Voodoo5 5500 and Power "Y" Cable???

[Kreshna Aryaguna Nurzaman]

Hi, as I said, my friend offered to sell me a Voodoo5 5500 card, but *only* the card, without any other accessories. I thought it'll be fine since I could always download drivers from the internet.

Still, I recently read a Voodoo5 5500 on eBay that comes with an OEM CD ROM and a Power "Y" Cable. Any other Voodoo5 5500 auctioned on eBay didn't mention about this Power "Y" Cable, nor does the card offered by my friend.

Pardon my stupiditym, but I'm really a novice in Voodoo (and hardware as well). What Power "Y" Cable exactly is? Why any other Voodoo5 I've seen on eBay doesn't mention about this Power "Y" Cable? Is it something that always naturally comes with a Voodoo Card or not? What are the drawbacks using Voodoo5 5500 *without* a Power "Y" Cable? Is Power "Y" Cable something exclusively produced by 3dfx, or I could purchase it somewhere else?

Also, if I buy a Voodoo5 5500 which comes as card only (no OEM CD, no box, no Power Y Cable, etc), am I gonna' miss any important feature? (such as: maybe there are some important utilities in the Voodoo5 CD?) If that's the case, where I could download the replacement? Where is the best site to download latest 3dfx GLide drivers? And where is the best site to search for Voodoo5 installation guide?

Anyone here has experience of buying "card-only" Voodoo5 5500? (without manual, CD etc) Do you mind sharing me the experience of installing Voodoo5 5500 without manual and without CD? Thanks.

Thank you very much.

[ps47]

..the card itself is all you need.the cd contains only some old drivers and stuff,you can download much better software from here.the "Y" cable is not necessary (and you can buy it in any pc store),it is used to split the molex (power) connector (so you can power two devices at the same time).

[Voodoo5]

@Kreshna Aryaguna Nurzaman,

As a Voodoo 5500 needs more power than can be supplied by the apg slot , you have to also plug it into your power supply.

A 5500 was packaged\shippped with a molex "y" splitter in case you do not have an unused line from the power supply.

If you needed one (all your power supply's molex connectors are being used), they are very common and you should be able to acquire one at a local computer shop.

[Kreshna Aryaguna Nurzaman]

Originally posted by ps47

..the card itself is all you need.the cd contains only some old drivers and stuff,you can download much better software from here.

Really? Thank you. I'm glad to hear that. What kind of drivers I will need? I will be more focused on GLide games like Team Apache or European Air War. What is the best GLide drivers for such purpose? Thanks.

Originally posted by ps47
the "Y" cable is not necessary (and you can buy it in any pc store),it is used to split the molex (power) connector (so you can power two devices at the same time).

Thank you again. By the way what is the best Pentium IV Motherboard to be used with Voodoo5 5500? I also read somewhere that Voodoo5 5500 cannot be used on Pentium IV Motherboard due to some power problems, is that true?

[Nightbird]

You need a mobo which supports Agp 2x and the 3.3 volts if you have a V5 5500 Agp.

[Kreshna Aryaguna Nurzaman]

Originally posted by Nightbird

You need a mobo which supports Agp 2x and the 3.3 volts if you have a V5 5500 Agp.

What are the models available for such motherboard? Thank you.

[Onkel Adrian]

Many KT333, most of the KT266 and all of the older chipset. Pentium 4-Mainboards haven't got a 3.3V-Support, so you need to change to AMD Athlon (XP) or Pentium 3 (or older).

[Kreshna Aryaguna Nurzaman]

Originally posted by Onkel Adrian

Many KT333, most of the KT266 and all of the older chipset. Pentium 4-Mainboards haven't got a 3.3V-Support, so you need to change to AMD Athlon (XP) or Pentium 3 (or older).

I just searched for KT333 in the internet, and I was interested in Soyo Dragon mobo. Is it compatible with Voodoo5? There are also several version of Soyo Dragon KT333 IIRC ("black label" edition?)

I also find reviews on ASUS A7V333. It's also for AMD Athlon XP.

So, between Soyo Dragon KT333 and ASUS A7V333, which one is better for:
- performance?
- compatibility with Voodoo5 5500?

Thanks.

PS: how about Pentium IV? I heard SiS Pentium IV Mobo is compatible with Voodoo5 5500?

[Nightbird]

PS: how about Pentium IV? I heard SiS Pentium IV Mobo is compatible with Voodoo5 5500?

Look for a mobo with a chipset Sis 645DX (P4 - socket 478)

[Rolo01]

True, for example Abit SA7 or Asus P4S533-E. Even compatible with V5-6000.