Which soundcard for DOS gaming? \ VOGONS

Which soundcard for DOS gaming?

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First post, by NitroX infinity

Posted on 2014-05-11, 12:55

NitroX infinity Offline

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I apparently need a soundcard to get Carmageddon to play the cutscenes.

I have 4 soundcards to choose from;

1) ESS AudioDrive ES1868F ISA
I've been messing about with this one, but don't seem to have DOS drivers, only Win9x. Nothing seems to get added to the autoexec.bat or config.sys (don't know if that's neccessary for DOS?). I'd like to use this card because it's the only ISA card I have, which means I don't need to sacrifice a PCI slot (I'll need the space for my videocards). So if anyone has any idea on how to get this thing working in DOS, please tell.

2) ESS Solo-1 ES1938S PCI
Haven't tested it, nor do I know anything about it.

3) Creative Labs Sound Blaster PCI128 CT4700 (Chip marking; 5507)
4) Creative Labs 4740 PCI (Chip marking; ES1373)
Soundblasters I know by reputation, but I don't know which one is more suitable for DOS gaming or how they compare to the ESS cards.

So, can anyone tell me which card is the easiest to use in DOS?

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Reply 1 of 9, by Solarstorm

Posted on 2014-05-11, 12:58

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AFAIK you can only use ISA cards under DOS.

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Reply 2 of 9, by keropi

Posted on 2014-05-11, 13:19

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definitely go with the ISA card, it will just work 😉

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Reply 3 of 9, by vetz

Posted on 2014-05-11, 13:20

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Solarstorm wrote:
AFAIK you can only use ISA cards under DOS.

That is not correct. Several cards work under DOS, like the Vortex2 for instance.

NitroX: Did you ever use Google or check vogonsdrivers on the ES1868F? Ofc it has DOS drivers. It is a very good card.

ESS AudioDrive (ES1868) - a surprisingly good ISA sound card
http://www.vogonsdrivers.com/getfile.php?fileid=112

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Reply 4 of 9, by NitroX infinity

Posted on 2014-05-11, 13:25

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I just found this topic; ESS AudioDrive (ES1868) - a surprisingly good ISA sound card

I got the DOS drivers, ran it, but Carmageddon still won't play the cutscenes beyond the first (few) frames 🙁

What's going on here?

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Reply 5 of 9, by gerwin

Posted on 2014-05-11, 13:30

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I just uploaded this:
ESS 1688/1868/1869 Pre-installed for DOS

--> ISA Soundcard Overview // Doom MBF 2.04 // SetMul

Reply 6 of 9, by Mau1wurf1977

Posted on 2014-05-11, 13:39

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If your board has ISA slot you would be silly to pick a PCI card 😀

Personally I would stick with Creative cards, they will work with any game and "just work".

You obviously need to configure the Sound Card (drivers) and the game (SETUP.EXE or something similar).

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Reply 7 of 9, by vetz

Posted on 2014-05-11, 14:02

vetz Offline

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Mau1wurf1977 wrote:

Personally I would stick with Creative cards, they will work with any game and "just work".

He only have PCI cards from Creative. While I agree that the statement is correct for ISA cards, I don't think it applies to their PCI cards. You know that the Creative SoundBlaster Live don't work with the MPU-401 interface in pure DOS? You're stuck with AWE midi.

The ESS card is great, Sound Blaster Pro compatibility and works with SoftMPU as well.

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Reply 8 of 9, by NitroX infinity

Posted on 2014-05-11, 14:23

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OMG! I just fixed it. Dumbass sound setup from Carmageddon selected the wrong chips 🙁. Selecting ESS Audiodrive manually worked.
I hate Dos! 😁

@Gerwin; thanks for those pre-installed things. Makes things easier.

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Reply 9 of 9, by Solarstorm

Posted on 2014-05-11, 14:30

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vetz wrote:
That is not correct. Several cards work under DOS, like the Vortex2 for instance. […]
Show full quote
Solarstorm wrote:
AFAIK you can only use ISA cards under DOS.

That is not correct. Several cards work under DOS, like the Vortex2 for instance.

NitroX: Did you ever use Google or check vogonsdrivers on the ES1868F? Ofc it has DOS drivers. It is a very good card.

ESS AudioDrive (ES1868) - a surprisingly good ISA sound card
http://www.vogonsdrivers.com/getfile.php?fileid=112

I did not know that^^
I have a faint memory that it was a pain in the ass to impossible to bring PCI cards to work under DOS.

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