Well, what is written on the graphics chip itself? And for the sound card, it's a good card with a real Yamaha OPL chip.

Not sure which one is the graphics chip, but if it's the WDC one it'sWD90C33-ZZ

Here are some pictures of the cards.

Graphic almost top performer https://dependency-injection.com/vlb-vga-group-test/
Sound has genuine cloned Yamaha OPL2 on board 😀 either by UMC in Taiwan or maybe even in Korea. In all seriousness Aztech made cheap but ok quality cards back in the day. Sounds like you have Panasonic/Sony CDROM that requires this card to run.

rasz_pl wrote on 2024-09-12, 05:58:

Graphic almost top performer https://dependency-injection.com/vlb-vga-group-test/
Sound has genuine cloned Yamaha OPL2 on board 😀 either by UMC in Taiwan or maybe even in Korea. In all seriousness Aztech made cheap but ok quality cards back in the day. Sounds like you have Panasonic/Sony CDROM that requires this card to run.

I was going to swap out the cd drive as it's a little chewed up (looks like someone has been prying it open) unless there's a reason to keep stick a special drive. Plus I'd rather use my Awe32 and MT-32.

Good to know about the video card. Guess I'll keep that as is my only VLB card anyway. I wonder how you put it in the zero wait state like the article talks about?

Tempest wrote on 2024-09-11, 19:51:

Not sure which one is the graphics chip, but if it's the WDC one it'sWD90C33-ZZ […]
Show full quote

Not sure which one is the graphics chip, but if it's the WDC one it'sWD90C33-ZZ

Here are some pictures of the cards.

The attachment card_2.jpg is no longer available

The attachment card_1.jpg is no longer available

Graphics card is a Western Digital WD90C33-ZZ which is not a bad card, especially since it's a VLB version.

https://vgamuseum.info/index.php/cpu/item/488 … ital-wd90c33-zz

dominusprog wrote on 2024-09-12, 12:59:

Graphics card is a Western Digital WD90C33-ZZ which is not a bad card, especially since it's a VLB version.

https://vgamuseum.info/index.php/cpu/item/488 … ital-wd90c33-zz

Any idea how to set the ram to a zero wait state? The review here mentions that it drastically increases the cards performance, but doesn't mention the settings. I assume it's the undocumented JP2 block.

https://dependency-injection.com/vlb-vga-group-test/

Also the BIOS is listed as 1.0. I know there's at least a 1.3 as I've seen pictures of it. Any idea if those BIOS files are available so I can flash a new EPROM?

rasz_pl wrote on 2024-09-12, 05:58:

Sound has genuine cloned Yamaha OPL2 on board 😀 either by UMC in Taiwan or maybe even in Korea.

OPL3, not OPL2.

Anyway, it's "Sound Galaxy Basic Audio 16B", and it's a nice card because of its broad compatibility.
Such cards were advertised as compatible with 6 sound standards:
1. AdLib
2. Sound Blaster 2.0
3. Sound Blaster Pro 2
4. Windows Sound System
5. Covox Speech Thing
6. Disney Sound Source

Tempest wrote on 2024-09-12, 13:31:

Any idea how to set the ram to a zero wait state? The review here mentions that it drastically increases the cards performance, […]
Show full quote

dominusprog wrote on 2024-09-12, 12:59:

Graphics card is a Western Digital WD90C33-ZZ which is not a bad card, especially since it's a VLB version.

https://vgamuseum.info/index.php/cpu/item/488 … ital-wd90c33-zz

Any idea how to set the ram to a zero wait state? The review here mentions that it drastically increases the cards performance, but doesn't mention the settings. I assume it's the undocumented JP2 block.

https://dependency-injection.com/vlb-vga-group-test/

Also the BIOS is listed as 1.0. I know there's at least a 1.3 as I've seen pictures of it. Any idea if those BIOS files are available so I can flash a new EPROM?

