Bill's Workshop -- Which Mini-GL?

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Which Mini-GL?

Note from Bill 8/20/2000 - this discussion is of historic interest only. We used to fiddle a lot with mini-GL files, but that should be a thing of the past.

Somebody posted a note on our discussion board today saying that they had four different mini-GL files in their Quake II folder and wanted to know which to use. Being the obsessive-compulsive type, I ran through all the mini-GL files I have accumulated, and here's the rundown. To save you some time -- run the latest from 3Dfx, version 1.46 or Brett"3 Fingers" Jacobs' 16-bit derivative of 1.46, over-clocked to 110/110 for Banshee. This version should work just fine for the Voodoo 1 & 2, as well. The only mini-GLs that differs from the rest in terms of performance are the original 1.1 mini-GL and Brett's older 16-bit hack (shows version 1.4), which are about 10% slower.

Which version do you have?? Well, that's fairly easy to tell. Right click on the file and select properties from the menu that appears, then the Version tab.

System: Abit BX-6 with Celeron 300A at 450MHz, 128MB PC-100 SDRAM, monitor set at 75Hz refresh
Running 3Dfx RC-4 reference drivers from Gainward in Creative Labs Banshee 16MB AGP. Quake II version 3.19
Settings: Vsync off, Brett's Quake II High Performance settings and files, sound on (low quality), 8-bit textures off.

Mini-GL version	File size (KB)	File Modified Date	Quake II Timedemo Demo1 (FPS) on Banshee				Card identity in console
Mini-GL version	File size (KB)	File Modified Date	640x480	800x600	1024x768	1600x1200	Card identity in console
1.1 or from Creative CD	796	Sep 17, 1998	51.0	35.5	22.9	8.7	Banshee
1.1 -hacked	140	Feb 13, 1998	56.0	39.0	24.8	9.6	Rush (Notes)
1.3	152	Apr 29, 1998	56.0	39.0	24.7	9.6	Rush
1.4	153	Oct 09, 1998	56.1	39.0	24.7	9.6	Rush
1.4 -16 bit	796	Nov 13, 1998	51.0	35.5	22.9	8.7	Banshee
1.45	135	Nov 24, 1998	55.9	38.8	24.9	9.6	Voodoo2
1.46	129	Nov 26, 1998	55.9	39.0	24.9	9.6	Banshee
1.46 -Half-Life version	130	Nov 26, 1998	56.0	39.0	24.9	9.6	Banshee
1.46 - Over-clocked (110/110)	129	Nov 26, 1998	60.7	42.7	27.5	11.0	Banshee
1.46 - 16bit	129	Nov 25, 1998	55.6	38.7	24.9	9.5	Banshee
1.46 - 16bit Over-clocked 110/110	129	Nov 25, 1998	60.7	42.6	27.5	10.8	Banshee

Notes:
In general, the Quake II internal slider does not function with any of these mini-GL versions and the Banshee. Use the Display properties Glide gamma settings or the vid_gamma and gl_modulate commands for Quake II or a utility like IdGamma to adjust the appearance to taste. See the Quake II discussion and Brett Jacobs' ultimate Quake II Tweak Guide.

None of these mini-GL files will run in a window. The 1154x864 and 1280x960 resolutions try to do so and will usually lead to chopped off black band at the top of the screen or a switch to software mode.

The only reliable over-clocker at this point is Entech's Powerstrip. Settings are not retained on reboot in the unregistered version.

Rush: When a mini-GL leads to a false identification in the Quake II console of the Banshee as a Rush chipset, you cannot run over 800x600 resolution. The Quake II internal brightness slider does work, however. You can remedy the identification error and resolution limit by switching Glide files to those from RC-2 driver pack, but then you lose the function of the brightness slider.

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