Voodoo5 and P4 - reluctant bedfellows?
If you're planning on purchasing a P4 PC with a Voodoo5, think again!
According to a report on The Register this lunchtime, 3dfx has admitted that its high-end Voodoo 5 5500, while compatible with the Pentium 4 itself, is incompatible with the motherboards upon which the chips are sold. The Voodoo 3 family is also incompatible, leaving only the ill-received Voodoo 4 able to deal with it. It's highly unlikely that anybody willing to pay the obscene fees for a Pentium 4 would even sup at the same table as someone owning a Voodoo 4 though, so this doesn't exactly help. The sad thing is, this isn't even 3dfx' fault. It's a problem with Intel's own use of the AGP standard on its 850 motherboards, which don't support 3.3V signalling, which as The Register was quick to point out, is part of Intel's own spec for AGP. As shown by 3dfx' new P4 FAQ, the Voodoo 4 has a universal AGP edge connector, whereas the Voodoos 3 and 5 both use 1.5V signalling exclusively. Universal ports on the motherboard would have solved this problem, but apparently Intel neglected to include them. Both companies deserve criticism, but the bottom line is, Voodoo 3 and 5 owners will now have to wait for non-Intel P4 motherboards. Anyone care to guess when we're likely to have those? Related Feature - Intel Pentium 4 Preview