General:
- Which graphics chip is on miroHISCORE² 3D?
- Can I use miroHISCORE² 3D together with the VGA board that is already installed?
- Which 3D interfaces are supported by miroHISCORE² 3D?
- Does miroHISCORE² 3D need an IRQ?
- Is it possible to play all 3Dfx Voodoo games, even the older ones, with miroHISCORE² 3D?
- Can miroHISCORE² 3D also be operated together with another Voodoo² board (SLI)?
- Can miroHISCORE² 3D be operated together with miroHISCORE 3D in one system?
- Can miroHISCORE² 3D also be operated together with miroHISCORE Pro (3Dfx Banshee)?
- What does SLI mean?
- How much faster than miroHISCORE 3D is miroHISCORE² 3D?
- How can I improve the image quality of the VGA signal of the loop-through connection?
- Should I install the current generic Voodoo² Glide Runtime drivers of 3Dfx Interactive, Inc?
Windows95/98:
- How can I permanently activate the ´Use 3fold buffer (Glide)´ option?
- Why does the TV monitor which is connected to one of the TV-out outlets show no picture at all or only a black-and-white one?
- How can the Windows95 Desktop be displayed on the TV monitor with the aid of TV-out?
WindowsNT40:
- Can the TV-out also be used under WindowsNT40?
- Why is the ´Change on-the-fly...´ option in the ´HISCORE² 3D´ and ´Games´ tab deactivated?
GAMES/APPLICATIONS:
- Why is it not possible to play certain 3Dfx games with miroHISCORE² or why is there a crash after a certain period of time?
- What are the graphics errors which occur shortly after 3Dfx games were started due to?
- Why does the Donut-Demo picture of the miro system software CD ‚flicker'?
- Why do some Windows95/98 games based on Direct3D not recognize miroHISCORE² 3D as primary
3D hardware?
- When starting GLQuake the error message "No RGB fullscreen mode available" is displayed!
- Why don't I see any picture for Tomb Raider 1 in spite of the 3Dfx patch?
- Why is it impossible to display games such as Powerboat Racing (Interplay) and Formula 1 (Psygnosis) via TV-out function on the TV monitor?
- Why do some games (e. g. Screamer Rally, Carmageddon, etc.) cause a ´...mip map error...´ error message after the start?
- Why can some 3D Glide games based on DOS (e. g. Descent II, Grand Theft Auto, etc.) no longer be run since I installed the Windows95/98 driver software, version 2.10?
- After starting a game (like Grand Prix Legends, Pandemonium, eg.) the Powersave function of the monitor will be turned on!
- Why do games and applications depending on Glide3 (like ´SURF´-Demo by 3Dfx) cause a ´A required .DLL file, GLIDE3X.DLL was not found´ error message?
- Where can I get 3Dfx Voodoo(²) patches for my games?
General:
Which graphics chip is on miroHISCORE² 3D?
miroHISCORE² 3D is fitted with the Voodoo²™ chipset of 3Dfx Interactive, Inc.™.
Can I use miroHISCORE² 3D together with the VGA board that is already installed?
miroHISCORE² 3D is an Add-On board and can be operated together with any VGA compatible graphics board. As far as we know there are no incompatibility problems.
Which 3D interfaces are supported by miroHISCORE² 3D?
The following APIs (Application Programming Interfaces) are supported by miroHISCORE² 3D hardware:
Direct3D (Microsoft)
Glide (3Dfx DOS/Windows API)
OpenGL
Does miroHISCORE² 3D need an IRQ?
No, but in some systems the BIOS of the mainboard assignes an IRQ to the PCI slot which is occupied by miroHISCORE² 3D. In such a case this IRQ should be released in the BIOS setup of the mainboard for other hardware components.
Is it possible to play all 3Dfx Voodoo games, even the older ones, with miroHISCORE² 3D?
Some older 3Dfx Voodoo games are not compatible to the 3Dfx Voodoo² chipset. However, the respective game developers meanwhile offer a Voodoo² patch for most of these games (e. g. via Internet). You find a list of Voodoo compatible games under http://www.3dfx.com/. Moreoever, miroHISCORE² 3D can be operated in a 3Dfx Voodoo1 compatibility mode which can be activated via driver software.
Can miroHISCORE² 3D also be operated together with another Voodoo² board (SLI)?
No! ScanLine Interleave mode can only be implemented by using two miroHISCORE² 3D PCI boards.
