That card is nice for Windows, especially the latest incarnations (A3D support), but they're not good at all for DOS stuff.

For true DOS, nothing competes with an ISA card. My Vortex2 card has only worked with an SiS735 board in DOS mode, and it didn't sound very nice. It didn't work with my Aladdin V, i815, and Nforce2 boards. I have never been able to get my Yamaha 7x4 cards to work reliably in DOS.

The Vortex SoundBlaster-emulation sounds every bit as good and works as well as other cards, that is to say that digital audio sounds great (better than original hardware) but the FM synth sounds generic and boring (worse).

I actually alternate between my ESS AudioDrive 1868 and the Vortex SoundBlaster-emulation by disabling one or the other in Windows device manager depending on which game I intend to play.

SoundBlaster Live! is a huge missed opportunity, would not recommend that for legacy/DOS-gaming.

leonardo wrote:

The Vortex SoundBlaster-emulation sounds every bit as good and works as well as other cards, that is to say that digital audio sounds great (better than original hardware) but the FM synth sounds generic and boring (worse).

I actually alternate between my ESS AudioDrive 1886 and the Vortex SoundBlaster-emulation by disabling one or the other in Windows device manager depending on which game I intend to play.

SoundBlaster Live! is a huge missed opportunity, would not recommend that for legacy/DOS-gaming.

Vortex's FM synth emulation isn't boring or generic, it is outright bad and basically unusable. It doesn't sound anything like what t

Sound blaster live's FM synth is far better, but still not perfect at all, but it emulates general midi for DOS programs, even in pure DOS mode, whereas the vortex doesn't emulate general midi in pure dos mode.

That said, the DAC output of your typical vortex card is very very good. I am glad that I have systems with vortex and other systems with SB-Live cards. Both have different strengths and weaknesses.

The Vortexes have a working wavetable header in real DOS and / or soundfonts in a DOSbox, so the awful FM isn’t a big deal for later DOS games with GM support.

Tiido wrote:

That card is nice for Windows, especially the latest incarnations (A3D support), but they're not good at all for DOS stuff.

Thanks for reply 😀

In my experience with Vortex 1 playing Rusty (dos games with great soundtrack) the CQM music sounds better.the wrost opl3 emualtion still the Esoniq audio pci.
In windows 9X, you can use the soft-GM for late DOS games.

badmojo wrote:

The Vortexes have a working wavetable header in real DOS and / or soundfonts in a DOSbox, so the awful FM isn’t a big deal for later DOS games with GM support.

Then you also need an kinda expensive dream or other GM wavetable daughtercard. For a card that already has a wavetable synthesises on it. Kind of a waste.

Makes the vortex an even more expensive option, as it is pretty difficult to find them cheaply these days.

I found mine in the recycle. 😀

gdjacobs wrote:

I found mine in the recycle. 😀

I got my vortex 2 for $10 off Gumtree, but still, it isn't the sort of card I'd recommend you go get if you needed a PCI card for DOS games. Need a good sounding card for windows, both thumbs up, great choice, but just on the awareness that DOS support is not the forte of this card.

Yet, I also acknowledge that on the flipside, the Vortex 2 does work with a wider range of motherboards, including many which lack the PCI to ISA support that more compatible cards require to work in DOS. So if you are stuck with an PCI motherboard that won't work with cards like the YMF724 and Solo-1, or even SB-Live, there is a good chance that it would work just fine with a vortex 2 in DOS.

Zero_sugar wrote:

For true DOS, nothing competes with an ISA card. My Vortex2 card has only worked with an SiS735 board in DOS mode, and it didn't sound very nice. It didn't work with my Aladdin V, i815, and Nforce2 boards. I have never been able to get my Yamaha 7x4 cards to work reliably in DOS.

On i440BX the YMF7x4 work flawlessly. And I got it to work on my via pentium 3 using dsdma.exe

Phil's early reviews of the Vortex, and the fact that having a PCI card that actually worked in DOS at the time was pretty rare (most PCI cards were not much tested) meant Vortex enjoyed an era of overhype. It is still one of the better Windows sound cards to play late 90s games on, but for DOS it is just junk, even for a PCI card.

Here, have a listen to Phil's Vortex 2 DOS recordings:
Aureal AU8830 PCI FM Synthesis

Then compare with my Fortemedia FM-801 recordings:
Fortemedia FM-801 PCI FM Synthesis

Neither is genuine OPL3 FM but the former is complete garbage compared to the latter, and they are both cards that work rather well in DOS.

Of course, Vortex supports A3D and FM-801 does not, and so as with all sound card choices one has to make in this hobby, you have to pick your poison..

The Vortex 3 is nice. I think it is only supported up to Win98/2000 however. Not in XP.
However some have gotten it to work in XP.
3D Sound interesting. Fine for some games.
You can try to setup with 2.1 speakers or 5.1
Get some good speakers.
I think it works best with a Pentium 233mhz or higher.
Direct X 6.0
https://www.cnet.com/products/aureal-vortex2- … 500-sound-card/

Violett'Blossom wrote:

Iam building late win 98 machine with P3 Coppermine and I don't know how this sound card performs in true DOS( for high res gaming) or in windows games.Or should i choose something like a soundblaster Live! or Yamaha XG ?

I have this card in my Halloween PC build.
Posts your Halloween/Octoberfest Builds
It sound so good it’s creepy when I play hunting sounds.
I used this card because it has a Toslink output connection too so I can hook it up to my A/V surround sound receiver and use Dolby Pro Logic setting for Virtual 7.1 Surround sound.
I am I using Win98se and a P3 , 1ghz cpu.
You will need some good speakers like Klipsch Pro media 2,1 or similar.

Anybody know the pin-outs to these cards to add a Toslink adapter connection ?

The AU8820 and AU8830 are great 9x cards... but their drivers for 2000 and XP aren't the best.

Intel486dx33 wrote on 2019-04-29, 19:40:

I have this card in my Halloween PC build. Posts your Halloween/Octoberfest Builds It sound so good it’s creepy when I play hunt […]
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Violett'Blossom wrote:

Iam building late win 98 machine with P3 Coppermine and I don't know how this sound card performs in true DOS( for high res gaming) or in windows games.Or should i choose something like a soundblaster Live! or Yamaha XG ?

I have this card in my Halloween PC build.
Posts your Halloween/Octoberfest Builds
It sound so good it’s creepy when I play hunting sounds.
I used this card because it has a Toslink output connection too so I can hook it up to my A/V surround sound receiver and use Dolby Pro Logic setting for Virtual 7.1 Surround sound.
I am I using Win98se and a P3 , 1ghz cpu.
You will need some good speakers like Klipsch Pro media 2,1 or similar.

Anybody know the pin-outs to these cards to add a Toslink adapter connection ?

I too would like to know the pinout