Sound Blaster 32 - This allows for true Sound Blaster support in DOS games. With real SIMM slots, it can support Soundfonts in DOS. I am specifically seeking the version with a real Yamaha OPL3 chip.

If you can not find the CT-3600 SB-32 with Yamaha OPL3, also consider the CT-3930 SB-32 with Yamaha OPL3 FM output. Since you are going to use the GUS PnP for reliable MIDI output you can be less concerned with the Sound Blaster DSP version...

Keyboard - A true IBM model M, 139401. A real keyboard, best ever made in mass quantities, ps/2 of course.

Slight typo here, you are looking at the IBM part number 1391401, at least that is what it says on the bottom of my IBM model M, which was born on "31 Aug 89". I haven't decided what to get my keyboard for its birthday this year. 😁 Here are two re-sellers of IBM Model M keyboards or IBM buckling spring technology:

ClickeyKebords - has all sorts of IBM Model M keyboards.
Unicomp - makes new keyboards with IBM buckling spring technology.

Mouse - A true gamer's mouse with a real ball, no USB nonsense. (We may have to play some real DOS games here.)

The one true mouse that you want, that EVERYONE wants - but do not know about, is the Microsoft Intellimouse Pro v1.0 (the only version ever made due to lawsuits) with a PS/2 connector. Microsoft had a little problem since they 'stole' much of the right-handed ergonomic features of the Gold Touch mouse after it was demonstrated to them by its inventor. He eventually won his lawsuit against Microsoft and the Intellimouse Pro has been airbrushed from Microsoft literature, references and Intellimouse driver software. However, since it is functionally almost identical to the regular Intellimouse, it can be treated as an Intellimouse and works perfectly with the latest Microsoft Intellimouse software drivers. I own two. 😏

Gold Touch Mouse

Microsoft Intellimouse Pro

Microsoft did the better job implementing the ergonomic features in the Intellimouse Pro, their Japanese manufacturer did a superb job in the form, fit and quality control of the Intellimouse Pro. An unsung gem of a mature ball-mouse technology.

Many internet sites get the regular Intellimouse confused with the Intellimouse Pro. Here are two websites with now historical documentation and photographs of said Microsoft Intellimouse Pro. If you are right-handed - this IS the mouse for you.

Microsoft® IntelliMouse® Pro - catalog

Microsoft® IntelliMouse® Pro Blenheim House Reviews

Best of luck,

dvwjr

A typo yes. I have a Unicomp USB Model M descendant, but must have a PS/2 keyboard. I would buy a Unicomp keyboard but I hate their label design near the LEDs and their workmanship is not as great. IBM's workmanship cannot be beat.

A gaming machine needs a gaming mouse, and the Boomslang is the best in PS/2. I will keep the Intellimouse in mind.

As far as Sound Blasters go, I suppose I could manage with my Sound Blaster 16 CT-1750 DSP 4.05. But NewRisingSun claims the audio quality is crap. EMU-8000 sound support in DOS is weak at best and hardly optimal.

Boards with a CT-2501 or CT-2504 chip seem to be more available, but they lose the treble, bass (and gain on the 2501) mixer settings. If games use them, then they would be quite the sacrifice.

Great Hierophant wrote:

Sound Blaster Live! 5.1
......
Sound Blaster 32 CT-3600

I also plan to put SB Audigy and SB AWE64 on my system (MS DOS and Win98 dual boot), but wouldn't they conflict with each other? How do you manage to avoid IRQ conflict between the two Creative sound cards?

The PCI Sound Blasters support ISA Sound Blaster through a software emulator. If you do not load the emulator, the card will not use those resources.

PCI Sound Blaster's emulation is the sound cardS emulator they lifted from Ensoniq for their Soundscape. If I recall the list correctly, it handles/d soundscape, sb, adlib, adlib gold, covox.. The later Soundscape cards were merely price reduced versions, emulating in software the processing the original Soundscape's did in hardware. It also does/did chorus and reverb of the elite. Where they screwed up was they gave the cut down cards a poorer rendition of the patch set, otherwise they would have sounded just as good. Also if I recall, it uses NMI like the GUS's SBOS, so it won't work right with some games. Creative first just started selling Ensoniq's cards relabled as Creative, then used the emulator for the Live, Audigy, and so on. Creative ripped out all the non Creative card emulations(can't have anyone thinking of anything non Creative in their version of sound card history) and added sb pro and sb16.

Great Hierophant wrote:

The PCI Sound Blasters support ISA Sound Blaster through a software emulator. If you do not load the emulator, the card will not use those resources.

You're talking about running PCI Sound Blaster in DOS, aren't you? But how about Windows 98? Both Creative cards run in Win98 and I think that's where the problem starts.

Kreshna Aryaguna Nurzaman wrote:

Great Hierophant wrote:

The PCI Sound Blasters support ISA Sound Blaster through a software emulator. If you do not load the emulator, the card will not use those resources.

You're talking about running PCI Sound Blaster in DOS, aren't you? But how about Windows 98? Both Creative cards run in Win98 and I think that's where the problem starts.

A good point, I believe disabling the PCI card's legacy device driver in the control panel will eliminate this issue. Otherwise, disable the ISA's windows drivers.

I am having alternative thoughts. Instead of a Voodoo as the main card, how about having it as a secondary card instead. I have my eye on a Gefore 2 Ultra that sports VGA and DVI output (the latter using a Silicon Image chip.) Much cheaper than any Voodoo 5 and more powerful. I will put a Voodoo 2 SLI combo in the PCI slots for Glide support. There would still be solid Glide support with first rate Direct 3D and Open GL support. Also, many Windows 98 games support, if not require hardware T&L.

