Blizzard Vision Hardware Pr0n!!!

[fitzsteve]

Just what your Saturday evening was lacking, I know there'll be plenty of Z-Factor and Strictly go whatever, but what you really want is Hardware Pr0n, right? Yep... So here it is

I don't intend to use this with the Mediator full time, it'll be more ideal for another project at some point but I was given the opportunity to grab one at a resonable price so took it

I didn't fit the Heatsinks/Fan yet as I had to slide it behind the Mediator, not ideal I know but I only ran for a few minutes to see if it was working. Proper cooling will be applied before proper use.

This awesome bit of kit must have been way ahead of its time compared to the giant Zorro Graphics Card.

And a very big thank you to mfilos for helping with the Workbench install, you rock

[DDNI]

Lovely!
Kinda wish i hadn't sold my bvision now.

Be interested to see if you notice any difference in Wipeout3d texture between P96 Voodoo and CGX Bvision. The engine trails looked very different with the Bvision i had.

You running MorphOS next then?

[fitzsteve]

Originally Posted by DDNI

Lovely!
Kinda wish i hadn't sold my bvision now.

Be interested to see if you notice any difference in Wipeout3d texture between P96 Voodoo and CGX Bvision. The engine trails looked very different with the Bvision i had.

You running MorphOS next then?

Yep I'm going to give MOS a try

I had a very quick go on GL Quake (the 68k version) and that ran about the same as the Mediator/Voodoo but once I've got some proper cooling I'd like to try Wipeout & Quake 2

I'm really not 100% sure if it would be ok sitting behind the Mediator like that, what do you think? With slim heatsinks and a low profile chipset fan over the Permedia 2?

Anyway, this is all awesome stuff for a Saturday night whist Mrs Fitz watches lamo TV

Steve.

[Peter]

Don't forget Dad's Army at 8 o' Clock...

[Mad-Matt]

The permedia2 doesnt really get hot enough to worry about a heatsink/fan. Not like the voodoo cards which you could use as a hotplate !

[Bamiga2002]

I sold my BVision in favor of Med+Voodoo3. I think the BVision is more responsive (and faster if overclocked) when it comes to Warp3D gaming (noticed sequential lags in Wipeout2097 with Voodoo for example) but workbench feels snappier with Med+Voodoo3.

Also stability was an issue for me with BVision which seemed to lock up with no reason (maybe power issue?) but that's gone now when the Mediator is feeded directly from the PSU and Voodoo with it.

Both choices have their advantages for sure. With BVision you can use MOS and CGX, with Med you can use PCI network cards and sound cards .

[fitzsteve]

Hey, just tried out Wipeout - runs great on the BVision

And yeah the engine trails are much more defined on the BVision

Awesome stuff, almost tempted to run both Bvison and Mediator since I have seperate CF's with seperate setups

@Mad-Matt, you really think this will be OK without extra cooling?

Its pretty hot to touch, but not enough to make a grown man squeel like a Pig...

Steve.

[Mad-Matt]

@Fitzsteve While airflow will be restricted with card sitting behind mediator. Ive had my Bvision since its release (9-10 years?) and its still going strong without a heatsink (in a power tower). Can feel the heat if you hold onto it , but unless you plan to try clocking it, a heatsink isnt a must have.

[fitzsteve]

Originally Posted by Mad-Matt

@Fitzsteve While airflow will be restricted with card sitting behind mediator. Ive had my Bvision since its release (9-10 years?) and its still going strong without a heatsink (in a power tower). Can feel the heat if you hold onto it , but unless you plan to try clocking it, a heatsink isnt a must have.

Thanks for the advice, I've had another play with it. Tried Quake 2 and it was really, really slow (800x600) is Q2 at this res too much for the BVision?

Not a big deal as I can play that off the Voodoo or even play it on PeeCee

Anyway, great bit of kit

[Mad-Matt]

There was a Quake2 thread where I pasted my result for the BVision. 13.1 fps in demo1 as I recall at 640x480. Thats with my weedy 040 and slow ass ppc Works well enough to play though.

[AmigaFriend]

Originally Posted by fitzsteve

Anyway, great bit of kit

Another nice addition to your setup!