Can miroHISCORE² 3D be operated together with miroHISCORE 3D in one system?
Yes! Starting with the Windows95/98 driver software V2.10 miroHISCORE² 3D can be operated in parallel (not SLI) with miroHISCORE 3D. You can conveniently switch between both boards by means of the miroPINBOARD.
Can miroHISCORE² 3D also be operated together with miroHISCORE Pro (3Dfx Banshee)?
Yes! Starting with the Windows95/98 driver software V2.50 for miroHISCORE Pro, it is possible to operate miroHISCORE² 3D in parallel (no SLI) with miroHISCORE Pro. You can conveniently switch between both boards by means of the miroPINBOARD.
What does SLI mean?
SLI is an abbreviation and stands for ´ScanLine Interleave´. This mode allows to operate two identical boards based on the Voodoo² chipset parallel in one computer. These boards must internally be connected by means of a loop-through cable, thereby allowing for higher performance, i. e. double memory bandwidth and double polygon fillrate, etc. Moreover, games can be displayed in 1024x768 resolution with Z-buffer option (provided that these games support this resolution), thanks to their combined 8 MByte video memory.
How much faster than miroHISCORE 3D is miroHISCORE² 3D?
In general, the 3Dfx Voodoo² chipset is almost 3 times faster than the 3Dfx Voodoo chipset. However, this also depends on your computer. The optimum performance of the Voodoo² chipset is achieved by computers higher than Pentium 200 MMX.
How can I improve the image quality of the VGA signal of the loop-through connection?
In a few cases the quality of the VGA signal has deteriorated for resolutions higher than 1152x864 and high refresh rates. Pls. select a lower resolution and lower refresh rate for your VGA graphics boards. In addition, you should install miroHISCORE² 3D in the PCI slot which is farthest away from the PCI-slot where your VGA graphics board is installed. The cable is highly shielded and resolutions of up to 1152x864@85Hz can be displayed without any loss. The quality of the VGA signal also depends on (hardware ) filters which are used on the primary graphics board and on the current horizontal frequency of the board.
Note:
Some monitors, e. g. miroD1795 F, have both a D-SUB and BNC entry and can be operated in both modes, making it possible to operate the VGA board on one entry and miroHISCORE² 3D on the second entry of the monitor. The VGA loop-through cable is not required, here and the quality of the VGA signal is not influenced.
Should I install the current generic Voodoo² Glide Runtime drivers of 3Dfx Interactive, Inc?
We do not recommend to do so. The additional features of miroHISCORE² 3D, i. e. TV-out, Gamma and refresh setting would be affected and could not be used in the ideal way.
The maximum scope of features is available only if you use the original miro system software.
Windows95/98:
How can I permanently activate the ´Use 3fold buffer (Glide)´ option?
This can only be a problem if you use the Windows95 V1.1x driver version. Pls. install the up-to-date Windows95/98 V2.12 driver version (or higher).
Why does the TV monitor which is connected to one of the TV-out outlets show no picture at all or only a black-and-white picture?
Pls. make sure that miroHISCORE² 3D is correctly connected to the TV monitor. On the TV monitor's side you have to use the respective Video-In (Composite, BNC, S-Video or EuroScart) as input and select it as receiving unit. Very important: It is not possible to use a TV's HF antenna input for the TV-out function!
If you connect the S-Video output of miroHISCORE² 3D with the EuroScart of your TV set you have to make sure that the TV set is able to receive a S-Video signal via EuroScart (otherwise the picture will only be in black-and-white).
The maximum functionality of the TV-out option is available only if you use the original miro Windows95 driver software for miroHISCORE² 3D. This driver software includes a Glide driver software version which is specially adapted to TV-out. Therefore, do not Install the generic Glide Runtime drivers of 3Dfx Interactive, Inc..
The option ‚Use TV' in the ´Games´ tab (display features) has to be activated.
How can the Windows95 Desktop be displayed on the TV monitor with the aid of TV-out?
It is essential that the following requirements are fulfilled:
Option 1: PAL TV set:
The primary VGA graphics board has to be able to display PAL resolutions, i. e. timings such as 640x480 at 50Hz refresh rate. When this timing is selected, miroHISCORE² 3D can display the Windows95 Desktop on the TV monitor.
Option 2: Multistandard TV set (PAL/NTSC):
The primary VGA graphics board must be able to display a PAL or NTSC resolution, i. e. timings such as 640x480 at 50Hz or 60Hz refresh rate. When this timing is selected, miroHISCORE² 3D can display the Windows95 Desktop on the TV monitor.