All settings regarding the VLB are in the motherboard BIOS. For the graphics card BIOS, you can use a programmer to flash it.

dominusprog wrote on 2024-09-12, 13:49:

All settings regarding the VLB are in the motherboard BIOS. For the graphics card BIOS, you can use a programmer to flash it.

Are the BIOS files for the Powergraph C33 available anywhere? I haven't seen them.

Grzyb wrote on 2024-09-12, 13:41:

rasz_pl wrote on 2024-09-12, 05:58:

Sound has genuine cloned Yamaha OPL2 on board 😀 either by UMC in Taiwan or maybe even in Korea.

OPL3, not OPL2.

Anyway, it's "Sound Galaxy Basic Audio 16B", and it's a nice card because of its broad compatibility.

Nice. I think my Awe32 is compatible with all of those plus having the interface for my Roland MT-32 so I'll use that instead. Still nice to know I have a SB 16 clone now.

Tempest wrote on 2024-09-12, 14:24:

dominusprog wrote on 2024-09-12, 13:49:

All settings regarding the VLB are in the motherboard BIOS. For the graphics card BIOS, you can use a programmer to flash it.

Are the BIOS files for the Powergraph C33 available anywhere? I haven't seen them.

For safety reasons, use a different ROM chip.

https://vgamuseum.info/index.php/cpu/item/488 … ital-wd90c33-zz

dominusprog wrote on 2024-09-12, 14:40:

Tempest wrote on 2024-09-12, 14:24:

dominusprog wrote on 2024-09-12, 13:49:

All settings regarding the VLB are in the motherboard BIOS. For the graphics card BIOS, you can use a programmer to flash it.

Are the BIOS files for the Powergraph C33 available anywhere? I haven't seen them.

For safety reasons, use a different ROM chip.

https://vgamuseum.info/index.php/cpu/item/488 … ital-wd90c33-zz

Is that the latest BIOS file? It doesn't say what version it is.

Tempest wrote on 2024-09-12, 14:42:

dominusprog wrote on 2024-09-12, 14:40:

Tempest wrote on 2024-09-12, 14:24:

Are the BIOS files for the Powergraph C33 available anywhere? I haven't seen them.

For safety reasons, use a different ROM chip.

https://vgamuseum.info/index.php/cpu/item/488 … ital-wd90c33-zz

Is that the latest BIOS file? It doesn't say what version it is.

I couldn't find any information about the version but it's from 09/13/93.

Tempest wrote on 2024-09-12, 14:26:

Nice. I think my Awe32 is compatible with all of those plus having the interface for my Roland MT-32 so I'll use that instead. Still nice to know I have a SB 16 clone now.

No, AWE32 isn't compatible with WSS, Covox, and Disney.
And its SB Pro compatibility is broken - it plays, but without stereo.

Both AWE32 and the Sound Galaxy have MIDI interface, but in case of the SG it isn't compatible with MPU-401 - so pretty much useless for DOS games.

Overall, AWE32 is better, but can't fully replace the SG.

Grzyb wrote on 2024-09-12, 17:50:

No, AWE32 isn't compatible with WSS, Covox, and Disney. And its SB Pro compatibility is broken - it plays, but without stereo. […]
Show full quote

Tempest wrote on 2024-09-12, 14:26:

Nice. I think my Awe32 is compatible with all of those plus having the interface for my Roland MT-32 so I'll use that instead. Still nice to know I have a SB 16 clone now.

No, AWE32 isn't compatible with WSS, Covox, and Disney.
And its SB Pro compatibility is broken - it plays, but without stereo.

Both AWE32 and the Sound Galaxy have MIDI interface, but in case of the SG it isn't compatible with MPU-401 - so pretty much useless for DOS games.

Overall, AWE32 is better, but can't fully replace the SG.

Can you do Awe32 for the MT-32 interface and Sound Galaxy for the rest of the sound output?

Tempest wrote on 2024-09-12, 18:04:

Can you do Awe32 for the MT-32 interface and Sound Galaxy for the rest of the sound output?

I've never tried it, but I think it is possible - but not a good idea...

