Sound Blaster PCI 64 🤣

Because I want both, A3D + EAX I have 2 soundcards in my Win98 machine.
There are many games that only support one of these 3D audio technique.
This way I always can use either of it.

My soundcards are:

- Aureal Vortex 2 (Diamond MX300) for A3D 1.0 + 2.0
- SB Audigy 2 ZS for EAX up to EAX 4.0 Advanced HD

VxD drivers for the Audigy is a bit tricky to install. But once done successfully I never had any problem with it.

I have different hardware profiles for each card. The second card is deactivated.
Works like a charm.

I also had a Turtle Beach Santa Cruz before. This was also a very good soundcard i can recommend because it supports both EAX and A3D. But only A3D 1.0.
That's why I switched over to using 2 sound cards.

I've gone the same route as crusher and am using both a Diamond Monster Sound MX300 and an Audigy 2 ZS. This gives the best of both worlds when it comes to EAX and A3D sound.

Instead of doing different hardware profiles, I have two independent Windows 98 SE installs. Each install is configured for a specific card. Part of the reason I did this is so each install has software specific to each card.

For example, the Audigy 2 ZS comes with a bunch of software for managing the sound card and EAX. I simply don't have that installed on my A3D-focused version of Windows. It keeps each install "cleaner".

I use a Live! Platinum and an AWE32 for some hanging note action.

There's no hard limit to how many cards you can have in a system. If you enjoy A3D and EAX, the Audigy2+Vortex2 would be the obvious combi.

However you say 'SB emulation' which sounds like you also want to have DOS compatibility. That might change recommendations (the Santa Cruz has good DOS support for a PCI card)

It might help if you could tell us a bit more about what you will be doing with this system, both in terms of OS (eg. DOS or other things alongside Win98) and specifically which games you mainly intend to play.

I have a Live! (SB0220 I think) and it works well under Windows 98SE but I am a bit disappointed with that card. I could not get the right VXD drivers for it and could not get it to work well under DOS for now.

There are many variants of the Live! and compatibility will vary depending on the exact model. I learned it the hard way.

Most my Win98 PC's have the Audigy 2 ZS.
In theory it should be the better card to previous Creative cards, but I don't notice any difference if I'm honest.
But you don't have to mess around with the right card/driver combination and has unofficial dos support, and using previous cards don't have any benefits.

I do have a PC with a Vortex 2 card but more of my games support EAX then A3D 2.0 and Audigy 2 ZS cards are easier to find this is my default

mtest001 wrote on 2024-05-02, 08:42:

I have a Live! (SB0220 I think) and it works well under Windows 98SE but I am a bit disappointed with that card. I could not get the right VXD drivers for it and could not get it to work well under DOS for now.

There are many variants of the Live! and compatibility will vary depending on the exact model. I learned it the hard way.

Vogons has the right drivers (VXD) for that card assuming that it is an SB0220 - if it is an SB0200 you should get something else. http://vogonsdrivers.com/getfile.php?fileid=809&menustate=0