VOGONS


First post, by Muz

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Hello, PC is IBM NetVista 830542A. Can anyone link any sound card and graphic card which is the best? I want an OPL3 sound card. Thank you.

Reply 1 of 30, by cyclone3d

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Well, since you have only AGP and PCI slots, you are going to be very limited as to real OPL3.

Look for a Yamaha YMF 724 or YMF 744 based sound card.

eBay is your friend.

As for video card, your PC has an AGP 4x slot, so you can probably use an Nvidia 6800 Ultra - pricey. And you will probably need to upgrade your power supply. What are the specs for your current power supply?

Yamaha modified setupds and drivers
Yamaha XG repository
YMF7x4 Guide
Aopen AW744L II SB-LINK

Reply 2 of 30, by Muz

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s-l225.jpg
The white color slot is call PCI or AGP? It has 4 white AGP slots? I can't tell the difference between PCI and AGP. For power supply, it might be these.

160 watt supply with variable speed fan

110 volt or 220 volt operation controlled by a switch on the back of the unit

Built-in overload and surge protection:
100 to 127 (nominal) V AC; 50 to 60 Hz; 4.0 A (max)
200 to 240 (nominal) V AC; 50 to 60 Hz; 2.0 A (max)

Ambient Air Temperature Specifications

System on: 10 to 35 C (50 to 95 F at 0 to 2,134 m) (0 to 7,000 ft)
System off: 10 to 43 C (50 to 110 F at 0 to 2,134 m) (0 to 7,000 ft)

https://www.lelong.com.my/128mb-g-force-mx400 … 7-01-Sale-I.htm
https://www.lelong.com.my/incendeo-geforce-2- … 7-01-Sale-I.htm

Does either of these two fit?

Reply 3 of 30, by cyclone3d

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PCI is white, AGP is brown.

Either of those cards should work. fine.

This one should also work:
https://www.lelong.com.my/asus-geforce-fx5700 … 7-01-Sale-I.htm

Not sure if the stock 160 power supply is going to handle an add-in video card.

What are you planning to use this computer for?

Yamaha modified setupds and drivers
Yamaha XG repository
YMF7x4 Guide
Aopen AW744L II SB-LINK

Reply 5 of 30, by KT7AGuy

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Unfortunately, you are very limited in your options with that NetVista. I know. I have one too. I think the strongest PSU you can get for it is only 200W. My recommendation for a video card is a Voodoo 3 3000.

A Matrox G400 Max is also probably OK.

If you try to run a 6800 GT or Ultra, you'll blow the power supply.

For a sound card, consider a 1st generation SB Live. CT4620 is a good choice.

Reply 6 of 30, by elod

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KT7AGuy wrote:

Unfortunately, you are very limited in your options with that NetVista. I know. I have one too. I think the strongest PSU you can get for it is only 200W.

The case will take an SFX PSU without too much trouble. Yesterday I read a review of a 600W one from Be Quiet (gold, with good caps).

Reply 8 of 30, by gdjacobs

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I'm not sure about the AWE64 PCI, but every other Creative PCI card emulates OPL3 with the wavetable block.

All hail the Great Capacitor Brand Finder

Reply 9 of 30, by KT7AGuy

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elod wrote:
KT7AGuy wrote:

Unfortunately, you are very limited in your options with that NetVista. I know. I have one too. I think the strongest PSU you can get for it is only 200W.

The case will take an SFX PSU without too much trouble. Yesterday I read a review of a 600W one from Be Quiet (gold, with good caps).

Are there any good write-ups on how to mod the PSU to fit the case? I'd be interested to know.

Muz wrote:

Does CT4620 has OPL3 chip set in it and does it fit in the IBM NetVista slot?

It's an SB Live, so it doesn't have the OPL3 chip. I don't know if there are any PCI sound cards with OPL3 chips. I don't believe there are. However, the CT4620 will give you decent SB16 emulation.

Also, I think that a GeForce 4 MX video card might also be a good 3rd choice for your system.

Edit:
Actually, I take back what I said. If you value GLIDE support, the Voodoo 3 is the best choice. If you don't need GLIDE, the GeForce 4 MX440 or MX460 are the best choice. Both of those will work with v45.23 drivers in Win9x, so they're solid choices.

Personally, I think GLIDE is a pretty important feature to have in a Win9x machine. It's why I always choose a Voodoo card for my Win9x builds.

Last edited by KT7AGuy on 2017-10-22, 06:52. Edited 1 time in total.

Reply 10 of 30, by gdjacobs

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Yamaha YMF-PCI cards have fully compatible (and accurate) OPL3 circuitry on chip. Solo-1 cards have ESFM integrated. Some other clone vendors, like CMedia, have their own OPL3 variant integrated as well.

