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Gaming with 3DFX, PowerVR and early graphics cards

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    #31
    I abandoned Windows at 2000. Still exposed to it at work though and when I repair folks PCs at home. The improvements in stabilty are impressive but the UI still isn't great. The lack of a single overriding theme on Windows is irritating. I did really like the Win 8 interface but only on touch devices where it worked best. Rubbish as a desktop. Win 10 is easy on the eyes but once you're past the front end its the same old stuff.

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      #32
      I've got my old Windows 95 rig carefully stashed in the attic, get a load of my specs.

      Cyrix 333 CPU
      128MB RAM
      4.3GB HD
      Voodoo 3 3500
      Some unbranded Soundblaster clone
      Some cheapo 42x CD-RW

      All in a beige tower that I originally got in about... 1998? Originally had a Pentium 100 and 16MB RAM, over the years I gradually improved it piecemeal at a local cheesy PC repair shop. Loved it, that's why I've kept it.

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        #33
        I think one of the earlier cards i had was a Tnt 2 ultra which i really liked, i think i had a voodoo 2 as well

        Unreal was the game that convinced me about 3d acceleration (sorry but i thought Quake and quake 2 was severely overated when it came to the graphics)
        Last edited by eastyy; 21-12-2019, 19:32.

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          #34
          Originally posted by eastyy View Post
          I think one of the earlier cards i had was a Tnt 2 ultra which i really liked, i think i had a voodoo 2 as well

          Unreal was the game that convinced me about 3d acceleration (sorry but i thought Quake and quake 2 was severely overated when it came to the graphics)


          I think that blew most people away at the time. Even now it looks impressive.

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            #35
            Originally posted by Hirst View Post
            I've got my old Windows 95 rig carefully stashed in the attic, get a load of my specs.

            Cyrix 333 CPU
            128MB RAM
            4.3GB HD
            Voodoo 3 3500
            Some unbranded Soundblaster clone
            Some cheapo 42x CD-RW

            All in a beige tower that I originally got in about... 1998? Originally had a Pentium 100 and 16MB RAM, over the years I gradually improved it piecemeal at a local cheesy PC repair shop. Loved it, that's why I've kept it.
            Same for me. I started off with a Pentium 233 MMX, 32MB Ram, 64 channel Yamaha card and 8 Gig HD. Just kept on upping the spec for years until I got a brand new Pentium 4 PC.

            Used to love some of the old PC games back then, when quite a lot of developers wouldn't bother with consoles. I used to love playing the likes of KingPin and Blood 2:The chosen

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              #36
              Matrox Mystique for us. I still listen to the Mechwarrior 2 soundtrack now.

              Dad got a 3dfx after that. That was crazy, but the passthrough cable made things a bit blurry.

              A while later, he gave me his old stuff to build my own PC. K6-2/300. Phwoar.

              I bought a Voodoo3 off a friend for cheap which, after trying to sell it to CeX, was found to crash under load.

              I stuck a CPU fan on it and it was fine after that. Sold it on Loot

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                #37
                Originally posted by randombs View Post

                I stuck a CPU fan on it and it was fine after that. Sold it on Loot
                Always a good idea with the Voodoo cards. Especially if you wanted to overclock them. I generally ran my CPU and GPU overclocked where possible. My first P54C Pentium 120MHz was a great overclocker. Turned the bus speed a good chunk up and got it up to 150 MHz and that was on an ALi chipset.
                After that I went on to an Intel BX chipset mobo from Chaintech. It was great for overclocking and saw me through from a PII 233MHz to a PIII 450MHz.

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                  #38
                  Originally posted by CMcK View Post
                  Always a good idea with the Voodoo cards. Especially if you wanted to overclock them. I generally ran my CPU and GPU overclocked where possible. My first P54C Pentium 120MHz was a great overclocker. Turned the bus speed a good chunk up and got it up to 150 MHz and that was on an ALi chipset.
                  After that I went on to an Intel BX chipset mobo from Chaintech. It was great for overclocking and saw me through from a PII 233MHz to a PIII 450MHz.
                  What was your fav PC game back in that era mate?

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                    #39
                    Hard to choose TA. Unreal, Half-Life, Rollcage, that helicopter game I can’t remember the name of, Spirit of Speed, Incoming, Star Wars Pod Racer, DX Ball, Jazz Jackrabbit and Forsaken. I did have the PVR version of Virtual On but it wasn’t the same without the twin sticks.

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                      #40
                      Originally posted by CMcK View Post
                      Forsaken.
                      I remember really liking Forsaken -- it played well and had some impressive(for the time) lighting effects.

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                        #41
                        Originally posted by eastyy View Post
                        Unreal was the game that convinced me about 3d acceleration (sorry but i thought Quake and quake 2 was severely overated when it came to the graphics)
                        Yeah, I never understood the whole thing about Quake. I bought it on launch and I was actually a bit disappointed.

                        I mean, I understood how people got excited about their gameplay; they played really well - or how the engine was a technical marvel that ushered in new stuff to PC gaming, all true - but I never fully understood why people celebrated their aesthetics. This'll rock the boat but I think some people were blindsided by the Reznor soundtrack and their vague allusions to the works of Lovecraft; a bit like how there's still a cult of people who endlessly psycho-analyse whether Braid is about the Manhattan Project because it contains a single quote from Oppenheimer on one of its screens. Faux deepness.

                        So yeah; great playing games they were. Great looking games they were not.

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                          #42
                          Yup when i think Quake and to a lesser extent Quake 2 my abiding memory is Brown ....lots and lots of brown, more color later on in the game but i just found the whole look dreary

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                            #43
                            Originally posted by Leon Retro View Post
                            I remember really liking Forsaken -- it played well and had some impressive(for the time) lighting effects.
                            Should check out the remaster ...very impressive piece of work plus bonus they ported the N64 levels into the game to

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                              #44
                              Originally posted by eastyy View Post
                              Should check out the remaster ...
                              I forgot about the remaster, so I'll take a look. Cheers!

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