First post, by mscdex
I'm looking for some PCI sound card recommendations for pure DOS gaming for a board with a VT8235 south bridge. Specifically it's an Epia ML6000EA (667MHz Eden Nehemiah). This board does not have a PC/PCI connector on it.
I've been pouring over the vast amount of information regarding DOS compatibility for various PCI sound cards, looking for something that is going to give me the best experience possible (most authentic sound) with the widest game compatibility. Initially I was leaning towards a YMF724-based card since it has hardware OPL support. After looking at this DOS compatibility table, I am thinking perhaps the ALS4000 might be a better choice since it seems to include SB16 compatibility and seems to not require a TSR/EMM. Also regarding the ALS4000, it appears there are multiple hardware variations (e.g. some are full rectangular PCBs, others have that angled PCB used by later PCI cards), so I'm not sure if that has any impact on features/compatibility or if all of them work/perform the same.
I am assuming I want to rule out any cards that don't have hardware OPL3/FM, but if that is wrong, feel free to correct me on that.