haven't seen a yellow ct1740, i have mainly seen green CT1740 cards.

Windows9566 wrote:

haven't seen a yellow ct1740, i have mainly seen green CT1740 cards.

And the early CT1740s come with it soldered. I have two of those.

imi wrote:

do you like In-wins? cause I like In-wins :) […]
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do you like In-wins? cause I like In-wins 😀

the case on the left is very very similar to the one I bought for my first own PC in 1998 (mine had a non-textured power button and a single U-shaped panel instead of split panels, otherwise it's the same, I had two different cases before that, but those were shared computers not my "own") unfortunately there's some specks of rust on the back... going to need to fix that, this one is going to house the original configuration I had back then, have collected all the hardware I need for it already.

the 2nd one I got mainly for the travan drive, and I like the case, unfortunately the panel doesn't seem to fit correctly (already fixed the bent tabs, but it still doesn't close)

and three In-wins 😀
my "second" case was an In-win S500 that I still own, unfortunately that one is heavily modded ^^
I had an In-win Q500 already leftover from the old office, but that got thrown out several years ago (not by me 🙁) now it's back in my collection ^^
my slot A build is probably going into one of the A500s

and also a bunch of other hardware... will report back with the contents of those cases (there's a surprise in there somewhere) and stuff later when I had time to go through it 😀

...my shoulder also hates me right now

let's see what's in there 😀

"my" old case...

another GA-6BXC 🤣 I have now three of these... this is a Rev 2.0, I bought a Rev 1.9 specifically for a bunch of money because that was my original motherboard that I am intending to put in this case, and I also got another Rev 1.9 from a scrap box
ELSA Erazor II A32, TNT2 Pro, nice, and a CT2770, I'll take it 😀

what about the AT case

Diamond Stealth 64 2MB, dedicated Travan controller... wait... wasn't there supposed to be a CPU too?

oh no 😵

what about the A500s

a P3B-F... aaaand another P3B-F nice 😁

and the Q500

😲
surprise, P2B-D

and a lot of dust everywhere.

I have a DSP 4.11 CT1740 that has it soldered on and the CT2740 (CT1747 chipset) has a socket.

Not as exciting as most stuff on this thread but finding a working CD-ROM from pre-2000s is starting to get more and more difficult, so when I found this for $2 I grabbed it. Not only have I run out of CD-ROMs (I still have some CD-RW, DVD-ROMs, Combo drives and DVD-RWs though) but the 52x LG ones from 2005+ look very out of place in my 386/486 builds, so something with a headphone jack and volume wheel was a nice catch..

jaZz_KCS wrote:

Windows9566 wrote:

haven't seen a yellow ct1740, i have mainly seen green CT1740 cards.

And the early CT1740s come with it soldered. I have two of those.

i also have one - but this card is so useless 😁 i prefer more the sbpro2, second generation awe32 as opl3 cards, maybe the second gen sb16 (ct2xxx).

I though the CT1740 with DSP 4.05 is actually one the more sought-after SB16 versions compared to CT2xxx or CT41xx.

True Yamaha-branded OPL3, no PnP, no hanging note bug, socketed ASP chip, WT header, disableable amp. True it is not without faults.

Anyway, I have other models (SB1.0, SB20, SBPRO2.0, AWE32 and AWE64) in my possession so I am happy to have an early SB16 in my collection.

CT1740 with DSP 4.05 has a very noisy output though.

CT2230/2290 is preferrable IMO.

yep... i am talking about the usability, how useful it, as a retro card at its age.

- noisy (every card is noisy from this age, this is extremely)
- pops in the digital sound
- the asp worth nothing
- if you use in a config around 93 - the sbpro2 or the pas has also better compatibility with more support
- the hanging bug is very overhyped - if you really want to use an external midi device, buy an intelligent controller
+ the opl3 implementation is great (like in the sbpro2)

the sb16 second gen also has backward compatibility issues (eg freezes as "sb"), but acceptable output. i collected ca 10 different type sb16, but finally i use these isa based blasters:
* sbpro2 ct1600 - socket 3 1994
* awe32 ct3910 (opl3 w/o ram upgrade) - socket 5 1995
* awe64 gold - socket 7 1997

from sb16 i kept because of nostalgic reason, but i dont use them:
* ct1740
* ct2290

arncht wrote:

yep... i am talking about the usability, how useful it, as a retro card at its age. […]
Show full quote

yep... i am talking about the usability, how useful it, as a retro card at its age.

- noisy (every card is noisy from this age, this is extremely)
- pops in the digital sound
- the asp worth nothing

This isn't going to change any minds, as other discussions have shown, but to counterpoint some of the CT1740 statements:

- The output can be noisy, but isn't inherently so. It's respectably quiet with an appropriate, non-default configuration, and assuming a non-faulty card.

