Mac ROM - you'll end up with a card that doesn't work in a Mac or PC in my experience. The issue of AGP not supporting 2 devices must require an AGP specific firmware/workaround (despite the fact the VSA-100 chip is a PCI device). (Note ATI last year said that AGP macs could not support their dual chip AGP card. 3dfx says they have a working Mac Voodoo5 AGP, but it's unknown when or if it will be released.)

Flashing Voodoo5/Voodoo4 With Previous ROM Version - If you've had problems with the firmware update included in the 1.1.2 drivers. [11/27/2000]

Voodoo5 Driver v1.1.2 Released: Get the update via the 3dfx control panel. No word yet on what v1.1.2 is supposed to fix. (link removed to direct download link to v1.1.2 drivers.) Remember to open the control panel after rebooting with the new drivers to update the ROM (assuming there is a ROM update included). Let me know if the drivers fix any bugs or offer improved performance for you. (Include your system details in any reports). [11/20/2000]

Mac Voodoo4 4500 Review: www.xlr8yourmac.com Reader Mark Anthony wrote a review of the Mac Voodoo4 PCI. The review includes comments on the install, tests in 2d apps, 3d games and comments on FSAA and image quality. Check it out. [11/10/2000]

OpenGL 1.1.5 and Voodoo5 Cards: I posted a reminder on problems I saw during the ATI Radeon AGP review with my Voodoo5 using OpenGL 1.1.5. I could not use the keyboard or mouse in Quake3 for instance. Since the ATI Radeon/Rage128 1.0 driver update includes OpenGL 1.1.5, I wanted to remind readers to make sure they keep a copy of 1.1.3 handy. A voodoo3 owner reported poor performance with OpenGL 1.1.5 also in the 11/9/2000 www.xlr8yourmac.com news page. [11/10/2000]

Voodoo5 Drivers v1.10: Use the Voodoo5 3dfx Control panel to get the 1.10 driver update. Remember to open the 3dfx control panel after rebooting with the new drivers to update the Voodoo5's ROM. (The Control Panel will not flash the Voodoo5 ROM file in a Voodoo3 card however - I only mention this since one reader expected otherwise.) I was told recently the 1.10 update is primarily a bug fix release, not a performance optimization. Lightwave 3D v6 and Cinema4D issues not fixed yet however. (3dfx later wrote:)

The 1.1.0 fixes include:

• Voodoo3 2D fix
• Lock up issues in some games while playing videos
• 32bit Bugdom/RAVE fix

I welcome feedback on any changes you see. (I don't think these drivers will be available at their web site; only using the control panel update feature.) [10/6/2000]

MacQuake 1/GL Quake Editing Tools: [10/2/2000] While checking for updates to Mac Quake3 I spotted a news item about a site that covers Mac GLQuake/Quake1, engine mods and MacQuake editing tools. Check out www.planetquake.com/paroxysm/ for more details.

Unofficial Voodoo5 Tips/Bugs Page: (9/14/2000) Reader Bill Gundlach has posted a page summarizing info gathered from the forums here and at 3dfxgamers.com at personal.www.umich.edu/~gundlach/Unofficial_V5.html. Includes general compatibility info and tips for specific games including Deus Ex, Diablo 2, Falcon 4, Quake3, UT, and more. For other issues with the current drivers and notes on 3D apps like Lightwave 3D, see the compatibility info on the summary page of my Voodoo5 review.

3Dfx Card Tip For 4x4 Evolution Beta/Demo: A reader sends a tip for Voodoo card owners running the 4x4 Evolution beta demo that doesn't require deleting the metal.ini file:

" I notice that no one seems to have hit a elegant solution on the head in the 3dfx forums. I think I may have one.

Instead of deleting the metal.ini just edit the "rendererDLLPath=trigl.dll"
to read "rendererDLLPath=TRIGlide.dll".

Works like a charm on my system voodoo3.
Josh Wisenbaker
Sr. Systems Engineer"

Voodoo5/Lightwave 3D v6 Issues: [9/7/2000] I've updated the review of the Voodoo5 5500 PCI with notes on problems in Lightwave 3D v6 as well as updates on compatibility. (See the 3D performance page and summary page compat. info for details).

Voodoo3.var Tweaks: I've added a reader's Voodoo3.var file tweaks which include gamma (brightness) adjustments to the 3dfx section of the FAQ.

Diablo II Expansion Pack Preview: [9/5/2000] Gamecenter.com has an exclusive preview of the Diablo II expansion pack due early next year. Looks impressive

Diablo II Performance Tip: [9/4/2000] I think this has been noted before, but one of the latest reader Game Reviews of Diablo II noted the following performance tip:

" Performance Tip!
If the game is stuttering for you, especially when loading levels, here's a surprising culprit. In addition to a full install, you should *manually* copy the music file (320+ megs) to the hard drive (why the "full" install doesn't do this is beyond me). Once you do this, you should notice an immediate performance boost.
Erik A. Giberson"

I've added this tip the the Game section of the FAQ as well.

