I think most avoid the sound card / modem combo. I think those boards try to save cost merging them and thus choose cheap sound chips.
Personally I really like a diamond als007 I have. It has sb16 compatibility, ymf262, and wavetable
Any ESS card is usually good
I don’t really like opti’s fm

I have a couple awe cards and the sb16 support is nice, but the midi support can be annoying. Maybe go that route if you really like the 1 mb rom sound.

Packard Bell systems usually had Aztech sound cards, which are actually generally quite good.

I found this pic from a C115:

The FCC ID (which is usually the best identifier for Aztech cards) is visible: MMSN855

In Packard Bell-speak that's a "Rocky 2.5", the mainstay of their mid 1990s systems.

Now, I know that card well because I use it in my late DOS system next to a Gravis Ultrasound and an AWE64 Gold. Why?

+real OPL3
+bug-free UART MIDI (and a Waveblaster header)
+trouble-free PnP initialization, supported by UNISOUND
+no drivers/TSRs needed
+SBPro2 and WSS support
-no SB16

That pairs perfectly with a late SB16 (like the AWE64) with buggy MIDI, CQM FM but of course SB16 support (er, and the Ultrasound that is amazing at native Ultrasound stuff and pretty awful at everything the Rocky can do).

Also, it's pretty common and looked down upon as "OEM stuff" so even on well-known auction sites it's pretty affordable.

I'd definitely recommend getting a Rocky 2.5 for that machine. It's not only completely authentic, it's also a pretty good sound card. If you really want SB16, I'd suggest getting an SB16 as well and install both 😉

I found an MMSN855 online and will put it in! Thanks

i hear the cost-cutting argument all the time, but i don't think it applies to the highly integrated gen3/4 aztech cards. i think people have opti and als chips in mind when thinking about cut-down pcb's. the aztech azt2320 is the king of the triangle-shaped cards, but, other than missing a waveblaster header on the triangle variety, it is one of the best windows isa soundcards out there (and now dos too with unisound).

i don't have any experience with sound/modem combos, but i imagine the azt2316 will be solid and you can just disable or not install drivers for the modem part.

Ok I’ll take aztech off my oem bad list 😀
I think some have built in Yamaha opl as well?

Pickle wrote on 2024-02-02, 19:47:

Ok I’ll take aztech off my oem bad list 😀
I think some have built in Yamaha opl as well?

the azt2316 is usually paired with a separate ymf262; the azt2320 has a licensed yamaha opl3 integrated (maybe a ymf289).

stanwebber wrote on 2024-02-02, 19:20:

[...]

i don't have any experience with sound/modem combos, but i imagine the azt2316 will be solid

It's an AZT2320, and yes, solid as other 4th gen.

and you can just disable or not install drivers for the modem part.

In DOS, just don't bother with it, in Windows it's a PnP device so will get detected. Might as well install drivers. It's a decent Rockwell (hence the 'Rocky' name for the card) hardware modem, but unless messing around with POTS and dialup is your fetish you're not going to use it for anything.