March 23, 2026
Voodoo spells and Quake yells
IRIX 3dfx Voodoo driver and glide2x IRIX port
Retro crowd loses it as ancient SGI gets Voodoo magic — cue the “Can it run Quake?” chant
TLDR: A new open-source driver gets a 3dfx Voodoo1 working on an old SGI O2 running IRIX, complete with a Glide library port. Fans are ecstatic and chanting for Quake 1, while skeptics ask “why bother,” sparking a nostalgia-versus-practicality showdown that could revive classic 3D gaming on museum-grade hardware
A retro wizard just sparked a 90s flashback: an open-source driver now gets a 3dfx Voodoo1 graphics card working on an old SGI O2 workstation running IRIX (Silicon Graphics’ vintage operating system). Only Voodoo1 on the O2 is supported so far, but the receipts are wild—kernel logs show the card being recognized, a test app hums at 640x480, and the hardware list proudly reads “Graphics board: 3dfx Voodoo.” Code’s live on GitHub: the driver (tdfx_irix), the Glide library port (glide_irix), and a hardware info tool (hinv_3dfx).
And the comments? Pure nostalgia riot. One top quip crowned the “final boss” as getting Quake 1 running with Glide, instantly turning the thread into a chorus of “but can it run Quake?” Meanwhile, purists are cheering this as preservation and a love letter to 90s 3D, while skeptics roll their eyes—“It’s 2026, why?”—calling it museum cosplay. Wish-listers are already yelling for Voodoo2 support, other SGI boxes, and Unreal or Quake II ports. Meme parade includes “IRIX necromancy,” “write-gather skipped is my new band,” and “beige box envy.” It’s half retro science fair, half mosh pit—and everyone’s poking the dev’s GitHub with stars and bug reports
Key Points
- •SST1 (3dfx Voodoo1) is currently supported on SGI IP32 (O2); testing was done on IRIX 6.5.30 with an RM7000C CPU.
- •Driver sources (tdfx_irix), a Glide2x IRIX port (glide_irix), and a hinv wrapper (hinv_3dfx) are available on GitHub.
- •Kernel logs show the tdfx driver initializing, registering for Voodoo1/Voodoo2, attaching a Voodoo1, mapping BAR0, and exposing /hw/tdfx0.
- •A test application successfully opens the 3dfx device, maps registers/framebuffer, and runs at 640x480 with Glide calls executing.
- •The hinv_3dfx tool confirms the system recognizes a “3dfx Voodoo” graphics board on the tested O2 (IP32) machine.