mpe wrote on 2020-10-11, 19:05:

Creative Sound Blaster ISA cards that are historically significant or interesting to be displayed.

Although the quality of Sound Blaster cards is debatable, it seems to be the brand that has made the most impact and reached the largest audience. If I was to do something like this I'd focus on the evolution of the Sound Blaster ISA cards. My picks would be:

Sound Blaster 1.0 - The first real Sound Blaster
Sound Blaster Pro 1 - Going Stereo
Early Sound Blaster 16 (non PnP) - Going 16 bits
AWE 32 - Introducing Wavetable
AWE 64 Gold - We have arrived

But then again, I wouldn't stick real sounds cards of any kind on a wall. I'd rather take really good photos instead, frame it nicely and tell the story that way.

shock__ wrote on 2020-10-14, 10:40:

I don't get the fuss, it's not like they're rare

Dunno man, in my little remote country I've seen in-person one GUS in 30 years of being a PC enthusiast, and currently on ebay there are three in the entire world on sale. That's quite rare to me. They were a niche item in a niche market, they stopped rolling off the limited production line 20 years ago, and now Vogons is one of the very few places in the world where you'll find any ownership concentration at all.

However, I agree: his cards, his choice of usage, end of story. Friendly comments about such a thing (e.g. I wish I had those cards, or omg on the wall!) are only natural though, I think. 😀

That is where they differ from traditional artworks I suppose - one does not look at a Da Vinci and say "I wish I could have the paint back off that, so I could play games with it!", haha.

Shreddoc wrote on 2020-10-14, 16:23:

shock__ wrote on 2020-10-14, 10:40:

I don't get the fuss, it's not like they're rare

Dunno man, in my little remote country I've seen in-person one GUS in 30 years of being a PC enthusiast, and currently on ebay there are three in the entire world on sale. That's quite rare to me. They were a niche item in a niche market, they stopped rolling off the limited production line 20 years ago, and now Vogons is one of the very few places in the world where you'll find any ownership concentration at all.

One went on Amibay earlier this week for EUR 55. Even now great deals can still be had (*I* could have had it if I'd clicked one forum deeper when I was updating one of my own ads... grr...), you just need to be fast.

However, I agree: his cards, his choice of usage, end of story. Friendly comments about such a thing (e.g. I wish I had those cards, or omg on the wall!) are only natural though, I think. 😀

That is where they differ from traditional artworks I suppose - one does not look at a Da Vinci and say "I wish I could have the paint back off that, so I could play games with it!", haha.

You'd be surprised. I know a sculptor who utterly lusts after some of the marble Michaelangelo used 😉

I can't believe it took me 2 years to finish this project. But I finally completed my Sound Blaster display unit installation.

I ended up picking these models:

• CT1320C - Sound Blaster 1.5 (simply because I don't own CT1310/CT1320A) so it represents the very first SB models
• CT1350 - Sound Blaster 2.0 - by no means a rare or fine card, but important card due to software standard it created
• CT13320 - Sound Blaster Pro 1330A - important model SB Pro with Stereo DSP and dual OPL synthesiser. Another groundbreaking card.
• CT2230 - Sound Blaster 16 - model with several CD interface options and soldered-in DSP.
• CT1920 - Sound Blaster AWE32 upgrade (Goldfinch),. as a proxy for Sound Blaster AWE32. I'd love to include a full CT2760 (or similar) instead , but that one, but it is just too big for my canvas
• CT4390 - Sound Blaster AWE64. Not keen on that one (PCB due to colour). But it is the best card of the series and should be there. It is also the only card in my collection that is not working so it is ideal to be included in this.

Here is on my wall next to my earlier finished GUS collection.

no SAA1099 ? 😞

I might add something with them. But, most likely will trace down a SB 1.0 to have a period-correct representation of CMS.

It's probably a form of OCD but I hate unpopulated socket. I see SB1.5 and SB2.0 mission SAA1099. Your MAX miss the SOIC 512kb upgrade. The Goldfinch has no ram while the GusPNP has.

On a more serious note, congratulation for your preservation effort. Good job hunting those !

A really nice idea to exhibit, as if it were a painting, the ISA audio evolution of Gravis and Creative 😄

And like all classic art pieces, would cost millions of dollars to replace, at today's prices 🤣

Golly that is awesome. Well arranged, solid looking, and well framed. I think I could even convince my wife to like something like that!