All hail the Great Capacitor Brand Finder

Reply 12 of 30, by KT7AGuy

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Muz wrote:

Guys, do you think this graphic card is ok?

https://www.lelong.com.my/asus-geforce-fx5700 … 7-01-Sale-I.htm

It's a good match for your P4 2.4Ghz CPU.

As long as you upgrade your power supply to at least 300W this is a good choice. Otherwise, you will likely burn up your existing PSU.

Reply 14 of 30, by appiah4

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I would say your best upgrade options are a Diamond MX300 (or any other Aureal Vortex 2 chipset) sound card and a Voodoo 3 3000 or 3500 AGP. If you can't find either, a YMF72x or YMF74x sound card and a Matrox G400 or a Riva TNT2 Ultra/Pro (NOT the M64 or Vanta) graphics cardswould also be pretty good. You could also go cheap and fast with a GeForce 2 MX 400 graphics card but its DOS compatibility would be much poorer. I think the current PSU would handle all the above suggestions well enough.

Retronautics: A digital gallery of my retro computers, hardware and projects.

Reply 15 of 30, by KT7AGuy

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appiah4 wrote:

Riva TNT2 Ultra/Pro (NOT the M64 or Vanta) graphics cardswould also be pretty good. You could also go cheap and fast with a GeForce 2 MX 400 graphics card but its DOS compatibility would be much poorer. I think the current PSU would handle all the above suggestions well enough.

GeForce 4 MX 440 and MX460 share many (all?) of the same features as the Geforce 2, but they outperform the Ultra and Ti models while costing less. Same goes for TNT2. Why spend more and get less, unless you're going for a period-correct build that the NetVista M42 will never be anyway? I just can't see why one would choose a TNT2 or GF2 MX400 over a GF4 MX.

Please don't take my comments the wrong way. I just cannot see any advantages that the TNT2 or GF2 MX cards have over the GF4 MX cards.

Last edited by KT7AGuy on 2017-10-23, 08:46. Edited 2 times in total.

Reply 16 of 30, by appiah4

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KT7AGuy wrote:
appiah4 wrote:

Riva TNT2 Ultra/Pro (NOT the M64 or Vanta) graphics cardswould also be pretty good. You could also go cheap and fast with a GeForce 2 MX 400 graphics card but its DOS compatibility would be much poorer. I think the current PSU would handle all the above suggestions well enough.

GeForce 4 MX 440 and MX460 share many (all?) of the same features as the Geforce 2, but they outperform the Ultra and Ti models while costing less. Same goes for TNT2. Why spend more and get less, unless you're going for a period-correct build which the NetVista M42 will never be anyway? I just can't see why one would choose a TNT2 or GF2 MX400 over a GF4 MX.

I never suggested a GeForce 2 Ultra or Ti? I suggested a TNT2 Pro or Ultra, for the simple fact that the TNT core is more backwards compatible with DOS VESA modes. As for the GF4MX vs GF2MX, the 2MX is more readily available, cheaper, and can be run with drivers that date a lot further back meaning you have better compatibility with older games that may present issues with driver versions that can work with the 4MX. Of the three, I would go with TNT2 for best compatibility, but it won't give you blazing fast Quake 3 at 32-bit colors of course - but neither will a Voodoo 3 so what is my thinking.

Retronautics: A digital gallery of my retro computers, hardware and projects.

Reply 17 of 30, by KT7AGuy

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appiah4 wrote:

Of the three, I would go with TNT2 for best compatibility, but it won't give you blazing fast Quake 3 at 32-bit colors of course - but neither will a Voodoo 3 so what is my thinking.

Aren't the TNT2 and Voodoo 3 similar in performance? I seem to recall the TNT2 just barely outperforming the Voodoo 3 3000, much like the Matrox G400 Max. While the Voodoo 3 is swiftly becoming expensive, it does offer excellent DOS support, image quality, and GLIDE. So now we're back to my original recommendation.

All of the cards here recommended by everybody are decent choices for various reasons. They all have pros, cons, and differing requirements. The 6800 GT and Ultra are the only ones I wouldn't recommend because they're expensive, run hot, consume much more power, and lack 8-bit palletized texture and fog table support. Muz is going to be doing some homework and soul-searching, I think.

Reply 18 of 30, by Muz

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I have a problem, I installed a sound card, but it makes a beep song repeatedly when I boot up, it shows only the BIOS screen. Does it have to do with power supply? This is the sound card.

https://www.ebay.com.my/itm/272888426304

Reply 19 of 30, by cyclone3d

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It could be conflicting with something else. Have you tried it in a different slot?

Yamaha modified setupds and drivers
Yamaha XG repository
YMF7x4 Guide
Aopen AW744L II SB-LINK