Voodoo5 1.02 Driver Post was Hoax: [8/31/2000] As I feared, apparently the post on Voodoo5 1.02 drivers due soon was someone posting under Bryan Speece's name again. The thread from their 3dfxgamers.com message board has been removed now. Bryan Speece says to ignore any post with his name at the 3dfxgamers message board until further notice.

Voodoo5 Contest Winner: [8/22/2000] - I just received word that Scott R. was the xlr8yourmac reader that won the Mac Voodoo5 PCI card in the giveaway contest. Congrats Scott!

Voodoo3 SST Eprom Flasher: For those that are having problems flashing a Voodoo3 card, you might try the 'unoffical' flasher available at http://www.geocities.com/jhurshman/. [link expired as of 2002.] I've added this to the question on V3 flashing problems in 3dfx section of the FAQ for future reference. Readers with SST eprom Voodoo3 cards have said this flasher worked.

Unreal Tournament v425a: - Update for Unreal Tournament Mac, version 425a has been released at http://www.westlakeinteractive.com/download0020.html. According to Westlake, this update only installs over a installation of 425 (previous versions need to update to 425 first), and contains two small Mac-only fixes. Problems with demo recording and using skeletal animations in some mods are fixed."

Voodoo5 Driver Conflicts: - I welcome Voodoo5 owner reports on any extensions or control panels that conflict with the Voodooo5 drivers. So far there have been two reports of Symantec's Disklight being a definite problem. Another reader reported problems with Palm Desktop and Via Voice. I've updated the compatibility info on my Voodoo5 review summary page with this info. [end of 8/20/2000 update]

Voodoo5 Preview Updated: [8/13/2000] I've updated the game tests page of my Voodoo5 preview with notes on further tests with the card in my 9500 (Genesis) system. As noted in the review originally, officially only Beige G3 and later Macs are warrantied/supported with the Voodoo5. It appears from game tests (visual and FPS) as well as temperature checks, that only one VSA100 chip is fully functional when the Voodoo5 is used in my 9500. (A 9600/350 owner reported similar results, so this may be common on any pre-Beige G3 Mac.)

Mac Diablo II v1.03b Patch Available: There's a new Diablo II 1.03B patch that is said to address potential problems with Rave or OpenGL mode, and lockups when running on Macs with low memory. Get it at ftp.blizzard.com/pub/diablo2/patches/.

Voodoo5 Driver/ROM Update: As noted at the main www.xlr8yourmac.com news last week, owners should use the control panel update feature (see 'About' dialog) to get the 1.01 drivers/1.3.1 ROM update. The update primarily addresses bugs like the monitor switching issues some have seen. Performance improvements are said to be in the works. One note to older Mac owners (pre-Beige G3), as noted in my review tests in the 9500/Genesis, it appears 4xFSAA is not working in 'unsupported' machines (pre-Beige G3). 2xFSAA does seem to work in my 9500.

[End of 8/12/2000 update]

Mac Voodoo5 Review: [July 2000] I've posted my Mac Voodoo5 review, which includes games, apps and movie tests as well as important compatibility info.

Fly2K DLL Update for Voodoo3: There's an updated TRIGlide.dll extension that fixes the Voodoo3 issues (use the support page at www.iflytri.com to request the update until they post it online). Reader Pedro Chamorro said he posted it in the Fly forum (Mac area) but I did not see it there. I've also added this tip to the Voodoo3 compatibility page.

Voodoo3/Railroad Tycoon Tip: I've updated the Voodoo3 compatibility page game section to note a reader tip for Railroad Tycoon. (Also added to the 3dfx section of the FAQ.) [7/5/2000 update]

Reader Comment on Voodoo3 Flashing Problems/EPROM Types: Michael L. Waddell wrote that he thinks he's isolated the reason why some Voodoo3 cards won't flash on the Mac. If your Voodoo3 has an SST EEPROM (near the heatsink usually), then it may not take the flash based on reports. The Atmel EEPROM (most common chip) is fine. The chip in question is usually near the heatsink (same side as the PCI bracket). I've added this info and an alternate flasher to the 3dfx section of the FAQ.

Updated Quake3 v117 Fixes Installer/Slowdown Issue: Tom Koons said the revised 117 update fixes the previous problems.

Holywars Mod for UT: Paul Lipps posted in the 3Dfx/gaming forum that there's a great Holywars Mod for Unreal Tournament at www.planetunreal.com/flatware/hw_info.shtml. Works well in botmatches also he said.

Quake2 Update w/Better Voodoo3 Support: William Perez sent some info on the update:

"make sure you read the notes first! fixes Voodoo 3 gamma/brightness problem, improved multi-monitor support, accessing the InputSprockets config dialog, mouse sensitivity, etc.

