Looking for: Radius Thunder 3D driver version 1.0.7

[stynx]

Hi, im looking for a copy of the 1.0.7 driver. The included driver is version 1.0.2 and is buggy/slow. The online archives i know have only the 1.0.2 (release) version from 01/97. The 1.0.7 version is from around 06/97. Even after looking through several Magazine/Warez/Update CDs from 1997, i could not find the mentioned driver.

Maybe there is a Radius driver CD for between 1997-1999 out there that contains this driver.

-Jonas

 

[Phipli]

Hi, im looking for a copy of the 1.0.7 driver. The included driver is version 1.0.2 and is buggy/slow. The online archives i know have only the 1.0.2 (release) version from 01/97. The 1.0.7 version is from around 06/97. Even after looking through several Magazine/Warez/Update CDs from 1997, i could not find the mentioned driver.

Maybe there is a Radius driver CD for between 1997-1999 out there that contains this driver.

-Jonas

What version is this?

Index of /mirrors/radius.vintagebox.de/download/radius/software/mac/Thunder/

It should be the newest, it is an archive of the Radius website.

 

[stynx]

What version is this?

Index of /mirrors/radius.vintagebox.de/download/radius/software/mac/Thunder/

It should be the newest, it is an archive of the Radius website.

That is the release version 1.0.2

The filename for the 1.0.7 version is "Thunder1.0.7.sit.hqx"
and was originally found here: ftp://ftp.radius.com/radius/software/mac/Radius3D/Thunder1.0.7.sit.hqx

 

[Phipli]

What about this?

 

[stynx]

Here is something i found on https://web.archive.org/web/19980529004243/http://www.radius.com/Products/1.0.7release.html

New Thunder 3D and Thunder TX 1152 drivers.
Radius is pleased to announce speed gains and performance enhancements for the Thunder 3D and the Thunder TX 1152 graphics accelerator cards.

Radius is now releasing version 1.0.7 of the driver software set for the Thunder 3D and the Thunder TX 1152 graphics cards. This version includes several key components. The first is a new ROM image that must be "flashed" into the ROM of your graphics card. This flash process loads new software into a special ROM on the Thunder 3D and Thunder TX 1152. This 'flash' is needed in order to take advantage of the new enhancements we're now making available. The second component is a new version of the "Radius 3D QuickColor" extension. This new version of our 2D acceleration code provides enhanced performance for all 2D applications and has shown to offer as much as a 20% improvement in general MacBench QuickDraw scores and over a 10X improvement in certain QuickDraw calls. The final enhancement offered in 1.0.7 is a set of new and more powerful drawing engines that provide you with the ability to customize your 3D performance.

Custom Drawing Engines
Working with the various 3D application vendors and customers, Radius has found that the ways that you use 3D vary greatly from environment to environment and from application to application. In order to offer you the highest value possible from our cards, we've created a set of alternative 3D drawing engines that enable you to maximize 3D performance for the most important way 3D is used; the way that you use it.

These 3D engines provide tradeoffs in quality and performance. Some offer greater fidelity of texture image while others focus purely on speed. The best part of the Radius 3D Engine architecture is that you don't have to restart your Mac everytime you want to try a different engine or focus upon a different performance level. The Radius 3D Engine architecture is set up using shared libraries. So you can move an alternative engine in and out of the extensions folder at will (only one engine should be in the extensions folder at any one time). You can even use the Extensions Manager control panel that comes with System 7.6 to select which engine is active.

To use these drawing engines:
1) Close all open 3D applications and any window with 3D content
2) Remove the "3D Engine" from the extensions folder.
3) Place your selected drawing engine inside the extensions folder.
**The drawing engine does NOT need to be renamed nor does the CPU need to be restarted for it to work**
4) Go to work!!!

Alternate Drawing Engines
A folder is included on the Thunder 3D/TX 1152 Installer named, "Alternate Drawing Engines." These engines can increase performance, but may have compatibility issues with your configuration.

Alternate Engines and their functions:
Radius 3D Engine.bi (bilinear drawing engine) - highest quality texture mapping - lower texture speed

Radius 3D Engine.nn (nearest neighbor drawing engine) - lower quality texture mapping - fastest texture speed.

We have included two experimental drawing engines. These drawing engines may give more 3D performance, but may also cause artifacts:

Radius 3D Engine.exp.bi (experimental bilinear drawing engine) - highest quality texture mapping - lower speed

Radius 3D Engine.exp.nn (experimental nearest neighbor drawing engine) - lower quality texture mapping - fastest speed

Download Thunder 3D/TX 1152 driver software set

 

[stynx]

This is version 1.0.2 as well

What about this?

