An ISA VGA will hold back a DX2, I'd go for a VLB. The Cirrus Logic is an all-arounder so if you can get it cheap then why not.

The RAM issue only applies if you need to run with a linear framebuffer and the card fails to map the framebuffer above 16MB despite being a VLB card. You can read all the precise details about it here: https://www.xfree86.org/3.3.6/cirrus5.html#5

I don't think the Cirrus 542X driver that ships in Win95 even attempts linear framebuffer because of this issue.

I'll let others chime in about games that require a linear framebuffer (VESA VBE modes, etc.) but I suspect many of them aren't ones you'd run on a 486DX2.

If it's important to you I'd spring for a bit better VLB card.

jakethompson1 wrote on 2023-05-26, 16:24:

The RAM issue only applies if you need to run with a linear framebuffer and the card fails to map the framebuffer above 16MB des […]
Show full quote

The RAM issue only applies if you need to run with a linear framebuffer and the card fails to map the framebuffer above 16MB despite being a VLB card. You can read all the precise details about it here: https://www.xfree86.org/3.3.6/cirrus5.html#5

I don't think the Cirrus 542X driver that ships in Win95 even attempts linear framebuffer because of this issue.

I'll let others chime in about games that require a linear framebuffer (VESA VBE modes, etc.) but I suspect many of them aren't ones you'd run on a 486DX2.

If it's important to you I'd spring for a bit better VLB card.

Thanks for the info! Newest version of windows would be 3.1 I'd most likely be lowering the ram amount anyway just due to game compatibility. But do you have any recommendations? Also am I correct that the Orchid is a poor choice for DOS stuff?

FinalJenemba wrote on 2023-05-26, 19:16:

jakethompson1 wrote on 2023-05-26, 16:24:

The RAM issue only applies if you need to run with a linear framebuffer and the card fails to map the framebuffer above 16MB des […]
Show full quote

The RAM issue only applies if you need to run with a linear framebuffer and the card fails to map the framebuffer above 16MB despite being a VLB card. You can read all the precise details about it here: https://www.xfree86.org/3.3.6/cirrus5.html#5

I don't think the Cirrus 542X driver that ships in Win95 even attempts linear framebuffer because of this issue.

I'll let others chime in about games that require a linear framebuffer (VESA VBE modes, etc.) but I suspect many of them aren't ones you'd run on a 486DX2.

If it's important to you I'd spring for a bit better VLB card.

Thanks for the info! Newest version of windows would be 3.1 I'd most likely be lowering the ram amount anyway just due to game compatibility. But do you have any recommendations? Also am I correct that the Orchid is a poor choice for DOS stuff?

mpe has a comparison here: https://dependency-injection.com/vlb-vga-group-test/
Scroll down toward the bottom under Test Results (unfortunately there are no anchor names to do #results on the URL or such)

The Diamond Viper VLB is the same chipset as your card. The reason it performs so poorly is that it is an ISA VGA and a VLB accelerator on a single card. When you go into Windows it flips from the ISA side to VLB, and back when you go into a DOS program.

The differences between VLB cards are not dramatic in DOS. In particular the Trident 9440AGi is not as bad as many remember (they remember Trident=slow) and there's a lot of them available. But your CL-GD5426 would be fine, a mid-range performer in that list, just be aware of the linear framebuffer issue.

jakethompson1 wrote on 2023-05-27, 00:53:

mpe has a comparison here: https://dependency-injection.com/vlb-vga-group-test/ Scroll down toward the bottom under Test Results […]
Show full quote

FinalJenemba wrote on 2023-05-26, 19:16:

jakethompson1 wrote on 2023-05-26, 16:24:

The RAM issue only applies if you need to run with a linear framebuffer and the card fails to map the framebuffer above 16MB des […]
Show full quote

The RAM issue only applies if you need to run with a linear framebuffer and the card fails to map the framebuffer above 16MB despite being a VLB card. You can read all the precise details about it here: https://www.xfree86.org/3.3.6/cirrus5.html#5

I don't think the Cirrus 542X driver that ships in Win95 even attempts linear framebuffer because of this issue.

I'll let others chime in about games that require a linear framebuffer (VESA VBE modes, etc.) but I suspect many of them aren't ones you'd run on a 486DX2.

If it's important to you I'd spring for a bit better VLB card.

Thanks for the info! Newest version of windows would be 3.1 I'd most likely be lowering the ram amount anyway just due to game compatibility. But do you have any recommendations? Also am I correct that the Orchid is a poor choice for DOS stuff?

mpe has a comparison here: https://dependency-injection.com/vlb-vga-group-test/
Scroll down toward the bottom under Test Results (unfortunately there are no anchor names to do #results on the URL or such)

The Diamond Viper VLB is the same chipset as your card. The reason it performs so poorly is that it is an ISA VGA and a VLB accelerator on a single card. When you go into Windows it flips from the ISA side to VLB, and back when you go into a DOS program.

The differences between VLB cards are not dramatic in DOS. In particular the Trident 9440AGi is not as bad as many remember (they remember Trident=slow) and there's a lot of them available. But your CL-GD5426 would be fine, a mid-range performer in that list, just be aware of the linear framebuffer issue.

Thanks for the link that was super helpful! My main concern with dos is compatibility. Someone was selling a VL41C/V2 which is an S3 805 based card for the same price as the Cirrus so I went for that. I've had good luck with S3 chips in the past so I think will do all I need it to do 🤣.

Just wanted to update the thread that the card came in and is working great! I can't believe how much the Orchid card was holding the 486 back in DOS. My Topbench score almost doubled, all of my compatibility issues went away as well, older games like Lemmings play perfectly now. It seems to have VESA support built in so VESA games just play no UniVBE needed which is nice. It had 1mb of vram, I happened to have a couple chips I pulled from a dead card laying around so I dropped them in to upgrade to 2mb. Doubt this will matter at all in DOS but maybe will help in windows. I haven't tried it in Windows yet but it sure flys in DOS, Doom and Duke 3D both play as fast as you could ever expect them too on a 486, and are actually playable. Thanks for the help!

Cover the window on the video eprom. Might check if the rom is backed up while you are at it.