1994.10 - DX4 100, S3 Vision864, Sound Blaster Pro 2.0, Gravis Ultrasound, Roland MT-32, Roland SC-55

[arncht]

project started: jul 2016
targeted month: 1994.10

goals:
* dx4 with vlb
* cover the 1990-1995 period

Asus VL/I-486SV2GX4 rev 2.1 SiS 85C471 ST
Intel DX4 100 WB SK096
Sharp 72 pin FPM 60ns 8M x2
Genoa Phantom 64 2M VLB S3 Vision864
Creative Sound Blaster Pro 2.0 CT1600 rev 06 ISA DSP3.02, YMF262 OPL3
Gravis Ultrasound 3.74 1M ISA
Roland MPU-IPC
Roland MT-32 PCM v1.05 Control v2.00
Roland SC-55 Firmware 2.0
DTK PTI-265W VLB controller Winbond W83759AF
Western Digital Caviar 2700 730M
Sony CDU-55E 2x CD-ROM IDE
Mitsumi FDD
Baby AT (Pentium style)
FSP SPI-250G
XT/AT 101 US keyboard
Logitech First/Pilot Mouse M35 mouse
Logitech Wingman Extreme

the photos are not about the actual status.

[arncht]

jun-jul 2016

my two favorite sound cards from the past:
Creative Sound Blaster Pro 2.0 CT1600 rev 06 ISA DSP3.02, YMF262 OPL3
Gravis Ultrasound 3.74 1M ISA

and a rare rap10, with gorgeous general midi.
Roland RAP-10 ISA

[arncht]

aug 2016

i have bought an 5x86, it was a typical eastern european computer from the early 1997. i really liked the case style, but it was too yellowish and had too much rusty spots.

i used it as a donor:
Sharp 72 pin FPM 60ns 8M x2
Mitsumi FDD
XT/AT 101 US keyboard
Logitech First/Pilot Mouse M35 mouse

[arncht]

sep 2016

Asus VL/I-486SV2GX4 rev 2.1 SiS 85C471 ST
Intel DX4 100 WB SK096

finally i found an asus sis471 board, i had very similar in the past. it was faster, than many pci board.
the mainboard came with a cpu with a glued heatsink. i did not really know the exact model, but i tried to jumper as dx4 write back cpu, and it worked.

DTK PTI-265W VLB controller Winbond W83759AF

the ide controller supported pio4, and nearly 1.5x as fast as the previous card.

Quantum Fireball 1280M IDE

originally i planned an "1995" computer (i had it at the same time), and i remembered the first fireball, it was very fast.
this model with higher density platters from the early 1996.

Dataexpert Opti-495SLC 3/486WB Cache rev 1.2 Opti 82C495XLC
AMD 386DX 40
Intel 486DX2 66 SX807
Motorola 30 pin FPM 70ns 1M x4
Goldstar 30 pin FPM 70ns 1M x4

i was also thinking about a 1993 dx2, but it was too slow - with the early vlb mainboard and an s3 805 card was just half fast than a late dx4 vlb.
maybe a sis461 could be better. benchmarks:
https://docs.google.com/spreadsheets/d/ ... sp=sharing

and yeah, you can put 3 cpus to this board at same time

[arncht]

oct 2016

i was ready with the first version of my dx4 vlb. i could buy a miro s3 864 card, but the output was not perfect.
i have also bought another 486 from 1997 - the case was in a better shape.
the fsp psu is a very late at model with pfc and new (nos) with warranty.

Asus VL/I-486SV2GX4 rev 2.1 SiS 85C471 ST
Intel DX4 100 WB SK096
Sharp 72 pin FPM 60ns 8M x2
miro Crystal 20SD VL 2M VLB S3 Vision864
Creative Sound Blaster Pro 2.0 CT1600 rev 06 ISA DSP3.02, YMF262 OPL3
Gravis Ultrasound 3.74 1M ISA
Roland RAP-10 ISA
DTK PTI-265W VLB controller Winbond W83759AF
Quantum Fireball 1280M IDE
Mitsumi FDD
Baby AT (Pentium style)
XT/AT 101 US keyboard
Logitech First/Pilot Mouse M35 mouse

[arncht]

dec 2016

i replaced the miro card with an arc logic. it has a dedicated vlb ws0 jumper - it is faster, than any s3/tseng card, what i have tested.
https://docs.google.com/spreadsheets/d/ ... sp=sharing

WDC Paradise Bali32 1M VLB ARK Logic ARK1000VL

[arncht]

apr 2017

Tseng ET4000/W32p 2M VLB Tseng ET4000/W32p
Hercules PowerDynamite 2M VLB Tseng ET4000/W32p

a noname, and a hercules et4000w32p.
the hercules is a very late revision in a top notch condition with vibrant output.
the noname is also not bad, but it has a strange 1.0 vesa bios.

[Intel486dx33]

I have the same SB Pro 2.0 card I want to build a computer around.
What CPU and ram config do you think is Adiquit to get the best audio play back ?

I have the following CPU’s;
486dx-33
486dx2-50
486dx2-66
AMD k6-2 533
AMD K6-3 450

Penitium 166 / 200 / 233 MMX

Pentium-2. 233 / 333 / 400
Pentium-3 500

Also, I have a 500mb IDE drive or I can go with a CF card and adapter.