 

[stynx]

The Radius Tempest has a Glint Delta + Permedia combination and uses the same extensions (version 1.1) but it is not compatible. A quick look via ResEdit showed different drawing engines for 2D and 3D although similarities are present. In the driver, the Radius Thunder 3D/TX is called "High Dive Card" while the Tempest is called "Spring Board". Apples QuickDraw 3D (RAVE?) is called "Tinsel Town". The owner resource mentioned a (c) date of 1995 for the 3D driver and the SuperMac division of Radius responsible for the development.
The Radius Thunder TX 1152 is a smaller version of the Thunder 3D (TX 1600) with the same chipset (Glint Delta + 500TX). It has only 4MiB of Ram and 12MiB of Dram (for texture and z-buffer). It has therefore exactly half the memory of the Thunder 3D.

The driver is interchangeable between the Thunder 3D, TX 1152 and TX 1600.
The driver of the Tempest ist not compatible with the Thunder 3D/TX.

 

[stynx]

I have searched in the Japanese sphere a bit but could still not find the 1.0.7 driver.
All Backups of the Radius FTP servers seem to leave this out.

 

[stynx]

Found on MacWorld CD 08/97

 

[Phipli]

Found on MacWorld CD 08/97

Are you able to put it on Macintosh Garden? For if other people are searching for it?

If you don't have an account I'll do it if you prefer.

 

[stynx]

Are you able to put it on Macintosh Garden? For if other people are searching for it?

If you don't have an account I'll do it if you prefer.

I have uploaded here:

Radius Thunder 3D Driver 1.0.2, 1.0.7 (+ROM update) - Macintosh Repository

Thunder 3D 1.0.2 Software INSTALLATION INSTRUCTIONS & SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION January 27, 1997 Table of Contents Important Notes ...

www.macintoshrepository.org

The ROM-update and driver double the 3D performance, especially in terms of pixel-throughput.
The previous driver topped around 5.5 Mtex/s for textured filtered polygons. It now reaches around 10 Mtex/s.
The card archives around 350Kploy/s in a synthetic benchmark with 25 pixel big shaded polygons.

There are less artifacts but the Blt-engine still produces rogue pixels when moving windows.
I could not see artifacts in 3D.

-Jonas

 

[Phipli]

I have uploaded here:

Radius Thunder 3D Driver 1.0.2, 1.0.7 (+ROM update) - Macintosh Repository

Thunder 3D 1.0.2 Software INSTALLATION INSTRUCTIONS & SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION January 27, 1997 Table of Contents Important Notes ...

www.macintoshrepository.org

The ROM-update and driver double the 3D performance, especially in terms of pixel-throughput.
The previous driver topped around 5.5 Mtex/s for textured filtered polygons. It now reaches around 10 Mtex/s.
The card archives around 350Kploy/s in a synthetic benchmark with 25 pixel big shaded polygons.

There are less artifacts but the Blt-engine still produces rogue pixels when moving windows.
I could not see artifacts in 3D.

-Jonas

What 3D APIs does it support? Just QD3D and RAVE?

I sadly don't have a Thunder3D. One went "cheap" a few months back, but more than I couldn't justify. Closest I have is the extremely mediocre PrecisionColor 24/1600. I was astounded by how bad the 2D acceleration on that card was.

 

[stynx]

What 3D APIs does it support? Just QD3D and RAVE?

I sadly don't have a Thunder3D. One went "cheap" a few months back, but more than I couldn't justify. Closest I have is the extremely mediocre PrecisionColor 24/1600. I was astounded by how bad the 2D acceleration on that card was.

Yes, only QD3D & RAVE. The 2D acceleration seems ok on this card, although i have not really tested it. The artifacts that i encounter could well be a defective VRAM on my card. I don't think such errors would have been normal on a $3000 card.

The untextured polygon throughput is actually about as high as a Rage Pro in QD3D. The main problem is the very limited pixel throughput. It can do at most 20 Mpix/s.

 

[Phipli]

The artifacts that i encounter could well be a defective VRAM on my card. I don't think such errors would have been normal on a $3000 card.

I've picked up a load of PCI cards over the last few years and half or more have graphics issues due to being flexed in the post. It is usually just pins on chips free, although a couple have had traces damaged by poor storage.

What I do is use a plastic pen to tap each chip to see if there is any change in the artifacts. This let's me know what area of the board is playing up. I the use a scalpel to very gently ping each pin on suspect chips to see if any are free to move, then I resolder them and their neighbours.

