So...

First the computers:

Computer 1:
- would recommend slower speed, DX2/66 is too fast for many speed-sensitive titles. A DX (or SX, this stuff doesn't use co-pro) 33 on the same motherboard would be near the sweet spot, particularly as it can de-turbo to XT speeds if needed.
- VGA really doesn't matter for old DOS games. They won't use SVGA, so VESA support isn't too relevant, and for old stuff, speed is actually a negative factor - although under DOS all VLB cards perform broadly the same a
anyway. Which "WD Paradise" do you have exactly?
- keep RAM low, 16MB max and probably 4MB is better. A lot of early autodetect routines incorrectly detect very large amounts and tell you you don't have enough to run if you have more. Win3.1 won't like <16MB, but you can move that to the late DOS system for better performance.

Computer 2:
- would recommend faster speed, I went from P100 via P200MMX to K6-2 350 for my late DOS box but it still felt slow sometimes. Currently I use a P3-500 on a Tekram early BX board with three ISA slots for sound. Happy at last, can recommend.
- VGA here needs good VESA support. S3 Virge would be fine if analog part is good (not washed-out display). ELSA and Diamond are usually both great, particularly their Virge/VX boards (even if /VX is the slowest Virge under DOS, they were considered the most high-end version so got the best physical implementation)
- I would drop Win95 here. Admittedly I personally hate Win95 with a passion, but that aside, there's nothing you can do on it you can't do better on Win98SE, and you're looking at different hardware to get that to perform optimally, >1GHz and PCI-based positional audio (SBLive or Aureal)
- DOS can't use over 64MB and here autodetect issues are still in play. If you drop Win95 you can do 16MB here as well, which is enough for any DOS game.

Then sound cards:

Computer 1:
- MPU-401 is a no-brainer, needed for MT-32 stuff
- SB with CMS is also no-brainer, max compatibilty for AdLib and SB (well, SB1.0 would be better 😉 ) plus Game Blaster for the few titles that do that.
- SBPro 1.0 is pretty niche and overlaps a lot with the 1st gen Aztech card, both in capabilities and resources. I'd only consider doing the SBPro if you specifically like titles where the 2x OPL2 actually sounds different to 1x OPL3. In that case I'd almost suggest dropping the SB2.0 and getting a MUS-1099 replica Game Blaster for the CMS.
- 1st gen Aztech cards are great. Do you have an NX Pro or MMSN810? Either way, this covers Covox, DSS and SBPro (2.o). I have however had problems combining these with multiple SB cards in one build, so YMMV.
- GUS... tbh I'd move that to the late DOS build. Even though it's a 1993 card, most of the titles that use it well are newer and would run better on a faster machine.

Computer 2:

Generally, you want SBpro2.0, SB16 and lots of (bug-free) MIDI. Real OPL3 is nice to have, even nicer to be able to compare it to CQM, CSFM, ESFM or other alternatives.
- one SBpro 2.0 card with bug-free UART MIDI, so NOT an SB16, preferably with real OPL3. Out of your list I'd say 3rd/4th gen Aztech would be the best options, and if you have an SB16 with real OPL3 the Terratec Profimedia would be great too. EWS64(X)XL is a legendary card, but it has equally legendary issues getting it up and running and playing nice with other cards. I've never managed to get mine working nice in multi-card builds, and no real OPL3. If you can get it to cooperate, it's an epic addition to the build, but I wouldn't bank on it. Similarly, Yamaha SW20PC is notoriously tricky to get to work and incompatible with many motherboards. Also, its MPU-401 UART is only connected to the onboard OPL4 synth, it can only do SBMidi to external devices.
- one SB16, ideally with AWE. If you have OPL3 on the other card, AWE64 Gold is best, although it needs the proprietary RAM expansion if you want to play with big sound banks. Runner-up is the CT3670, which (despite being positioned as 'value' card) is basically an AWE64 with regular 30p SIMM slots. If you don't have OPL3 on the other card, go for an AWE32 with OPL3.
- connect all external and internal MIDI devices (other than AWE) to the card with bug-free UART MIDI.
- I'd add the GUS here too. In fact I did just that (next to AWE64 gold and a 4th gen Aztech card)

Then your questions:

In the above configurations, which sound card should be set to which IRQ, I/O range, and DMA?