There is a new ref_gl.lib GL Renderer library included with this update. Please replace any previous ref_gl.lib (normal/MESA/bigmem) with the new 1.0.3 ref_gl.lib. It is a unified release that supports both the ATI and the native (not Mesa) 3dfx OpenGL drivers (b11 or later). You should be running OpenGL 1.1.2 or later. There are a couple new console variables allowing for fine-tuning of the GL Renderer operation. "

Get the update at: ftp.logicware.com/pub/quake2/q2mac103update.sit.bin.

Voodoo2 Beta5 Drivers: Almost missed the Voodoo2 B5 update. (With 3dfx closing their driver links may evaporate at any time - see sidebar for working link)

What’s new in 1.0b5 Beta5 (OpenGL 1.0b11)

• Fixed problem with double-buffering on Rainbow Six.
• Fixed problems with darkness on Quake3 related to gamma settings.

Unreal Tournament FPS Test How-To: Thanks to a reader I've updated my Mac Game/Video Card Framerates page (entry removed now due to spam) with a procedure to help ensure uniform FPS entries for UT. Please use this procedure for any UT entries and also note that you did so in the comments for your entry. Thanks!

BTW - Jeremy Hansen said the new Myth II update for Voodoo3 cards works great (see below for link)

Myth II/Voodoo3 Patch: Bungie has released a voodoo3 patch to reportedly address the issues with the game and a Mac Voodoo3. Get it at www.bungie.net/downloads/patches.shtml (Thanks to Matthew Van Z/Jeremy H/Sean B. for the heads-up).

TombRaider II Update Boon for Voodoo3 Owners: William Perez posted a note that the TombRaider II 1.03 update fixes the following issues:

• Fixed crashes when playing movies on VooDoo3 cards.
• Added support for higher resolutions on VooDoo3 cards.
• Added ability to set refresh rate in 3Dfx mode (in setup application).
• Fixed problems with game not recognizing game pads on systems running InputSprocket 1.7 or later.

Updated 3Dfx Voodoo3/Voodoo2 drivers: Jason Wong sent a note about the updates. As mentioned here previously the Voodoo3 drivers should have the fix for Lightwave 3D Opengl hardware acceleration. (Note - 3dfx site driver links are vanishing now after the announcement of selling assets to Nvidia - links may not work in the future so see the www.xlr8yourmac.com FAQ's 3dfx section for the last working links I know of.) [links removed to 3dfx's site since it closed/shut down after they went out of business. See sidebar links here for the last sources I know of drivers.] The drivers they say have "Lots of OpenGL bug fixes and performance improvements". See the Readme docs with the driver download for more info. [8:30 PM update]

Voodoo3 and DVD: A reader responded to a post I had last week on Voodoo3 cards and DVD noting he's running the Wired4DVD PCI Decoder fine with his Voodoo3 card.

"Saw that you've been getting emails about the Voodoo3 and DVD decoding. I have a Voodoo3 2000 PCI and Wired 4DVD card and they both work great together.

The Wired software has and auto calibration feature which it runs every time you flash the ROM of the V3. This auto calibration doesn't work perfectly with the V3 and there is some picture instability, this can be fixed by manually adjusting the stability setting in the Wired preferences.

One more advantage of having a hardware based decoder is that there is hardly any load put on the processor, with a software based decoder most your processing power is consumed by the DVD decoder. This is only useful if you like watching The Matrix whilst surfing :)
Chris R.
PowerMac G3 Classic 433MHz, 256Mb SDRAM, Voodoo3, DVD"

More on iMac Game Wizard/3Dfx drivers: Several readers reported the earlier tips worked, but only at 640x480 mode. Joel sent a follow-up to his tips:

" Just to confirm: native OpenGL works (thru GlideLib 3.x) for Q3Test, Rainbow Six. Glide works (thru MC's Glide driver) for Myth, Myth 2. Rave Quake works great thru 3dfx RAVE. Altogether a good solution! Now if they could just fix the bug that means that you're limited to 640x480... "

iMac Game Wizard/3Dfx Driver Tips: A reader sent some tips for using 3dfx's beta3 Voodoo2 drivers with the iMac Voodoo2 Game Wizard card:

" The recently released 3dfx drivers for the VoodooII which include native OpenGL supprt DO work with the discontinued MicroCoversions GameWizard - sort of. You have to leave the MC drivers installed, and install everything of the 3dfx except the GlieLib 2.x. This will mean that your Glide games will run through the old driver, and the OpenGL ones run through the new GlideLib 3.x. Of course, you have to completely disable Mesa. Also, you'll need a Voodoo2.var which includes

SSTV2_GAMMA=1.9

because the 3dfx drivers default to a very low gamma.
See the discussion boards on 3dfxgamers for more info.
Thanks for a great site
Joel Hopwood "

Ken Dyke of 3dfx noted the Voodoo2 gamma tip in the earlier post here.

I want to personally thank 3Dfx for supporting the Mac with Voodoo drivers.