Voodoo2 from 1998 revived on Windows 11 with Ryzen 9

TechTuber Omores managed to run the legendary 1998 3dfx Voodoo2 graphics card on a modern system with an AMD Ryzen 9 9900X and Windows 11. The card ran Quake 2 without any problems, but an attempt with two cards in an SLI configuration failed.

Photo: Wikipedia

A piece of retro computing history has been resurrected. A 1998 3dfx Voodoo2 graphics card has been successfully run on a modern system with a contemporary AMD Ryzen 9 9900X processor and the classic Windows 11 operating system.

The experiment was conducted by TechTuber Omores, who got a 12MB Creative Voodoo2 card working using a combination of old drivers and modern tweaks. Although it was designed for Windows 98, the card worked on Windows 11 23H2 thanks to an experimental 64-bit driver from 2006.

A StarTech PCI-E to PCI adapter was used to connect to the AM5 motherboard. Initial tests on Windows 98 confirmed hardware compatibility, with games like Quake 2 and 3DMark 2001 SE running without issue. The transition to Windows 10 (32-bit and 64-bit) brought additional challenges, but after removing driver signature verification, the card also worked on Windows 11.

The Voodoo2 demonstrated surprising stability for such old hardware, although an attempt with two cards in an SLI configuration resulted in a system crash. The achievement highlights the enduring legacy of 3dfx technology and the dedication of enthusiasts who keep it alive.