ATi Mach64 based card :
Before:


After:


ixMicro TwinTurbo:
Before:


During:


After:

 

[stynx]

I've picked up a load of PCI cards over the last few years and half or more have graphics issues due to being flexed in the post. It is usually just pins on chips free, although a couple have had traces damaged by poor storage.

What I do is use a plastic pen to tap each chip to see if there is any change in the artifacts. This let's me know what area of the board is playing up. I the use a scalpel to very gently ping each pin on suspect chips to see if any are free to move, then I resolder them and their neighbours.

That is a good idea. I did have some cards (Apple QuickDraw 3D accelerator, Voodoo 1, Rage II) that had loose or broken traces pins. The error i encountered with those cards was a complete failure to generate any graphics. A simple visual inspection of the Thunder 3D showed no damage to the traces or any suspicious pins. The Thunder 3D was actually NIB and most likely never used. The PCI-pins looked completely new.

I will test the pins later this week and maybe just resoled everything ... after i did some tests.

-Jonas

 

[Phipli]

That is a good idea. I did have some cards (Apple QuickDraw 3D accelerator, Voodoo 1, Rage II) that had loose or broken traces pins. The error i encountered with those cards was a complete failure to generate any graphics. A simple visual inspection of the Thunder 3D showed no damage to the traces or any suspicious pins. The Thunder 3D was actually NIB and most likely never used. The PCI-pins looked completely new.

I will test the pins later this week and maybe just resoled everything ... after i did some tests.

-Jonas

Is it NIB, or is it a return? Sometimes returned items surface on eBay when ships or warehouses are cleared.

The faults I get have been varied, but are often vertical lines, or scattered dots, or part of the screen the wrong colour. Sometimes the screen stays black, or with one card the computer wouldn't chime (that was one of the ATI cards that had broken pins on the main chip)

Here is an example (the Twin Turbo from above) :

 

[Byrd]

I recently had to e-waste a Twin Turbo M8 as the graphics chipset had warped and completely sheared away from three sides on the PCB. The card was stored appropriately like my others but I'd never tried it until recently. Looked like a defective card over ravages of time. Reflowed it, got it back down but the damage was done and no life.

 

[Phipli]

I recently had to e-waste a Twin Turbo M8 as the graphics chipset had warped and completely sheared away from three sides on the PCB. The card was stored appropriately like my others but I'd never tried it until recently. Looked like a defective card over ravages of time. Reflowed it, got it back down but the damage was done and no life.

Since the price of PCI cards went from basically free, to more than I'm willing to pay, I spent a while fixing all of my video cards. I had a run of buying cheap cards and them arriving faulty. I even had a beige G3 that a load of pins had dry joints on the Rage II+.

Twin Turbos are under appreciated - they're fast 2D cards. Guess everyone is after a 3D card and the Rage 128 and Radeon 7000 were cheap until recently.

If you don't plan on playing games that need hardware 3D acceleration, a cheap TT can be a good option for fast high resolution output. Especially an 8MB card.

 

[stynx]

Since the price of PCI cards went from basically free, to more than I'm willing to pay, I spent a while fixing all of my video cards. I had a run of buying cheap cards and them arriving faulty. I even had a beige G3 that a load of pins had dry joints on the Rage II+.

Twin Turbos are under appreciated - they're fast 2D cards. Guess everyone is after a 3D card and the Rage 128 and Radeon 7000 were cheap until recently.

If you don't plan on playing games that need hardware 3D acceleration, a cheap TT can be a good option for fast high resolution output. Especially an 8MB card.

You are completely right. The TT and Imagine 128 are very fast 2D cards. Even the Matrox Millennium 1+2 are fast 2D cards despite supporting basic 3D (unusable in games). The Matrox Millennium 2 is especially cool since it supports all kinds of resolutions up to 1920x1080 with very good performance.
I am interestested in early 3D since (re)discovering the Apple Quickdraw 3D accelerator. When i got my 7200/90 in early '96, i also saw the Apple QD3D accelerator being offered. I did not have enough money to buy one but i went with a Formac ProMedia 20 (2MiB Virge) in early 1997 to drive a 2nd Monitor and add 3D for cheap. It did not work out since the Virge was neither fast nor well supported. It did never get enough 3D acceleration to work in games. I was able to replace the Virge with a Matrox Millennium with 4MiB in 1998 from a discarded Pentium Computer. I flashed the Millennium to mac and was completely blown away by the sharp image quality. I later upgraded the 7200 Mainboard to a 7500 with a G3 upgrade and bought a Voodoo 3 for cheap and flashed it to mac. For the first time i could enjoy accelerated 3D on my mac. I played Unreal, KHG, Quake 1 and 2, as well as a lot of non 3D games. I bought a 3D powerhouse PC in the early 2000s but kept a Mac Notebook (and still use Mac NBs). I have collected a lot of 2D and 3D Mac cards over the last few years. On youtube i have posted some tests of various cards (a bit all over the place) to get a better understanding of the mid-90s, that i never really experienced.

