3DFX is a defunct brand, but also a legendary manufacturer in the industry. It’s to this brand that we owe SLI technology (also no longer in existence). However, even if the VSA-100 GPU that equipped the Voodoo 4 4500 and Voodoo 5 5500 dates back almost 25 years, there’s still a huge enthusiast base around these cards. So much so, that a certain Oscar Barea managed to install working digital outputs with this famous VSA-100!
Voodoo X: a 3DFX GPU with HDMI and DisplayPort outputs!
Clearly, this is no mean feat, since to couple digital outputs with such an old GPU, a new PCB had to be designed. And then the board had to be made to exploit these outputs. While this is technically possible, it’s no mean feat. In fact, to carry out such a project, you need time and serious knowledge of electronics and GPU architecture.
But the hard work pays off in the end, when we can admire the HDMI-connected card running the Donut demo under Glide. Subsequent game demos were launched without a hitch, including retro games such as Dune 2000, Darkened and Unreal Quake 3.
Finally, a new PCB has been designed, on which a DVI connector has been added. This makes the board compatible with many retro displays. As for color, the printed circuit board changes from worm to black with gold markings.
VoodooX project 3Dfx – This time yeeeesssssss!!!!! VoodooX loading windows without problems and runing 3Dfx Glide Donut demo. I still cant believe it!!! It is Amazing!!! ☺️☺️☺️ pic.twitter.com/WqkkeO7omj
— Oscar Barea (@oscar_barea) March 6, 2024
In short, a fine project for such an old card. And let’s not forget that this old blunderbuss only has 32 MB of VRAM.
