Big +1 for the ... "case".
Very practical.

If you obtain a 1mb l2 cache module for this board it gets fairly close to the performance of asus vli. Not so much with the standard 256kb buffer.
Also, if i may - vlb graphics are best tested on asus vli-486sv2gx4. It is a better fit for the mission than M919. Consider it if you can.

Recently user WJG6260 steered the vlb graphics sh.t again in another thread, so will be watching your thread with extra interest in the coming days.

Nice. You could run the IDE ribbons under the motherboard and around back.

Yes. I've seen WJG6260's tests. I think performance of VL-Bus cards in DOS PCB/3DB/Doom/etc. is now quite well undestood (and frankly nothing to write home about). Basically ARK1000 slighly faster in DOS than anything else with late S3 and Tseng chips following and Cirrus Logic/Trident/ATI all in spitting distance and then followed by GUI optimised cards with sub-optimal DOS performance.

I'll try to focus on CAD and GUI performance with different drivers, performance in Linux xfree86 server (where available), performance at high CRT refresh rates, drivers and other stuff that made those cards actually different. It is sad to see Matrox Ultima VLB or Viper VLB so lagging given how big powerhouses they actually were.

About 486sv2gx4, is it due to SiS chipset? Is there a consensus it has the best compatibility/performance?

The problem I have with 486sv2gx4 is that it is a VL-Bus only motherboard. I really want to have a chance to run PCI cards too. I got Asus PVI-486SP3 as the alternative should SiS be preferred over UMC.

Not that I am keen on absolute numbers as I even considered doing it with DX4-100 or Dx2-66.

Yeah, looks like a budget motherboard from Win95 era.
There were allot of these made for 386/486 computer upgrades on a budget.
The AMD 5x86-133 was suppose to be a budget friendly CPU upgrade for 486 computers that wanted to run Win95

These were usually sold in a package deal ( CPU + Motherboard ) for about $100.
These were sold by computer component stores around Win95/98 era.

mpe wrote on 2022-12-17, 10:11:

Yes. I've seen WJG6260's tests. I think performance of VL-Bus cards in DOS PCB/3DB/Doom/etc. is now quite well undestood (and frankly nothing to write home about). Basically ARK1000 slighly faster in DOS than anything else with late S3 and Tseng chips following and Cirrus Logic/Trident/ATI all in spitting distance and then followed by GUI optimised cards with sub-optimal DOS performance.

That may be true but it's still interesting to see the numbers. More data the better and your setup may squeeze an extra fps or % in a test and become the ultimate VLB board.
or maybe not, from what I've read VLB/PCI combo boards are usually a bit of a compromise but it does give you an even playing field for benchmarking so I'm not going to say you should change anything.
You could always do the tests again on a pure VLB board and see how they compare at a later date if you wanted.

And is that a GUS locked behind glass hanging on your wall? Man I'd love a GUS and you must have so many your using them as decorations!

chinny22 wrote on 2022-12-17, 15:06:

That may be true but it's still interesting to see the numbers. More data the better and your setup may squeeze an extra fps or % in a test and become the ultimate VLB board.
or maybe not, from what I've read VLB/PCI combo boards are usually a bit of a compromise but it does give you an even playing field for benchmarking so I'm not going to say you should change anything.
You could always do the tests again on a pure VLB board and see how they compare at a later date if you wanted.

WIP data:

chinny22 wrote on 2022-12-17, 15:06:

And is that a GUS locked behind glass hanging on your wall? Man I'd love a GUS and you must have so many your using them as decorations!

It surely is!. It is a part of my soundcard collection that I have on display in my office. See more here Iconic Sound Blaster CT numbers

mpe wrote on 2022-12-17, 10:11:

I'll try to focus on CAD and GUI performance with different drivers, performance in Linux xfree86 server (where available), performance at high CRT refresh rates, drivers and other stuff that made those cards actually different. It is sad to see Matrox Ultima VLB or Viper VLB so lagging given how big powerhouses they actually were.

Doom, Quake and 3D Mark scores is the predominant area of interest around here.
So, looking forward to your findings.

CAD and especially 3D graphics are of interest to me. Spending not a small portion of the time i allocate to retro computing activities on this kind of stuff, but rarely post about it.
Sharing an observation here while at it - such applications are massively CPU bound on 486 class hardware. Display subsystem is the minor perf-limiting factor in the general case of in-viewport wireframe rendering. But that is a wide subject, so the one liner does not give it a justice.
Anyhow, the point i wanted to make is that Asus PVI is probably a better option for where you want to go with this thread, because it is much better at offline/complex computation tasks, also its VLB interface is top-notch.

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Ah, that Sound Blaster Pro 1330A in the frame - very cool.

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I check your blog from time to time.
Good stuff there.
Especially these VLB graphics tests.

Reminds me of pc store who sells decent computers back in the day and repairing. This guy had two M919 boards mounted to the peg boards to the wall with mini shelf hangers holding drives. They were used for transferring data to new hard drives. These in two locations.

Cheers,