To set this value, pls. check the manual of your VGA graphics board or call the manufacturer of your VGA graphics board.
If you still do not have the Windows95 Desktop on TV, you have to make to following modification in the miroPINBOARD configuration:
Make sure that the miroPINBOARD is not activated. Edit the PINBOARD.INI file (c:\windows\miro\tools) , e. g. with your Editor and enter the option DesktopOnTV=1 under the [3Dfx] section. If this option has been entered already you might need to change the value from 0 to 1. Save the modification and start the miroPINBOARD.
You should now see the option ‚Desktop on TV' in the ‚HISCORE²' menue in the configuration of the miroPINBOARD or at Display Properties.
Note:
The TV-out function of miroHISCORE² 3D is first of all thought for displaying games that support 3Dfx on TV.
Displaying the Windows95 Desktops on TV is possible, however, in a few cases involves certain restrictions (e. g. black-and-white picture, Overscan).
WindowsNT40:
Can the TV-out also be used under WindowsNT40?
Yes! Starting with the WindowsNT40 driver software V2.11, TV-out can also be used under WindowsNT40.
Why is the ´Change on-the-fly...´ option in the ´HISCORE² 3D´ and ´Games´ tab deactivated?
The ´Change on-the-fly...´ option requires the Direct3D interface. According to Microsoft this interface will only be available starting with WindowsNT50.
GAMES/APPLICATIONS:
Why is it not possible to play certain 3Dfx games with miroHISCORE² 3D or why is there a crash after a certain period of time?
Some 3Dfx games, first of all older titles, are not compatible to the 3Dfx Voodoo² chipset. Pls. ask your games supplier for a Voodoo² patch. Activate the Voodoo1 compatibility mode of miroHISCORE² 3D, if required.
Install the up-to-date Windows95/98 V2.12 driver software (or higher) or the up-to-date WindowsNT40 V2.11 driver software (or higher).
In case of a crash:
Pls. check the setting of the memory clock of miroHISCORE² 3D. For some computer systems it is necessary to reduce the preset memory clock value. In such a case we recommend to set this value to 90MHz maximum.
In any case, miroHISCORE² 3D should work well with clock rates of 83MHz to 90MHz. Even frequencies of 90 MHz to 95 MHz can be run in favourable operating conditions. In SLI mode (two miroHISCORE² 3D), frequencies of more than 95 MHz can be achieved as both boards ‚share the job' and more performance is available.
Finetuning (Windows95/98 only):
If you can't find a stable clock rate in the green clock rate area ( 83...90 MHz), you can finetune the synchronisation between the Voodoo² Texture processing units (TMUs) via the ‚change on-the-fly...' option in the ´HISCORE² 3D´ tab. Try both lower and higher values. If you see any display errors, the settings are not optimal, yet.
If you can't find a useful finetuning for the current clock rate pls. reset the finetuned value to ”1” and repeat the procedure with a lower clock rate.
Pls. make also sure that the clock rate of the PCI bus is 33MHz. If the processor is overclocked, smooth operation of miroHISCORE² 3D cannot be guaranteed.
Further reasons:
The VOODOO.INI file in the \windows directory has to be renamed or deleted.
Start the registry editor (regedit.exe). Delete the ´HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\3Dfx Interactive´ branch.
What are the graphics errors which occur shortly after 3Dfx games were started due to?
Pls. check the clock rate value of miroHISCORE² 3D. On some computer systems it is necessary to reduce the preset value. In this case we recommend to set it to 90MHz maximum.
Install the up-to-date V2.12 driver software (or higher).
In any case, miroHISCORE² 3D should work well with clock rates of 83MHz to 90MHz. Even frequencies of 90 MHz to 95 MHz can be run in favourable operating conditions. In SLI mode (two miroHISCORE² 3D), frequencies of more than 95 MHz can be achieved as both boards ‚share the job' and more performance is available.
Finetuning:
Finetuning (Windows95/98 only):
If you have a problem to find a stable clock rate in the green clock rate area ( 83...90 MHz), you can finetune the synchronisation between the Voodoo² Texture processing units (TMUs) via the ‚change on-the-fly...' option in the ´HISCORE² 3D´ tab. Try both lower and higher values. If you see any display errors, the settings are not optimal, yet.
If you can't find a useful finetuning for the clock rate pls. reset finetuned value to ”1” and repeat the procedure with a lower clock rate.