Can you share your Autoexec.bat and config.sys setting for the SB Pro ?

What version driver did you use ?

[awgamer]

Only thing I would change would be getting rid of the hard drive for an SSD, old hard drives can end up producing a high pitched wine that can harm your hearing.

[Intel486dx33]

I had that Sony 2x CDROM with Sony IDE controller back in 1992 with my first 486dx-33 computer.
I paid $150 for the Sony with a cheap Sound blaster compatible ISA sound card.

[arncht]

I have the same SB Pro 2.0 card I want to build a computer around.
What CPU and ram config do you think is Adiquit to get the best audio play back ?

I have the following CPU’s;
486dx-33
486dx2-50
486dx2-66
AMD k6-2 533
AMD K6-3 450

Penitium 166 / 200 / 233 MMX

Pentium-2. 233 / 333 / 400
Pentium-3 500

Also, I have a 500mb IDE drive or I can go with a CF card and adapter.

Can you share your Autoexec.bat and config.sys setting for the SB Pro ?

What version driver did you use ?

What is “adiquit”?

The old sound cards have poor sound quality, but basically you need a good quality psu and a noise free environment. I would go with the latest config, where the sbpro can work (k6 then mmx then 486). The isa cards are sensitive to the isa timing, set the 8bit to 8t, and fix the clock, if it is possible.

I use this config with dos, for dos you dont need any driver or util for the sbpro.

[gex85]

I really like the clean, tidy style of your builds and the period correctness, which is one of the main concerns for my own builds as well.

What type of lighting equipment do you use for your "glamour shots" like the ones in the first post? According to the EXIF information you did not use a flash, so I assume it's some sort of permanent light? Or is it just the rather long exposure (EXIF says 1/3 sec. @ F/8, ISO-200)?

[arncht]

I really like the clean, tidy style of your builds and the period correctness, which is one of the main concerns for my own builds as well.

What type of lighting equipment do you use for your "glamour shots" like the ones in the first post? According to the EXIF information you did not use a flash, so I assume it's some sort of permanent light? Or is it just the rather long exposure (EXIF says 1/3 sec. @ F/8, ISO-200)?

we have lot of windows in the living room, just i have to find the right angle i did not use any special tool for lighting.
i use f8 because of the deeper depth of field, this cam has a ~mft sized sensor.

[shamino]

the authentic drives are always the hardest to find. the wd 31000 was a big catch, but after a while it did not started. i could find a backup electronic.
it did not help. now i know, the heads are stuck - i had to hit the hdd, and starts again. it is great, but not practical at a built-in drive.

Does it always get stuck? I have an old drive that was sticking after it was stored for a few years, but after I started running it periodically it freed up and doesn't stick anymore.

[arncht]

the authentic drives are always the hardest to find. the wd 31000 was a big catch, but after a while it did not started. i could find a backup electronic.
it did not help. now i know, the heads are stuck - i had to hit the hdd, and starts again. it is great, but not practical at a built-in drive.

Does it always get stuck? I have an old drive that was sticking after it was stored for a few years, but after I started running it periodically it freed up and doesn't stick anymore.

unfortunately. i tried out more times, and i contacted with a professional hdd backup company (they repair drives), it can happen after a couple of weeks.
if you use it within weeks, no problem.

[arncht]

jun 2017

Gravis Analog Pro

from 1992, i completely disassemble it, but i could not fix the very annoying creaky sound.

[arncht]

aug 2018

Roland SC-55 Firmware 2.0

i was very happy with the 2.0 firmware, it is general midi compatible. i compared with the rap10, they sounds nearly identical.
i had to replace the sbpro2 with an sb16, but i found better the sbpro2+rap10 than the sb16+sc55.

Western Digital Caviar 31000 1000M

the biggest hdd from the end of 1994, without any bad sectors.

[arncht]

jan 2018

Roland MPU-IPC
Roland MT-32 PCM v1.05 Control v2.00
Roland SC-55 Firmware 2.0

i could buy an mt32 rev0, a little bit later an mpu-ipc midi controller. it is a really authentic pairing - roland sold them in one package in 1988:
https://books.google.at/books?id=fHghpJ ... pc&f=false
the ipc can control two midi devices directly, i could use the sc55 with the sbpro2.

[arncht]

feb 2018

Logitech Wingman Extreme

replacing of the gravis joystick, it is in perfect condition. from 1994.

Genoa Phantom 64 2M VLB S3 Vision864

my hercules tseng started to freeze - it looks it has a contact problem, sometimes does not boot, etc. i got another vision864 from genoa. the card is not too nice, the output quality is washed out. go back to the ark logic.

Creative Sound Blaster 16 ASP CT1740 rev 04 ISA DSP4.05, YMF262 OPL3

a very nice first generation sb16 with a soldered asp chip and native yamaha opl3. it sounded surprisely good, but still prefer the sbpro2.

Western Digital Caviar 31000 1000M

i tried to replace the board of the hdd, because it does not start. i know now, its heads stuck after a couple of weeks, if i do not use it. after knocking it starts again, but it is very unpractical at a build-in hdd.
i had to switch back to the good old fireball.

[arncht]

jun 2018

Genoa Phantom 64 2M VLB S3 Vision864

this is the twin brother of the another genoa - just in much better shape, and perfect output.