3dfx Voodoo3

Quake 2 Performance Conclusions

The Voodoo3 is the clear winner under Quake 2 as you would expect, however as an upgrade for Voodoo2 SLI users, the performance difference is negligible. You do achieve a boost in image quality, as the Voodoo3 is pretty much on the level with nVidia's TNT and ATI's Rage 128 in terms of 16-bit image quality, however other than that, if you're a Voodoo2 SLI user, you're probably better off sticking to your current configuration rather than spending your money on the Voodoo3 now.

The performance increase from a single Voodoo2 or a Banshee is noticeable, however the Voodoo3's performance at 800 x 600 shouldn't be the deciding factor, rather its ability to run at resolutions greater than 1024 x 768. Although 1600 x 1200 isn't extremely playable on slower CPU's (i.e. Pentium II 266, Celeron 266, etc) for those of you that happen to have faster processors (Pentium II 400+) you can enjoy the benefits of performance at 1600 x 1200 that is incredibly playable, ranging between 20 and 40 fps during gameplay. If you can't seem to get adjusted to the performance at 1600 x 1200, there are a number of in-between resolutions such as 1280 x 960 that may provide you with a nice tradeoff between image quality and performance.

The Voodoo3's clear advantage in games based on the Quake 2 engine is its ability to run at higher resolutions, at an extremely playable speed. If you're running a Voodoo3 at anything less than 1024 x 768, you're better off with a Voodoo2.

You'll also notice that once you approach the slower clock speeds such as the Pentium II 266, the bridge between the Dual Voodoo2 SLI and the Voodoo3 begins to collapse, often resulting in a difference of no more than a few frames per second. If you're in the situation where you have a slower processor, such as a low end Pentium II or one of the original cacheless Celerons, you'd be better off saving your current video card, provided that it is a Voodoo2, Banshee, or a TNT, and make an investment towards a faster processor, such as a Celeron which can run for around $100 now.