TheAbandonwareGuy wrote:

Bought a CT3600 Soundblaster AWE32 (Real AWE32 or not to be debated?) along with pretty much an entire Pentium 3 system of a scr […]
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Bought a CT3600 Soundblaster AWE32 (Real AWE32 or not to be debated?) along with pretty much an entire Pentium 3 system of a scrapper today anyways its missing the SIMMs that should be on it.
Via some research ive come up with the following info about the cards RAM

It needs 2 1, 4, 8, or 16MB 30 pin SIMM's to function. Nothing fancy. Just 16MB or Less Generic SIMM's.

Could someone who knows more than me verify this?

Also if anyone happens to know is this a real AWE32 (aka the cards with the superior reverb in some games) or is it a modified Vibra16? Ive read conflicting accounts.

First of all, SIMMs not exactly "should be on it". They were optional upgrade items, so, the cards as far as I know, sold with unpopulated SIMM slots (yes, it will work as it is, without SIMMs on it) .

You are correct that you need generic 30 pin SIMMs, in sets of 2 ("identical" is preferred, "same size" is a must).

I can suggest OWC, they still have new 30 pin SIMMs (16MB only) https://eshop.macsales.com/item/OWC/30PS16MB/ but of course you can snatch anything from ebay, too. Just a reminder, I'm pretty sure 8MB 30pin SIMM is something never exists. Your choices are 1, 4 or 16 MB modules.

Ok, i read somewhere the RAM from old Performa macs would work? is that true, i have a broken one i could harvest the ram from

Not familiar with old mac's but a quick google seems to think they use 72pin RAM
http://www.everymac.com/systems/apple/mac_per … rma_5200cd.html
Its easy to tell though, if the RAM fits great, if its too long its 72 pin
Early 486's and below also used 30 pin if you have any of those lying around?

While its not a true AWE32 I don't think you'll really notice much difference.
Basically SB16 has Bass, Treble, Reverb control
Vibra 16 Does not (but cleaner output)

an AWE 32 is just a SB16 with the EMU chip
SB32 is a Vibra with the same EMU chip

So unless you mess round with those settings in mixer its no big deal

http://www.ebay.com/itm/351299385517?_trksid= … K%3AMEBIDX%3AIT

Cheapest I've found anywhere.

As for the CT3600, I have one. It has a Vibra chip, but all Vibra chips are not equal. This one is a CT2502, which does have bass&treble controls.

there is a memory seller on ebay that has all the 30 pin sim sizes. "memorymasters"

chinny22 wrote:

Not familiar with old mac's but a quick google seems to think they use 72pin RAM http://www.everymac.com/systems/apple/mac_per … […]
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Not familiar with old mac's but a quick google seems to think they use 72pin RAM
http://www.everymac.com/systems/apple/mac_per … rma_5200cd.html
Its easy to tell though, if the RAM fits great, if its too long its 72 pin
Early 486's and below also used 30 pin if you have any of those lying around?

While its not a true AWE32 I don't think you'll really notice much difference.
Basically SB16 has Bass, Treble, Reverb control
Vibra 16 Does not (but cleaner output)

an AWE 32 is just a SB16 with the EMU chip
SB32 is a Vibra with the same EMU chip

So unless you mess round with those settings in mixer its no big deal

So if i had an Soundblaster 16 Ct2830 i should use that one instead as it has a wider range of audio features?

and Yeah i have a 486/25 with a blown motherboard lying around. Ill check to see what RAM type is in it.

A few details pertaining to your gear. The EMU8k reaches it's full potential under Windows. DOS generally limits your ability to use soundfonts. Also, the CT3600 has a CQM FM chip (CT1978) which some people don't like. Vibra based boards have the advantage of being somewhat less noisy (in my experience) than boards with the CT1745 bus chip, so I generally prefer a Vibra codec/bus chip (without integrated CQM) over an older classic SB16.

Ultimately the choice of what to use will depend on what your priorities are, especially in ISA sound cards.

gdjacobs wrote:

DOS generally limits your ability to use soundfonts

An exception though: Eradicator is a dos game that'll load a 2mb soundfont for some higher quality spatial sounds.