For DOS games it makes no sense to use a PCI card, you'll not be getting the compatibility of the SB16, plus that particular model has a real OPL3 on it also. The YMF card can complement the SB16 in Windows as it allows for very nice quality MIDI playback.

Tiido wrote:

For DOS games it makes no sense to use a PCI card, you'll not be getting the compatibility of the SB16, plus that particular model has a real OPL3 on it also. The YMF card can complement the SB16 in Windows as it allows for very nice quality MIDI playback.

Nice! I just ordered a Roland SC-55 MKII however!

Tiido wrote:

For DOS games it makes no sense to use a PCI card

I'm using an ESS Solo-1 PCI card in my Pentium DOS machine full-time, and it clearly has advantages of being noiseless (no hissing whatsoever even on high volume) and faster (+2.5 FPS in Quake) than an ESS Audiodrive (ES1868F) ISA card - with the same compatibility (you're welcome to prove me wrong, as I've tested about 150+ DOS games with it) 😀 So not all PCI audo cards are the same, but yeah, I wouldn't recommend using a Yamaha YMF7x4 PCI in a pure DOS machine either.

C0deHunter wrote:

I have a Sound Blaster 16 (CT2910) […]
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I have a Sound Blaster 16 (CT2910)

I am running Win98SE on a DELL Dimension XPS 750r with the following specs

ATI Rage 128 Pro 32MB AGP
Sound Blaster 16 CT2910
512MB RAM

I will be primarily playing DOS games under "pure" DOS mode, maybe some 2D Windows games as well (Warcraft II, etc.) and some very few 3D games (Quake 1).

Should I get Yamaha YMF744 PCI Sound Card instead to replace my Sound Blaster 16?

What would I gain by this sound card?

Thanks!

The Yamaha YMF-7xx supports MIDI playback and has good sound quality too.
For an all-around sound card on a budget the Yamaha is hard to beat.
The Sound Blaster 16 does not support MIDI playback by itself.

Thanks for letting me know!

Intel486dx33 wrote:

The Yamaha YMF-7xx supports MIDI playback and has good sound quality too.
For an all-around sound card on a budget the Yamaha is hard to beat.
The Sound Blaster 16 does not support MIDI playback by itself.

You need to run games from within Windows to make use of YMF-7x4's MIDI playback, only the MPU-401 interface and FM synth are usable under pure DOS.