In the old system, set:

SB2.0 A220 I7 D1
Other SB (compatible) A240 I5 D3
MPU-401 A330 I2/9
Be sure to disable parallel ports to free up IRQ 7 and DMA 3

In the new system, set:
SBPro2 A220 I7 D1 P330
SB16 A240 I5 D3 E620
GUS A260 I3 D7 (same for all settings)

Note that I'm half assuming a NIC on A300 I10, which is why I don't use those.

In what order would it be advisable to route the sound between the sound cards if I don't want a mixing console?

I'd want the mixer (here I have a Behringer RX1602). Have never been able to get good sound routed through multiple cards. If you really want to go down that route, connect the one with lowest noise to the speakers, then input next lowest in its line-in (i.e. AWE64 to speaker, Yamaha/Aztech to AWE, GUS to Aztech), but don't expect miracles, expect noise.

When i have Joystick and Gravis gamepad, then i must enable joystick only one sound card, or can work with all?

If you can disable it, disable it on everything you don't have the joysticks hooked up to, and hook up the joysticks to the cards where you can't disable it.

Which sound card should the speaker output of the motherboard be connected to?

Personally I'd say: none. I far prefer system beeps to actually come out of the system. But any card that has the input if you see it differently. It's not as if it's a hi-fi signal that requires the most noise-free path.

Which DOS version should me install?

On the new system, I'd use MS-DOS 7.1 (i.e. what you find on the Win98SE boot disk, but there are also community-made complete installers for it), mainly for FAT32 large drive support (and long filenames if you really want them)
On the old system, I'd probably use MS-DOS 6.22

Is it worth installing the MS-DOS starter pack for Phil? https://www.philscomputerlab.com/ms-dos-starter-pack.html

That 'pack' is just a config.sys menu, a mouse driver and a CD Rom driver. If you have any familiarity with configuring DOS, you can do all that yourself. If not, it can be useful.

Is there a surge protector that can be placed between the power supply and the motherboard to safe hardware components?

There is ATX2AT. I have one I use as a test tool for testing both new ATX PSUs and unknown AT boards. I'd consider it overkill for permanent installation in a system (and obviously only useful in ATX PSU to AT board situation).

What should you put in a network card?

I put NICs in all my builds, even in my XT.

By far the easiest to use if unsure is 3Com 3C509B variants - 16b ISA cards with decent performance and support for pretty much any OS around then and most later ones too.

In DOS, use the 3C5x9PD.EXE packet driver and then use tools from the mTCP suite on top of that, specifically DHCP client and FTP server.

I thought it would be good to install Windows as well, I thought Windows 3.11 for the first machine, Windows 95 OSR2 for the second.
I think 3.11 runs on the same partition as DOS, should the Windows 95 system be converted to dual boot, or should Windows be used by booting into DOS?

Big question: why do you think this would be good? In any event it's not necessary or indeed helpful for getting & keeping the DOS systems running. It just increases complexity and needed compromises in terms of hardware and configuration. I'd only do it for the actual vintage Windows experience, and in that case that's a requirement on its own (what do you want to do? Run Win3.x games? Office 6? etc).

Ho boy , looks like my crazy setup can finally have some benefit to someone's ongoing project ,
I'm sure Shponglefan might also make a post about his builds

You could do what I did and cram everything into one system but fair warning , its probably going to be a mess of wires.

So essentially what I did , was get a MSI 5148 socket 7 430TX ATX motherboard , or something similar which has 4 PCI slot and 4 ISA slots.

And you can do this configuration :

PCI Slot 1 : some kind of virge 4mb card like dionb said , I went with a STB velocity 3D , which is a bit fancy and has 8mbs of graphics memory but any reputable brand virge should do.

