VOGONS


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Reply 20 of 51, by HunterZ

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Mau1wurf1977 wrote:
HunterZ wrote:

Creative PCI cards all use rebranded Ensoniq drivers for DOS support as far as I know. Avoid IMO.

How come? I had excellent results with later DOS Games (Doom and later)...

- Having to load a DOS driver wastes conventional/upper memory, limiting your options
- The DOS drivers had poor OPL emulation
- The MIDI support provided by the DOS drivers used mediocre Ensoniq 2/4/8MB .ECW "wavesets" instead of soundfonts (not sure if external synth via gameport is possible in DOS, as I don't remember trying it), and I think it may have required EMS
- Many of Creative's early PCI cards (PCI64/128, Live! and possibly Audigy) violated PCI standards which caused compatibility issues (popping/crackling/BSOD/etc.) in some people's systems

Never used an Aureal-based card but I heard they were arguably better than their Creative contemporaries in many important ways, which is probably why Creative litigated Aureal into the ground.

Reply 21 of 51, by retro games 100

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HunterZ wrote:

... (not sure if external synth via gameport is possible in DOS ...

Vague recall: The DOS driver does not allow the external synth via gameport to function.

HunterZ wrote:

... which is probably why Creative litigated Aureal into the ground.

Creative branded Dalek shrieks Exterminate!

Reply 22 of 51, by Mau1wurf1977

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The DOS drivers had poor OPL emulation

Yes that's true!

The MIDI support provided by the DOS drivers used mediocre Ensoniq 2/4/8MB .ECW "wavesets" instead of soundfonts

While that's true IMO they really aren't THAT bad 😀

not sure if external synth via gameport is possible in DOS, as I don't remember trying it

I tested this and indeed no go 🙁

and I think it may have required EMS

Yup it does!

Well I'm excited and will definitely look into getting one. Are there DOS drivers, or do I need to install windows, then windows drivers which then installs DOS drivers (if that question makes sense...).

We are talking pure DOS right? Not Dos window inside windows...

Reply 23 of 51, by retro games 100

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Mau1wurf1977 wrote:

Well I'm excited and will definitely look into getting one. Are there DOS drivers, or do I need to install windows, then windows drivers which then installs DOS drivers (if that question makes sense...).

We are talking pure DOS right? Not Dos window inside windows...

Yes, pure DOS. Vague recall again (sorry) - probably you're best bet is to grab a Win9x package. Install that, and you'll see how the pure DOS driver works. It adds a line to your autoexec.bat. It's a call to a driver. Some kind of .COM file, I think. Then, you can simply use that in any DOS environment you want. Copy it to a pure DOS HDD, for instance. You may as well mess about with all the great Win9x stuff it has to offer, and at the same time check out the DOS stuff. I remember doing this for a Montego II card.

Edit: Relevant topic: Turtle Beach Montego

Reply 24 of 51, by Mau1wurf1977

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Yea my recent W98SE adventures didn't go to well. I tested two Voodoo 2 cards (not both at the same time) and a lot of demos crashed and things like that 🤣

I found this card: http://cgi.ebay.com.au/Turtle-Beach-TB400-335 … =item3353c8555a

~ 15 A$ shipped to Australia. The chip looks like Aureal Vortex to me?

My website with reviews, demos, drivers, tutorials and more...
My YouTube channel

Reply 25 of 51, by retro games 100

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Get this one! 😀

http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewIt … em=310235936452 (Quantity 3 remaining)

Edit: Relevant topic: Thinking about the eBay DB60XG clone, should I? (near bottom, photo)

Reply 26 of 51, by Mau1wurf1977

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Ahh yours is Vortex2, mine is Vortex 🤣 It's all in the detail.

Thanks I will go study the thread you linked!

My website with reviews, demos, drivers, tutorials and more...
My YouTube channel

Reply 27 of 51, by retro games 100

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Tetrium wrote:

May I suggest you also register on vintage-computing.com, it's a site targetted at older PC's and has a wealth of knowledge floating around about vintage hardware predating the Pentium era 😉

I went that website, and noticed on the homepage they have a retro scan of the week. I decided to mess about with it.

