3dfx Voodoo 5 6000 prototype approaches $15,000 in eBay auction

Hardware history buffs are currently flocking to eBay to get their hands on an extremely rare Voodoo 5 6000 prototype. Interest is high and the price is now approaching levels that will make any Geforce RTX Titan look like a bargain.

There are some technology products and manufacturers that have really earned their places in the history books. One of them is clearly 3dfx Interactive and the company’s Voodoo series of graphics cards.

During the 90s, the 3dfx Voodoo cards paved the way for modern graphics cards. with their, at the time, exceptional 3D performance utilizing the proprietary Glide API.

When competitors such as Nvidia and ATI started to close in, 3dfx created the Voodoo 5 6000 graphics card as a last-ditch effort. This card was used four VSA-100 GPUs and came with no less than 128 MB of memory. Unfortunately, the card was never launched, which is why prototypes of the model have become highly sought-after collector items.

As of this writing, one of these rare Voodoo 5 6000 prototypes has made its way onto eBay, and it’s clear that there is considerable interest. The leading bid is presently nearly $15,000.

Details from the seller clarify that this prototype stems from a later part of the development process and that most of the bugs have therefore been squashed. Allegedly, the reason for selling this card on eBay is that its current owner has other personal favorites in his collection, but he acknowledges that many want to crown their own collection with this Voodoo 5 6000. They will have a chance to do so until February 13 2023, when the auction ends.

This particular card was supposedly worked on by 3DFX engineer Hank Semenec to reach a fully stable 8X full-screen anti-aliasing (FSAA) It is also from one of the later states of the Voodoo 5 6000 development project, meaning that most issues are fixed.

A video in the auction ad confirms that the card is fully functional. Connected to an AGP interface, it shows its strengths in a Half-Life demo. Other images showcase the graphics card PCB in all its glory, with four fans mounted on top of the same number of graphics processing units. There is a single VGA output, as well as a power supply connector, with an included molex adapter.

We have yet to see a final price, but it is clear that a fair number of prospective buyers with big wallets are participating. In any event, there is no question that the winner gets to take home a very exciting piece of hardware history.