PCI Slot 2 : PowerVR card : a NEC PCX1 or PCX2 or Videologic apocalypse card should do , its handy to have for some exclusive jap only SGL titles , and for a snazzy 800x600 version of resident evil 1 / biohazard.

PCI Slot 3 : 3DFX Voodoo 1 of some sort , I used a diamond monster.

PCI Slot 4 : empty due to motherboard expansion card slot space limitations you have to pick either the PCI or ISA slot.

ISA Slot 1: AWE64 Gold with SIMMCONN and 32mb of vram , this card is more of a WIN95 card tbh , but since you mentioned 95OSR2 and my system is a hybrid why not , also you get the option of using CQM in dos which most people hate , but hey it ticks another compatibility box. Plus you can play around with soundfonts in win95 and games like Croc make use of the AWE cards to play samples.

ISA Slot 2: Sound Blaster CT1740 , a pretty noisy card and not the greatest in the world but it is 16 bit and for those few games that use 16 bit audio its there , plus the card is jumpered and not plug and play which helps with conflict issues , btw you'd be best served getting a model with a soldered on or socketed ASP chip , its only used in TFX for some not so great audio panning , but might as well.

ISA Slot 3: GF1 gravis ultrasound
Arguably the card is probably better used for tracker music and demo stuff then with games due to the fact that if you have a faster cpu its use becomes moot at that point , but its still a cool card to have.

ISA slot 4 : Some kind of MPU 401 card or interface , I use an genuine breakout box MPU 401 that needs a separate interface card but there are ISA card versions with everything integrated , or you could get Keropi's PC midi card.

I've also got a DB25 switchbox hooked up Via DB25 cable to the printer port and a CMSLPT and TANDYLPT installed in the switchbox which are both printer port soundcards using the original chips, since you've already got the CMS chips , maybe you could use a LPT Covox speech thing alongside the TNDLPT.

As for midi , you'd deffo want an MT32 OLD , which is the older version without a headphone jack , Phillscomputerlab has some videos going into the differences. Some MT32 NEWs have the older case , I think the serial number might be a better way of telling them apart , and you'd also want a CM32L or CM64 since these later models have an extra chip with more samples that some games make use of.

An SC55 is a must have preferably with a version 1.21 ROM , seems to be the best bet compatibility wise.

Additionally though not maybe needed would be an SC88 and an MU80 , though the list of games that use them is kind of small so keep that in mind.

you could also get a SC88 Pro but only really late games from like 97 , 98 use that , but its an option.

Now as for the OS'es what I did is have 1 hard drive with DOS 6.22 and Windows 3.1

But I also installed a second hard drive with windows 95 OSR2.

You don't technically need to use dual boot , since you can just go into the bios and disable the drive you don't use and enable the other , to switch between OS'es.

As for the mobo setup , id suggest 32 mb of ram but you could go to 64.
and as for cpu its up to you , I went with a 233 mx for keeping with intel compatibility and a boost for 95 titles , but the speed could cause issues with older games , the trick to that is to use setmul to slow down the system when necessary , phil made some batch files to simply using it , alternatively of course if you could get a 166 mhz cpu , you'll still need setmul but it can go slower although the system might also be slower in WIN95 so you'd have to decided on what you prefer.

Btw if you use a 430TX based board you can technically use a usb stick with a dos usb driver and transfer files that way , its a bit jank but saves giving up precious PCI or ISA slots.
Win95 OSR2 is even better with USB drivers , but still jank.

As to connecting it all up , I used some RCA switchboxes for the midi and 3.5mm jack switchboxes for the sound cards I got from aliexpress and eBay , I've got one for the two LPT devices , one for all the soundcards and one for the for the cd drive to mix the CD audio into the sound cards. You might also need a midi switchbox as well.

Id disable the joystick on the CT1740 and use the gus joystick since the gus has a speed compensating joystick port and can let you use newer joysticks on older games , its very handy.