Great Hierophant wrote:

A good point, I believe disabling the PCI card's legacy device driver in the control panel will eliminate this issue. Otherwise, disable the ISA's windows drivers.

I wonder; is it possible to have two enabled Creative sound cards --one PCI and one ISA-- in Windows 98? I know we still need to choose which sound device to use in Sound properties (Control Panel), but at least we don't have to disable a card and enable the other in order to switch cards. Doesn't enabling a device involve rebooting?

Great Hierophant wrote:

I am having alternative thoughts. Instead of a Voodoo as the main card, how about having it as a secondary card instead. I have my eye on a Gefore 2 Ultra that sports VGA and DVI output (the latter using a Silicon Image chip.) Much cheaper than any Voodoo 5 and more powerful.

Why not using GeForce 4600 Ti for that purpose? GeForce 4 may be too powerful for a Pentium III system, but that also means that your games won't be GPU-bound at all, so you can play them in maximum resolution with maxed AA and AF.

I wonder; is it possible to have two enabled Creative sound cards --one PCI and one ISA-- in Windows 98? I know we still need to choose which sound device to use in Sound properties (Control Panel), but at least we don't have to disable a card and enable the other in order to switch cards. Doesn't enabling a device involve rebooting?

How about four sound cards? I intend on putting in a Sound Blaster AWE64, Sound Blaster Live! 5.1, Gravis Ultrasound PnP, Aureal SQ2500. You are quite right about the choosing the selected sound device in the Multimedia Control Panel. With all the cards I am putting into this system, I will have an enormous number of choices.

However, the real problem is games running in a dos box. In order to prevent the PCI card from struggling with the ISA card, I will not install the legacy SB driver used by those cards. All other drivers for these cards can remain.

Great Hierophant wrote:

How about four sound cards?

😳

Great Hierophant wrote:

I intend on putting in a Sound Blaster AWE64, Sound Blaster Live! 5.1, Gravis Ultrasound PnP, Aureal SQ2500.

Well I plan to put three on my own:
(1) Sound Blaster AWE 64, which I'm not going to disable in Win98. There are Windows 98 games I'd like to play on AWE64.
(2) Diamond MX300 for playing A3D games.
(3) Sound Blaster Audigy for EAX games.

I'm still concerned about resource conflict though. Can I just install Win98 with all those sound cards connected to my mobo, or do I have to put each sound card one by one, after installing Win98, to avoid resource conflict?

I would install the ISA cards first, the PCI cards second. Get the first ones working before the second. One other thing to watch out for is that the Creative cards' software does not stomp over each other during the install. (Install AWE64 to the root directory, the Audigy to the Program Files.)

Great Hierophant wrote:

I would install the ISA cards first, the PCI cards second. Get the first ones working before the second. One other thing to watch out for is that the Creative cards' software does not stomp over each other during the install. (Install AWE64 to the root directory, the Audigy to the Program Files.)

I see. Once I had AWE32 and Diamond Monster Sound installed on the same system without problem; what worries me is having two Creative cards on the same mobo. Thanks for the tip! 😀

If he wanted to he could go for something a little more powerful than a ti4600. My pentium III box has a Pentium III-S 1.4GHZ tualatin in it. The video card is a ti4200 and I am definitely GPU starved in that machine. The CPU handles Age of Empires III effortlessly (my wife is currently addicted to that game) but the Graphics card has a hard time keeping up when I turn on graphic options. My motherboard is an Asus CUBX-E and has the 440bx chipset in it. The AGP slot can do 2x, I read somwhere that something as "high" up as an ATI 9500 Pro or ATI 9700 Pro could go into the board. His motherboard has the same 440BX chipset; so he might be able to do that as well.

I also have have voodoo 2's in sli in that machine for glide support. Works llike a charm. Love "Wheel of Time"

I have decided that my machine will not be so ambitious to start. I will be using a Voodoo 5 5500 PCI and a Pentium III 1GHz/133FSB. If I were to get a Tualatin with a Powerleap adapter, then I would probably go the Geforce/Voodoo 2 SLI route.

I am not prepared to go socket 370, if that were the case, I would probably go for the Industrial Motherboards with an ISA slot (for a Sound Blaster) and abandon DOS completely.

Concerning the sound cards: What about using the second available ISA slot as some kind of "swap-slot"?

If a non-Pnp card is plugged in there you just have do reserve the IRQ and DMA in BIOS. In a dual boot system, you can boot up to windows, where the non-pnp (sound)card will not be recognized, and in "pure" dos mode you just don't initialize the other (pnp) cards.
I call it "swap-slot" because you could change the cards you use without changing much of the (win98) configuration. This makes it possible to use some sound devices that are in my opinion legendary too, but never hit the market as the soundblasters did, e.g.:
- Ensoniq Soundscape (Elite)
- Turtle Beach Tropez Classic (comes with a real OPL3)
- Yamaha Soundedge SW-20 (non-pnp?)

That is pretty much the idea. The second slot would in my ideal configuration house any of the following:

Roland MPU-401 Interface
Creative Game Blaster
Gravis Ultrasound ACE

I wish my motherboard had four slots, but I must make do with two.

Great Hierophant wrote:

I have decided that my machine will not be so ambitious to start. I will be using a Voodoo 5 5500 PCI and a Pentium III 1GHz/133FSB.

If you're using Voodoo5 PCI, then you can use a GeForce on the AGP slot, can't you?