Comments on: What happened to 3dfx https://dfarq.homeip.net/why-3dfx-failed-in-the-year-2000/?utm_source=rss&utm_medium=rss&utm_campaign=why-3dfx-failed-in-the-year-2000 David L. Farquhar on technology old and new, computer security, and more Fri, 23 Jan 2026 23:49:23 +0000 hourly 1 By: Jon https://dfarq.homeip.net/why-3dfx-failed-in-the-year-2000/#comment-57300 Mon, 20 Oct 2025 13:51:08 +0000 https://dfarq.homeip.net/?p=36114#comment-57300 I bought a Voodoo2 in the late 90s when 3d accelerated FPS games were all the rage and 3dfx was the market leader. Games magazines of the time were obsessed with frame rates on the likes of Quake and Quake 2, as was the young me.

Looking back, the notion of a separate card for 3d in addition to your regular SVGA card was awkward; integrated 2d/3d cards were clearly the logical way forward. (Although I do remember a brief period from 2005-10ish when the PhysX card was on the market, another attempt to get PC gamers to add an additional card for extra graphics effects.)

3dfx did produce an integrated 2d/3d card eventually but by that stage some of its competitors offered better performance. Another case of the first-mover in the market not always retaining its advantage.

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