Voodoo 5

The VSA- 100 (code name: Napalm ), abbreviation for Voodoo Scalable Architecture 100, a site presented in 2000, 3D graphics chip, the former Californian company 3dfx Interactive.

Special

Outstanding feature is the fact that up to 32 copies of the VSA-100 can work together. The calculation of the individual picture lines is on the individual chips distributed (Scan Line Interleave). The VSA- 100 is in the graphics card of the Voodoo 4 and Voodoo 5 series use. The maps differ mainly in the number of built-in graphics processors ( GPU). Products of the Voodoo 4 series have one that the Voodoo 5 series two works by the end Scanline Interleave ( SLI) GPUs.

This technological feature a hitherto made ​​little sense usable feature only becomes practicable. With full-scene antialiasing ( FSAA) in hardware and the RGSS used as opposed to Nvidia ( Rotated Grid Super Sampling) these graphics cards are superior in terms of image quality of the competition. At the time, enabling FSAA meant a massive loss of performance. Working multiple GPUs together, this effect occurs only to a small extent.

The decisive factor at the time (with respect to media, advertising and hardware tests ), however, was the raw performance. In this area the graphics cards were with VSA-100 chip inferior to the direct competitor, the GeForce 2 series from Nvidia. This meant that the hoped-for sales target not be met, and the manufacturer 3dfx slipped deeper into the red.

So also the Voodoo 5 6000 was no longer on the market, which also had to fight from the beginning with technical difficulties at the required PCI Bridge. Four GPUs are integrated on a board on this card. These full -length as well as an external power supply, Voodoo Volts are called necessary. A so -sized consumers ( up to 70 watts under full load) then coped with non-standard 300-watt power supplies in the long term.

In recent years, formed a strong community with the goal of continuing to ensure the use of the Voodoo graphics cards in combination with current hardware and software. Also the help of former 3dfx employees, it is, inter alia, became possible only 5 6000 to obtain a majority of about 150 Voodoo functional.

Just before 3dfx Interactive was acquired by its competitor Nvidia, sold one of the Voodoo 5 6000 underlying 4-way SLI design at the subsidiary Quantum3D. From this we developed graphics cards with eight VSA-100 chips and 512MB graphics memory. Using a built-in LAN interface can be operated up to four cards. Current up to $ 40,000 expensive cards work done primarily in civil and military simulators their service.

VSA-100 in detail

Consumer graphics cards with VSA-100 chip ( s )

  • Voodoo -4 Series Voodoo 4 4000 ( 16 MB, never officially sold)
  • Voodoo 4 4500 PCI / AGP ( 32 MB, with a VSA-100 chip)
  • VoodooMAC 4500 (32 MB, DVI )
  • Voodoo 4 4800 (64 MB, DVI ) ( never officially sold)
  • PowerColor Evil King 4 CV350
  • Voodoo 5 5000 PCI / AGP ( 32 MB, never officially sold, with two VSA-100 chips )
  • Voodoo 5 5500 PCI / AGP ( 64 MB, with two VSA-100 chips )
  • VoodooMAC 5500 (64 MB, DVI, with two VSA-100 chips )
  • Voodoo 5 6000 (128 MB, only prototypes, never officially sold, with four VSA-100 chips )

Professional graphics cards with VSA-100 chips

  • Quantum3D AAlchemy 8164 with eight VSA-100 chips
Anti-aliasing Texture compression Voodoo2 Voodoo3
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