But yeah its doable it just winds up being pretty convoluted , upside is that you can have one system and throw many years worth of different games at it while using real hardware and play a metric craptone of games with all the bells and whistles.

I do also have an unusual setup here as my signature can attest. If something helps, the relevant configuration for the DOS era looks like this:

• SBPro2 CT1690: A220 I7 D1 T4
• GUS (Primax SoundStorm M16C): 240,6,7,11,11 (ULTRASND environment variable = I/O address, playback DMA, recording DMA, GUS IRQ, MIDI/SB emulation IRQ)
• AWE64 CT4520: A260 I5 D3 H5 P330 E660 T6

The MPU-401 duties are handled by the AWE64, but adding a proper one with intelligent mode support in your situation really helps. Both GUS (except I/O address) and AWE64 resources can be swapped on the fly when needed. I have also disabled all serial and parallel ports to get free IRQs for the ISA, PCI and AGP cards.

Add the GUS on both computers since there are some DOS games that do take advantage of the hardware mixer and as AppleSauce mentioned, it has an speed-compensated gameport (which you don't get access with the ACE variant) that can be adjusted thru software. Make sure that the joystick/gamepad support on other sound cards are disabled for this.

Personally, I'd focus on the later PC first. Most games run fine on newer systems and the ones that don't are very selective on what they want. Indeed a Dx2/66 is already too fast in most cases.

I agree something like a P2 or P3 with ISA slot's (typically Slot 1) is a very good place to start. most mid 90's dos games and later are fine and enough power in reserve for the really late SVGA titles, it can double as a WIn98 retro PC as well if you want.

If you want to go with a MMX because it has bit more of a retro feel that's perfectly fine, It'll still be good but some late dos games you may have to not run on full detail.

Video card for dos doesn't really matter as long as it has good VESA support. S3 does but so does Nvidia if you choose to go with AGP.

Sound card is really hard as everything good and bad points. For late dos I'd go with the AWE32 for simplicity (Basically a Sound Blaster 16 with addon)
Do you own all these GUS cards!? GUS is only useful in a handful of games but is very desirable (and expensive) and does make sense as a secondary card.

For the later system Win9x is good choice. The GUI is useful for system management (unzipping, file copies, etc) plus it gives you access to FAT32 and partitions larger then 2GB. No need to dual boot, few different ways to have Win9x boot into a pure dos environment.

as for Audio mixer I just run a cable from the soundcard to front of the PC and manually plug my speakers into whichever card I'm using. It's cheap, easy and allows me to have 10 + soundcards easy access to speakers.

Answering other questions that I missed due to the original post being long. 😜

envagyok wrote on 2023-10-30, 13:38:

In what order would it be advisable to route the sound between the sound cards if I don't want a mixing console?

You need to connect from the line-in port of one sound card into the line-out port of the other one. The GUS is quiet when it comes to noise and the speakers could be connected there. However, its line-in port tends to get muted after a program used that sound card. In that case, just run ULTRAMIX or ULTRINIT to re-enable it.

Which DOS version should me install?

MS-DOS 7.1, which you get after installing Windows 95 OSR2 or 98, supporting FAT32 partition for larger HDDs. Otherwise, install MS-DOS 6.22 + Windows 3.x for a more period-correct and accurate DOS experience. You could also have a dual boot option if desired.

Is it worth installing the MS-DOS starter pack for Phil? https://www.philscomputerlab.com/ms-dos-starter-pack.html

Yes, it is very friendly to beginners that aren't familiar with tweaking both CONFIG.SYS and AUTOEXEC.BAT.

Phil also has a version for Windows 9x here: https://www.philscomputerlab.com/ms-dos-mode-super-easy.html

What should you put in a network card?

I use a NIC to transfer files between my modern computer and the retro one, it is faster and convenient. The card that I'm using is the 3Com 3C905-TX which supports DOS and Windows nicely.

dionb wrote on 2023-10-31, 12:55:

Then your questions: […]
Show full quote

Then your questions:

In the above configurations, which sound card should be set to which IRQ, I/O range, and DMA?