Image1.jpg

Reply 28 of 51, by Mau1wurf1977

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🤣 that vision of "family in front of the computer" never became a reality...

My website with reviews, demos, drivers, tutorials and more...
My YouTube channel

Reply 29 of 51, by Mau1wurf1977

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retro games 100 wrote:

Couldn't resist and ordered one 🤣

Reply 30 of 51, by Iris030380

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Hi again...
I made it a little further overall with my builds, upgrading my main PC (as it's christmas and I'm tired of NOT playing Starcraft 2). My specs so far are as follows...

MAIN PC (RUNNING XP)
i3-540 @ 4.0GHz + CORSAIR HS/FAN
2 GIG DDR3 1600 @ 1333
500GB SATA 2 INT
2TB SEAGATE USB2 EXT
XI-FI AUDIO
2 X HD4770'S (16X + 4X)
650W PSU + 22" VIEWSONIC LED FULL HD
22X DVD +/- RW
RAZER ABYSUS ETC...

WINDOWS 98SE PC
ATHLON T-BIRD 1.0GHZ
512MB PC133 SDRAM
2 X 20GB 5400 IDE'S
SOUNDBLASTER 1024 PCI
GEFORCE 3 TI-500 64MB AGP (ALSO PICKED UP A TI-200 + GF4TI-4800)
450W PSU + 17" LCD 5:4 1280X1024
16X DVD-ROM
LOGITECH MX300 USB ETC...

DOS/95 MACHINE
NOTHING YET! ARGH.... ANYONE GOT ANYTHING FOR SALE PENTIUM MMX WISE? I'LL TAKE A 486 DX4-120? ...

Reply 31 of 51, by MatthewBrian

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What is actually the difference between Socket 7 and Super Socket 7?

I have a Socket 7 motherboard with no manufacturer identity, but it is manufactured in 1999. (I inherited that board new from my friend, in a plain box). It comes with Intel Pentium 133 (non-MMX). Is it a Super Socket 7?

What kind of processor could be put on that motherboard?

Reply 32 of 51, by Mau1wurf1977

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MatthewBrian wrote:

What kind of processor could be put on that motherboard?

1999 is a good indicator.

Do you have more infos about the mainboard? Brand? Model number? What kind of slots? Layout ATX or AT?

What chipset does it use? Intel, VIA, ALI? Look for jumpers, especially the FSB (66 to 100) and the multi (up to 6x).

Checking the user manual can also give you hints.

With a Pentium 133 MMX it is guaranteed to support the 233 MMX and also AMD K6 CPUs.

So yea if you have more infos, we can for sure help you out 😁

PS: Not 100% sure what makes a SS7 board, but I believe a FSB of 100MHz might be one indication. SS7 was AMDs "answer" to the Pentium 2 / Pentium 3.

Reply 33 of 51, by Tetrium

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MatthewBrian wrote:

What is actually the difference between Socket 7 and Super Socket 7?

I have a Socket 7 motherboard with no manufacturer identity, but it is manufactured in 1999. (I inherited that board new from my friend, in a plain box). It comes with Intel Pentium 133 (non-MMX). Is it a Super Socket 7?

What kind of processor could be put on that motherboard?

The difference between Socket 7 and Super 7 is: Super 7 boards support 100Mhz fsb and Socket 7 doesn't (it may work up to 75 and 83Mhz though).
Many Super 7 boards also have AGP and SDRAM even though having those 2 on your board doesn't necessarily make the board Super 7.

What cpu's are supported mainly depends on what voltages your board will support.
In theory any board that can get as low as 2.2v will work with the Super7-type cpu's like K6-2 and the 2.2v Cyrixes.

MatthewBrian wrote:

I have a Socket 7 motherboard with no manufacturer identity

Could you post a pic of your board?
Usually there is always -a- mark that will help in ID'ing your board.
Being made in 1999 suggests it's probably Super 7
If you can get it to boot you can check the BIOS string to ID the manufacturer and model of your board 😉

Edit: If it has a sticker on the BIOS chip saying "Burn In" or something, it's probably PC-Chips 🙁

Reply 34 of 51, by MatthewBrian

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Model number & brand: none. It doesn't have any indications of model number and brand, but 'Made in Taiwan' is written on the board. It shipped in an antistatic bag in a white box. No user manuals, no warranty cards.

