Not the SB Live!

The ESS Solo is probably the best bet if you don't have any ISA slots.

I would also use the Live! for Windows since that will give you hardware accelerated EAX and soundfont support.

What specific motherboard are you planning on using?

rick12373 wrote on 2023-04-12, 20:04:

I am building a Windows 98 retro rig. Which of these sound cards would give the best DOS compatibility? […]
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I am building a Windows 98 retro rig. Which of these sound cards would give the best DOS compatibility?

Aureal Vortex AU8820B2
ESS ES1938S Solo-1
Soundblaster Live ! SB0200

I've used both a Vortex2 card (Diamond Monster MX300) and ESS Solo-1 in Windows 98 and both have worked fine for DOS games.

Note that this also depends on the motherboard you are using. If you're using something like an nForce2-based motherboard, it lacks DOS compatibility for PCI sound cards.

No ISA slots. The motherboard is an MSI K7N2 with an Athlon XP 2800+. I think there are Windows 98 drivers for it, haven't found them yet though. The onboard sound is Realtek ALC650. I would like to play later era high end DOS games. It is an nForce2 motherboard, so guess won't work anyway.

I just found a K7 Pro motherboard with an ISA slot. This one https://www.msi.com/Motherboard/K7_Pro/support . I think it has an AMD K7800 CPU in it. Not sure what ISA sounds cards I have spare, I think I do have some though. It has an AGP slot in this board. I have quote a few AGP cards from 6600 GT and older.

You can use PCI sound cards for DOS support, it just needs a compatible motherboard chipset.

FWIW, I have a similar Windows 98 build but I'm using an Asus A7V600 motherboard (VIA KT600 chipset).

With a Diamond Monster MX300 sound card, I've had no issues running DOS games and getting sound support. I've played games as old as the original Doom (1993) on this rig.

OK, so I have a choice of the ESS Solo or the one of the two ISA sound cards I have available. The ISA cards are either a AWE64 CT4520 or a Soundblaster 16 CT1770 (would not be using the SCSI on this though).

The AGP slot on the board is 66/133MHz 3.3v. What are the most modern AGP cards that would work in there? I have cards from Nvidia 7900GS all the way down to some of the first AGP cards. I also have old PCI cards.

Will SBEmu work with the onboard sound on an nForce based board?