obobskivich wrote:

AGP Aperture doesn't need to be larger than 32MB for that card (or any card really) - it won't influence its performance, at least if it were in a "properly matched" system (that is, there's no real performance gains to having outrageously big AGP Aperture, especially for a card with 256MB of onboard memory). In general I'd say the card is massively overkill/pointless for a K6-2 though

The 5950 would be better suited in a Pentium 4. 😀

I doubt you'll get the Theater 650 to work "at a bearable speed" either - it's hung up by the (comparatively) dog-slow CPU. Theater 650 came out in 2006; it's FAR too new/modern to be expected to work nicely with such an ancient (relatively speaking) machine (really, the CPU just isn't up to the level of multimedia performance you're expecting). Again, it would be better suited in a Pentium 4 (or higher).

My everyday PC is actually a Pentium 4 478 EE Abit IC7 MAX-III with an AGP HD 4670 which still does everything I want including HD youtube streaming. Wasn't a retro build though, just old.
You downgraded me to a K6-2!! 🤣, I think I do have too high of hopes for a K6-III though, and that I'm remembering this processor for what it was during its prime.
Because the analog tuner on the TV-wonder 650 has a built in hardware encoder I'm hoping to try an external HD tuner box and allow the graphics processor to decode the stream if the QAM stream is too much to handle. (fingers crossed)

Holering wrote:

Nice system! K6-III's are some of the best choices for retro gaming.

Any card with external power (especially with dual slot blow dryer) just isn't good for legacy purposes IMO; power hungry, more dust, hot and noisy, and expensive to fix. Geforce FX series was the worst GPU nvidia ever made BTW. Radeon 9xxx were way better despite being from Geforce 4 era; 9xxx had to be the best cards ever actually, next to the 8800 gtx IMO.

Use a brand-new power supply with old hardware always. make sure no bulging capacitors exist.

Thanks!
I actually have the ASUS version of the card so it's practically a single slot (only cost $25 because the board is slightly warped)
New PS and absolutely no bulging capacitors on the MVP3G5. This thing looked like it came from the factory when I bought it.
I actually owned an old 9800 AIW pro that was keyed correctly but didn't work 😢

Space Marine wrote:

have u ever had audio problems with ur AGP video card and the au8830? […]
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have u ever had audio problems with ur AGP video card and the au8830?

I have a very similar setup to yours, and i cant get the au8830 to work correctly for more then 3-4 seconds, after that no sounds.
It appears to be a latecy problem which happens when an AGP video card is used together with a pci audio card on mvp3 chipset boards.

Have you ever had it? If yes, how did u fix it?

Which driver versions are u using for chipset, AGP card and vortex 2?

Are you using win98 right?

I'm using windows xp. I do have the pci latency issue though, at least I think. I finally got around to testing the sound card after I got my directx 8&9 tests working. There are bad crackling noises and what appears to be high CPU usage whenever sounds play. I think if I can fix this issue my DVDs will play smoother. The sound doesn't completely go out on me ever though. I had heard the XP drivers were done well, and I blocked them from updating already.

EvrythingOldIsNewAgain wrote:

As a fan of cramming as stuff into old things as possible because "Why not?", I like it. 😀

Since you seem to be trying to turn it into an old jack-of-all-trades beast: that motherboard should be able to cache the full 768MB if you boost the L2 (L3!) cache to the full 2MB. If you're set on multimedia, you probably should consider an MPEG2 decoder (an XCard would be even better if you can find one).

Thanks! I was hoping to see what this processor was capable of because I remember how mean it seemed when I first had one. Late night watching the ATI rage dawning demo when I was supposed to be asleep. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wjkgLC3w7Xw
I'll also be out of slots if I get 2 Diamond monster 3DIIs which prevents the XCard. I'm really hoping this graphics card can handle it.
The cache is at 2mb now, and the way the chipset is designed restricts cacheable memory to 512mb (the board is actually advertised to only support 384mb, but I think it was here that I learned how to get around that, and of others with 1.5gb socket 7s. 🤣, now that has to be overkill.)

