OpenTube

TWO Dead Voodoo2 Dragon 3000! Can We Get SLI to Work?

Bits und Bolts

13,641 views

In this video, I take on the challenge of repairing two legendary 3Dfx Voodoo2 12MB (Dragon 3000) graphics cards.
Head over to PCBWay (https://pcbway.com/g/lF253I) and explore! More Retro Hardware like the HAWK 370 will drop there very soon! #sponsored

Both came in with severe corrosion and multiple electronic faults. Watch the step-by-step restoration process featuring macro soldering shots, fixing broken resistor arrays, and troubleshooting texture artifacts. Stick around until the end to see if we can get these retro gaming beasts running in SLI again!

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▬▬▬▬ Timestamps ▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬
00:00 The Dragon 3000
00:48 Inspection
02:00 PCBWay
03:07 Heatsink Removal
04:03 Restoration
05:50 Result and Testing
08:09 More Troubleshooting
09:03 Testing Again
10:31 SLI

20 Comments

@bitsundbolts Creator 4 months ago Pinned

You might have some questions regarding the Slotket shown in the sponsor spot! 🤫

I can't share too much just yet, but I am actively working on the prototypes right now.
The goal is to build the ultimate Slotket - featuring Tualatin and Dual CPU support!
Once I verify that the adapter is fully working, I will be open-sourcing the PCBs for everyone.
It will take some time to get it perfect, so stay tuned!

In the meantime, go check out PCBWay for your own custom hardware projects and follow my work over there:
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@T90UK_A 3 months ago

I know those cards 🥰.

Don't worry about long wait - I told you I am not in a rush and it was 10000% worth waiting 😃

Cards were dirty as it was accidental find when cleaning shed (plus other stuff I sent you :D)

Thank you very much for reviving them!!!

@Hardware-Hoarder 3 months ago

Bits Und Bolts Und Dragons!

@nixboox 3 months ago

This whole video takes me right back to the early days of 3D gaming! I remember when I got my first Voodoo 2, it was such a major upgrade to the Voodoo and Voodoo Rush that I'd had before it. There was nothing that could touch Voodoo 2 in SLI back in the day. I still have SLI in my computer even now but its glory days are far behind it.

@DefenderOfBoston-yo2tl 3 months ago

Quite the laundry list of issues between those two cards! Good thing they were all relatively easy fixes (if not necessarily easy to identify!) and that there were 2 of these exotic models for parts reference. It always warms my heart to see 2 Voodoo 2s running in tandem. I only got to build a Voodoo 2 SLI system once (out of 2 Monster 3D IIs, so a Mega Monster 3D II) and it was glorious. As my burn victim Monster 3D II is fully working again (thanks again, Alex! ❤), I am only 1 Monster 3D II away from doing it again some day! 😊

@NaoPb 3 months ago

As in the beginning of the game Blood, these cards cry out "I live again!"

@dafuggful 3 months ago

A slotket supporting Tualatin? Take my money.

@lily_anatia 3 months ago

I'm guessing those bridged pins at 5:20 got fixed by the reflow 🤭

@UpLateGeek 3 months ago

When I bought my Voodoo2, from the start I wanted a second one for SLI, but I never did end up getting one. I was in high school at the time and didn't have a job, so not much money. By the time I did get a job and got around to upgrading my graphics card, a second Voodoo2 wouldn't have added that much performance, and most new games required newer APIs, so I ended up going with a relatively cheap TNT2 Pro card, which blew away the Voodoo2 SLI in most games anyway.

Now, on the other hand, there's no pressure to play the next big game, I can go back and play my old favourites on a Voodoo2, and once I get my other Voodoo2 cards repaired, try them out in SLI as well. Which is exactly what I plan to do now that I've got a stable test system and soon the time to spare.

Although, now that I've found my Pentium III 1000MHz chip, perhaps I'll get the urge to go looking through my motherboard stash to find an appropriate board and build a more powerful test rig...

@DefenderOfBoston-yo2tl 3 months ago

Can't wait to get home tonight and watch this! Voodoo cards will never cease to excite me! 👏

@Usagik_Rabbit 3 months ago

I recently got my hands on one of those Dragon 3000s, my first voodoo, works like a charm! The PCB layout is fun, dunno how much of a difference it makes over the common reference design tho

@Nostalgia_Realm 3 months ago

lol @ the thumbnail with the stacked heatsinks

@moezarella1261 3 months ago (edited)

Congratulations on the nice repair. 2 more Voodoo² cards saved. I like Gainward's design on these, since they are rare examples of V2 cards not following the reference design and layout. They bring much needed heatsinks as well.

@Wes-1262 3 months ago

5:19 bridged legs!

@musemice 3 months ago

Nice cards! Hope that someone uploads component maps for this specific rare model.

@PatrickBateman-u7w 3 months ago

Magnificent

@caesumisrude 3 months ago

Have you considered making a kind of 'voodoo hotline' article on your website pointing out all the issues you found and fixed in your voodoo cards? I am thinking this could help a lot of people who start their journey with hospitalizing old voodoo cards

@penguinsushi8442 3 months ago

Never been so early to a video! Also the short video length doesn't do the amount of tedium justice haha

@Ale.K7 3 months ago

Nice!

@NSHG 3 months ago

Used to have one of these as a 3D alternative to a Dell Optiplex GX1 w/ Rage Pro Turbo. Wish I didn't sell the system but sometimes life has other plans.