Chipset is SiS. There are FSB jumpers on it, but I forgot the jumper information printed there since the board is not here (it is far away in my grandma's house 2 hours from here). I will post it if I had taken the motherboard.

It has several PCI and PCI/ISA combo. Form factor is ATX. It has three USB ports, one serial & parallel, two PS/2. It uses 2 SDRAMs (not EDO RAM). BIOS is AWARD. The Audio chip is C-Media CMI8738.

I will find more informations (notably the FSB) when I had taken the motherboard.

Last edited by MatthewBrian on 2010-12-15, 12:21. Edited 2 times in total.

Reply 36 of 51, by MatthewBrian

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Tetrium wrote:
Many Super 7 boards also have AGP and SDRAM even though having those 2 on your board doesn't necessarily make the board Super 7. […]
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Many Super 7 boards also have AGP and SDRAM even though having those 2 on your board doesn't necessarily make the board Super 7.

What cpu's are supported mainly depends on what voltages your board will support.
In theory any board that can get as low as 2.2v will work with the Super7-type cpu's like K6-2 and the 2.2v Cyrixes.

Could you post a pic of your board?
Usually there is always -a- mark that will help in ID'ing your board.
Being made in 1999 suggests it's probably Super 7
If you can get it to boot you can check the BIOS string to ID the manufacturer and model of your board 😉

Edit: If it has a sticker on the BIOS chip saying "Burn In" or something, it's probably PC-Chips 🙁

No, it doesn't have Burn-In. (It doesn't have any COAST slot either)
I will post more info about this when I took the board, as the board now is still kept in my grandma's house, far away from here 😀

Reply 37 of 51, by Tetrium

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MatthewBrian wrote:

Chipset is SiS.

If it has "530" printed on a (presumably green) heatsink, it's a Super 7 😉

It sounds a lot like those oem Packard Bell boards. Is your board mATX?

Does it look something like this?:
http://www.motherboard.cz/mb/epox/S7-530A.htm

Couldn't find any with 3 USB on the i/o thingy though

Edit: The C-Media CMI8738 sounds very modern for a Super 7 though.
You are sure it's a Socket 7 and not a S370, right??

Edit2: Found this:
http://www.motherboard.cz/mb/jetway/531CF.htm

If this is your board, it's manufactured by Throwaway...I mean Jetway 😜

Reply 38 of 51, by MatthewBrian

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Tetrium wrote:
Couldn't find any with 3 USB on the i/o thingy though […]
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Couldn't find any with 3 USB on the i/o thingy though

Edit: The C-Media CMI8738 sounds very modern for a Super 7 though.
You are sure it's a Socket 7 and not a S370, right??

Edit2: Found this:
http://www.motherboard.cz/mb/jetway/531CF.htm

If this is your board, it's manufactured by Throwaway...I mean Jetway 😜

Sorry. I mean there are 2 USB ports, and 1 VGA port, without AGP slot.

Mine looks exactly same with the Throwaway... or Jetway. 😁 I remembered the green heatsink and ITE chip near the PCI. Maybe mine is the OEM version, without drivers CD and extras or so.

Wow, looking at the specs, it is quite advanced. It even has the same sound chip as my Pentium 4 Northwood motherboard (which my ISA Yamaha OPL3 seems to sound better than that).

Is it a Super Socket 7 board?

seems that I should find some good processors to be put in this board 😀

Reply 39 of 51, by Tetrium

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This is the oem one, but it doesn't come with the same onboard audio so I don't think this is yours.
http://www.uktsupport.co.uk/pb/mb/pegasus.htm

Edit: Please disregard the written above, it's the older SiS chipset and NOT Super 7!

Edit2: This is the correct one, with SiS 530 chipset. But again, different onboard audio (ESS Solo-1)
http://www.uktsupport.co.uk/pb/mb/miami.htm