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3Dfx
Banshee Guide:
Now Which Driver
Should I Use?
Who Should Use the New 3Dfx Release 1.0 Reference Drivers?
Introduction 
No more RC-this and
RC-that. The release of an "official" 3Dfx reference driver directly to
end-users last night signals the fact that 3Dfx has decided the drivers are finally ready
for prime-time. How does 3Dfx
Release 1.0 compare with other drivers currently available from various vendors, and
who should use it? I haven't bugged anyone at 3Dfx for details, so here are my independent
conclusions.
First, as a disclaimer, in addition to 3Dfx's warnings, it is very hard to determine the correlation of driver versions as some manufacturers, although they may not make any functional alterations to the code, do at least "rebadge" the files and alter version numbers. Others, like Creative Labs, clearly alter the code functionally, as well. Creative was the first of the major vendors to remedy the Win95 retail/versionA and non-MMX Cyrix incompatibility problems, using what appears to be an earlier revision of the drivers. Guillemot soon followed but with what looks like just an early release of Release 1.0 as what some are calling RC-4.2. As far as I know, no other vendors have implemented these fixes, but expect them any day. Anyway, here is how I see it.
3Dfx Release 1.0, Creative Labs 1.06 and Guillemot 1.01.03 are functionally equivalent with the exception that 3Dfx Release 1.0 lacks a Glide Switcher, (over)clock slider or vsync disabler. See Slash's Banshee Control Panel or Entech's Powerstrip for that.
The public posting of 3Dfx Release 1.0 makes irrelevant the Gainward RC-4, the only truly unmolested 3Dfx reference drivers available previously.
Quantum, Metabyte, EONtronics, and you-name-it, owners should consider using 3Dfx Release 1.0, particularly if any of the below situations apply.
Special note
I do not address the NT4 drivers here. There appears to be some confusion about the 3Dfx release, as only an AGP version is indicated on their website. However, the drivers appear to be for both PCI and AGP, based on my inspection. Also, these drivers are unchanged from the RC-4 release posted 11/23 by Gainward. I will address this further later.
Making choices
Below are a few special situations and the options as I see them:
Are you running Win95a/retail and/or an
Cyrix non-MMX CPU?
Choices:
Creative Labs release 1.06 (11/19/98) -
Use only for CL Banshee
cards. This driver has been vendor-coded only to install if it finds the CL vendor
ID. This release solves all the problems that 3Dfx Release 1.0 solves, but it is not
absolutely identical to Release 1.0. The driver version numbers are not helpful in
deducing this, except for Glide files that are required to be unchanged from 3Dfx. Those
still having mouse cursors issues with this CL driver should consider 3Dfx Release 1.0.
Guillemot release 1.01.03 (11/27/98) - This appears to
be cosmetically rebadged (name references only) Release 1.0 with the addition of a Glide
switcher (available separately but requiring Phoenix drivers) and an independent uninstall
program (cleanvb.exe). Guillemot did not change driver version numbers, so they otherwise
appear identical to Release 1.0. This driver will install on other cards (with the
exception of the Glide switcher). If you do install these drivers and want to remove them,
Guillemot includes a "cleanvb.exe" file that more or less removes the drivers;
however, it can leave you in a bit of limbo trying to install other vendor drivers
afterwards. Make sure you change to "standard VGA", as always before installing
other drivers.
3Dfx Release 1.0 (12/02/98) - This looks like the only choice for all other brands of
cards except the above ones. Diamond, Quantum and Metabyte owners are still saddled with
earlier revisions that do not address the Win95a/retail or Cyrix issue. Same for Gainward
Dragon 4000 and EONtronic Lilith owners. Gainward to date has just released unmolested
3Dfx reference drivers. . You could use one of the other Win95a/retail fixes with
earlier drivers, such as the Win.ini gamma settings, as they seem to work well enough.
Are you running a
Voodoo2 with the Banshee?
Choices:
Creative Labs release 1.06 (11/19/98) -
use only for CL Banshee cards. CL inlcudes a Glide Switcher that will only work wth
CL drivers and the drivers are coded to install on CL cards only.
Guillemot release 1.01.03 (11/27/98) - for all other cards. Guillemot
includes a Glide switcher that will only work with Phoenix drivers. The dirver can be
installed on other cards fairly easily.
Diamond Monster Fusion release 4.01.10.0211 (11/30/98) - use only for Diamond
Banshee cards. This driver has been vendor-coded only to install if it finds the
Diamond vendor ID. You can try it on other cards - I did, and barely survived
the afternoon. I do not know what version this release is. It includes Glide
files that are older than the current ones, which places the drivers back at RC-3.
As far as I know, these are the only vendors who have released a Glide switcher. This still is required with this setup. 3Dfx claims this will be resolved in future Glide releases.
Are you having mouse cursor
problems with the Banshee?
This appears to be almost entirely linked to Creative
Labs drivers prior to 1.06, and apparently linked to the virtual desktop feature that is
exclusive to CL 's Blaster Control utilities. A few people still report some issues with
cursor movement even with 1.06.
Choices:
Guillemot release 1.01.03 (11/27/98)
3Dfx Release 1.0 (12/02/98)
Is Jedi Knight
refusing to run on you Diamond Monster Fusion?
Choices:
Diamond Monster Fusion release 4.01.10.0211 (11/30/98)
3Dfx Release 1.0 (12/02/98) - There clearly was a problem with the earlier Fusion
drivers and this specific game, which seems to run fine on most other cards. Many people
reported resolution with the newest Diamond drivers; however, others have reported success
only after installing Release 1.0. I do not have a Diamond card to test. I consider
InControl Tools suspect from previous experience, but there is no real evidence to support
that now.
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