[fitzsteve]

Originally Posted by Mad-Matt

There was a Quake2 thread where I pasted my result for the BVision. 13.1 fps in demo1 as I recall at 640x480. Thats with my weedy 040 and slow ass ppc Works well enough to play though.

Yep, I tried it again with 640x480 and its fine, same as it is with the Voodoo at 800x600 so I guess with the Voodoo you can get slightly higher res without loss to performance.

Originally Posted by xpect

Another nice addition to your setup!

Thanks mate, I'm well chuffed

[cosmicfrog]

hehehe nice
looking forward to a picture of all your monitors

[fitzsteve]

Originally Posted by cosmicfrog

hehehe nice
looking forward to a picture of all your monitors

Hey Little Green Man!

Awesome news the CGX Drivers will let me set the higher screen Res on the little JVC TV, so now I've got 1024x768 workbench instead of 800x600

Might have a go now with CGX and see if I can get 1280x768 which is the native Widescreen res of the TV

Picasso96 still wont let me get 1024x768 or above, always out on the vertical sync

Anyway good times indeed!

[Mad-Matt]

It is certainly easier to make modes with cgx. As you can give cgxmode the specs of the display edvice and it will only allow modes capable by the device to be made. Then make a mode, and its usualy just a matter of adjusting the pixel clock slider if the image is slighty out. Selecting the offered Vesa standard modes are you best bet as the settings should be pretty much standard across devices.

[fitzsteve]

Originally Posted by Mad-Matt

It is certainly easier to make modes with cgx. As you can give cgxmode the specs of the display edvice and it will only allow modes capable by the device to be made. Then make a mode, and its usualy just a matter of adjusting the pixel clock slider if the image is slighty out. Selecting the offered Vesa standard modes are you best bet as the settings should be pretty much standard across devices.

Yep it worked out of the box for my larger LCD TV (which is fact more of a proper monitor with a TV tuner) right up to 1280x1024

The smaller old school non HD TV is a bit more fussy, it expects an exact Horizontal and Vertical for each screen mode...

But anyway as you say it was just a case of moving the slider into range.

Steve.

[portarinos]

It is a really nice piece of kit indeed but you are advised to use a heatsink on the permedia chip. It's better than nothing just in case

[fitzsteve]

Originally Posted by portarinos

It is a really nice piece of kit indeed but you are advised to use a heatsink on the permedia chip. It's better than nothing just in case

Yep, I think I will mount a small chipset style cooler on it due to the limited space. As you say better to be safe.

I'd also like to move the PSU as it gets pretty warm and not the best situated now.

Anyway I'm playing with the case sides off till I sort out any airflow issues

Steve.

[mfilos]

Originally Posted by fitzsteve

Hey Little Green Man!
Might have a go now with CGX and see if I can get 1280x768 which is the native Widescreen res of the TV

Picasso96 still wont let me get 1024x768 or above, always out on the vertical sync

Steve my friend, if you'll see in the ScreenMode Prefs, you'll notice some resolutions that I have made for some of my monitors (Eizo 1680x1050, Samsung LCDTV 1360x768 etc).
You DEFINITELY can make this easy 1280x768 in CGX configuration although it might need a bit of tinkering on +-HSync/Vsync. That way I made all of mine compatible with all my monitors EVEN with Picasso96 back in my Mediator days. Needs a lot of practice and patience but eventually you'll get it done!

[fitzsteve]

Originally Posted by mfilos

Steve my friend, if you'll see in the ScreenMode Prefs, you'll notice some resolutions that I have made for some of my monitors (Eizo 1680x1050, Samsung LCDTV 1360x768 etc).
You DEFINITELY can make this easy 1280x768 in CGX configuration although it might need a bit of tinkering on +-HSync/Vsync. That way I made all of mine compatible with all my monitors EVEN with Picasso96 back in my Mediator days. Needs a lot of practice and patience but eventually you'll get it done!

I saw that, I did try 1360x768 but that was out of range even for my HD Monitor however I have a nice Samsung Syncmaster here 22" and that will be awesome with your 1680x1050 res, I look forward to trying that

Again, I can't thank you enough for all your help