Pls. make also sure that the clock rate of the PCI bus is 33MHz. If the processor is overclocked, smooth operation of miroHISCORE² 3D cannot be guaranteed.
Moreover, some 3Dfx Voodoo games, first of all older titles, are not compatible with the 3Dfx Voodoo² chipset. Pls. ask your games supplier for a Voodoo² patch.
Why does the Donut-Demo picture of the miro system software CD ‚flicker'?
The Donut demo deactivates the ´VSync´ option of the Voodoo² chipset's standard presettings. Press the key while the demos is running to activate the option. The picture will then be displayed without flickering.
Why do some Windows95/98 games based on Direct3D not recognize miroHISCORE² 3D as primary 3D hardware?
The current DirectX5 component (part of the system software's CD-ROM) and the up-to-date Windows95 driver software of miroHISCORE² 3D have to be installed correctly. The option ‚Do not use board for D3D' in the ‚miroGAMES' menue (display properties) has to be deactivated (standard setting).
Pls. also check the DirectX settings (c:\programme\directx\setup\dxtool.exe). In some cases it is necessary to deactivate the ´Use Direct3D Hardware Acceleration´ option.
In addition, some games allow to explicitely select 3D acceleration. This option has to be activated.
When starting GLQuake the error message "No RGB fullscreen mode available" is displayed!
Pls. make sure that your primary graphics board is set to 16Bit (65535 colours) resolution. The bit depth for the Windows95 Desktop can be modified via the ´Settings´ tab under ´Display properties´. On the other hand, you should not start GLQuake from a fullscreen MS-DOS Prompt.
Why don't I see any picture for Tomb Raider 1 in spite of 3Dfx patch?
This is caused by the VOODOO.INI file in the \windows directory.
Solution: The VOODOO.INI file has to be deleted or renamed.
Why is it impossible to display games such as Powerboat Racing (Interplay) and Formula 1 (Psygnosis) via TV-out on the TV monitor?
The following resolutions can be run with TV-out:
640x480, 800x600
Some games (e. g. Powerboat Racing) are displayed in 512x384, 640x400 or 1024x768 resolution.
Solution: Change the resolution to 640x480 or 800x600 (provided that the game allows for such modifications).
Some games install their own GLIDE2X.DLL file. This file does not provide for the routines specially required for TV-out.
Solution: Pls. delete the GLIDE2X.DLL file in the game's installation directory.
Why do some games (e. g. Screamer Rally, Carmageddon, etc.) cause a ´...mip map error...´ error message after the start?
As a rule, these games are unable to appropriately use the additional texture memory of miroHISCORE² 3D. Pls. activate the ´Voodoo1 compatibility´ option of the ´Games´ menue (Display properties or miroPINBOARD).
If this does not solve your problem pls. contact your games supplier for a Voodoo² patch.
Why can some 3D Glide games based on DOS (e. g. Descent II, Grand Theft Auto, etc.) no longer be run since I installed the Windows95/98 driver software, version 2.10?
Pls. make sure that the GLIDE2X.OVL file is in the \windows directory. If required, copy the GLIDE2X2.OVL file from the \windows\system directory to this directory and then rename the file into GLIDE2X.OVL. In some cases, this file has to be copied into the respective games directory.
After starting a game (like Grand Prix Legends, Pandemonium, eg.) the Powersave function of the monitor will be turned on!
Enter the miro-Games tab, enable ´Do not sync to refreshrate´ and apply the changes.
Why do games and applications depending on Glide3 (like ´SURF´-Demo by 3Dfx) cause a ´A required .DLL file, GLIDE3X.DLL was not found´ error message?
You must copy \windows\system\GLIDE3X2.DLL into \windows\system\GLIDE3X.DLL.
Where can I get 3Dfx Voodoo(²) patches for my games?
(Up-to-date) 3Dfx Voodoo(²) and ´normal´ patches and updates for games can be found on CDs of various PC Games magazines (e. g. Gamestar, PC-Games, PC-Player, etc.), in the Internet and in some cases can be obtained directly from the respective games developers.
Some interesting Internet links:
http://www.3dfxmania.com/
http://www.voodooextreme.com/
http://www.markbz.demon.co.uk/dman3d.htm
http://3dfx.logicquest.com/
http://www.3dfx.com/
Copyright © 01/28/1998 miroMEDIA GmbH
Note:
All product information provided by miroMEDIA in this document has been carefully checked but do not guarantee any specific product features. |