VOGONS


First post, by bloodem

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Some time ago, I bought a sound/video card bundle and I came across an Aztech card with a genuine Yamaha OPL3 chip (the low power version).
The card has the I38-SN96103 FCC ID, which apparently means that it's an Aztech Multimedia Pro 16 IIB-3D.
The card is non PNP, but only the base address is configurable through jumpers. I'm guessing the other settings are either configurable through software, or hardcoded in the EEPROM.

Digging through the Vogons driver library, I managed to find some Windows drivers that work OK, however the DOS behavior (without any drivers) is erratic to say the least.
In most games there's no FM and no digital sounds, in some games FM is working but digital sounds are not, while in other games digital sounds are working, but FM is not (this is very weird, I would expect at least the FM portion to always work).

Obviously, I tried all possible jumper settings, I switched the JMPCFG from "Software setting" to "EEPROM setting", but so far no success.
Anybody got any experience with these cards, do I need some type of software utility to initialize the card?

Some pics:

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  • 20201020_161402.jpg
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1 x PLCC-68 / 2 x PGA132 / 5 x Skt 3 / 9 x Skt 7 / 12 x SS7 / 1 x Skt 8 / 14 x Slot 1 / 5 x Slot A
5 x Skt 370 / 8 x Skt A / 2 x Skt 478 / 2 x Skt 754 / 3 x Skt 939 / 7 x LGA775 / 1 x LGA1155
Current PC: Ryzen 7 5800X3D
Backup PC: Core i7 7700k

Reply 1 of 5, by bloodem

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Never mind, found the drivers (it does need them for DOS), but there was a second issue, which was actually caused by CPU speed.
I was testing the card on a K6-2+ 550 MHz, and while I did disable the L1/L2 and external cache (so I had 386 equivalent speed), it seems that it wasn't enough for this card. I also had to set the frequency to 200 MHz and after that everything started working. Very interesting!
As a first impression, I like this card. Sound quality and SNR is pretty good and the very few games that I tried today (after solving the aforemention issues) worked great. No single cycle DMA clicking and also supports ADPCM.
In case anyone will need the drivers in the future, I'm attaching them here

Attachments

  • Filename
    AZT16.ZIP
    File size
    876.59 KiB
    Downloads
    108 downloads
    File license
    Fair use/fair dealing exception

1 x PLCC-68 / 2 x PGA132 / 5 x Skt 3 / 9 x Skt 7 / 12 x SS7 / 1 x Skt 8 / 14 x Slot 1 / 5 x Slot A
5 x Skt 370 / 8 x Skt A / 2 x Skt 478 / 2 x Skt 754 / 3 x Skt 939 / 7 x LGA775 / 1 x LGA1155
Current PC: Ryzen 7 5800X3D
Backup PC: Core i7 7700k

Reply 2 of 5, by Joseph_Joestar

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Interesting card.

I see the Analog Devices chip, so I'm assuming it is WSS compatible as well. Could you test a few WSS capable games on it? For example: Descent, Tyrian, Aladdin and WarCraft 2.

PC#1: Pentium MMX 166 / Soyo SY-5BT / S3 Trio64V+ / Voodoo1 / YMF719 / AWE64 Gold / SC-155
PC#2: AthlonXP 2100+ / ECS K7VTA3 / Voodoo3 / Audigy2 / Vortex2
PC#3: Athlon64 3400+ / Asus K8V-MX / 5900XT / Audigy2
PC#4: i5-3570K / MSI Z77A-G43 / GTX 970 / X-Fi

Reply 3 of 5, by bloodem

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Joseph_Joestar wrote on 2020-10-25, 13:13:

Interesting card.

I see the Analog Devices chip, so I'm assuming it is WSS compatible as well. Could you test a few WSS capable games on it? For example: Descent, Tyrian, Aladdin and WarCraft 2.

Already tested, it is WSS compatible! It even has WSS volume settings in the mixer 😀

1 x PLCC-68 / 2 x PGA132 / 5 x Skt 3 / 9 x Skt 7 / 12 x SS7 / 1 x Skt 8 / 14 x Slot 1 / 5 x Slot A
5 x Skt 370 / 8 x Skt A / 2 x Skt 478 / 2 x Skt 754 / 3 x Skt 939 / 7 x LGA775 / 1 x LGA1155
Current PC: Ryzen 7 5800X3D
Backup PC: Core i7 7700k

Reply 4 of 5, by mockingbird

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bloodem wrote on 2020-10-25, 11:09:

Some time ago, I bought a sound/video card bundle and I came across an Aztech card with a genuine Yamaha OPL3 chip (the low power version).
The card has the I38-SN96103 FCC ID, which apparently means that it's an Aztech Multimedia Pro 16 IIB-3D.
The card is non PNP, but only the base address is configurable through jumpers. I'm guessing the other settings are either configurable through software, or hardcoded in the EEPROM.

Thanks for this thread. I obtained this card after testing a similar card with the AZT2316A (the larger version of the IC). The driver for the AZT2316A is incompatible with the AZT2316R, so your attachment helped.

My question is what's the advantage of the 7332s opamp on your card which is missing on mine (along with its supporting circuitry). Please see pic:

IMG_20231017_212914081.jpg
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230.79 KiB
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(Decommissioned:)
7ivtic.png

Reply 5 of 5, by bloodem

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mockingbird wrote on 2023-10-18, 01:35:

Thanks for this thread. I obtained this card after testing a similar card with the AZT2316A (the larger version of the IC). The driver for the AZT2316A is incompatible with the AZT2316R, so your attachment helped.

I'm glad it was helpful. 😀

mockingbird wrote on 2023-10-18, 01:35:

My question is what's the advantage of the 7332s opamp on your card which is missing on mine (along with its supporting circuitry). Please see pic:

Interesting. Not entirely sure, but possibly better amplification / feedback control / buffering?
The card is in a Pentium MMX system, which is currently in storage, but I remember being quite impressed by its overall sound quality. Definitely punching way above its weight!

1 x PLCC-68 / 2 x PGA132 / 5 x Skt 3 / 9 x Skt 7 / 12 x SS7 / 1 x Skt 8 / 14 x Slot 1 / 5 x Slot A
5 x Skt 370 / 8 x Skt A / 2 x Skt 478 / 2 x Skt 754 / 3 x Skt 939 / 7 x LGA775 / 1 x LGA1155
Current PC: Ryzen 7 5800X3D
Backup PC: Core i7 7700k