SimGuy said
...//Edit: There is no "MX-400" edition of the GeForce 4, unless NVidia has released some severely scaled down version of the MX420 (how you can scale down from SDR VRAM, I have no idea...) 
Hang on...
Geeky1 said
Wait a minute... GeForce 4 MX400?!?!
AFAIK, there's a GF4 MX420, 440, and 460, and GF2 MX200s and 400s. No GF4MX400... or am I wrong?
Wait for it...
GHoosdum said
You're exactly right, Geeky...
Which card is this?
Yes, he is...it is the...
SimGuy said
I think he might have been referring to the 440, but accidently typed the 400.
Close, I
am a hamfisted typist. This time I was just confusing the card I just got - which is a
GF4 MX440 with my girlfriends GF2 MX400. Early onset of alzheimers, I suppose.
Ageek said
OTOH, there is a GF2 MX400 (I have one, from PNY). But if that is what he is thinking, I would say the Voodoo5 if what he is going to use it for likes both cards. The MX400 was more compatible, in its day.
The compatibility thing is my current bugbear. Like some of my relationships, the XP drivers work to some degree, just not very well - and I can't always do everything I want...
SimGuy said
prof,
It also depends on what types of games you are playing on this video card. If the majority of your games support Glide, then go with the V5500. However, if they only support Direct3D or OpenGL, your better off with the "MX400" (whatever that is...) as it actually supports DX7. 
Even if it is the GeForce 2 MX400, back in the day, people were able to get decent overclocks out of them, provided you upgraded the cooling system.
The big problem was with Unreal Tournament. I dusted it off for my nephews to play, but couldn't get it to play (except in a dinky window, fer crying out loud) unless I used software rendering.
SimGuy said
When trying to get my old Voodoo 5 6000 (yes, 6000) to run on Windows XP, I find it easiest to install "unofficial" beta drivers by 3DHQ. The creator usually includes the 3DFX Tools menu and a really stable driver on all OS's (especially 98 & Me).
The latest release is Beta 10. A link can be found below:
http://www.voodoofiles.com/9529
SimGuy, nice call.
I went with the drivers you mentioned and now all is as it should be.
I had used 3rd-Party "Unofficial" drivers in the past (with Win2K), but always ran into some sort of problem which led me to dump them out of frustration. These seem to be working fine, and it is certainly nice to have the 3dfx tools back.
The
only time I have ever bought the "latest-and-greatest" video card was the Voodoo 5. Then 3dfx went TU and left me with a driverless orphan. If it wasn't for the IBM "DeathStar" drives, which consume most of the energy I allot for griping, I would probably complain about my Voodoo experience more than I do. I bought two Voodoo 2 cards for SLI - one died within weeks. I had bought them from a vendor at a computer show, who I never saw again. Went to the store and bought another Voodoo 2 - wasn't compatible with the first one. Went back and bought another one (same brand, etc.). Four cards to get two working. Then I upgraded to the Voodoo 3. Whoopty-Doo, didn't see much difference. Then came the Voodoo 5.
Since I plan to build a whole new system before long, I think I'll just stick with the Voodoo 5 (and SimGuy's driver tip) for now. Unless I get curious and run some benchmarks on the Voodoo and decide to install the GF4 MX440 for comparison.
Thanks for the help!
Prof
(Would have replied sooner, but took the boys fishing
)
GF4-MX400 or Voodoo5 5500?
, but I am still using a Voodoo5 5500 in my main computer. I recently acquired a GeForce4 MX400 from my bro-in-law. I am planning on building a new computer in the near future (this Fall looks good), but that is not guaranteed. My new system will have something less prehistoric.
)
