Video Cards in 2001: Preview

In terms of 3dfx’s more immediate future, they, as you probably have already heard, have decided to go back to their roots in a sense.  3dfx will be moving from being a card manufacturer and go back to mainly producing chips again, however unlike the first time around there are some restrictions attached to the companies that will be allowed to produce cards based on 3dfx chips.  3dfx will probably require manufacturers to sell their cards under the Voodoo name, but the fact that they will be allowing other manufacturers to produce 3dfx cards is a step in the right direction.

If you remember back to 3dfx’s acquisition of STB, where they effectively became a board manufacturer as well as a graphics chip manufacturer, this move almost completely nullifies the 3dfx/STB acquisition.  It kind of makes you wonder if 3dfx actually got anything out of the STB deal other than maybe the technology to produce their VoodooTV. 

With all this talk about reevaluation, it isn’t a surprise that the extremely delayed Voodoo5 6000 will never make it to the retail market.  Instead, 3dfx has licensed it out to Quantum3D and they will produce the card for use in professional 3D applications such as simulators.  Unlike other Quantum3D cards, there will be virtually no way for you to find the card alone for purchase in the retail market. 

Quantum3D's 8-way Voodoo5 SLI

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Quantum3D's 8-way Voodoo5 SLI will be found in systems like this one below priced at $14,995

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This is a respectable decision on 3dfx’s part, and as you’ll soon see, it’s the same decision ATI made with the Radeon MAXX.