In the new system, set:
SBPro2 A220 I7 D1 P330
SB16 A240 I5 D3 E620
GUS A260 I3 D7 (same for all settings)

I have a question too.
How can DOS handle 2 soundblaster card?
I tried a mix with CT1600 SB Pro2, CT3900 AWE32 with 8MB ram, and a Gravis Classic
First i install CT1600 with A220, I7, D1
Then Gravis Ultrasound Classic 260 I3 D7
This point no problem
But when last AWE32 CT3900 trying A240 i5 d3 p300 (because i have mpu 401 card with 330) e620 install, then always write my existing sb pro2 init at autoexec.bat
How can i install /init 3. awe32 card?

envagyok wrote on 2023-11-08, 17:48:

I have a question too. How can DOS handle 2 soundblaster card? I tried a mix with CT1600 SB Pro2, CT3900 AWE32 with 8MB ram, and […]
Show full quote

I have a question too.
How can DOS handle 2 soundblaster card?
I tried a mix with CT1600 SB Pro2, CT3900 AWE32 with 8MB ram, and a Gravis Classic
First i install CT1600 with A220, I7, D1
Then Gravis Ultrasound Classic 260 I3 D7
This point no problem
But when last AWE32 CT3900 trying A240 i5 d3 p300 (because i have mpu 401 card with 330) e620 install, then always write my existing sb pro2 init at autoexec.bat
How can i install /init 3. awe32 card?

Change the order on how they are set in AUTOEXEC.BAT or add another SET BLASTER line after all the sound cards are initialized to put it back to the one used by the SBPro2.

Also, change the AWE32's EMU8K I/O address to E640 which is always calculated with an offset of 400h starting from the SB I/O address of that card.

envagyok wrote on 2023-11-08, 17:48:

[...]

I have a question too.
How can DOS handle 2 soundblaster card?

Thing is: DOS doesn't handle any sound cards, games talk directly to the hardware and when you install/configure a game you tell it where to do so (what type of card is at which resources)

I tried a mix with CT1600 SB Pro2, CT3900 AWE32 with 8MB ram, and a Gravis Classic First i install CT1600 with A220, I7, D1 Then […]
Show full quote

I tried a mix with CT1600 SB Pro2, CT3900 AWE32 with 8MB ram, and a Gravis Classic
First i install CT1600 with A220, I7, D1
Then Gravis Ultrasound Classic 260 I3 D7
This point no problem
But when last AWE32 CT3900 trying A240 i5 d3 p300 (because i have mpu 401 card with 330) e620 install, then always write my existing sb pro2 init at autoexec.bat
How can i install /init 3. awe32 card?

So long as the resources don't conflict you can init as many cards as you want/need in autoexec.bat.

That said, the CT1600 is non-PnP and all settings are in hardware so it doesn't need any init in software at all. Just set it to correct resources with its jumpers and you are good to go.

In autoexec.bat you need to init the GUS and AWE.

Finally (unless using Unisound or some very specific Sound Blaster 16 derivatives) the SET BLASTER variable doesn't actually initialize anything, it just points games that 'autodetect' sound hardware to a specific device. Generally those will be older games so you want to point it to the SBPro in this case. Anything that uses AWE will have the option to manually set the sound card.

dionb wrote on 2023-11-09, 01:13:

Anything that uses AWE will have the option to manually set the sound card.

I Have problem with duke nukem 3d and awe32.
With diagnose.exe i succesfull set up irq, hi, lo dma
And the test sound successful 8/16 bit, fm, and synth
but when i try set up at the game, the 16 bit dma settings not accept the game.

Maybe the good way in timeline first set blaster set to awe32 ct3900, then initialize with diagnose.exe, after that set blaster set to ct1600 sb pro2?

I read a retronn.de soundblaster summary page, awe32 is semi-pnp, so irq, dma must initialize at startup.
https://retronn.de/imports/soundblaster_config_guide.html