MPU-401 interface on Sound Blasters is far from perfect - it lacks the "intelligent mode" (required by some games for MT-32), and many models suffer from the hanging note bug:
Sound Blaster: From best to worst

If I wanted to add MPU-401 to that Sound Galaxy, I would search for some fully-featured and bug-free solution...
HardMPU? PCMIDI? Something else?
I don't know what exactly would be the best, but definitely NOT a Sound Blaster!

Grzyb wrote on 2024-09-12, 18:46:

I've never tried it, but I think it is possible - but not a good idea... […]
Show full quote

Tempest wrote on 2024-09-12, 18:04:

Can you do Awe32 for the MT-32 interface and Sound Galaxy for the rest of the sound output?

I've never tried it, but I think it is possible - but not a good idea...

MPU-401 interface on Sound Blasters is far from perfect - it lacks the "intelligent mode" (required by some games for MT-32), and many models suffer from the hanging note bug:
Sound Blaster: From best to worst

If I wanted to add MPU-401 to that Sound Galaxy, I would search for some fully-featured and bug-free solution...
HardMPU? PCMIDI? Something else?
I don't know what exactly would be the best, but definitely NOT a Sound Blaster!

Just checked and my Awe32 is a CT3900. Do you recommend getting a some sort of repro MPU interface and a different soundcard for the MT-32 or just stick with the AWE32?

Tempest wrote on 2024-09-12, 22:53:

[...]

Just checked and my Awe32 is a CT3900. Do you recommend getting a some sort of repro MPU interface and a different soundcard for the MT-32 or just stick with the AWE32?

Sound Blaster: From best to worst

CT3900 has a real OPL3, has type 2 hanging note bug (not as bad as type 1), slowdowns when playing high quality digital audio at same time as MIDI music (won't be an issue with MT-32 games...), single-cycle DMA clicking and may or may not be noisy, depending on the version of CT1703 DAC. Pretty par for the course with SB16 variants...

Question is what you want to play on this system? MT-32 stuff is old. Aside from MT-32, games from that period use Ad-Lib, CMS or Covox (or maybe Sound Blaster 1.0 for the newer ones). That 1st gen Aztech card is a good match for that, with OPL3 and Covox - and if the SB doesn't do stereo (iirc a 2nd gen Aztech issue, not 1st gen like this card) it doesn't matter because those games won't do stereo either. Now, that card doesn't have an MPU-401 interface. You could add the CT3900 next to the Aztech card purely as an MPU-401 MIDI interface, but that's overkill and buggy. You'd also need to use SoftMPU TSR to run games that need intelligent mode. But it's better than nothing.

If considering getting something else, the period-correct option would be an MPU-401 or clone (eg MusicQuest) or modern replica (HardMPU). That will cost quite a bit. Alternately, just go for a cheap card with bug-free MIDI (ALS1xx, 3rd/4th gen Aztech, C-Media, Crystal, ESS or OPTi chipsets would do the trick) and use SoftMPU. That will work for most games, just not things like Ultima 7 with exotic memory management.

Now, if you want to run newer games as well as old MT-32 stuff, the CT3900 might (despite its bugs) be more interesting, with its SB16 digital audio and AWE wavetable. Still, an AWE64 would be better - no hanging note bugs, no noise, no single-cycle DMA clicking. And you don't need the real OPL3 on the AWE32 as there's already a 1:1 clone on the Aztech SG Basic Audio.

dionb wrote on 2024-09-13, 00:03:

Now, if you want to run newer games as well as old MT-32 stuff, the CT3900 might (despite its bugs) be more interesting, with its SB16 digital audio and AWE wavetable. Still, an AWE64 would be better - no hanging note bugs, no noise, no single-cycle DMA clicking. And you don't need the real OPL3 on the AWE32 as there's already a 1:1 clone on the Aztech SG Basic Audio.

Not sure what counts as 'newer games' but I'd probably be running anything that can realistically run well on a 486. The MT-32 is mostly for Sierra games.