- Popping/clicking is exhibited during single-cycle DMA playback. This is somewhat maskable with a -14dB treble mixer setting, but more-so by running the output through an external, 3.2kHz filter with a -12dB/octave slope (matching the SBPro).

- The ASP/CSP provides an MP3 alternative (ADPCM) that is usable on even low-end (286) systems and nicely integrates with Windows.

Also, you can disable the internal amplifier in the CT1740 and get a line out, which eliminates almost completely the "computer thinking" noises. This is a big advantage over SBPro2 and earlier cards which force you to use the amplified output.

here's some of the other stuff...

one more caddy drive for the collection

and one more for the midi collection ^^

a few GPUs

X850XT, X800pro toxic, HD4850, X1650pro AGP and my first Voodoo 1 😀

and now for the single most expensive item in this whole lot, more than twice as expensive as any of the complete systems from above...

why did I spend so much on this particular keyboard? well...
here's me using that same keyboard some 23+ years ago, it's probably much older than that though, I'm like 99% certain it's the original keyboard from our 386, it has a 8088/80286 (XT/AT) mode switch on the back.

imi wrote:

let's see what's in there :) […]
Show full quote

imi wrote:

do you like In-wins? cause I like In-wins :) […]
Show full quote

do you like In-wins? cause I like In-wins 😀

the case on the left is very very similar to the one I bought for my first own PC in 1998 (mine had a non-textured power button and a single U-shaped panel instead of split panels, otherwise it's the same, I had two different cases before that, but those were shared computers not my "own") unfortunately there's some specks of rust on the back... going to need to fix that, this one is going to house the original configuration I had back then, have collected all the hardware I need for it already.

the 2nd one I got mainly for the travan drive, and I like the case, unfortunately the panel doesn't seem to fit correctly (already fixed the bent tabs, but it still doesn't close)

and three In-wins 😀
my "second" case was an In-win S500 that I still own, unfortunately that one is heavily modded ^^
I had an In-win Q500 already leftover from the old office, but that got thrown out several years ago (not by me 🙁) now it's back in my collection ^^
my slot A build is probably going into one of the A500s

and also a bunch of other hardware... will report back with the contents of those cases (there's a surprise in there somewhere) and stuff later when I had time to go through it 😀

...my shoulder also hates me right now

let's see what's in there 😀

"my" old case...

hardware24_03.jpg

another GA-6BXC 🤣 I have now three of these... this is a Rev 2.0, I bought a Rev 1.9 specifically for a bunch of money because that was my original motherboard that I am intending to put in this case, and I also got another Rev 1.9 from a scrap box
ELSA Erazor II A32, TNT2 Pro, nice, and a CT2770, I'll take it 😀

what about the AT case

hardware24_04.jpg

Diamond Stealth 64 2MB, dedicated Travan controller... wait... wasn't there supposed to be a CPU too?

hardware24_04b.jpg

oh no 😵

what about the A500s

hardware24_05.jpg

a P3B-F... aaaand another P3B-F nice 😁

and the Q500

hardware24_06.jpg

😲
surprise, P2B-D

and a lot of dust everywhere.

I didn't know any lottery winner until now 🤣 Nice!

appiah4 wrote:

Not as exciting as most stuff on this thread but finding a working CD-ROM from pre-2000s is starting to get more and more difficult

I have recently bought a couple because indeed they are starting to become hard to find in working and undiscolorated condition, especially CD-ROM only drives.

imi wrote:

what about the A500s […]
Show full quote

what about the A500s

hardware24_05.jpg

a P3B-F... aaaand another P3B-F nice 😁

...

Nice haul!

Are all you P3B-F boards working? I'm fiddling with a PC I got in a lot that had a P3B-F in it, but it won't post. It powers on, onboard LED switches on, but no beeps, no video. Caps all look fine so not sure what the problem is at this stage. Would be a shame to recycle it if it can be saved somehow.

arncht wrote:

[...]

- noisy (every card is noisy from this age, this is extremely)

Disagree. Compare a CT1740 to a ProAudio Spectrum 16. Similar specs on paper, but the PAS16 oozes quality, where the early SB16s just ooze noise. Both have MIDI bugs though...

imi wrote:

here's some of the other stuff... […]
Show full quote

here's some of the other stuff...