BTW: here is a unlisted 'work in progress' video of the Thunder 3D:

I will most likely delete it some time next year when i redo the demonstration. You can look at the video as a 'raw cut'.
Music used: The first few music tracks are Apple II synthesizer recordings (mostly done by myself, except for oceanotion). I have added titles to identify the songs. The later metal-heavy tracks are from the mid 90s when my best friend was into producing his own music. I did help him converting the analog 4-track recordings into digital and burning CDs. The quality is bad since he already had some hearing loss and kinda mashed the sound together often mixing them quite 'hot'. We could rework later tracks better so that they have better dynamic range. In the end the music is beautifully dated and a bit silly Sadly, i only labelled the music with their track number for the audio CD, meaning i do not really know the correct names to them anymore . I renamed the as i remember them (most likely wrong).

-Jonas

 

[Phipli]

You are completely right. The TT and Imagine 128 are very fast 2D cards. Even the Matrox Millennium 1+2 are fast 2D cards despite supporting basic 3D (unusable in games). The Matrox Millennium 2 is especially cool since it supports all kinds of resolutions up to 1920x1080 with very good performance.
I am interestested in early 3D since (re)discovering the Apple Quickdraw 3D accelerator. When i got my 7200/90 in early '96, i also saw the Apple QD3D accelerator being offered. I did not have enough money to buy one but i went with a Formac ProMedia 20 (2MiB Virge) in early 1997 to drive a 2nd Monitor and add 3D for cheap. It did not work out since the Virge was neither fast nor well supported. It did never get enough 3D acceleration to work in games. I was able to replace the Virge with a Matrox Millennium with 4MiB in 1998 from a discarded Pentium Computer. I flashed the Millennium to mac and was completely blown away by the sharp image quality. I later upgraded the 7200 Mainboard to a 7500 with a G3 upgrade and bought a Voodoo 3 for cheap and flashed it to mac. For the first time i could enjoy accelerated 3D on my mac. I played Unreal, KHG, Quake 1 and 2, as well as a lot of non 3D games. I bought a 3D powerhouse PC in the early 2000s but kept a Mac Notebook (and still use Mac NBs). I have collected a lot of 2D and 3D Mac cards over the last few years. On youtube i have posted some tests of various cards (a bit all over the place) to get a better understanding of the mid-90s, that i never really experienced.

BTW: here is a unlisted 'work in progress' video of the Thunder 3D:

I will most likely delete it some time next year when i redo the demonstration. You can look at the video as a 'raw cut'.
Music used: The first few music tracks are Apple II synthesizer recordings (mostly done by myself, except for oceanotion). I have added titles to identify the songs. The later metal-heavy tracks are from the mid 90s when my best friend was into producing his own music. I did help him converting the analog 4-track recordings into digital and burning CDs. The quality is bad since he already had some hearing loss and kinda mashed the sound together often mixing them quite 'hot'. We could rework later tracks better so that they have better dynamic range. In the end the music is beautifully dated and a bit silly Sadly, i only labelled the music with their track number for the audio CD, meaning i do not really know the correct names to them anymore . I renamed the as i remember them (most likely wrong).

-Jonas

I know your channel, good to make the connection I have watched all of the mac video card videos. I have... a slightly smaller, but similar collection of odd 90s video cards. Both Matrox Millennium cards, the Radius Vision968 based card, ixMicro TT (big and small), ixMicro ix3D, ixMicro TurboTV, a Formac Proformance II and a pile of early ATI cards from the Mach64 and Rage IIc based stuff onwards.

I see you haven't uploaded a video about the ixMicro ix3D (aka Ultimate Rez) - it is another card you might be interested in. They often sell on ebay as TwinTurbos, because people don't spot the differences. They are capable of QD3D, not as compatible as an ATI card, but more so than many of the older cards. Good enough for stuff like Strata3D and 3DWorld I suspect. I have several versions of the drivers, both Apple and ixMicro.