[...]

and now for the single most expensive item in this whole lot, more than twice as expensive as any of the complete systems from above...

hardware24_10.jpg

why did I spend so much on this particular keyboard? well...
here's me using that same keyboard some 23+ years ago, it's probably much older than that though, I'm like 99% certain it's the original keyboard from our 386, it has a 8088/80286 (XT/AT) mode switch on the back

Wow, some haul! Were the rest of the things (P2B-D!) stupidly cheap or did you really pay megabucks for that keyboard? Looks nice enough though - Alps White switches by any chance?

Bought something myself too a while ago while drunk. Arrived today:

Probably the fastest So370 motherboard ever made, the P6S5AT, with SiS635T chipset, Tualatin and DDR support. Boots perfectly with my P3-1400S and 512MB DDR at CAS2. Time for a decent Win98SE build 😜

One dilemma though: Voodoo3, Gf3 or Matrox Parhelia?

In terms of compatibilty and drivers the Gf3 is the obvious choice, Voodoo3 does GLide, but Parhelia is quirky and actually outperforms the Gf3...

dionb wrote:

...the early SB16s just ooze noise.

Guess you overlooked the information and initial sample-set of measurements I'd provided in the "12-bit Sound Blaster 16" thread.

The anti-Creative bias is real, folks.

Cloudschatze wrote:

dionb wrote:

...the early SB16s just ooze noise.

Guess you overlooked the information and initial sample-set of measurements I'd provided in the "12-bit Sound Blaster 16" thread.

The anti-Creative bias is real, folks.

Steps to reproduce:

- take an early SB16 (mine: CT1750MCD)
- take a similar period quality card (mine: PAS16)

Install both, set mic and line-in to mute and volume to normal mid-rage level on both cards. Listen to digital audio and/or FM playback.

I'm no audiophile and have great difficulty hearing pitch issues, but I can definitely hear noise and artifacts, and I hear noise clearly on my CT1750MCD and can't hear any on the PAS16. That's no bias, that's noise. In fact I considered the PAS16 quite an anticlimax when I first heard it, not actually making any different sounds to SB16 - but regardless, it makes the same sounds with less noise. Now, I can't judge your cards or your hearing, but please don't try to undermine credibility of anyone who claims to hear anything that disagrees with your own preconceptions. Maybe you just have an excellent CT1740...

dionb wrote:

Wow, some haul! Were the rest of the things (P2B-D!) stupidly cheap or did you really pay megabucks for that keyboard? Looks nice enough though - Alps White switches by any chance?

One dilemma though: Voodoo3, Gf3 or Matrox Parhelia?

In terms of compatibilty and drivers the Gf3 is the obvious choice, Voodoo3 does GLide, but Parhelia is quirky and actually outperforms the Gf3...

well I did pay a good amount for the keyboard (think all the three in-wins combined), at least to my standards for a single piece of hardware, it's green alps, I honestly can't say if that's the same our original keyboard had, since I didn't really care that much about keyswitches back then ^^, and this particular model did come with different switches apparently, I do very much like the fat enter and the very angular case though.
the systems were all pretty cheap around ~20€ each... and make that double for shipping 😵 but I really can't complain with what was inside of them... and also not to forget the cases, which were the primary reason I picked those, apart from the AT system which I picked primarily for the travan drive.

as for your question... voodoo 2 SLI in addition to GF3? ^^

MMaximus wrote:

Are all you P3B-F boards working? I'm fiddling with a PC I got in a lot that had a P3B-F in it, but it won't post. It powers on, onboard LED switches on, but no beeps, no video. Caps all look fine so not sure what the problem is at this stage. Would be a shame to recycle it if it can be saved somehow.

the seller had pictures of all of them posting, so I assume they work... maybe the bios is dead?

MMaximus wrote:

imi wrote:

what about the A500s […]
Show full quote

what about the A500s

hardware24_05.jpg

a P3B-F... aaaand another P3B-F nice 😁

...

Nice haul!

Are all you P3B-F boards working? I'm fiddling with a PC I got in a lot that had a P3B-F in it, but it won't post. It powers on, onboard LED switches on, but no beeps, no video. Caps all look fine so not sure what the problem is at this stage. Would be a shame to recycle it if it can be saved somehow.

I have a P2B-F and not POSTing either. I'm planning on looking at the solder points, clean the CPU and RAM sockets, and the AGP, PCI, and ISA slots. Caps are good as well and I don't have any spare PC speakers as they are either glued, tossed out, or installed in my other computer that's in storage at the moment. Remove the IDE LED jumper as sometimes, that can cause the system to not boot.

Also, there's a blank, jumperless CMOS clearing on the board labeled CLRTC. Turn the system off, disconnect the power (or turn the PSU switch off), place a flat tip screwdriver on the two solder pads to short them (plastic handle screwdriver is better), release, turn the PSU and the system on, and see what happens. I'll report back later on and see if that fixes my issue.