Glad to finally see that old Direct X box spin relatively stutter free at DX9 levels though!

matt102498 wrote:

I'm using windows xp. I do have the pci latency issue though, at least I think. I finally got around to testing the sound card after I got my directx 8&9 tests working. There are bad crackling noises and what appears to be high CPU usage whenever sounds play. I think if I can fix this issue my DVDs will play smoother. The sound doesn't completely go out on me ever though. I had heard the XP drivers were done well, and I blocked them from updating already.

same problem im having in win98, no solution found.

according to a website which i should have somewhere linked, vortex2, mvp3 and agp videocards dont like eachothers much 🙁 It's a chipset bug

matt102498 wrote:

My everyday PC is actually a Pentium 4 478 EE Abit IC7 MAX-III with an AGP HD 4670 which still does everything I want including HD youtube streaming. Wasn't a retro build though, just old.
You downgraded me to a K6-2!! 🤣, I think I do have too high of hopes for a K6-III though, and that I'm remembering this processor for what it was during its prime.
Because the analog tuner on the TV-wonder 650 has a built in hardware encoder I'm hoping to try an external HD tuner box and allow the graphics processor to decode the stream if the QAM stream is too much to handle. (fingers crossed)

Note that QAM may not work due to DRM or what-have-you; just something to keep in mind dealing with digital cable (and most of those DTV transport boxes only do ATSC). I would think analog video viewing shouldn't be too much of a problem; recording it might slow things down though. Just hook up to your cable box's CVBS/S-Video outputs and things should be good to go. 😀

If that fails, I'd put the Theater 650 into the P4-EE; it should work there. 😎

Wasted an entire night trying to figure out that aureal problem and just spun my wheels.
If anyone is interested the only driver that works for me with the EPoX MVP3G5 and ASUS v9980 is 52.16 from ASUS's site.

And all the info I have for space marine right now:
I did have some issues where the sound dropped out completely while running A3D demos so I reverted back to the 2000 beta drivers and it stopped the crashing. I relized later that people said that the A3D 2.0 demos don't work under XP, and that may have been the problem the entire time. I'm still getting sound tearing pretty bad and it takes a serious toll on the graphics and CPU performance. Does anyone here know if this problem isn't present on any of the other Aureal chipsets? I'm willing to even downgrade to an 8810 if I can avoid this hassle and keep my A3D.

Thanks

EDIT: I forgot to mention that I did test the 8830 with a PCI graphics card and all of my resources seemed to return to normal levels while doing the dxdiag music tests. My computer is snappier with the Aureal windows 2000 beta drivers, but I'm still having problems. Especially during that music test.

matt102498 wrote:

Wasted an entire night trying to figure out that aureal problem and just spun my wheels. If anyone is interested the only driver […]
Show full quote

Wasted an entire night trying to figure out that aureal problem and just spun my wheels.
If anyone is interested the only driver that works for me with the EPoX MVP3G5 and ASUS v9980 is 52.16 from ASUS's site.

And all the info I have for space marine right now:
I did have some issues where the sound dropped out completely while running A3D demos so I reverted back to the 2000 beta drivers and it stopped the crashing. I relized later that people said that the A3D 2.0 demos don't work under XP, and that may have been the problem the entire time. I'm still getting sound tearing pretty bad and it takes a serious toll on the graphics and CPU performance. Does anyone here know if this problem isn't present on any of the other Aureal chipsets? I'm willing to even downgrade to an 8810 if I can avoid this hassle and keep my A3D.

Thanks

im using win98, but u should check this out:

Re: Vortex 2 card on mvp3 and win98se: problems

the link in the first post

1029 3dMark 2001se (defaults 1024x768)

Damn that Aureal Vortex 2 Via Chipset problem though... It's even running on its own primary IRQ now.

Finally. Crystal clear audio and smooth DVD playback. I found people complaining that VIA USB 2.0 add on cards seriously hinder their CPU performance, removed mine, and voila! I'll test different drivers on it tomorrow and if that doesn't work I'll replace it with another brand. I'm sure my 3dMark will go up and I'll see if I can get some other things working.

matt102498 wrote:

I found people complaining that VIA USB 2.0 add on cards seriously hinder their CPU performance, removed mine, and voila!

Increasing PCI latency to 255 should fix that. If it's any lower, it can have priority over other devices using the pci bus, and hog up CPU time and bandwidth that it doesn't even need. Weird Incoming Voodoo 2 benchmark results. Sound Blaster Live! never ceases to prove this to me, and even USB most the time. More latency equals less priority; can be times that doesn't make things better 😜.

Matti: I was watching that auction for 2 weeks waiting for funds! You lucky devil 😀 good to know it went to a fellow forum member

Holering wrote:

matt102498 wrote:

I found people complaining that VIA USB 2.0 add on cards seriously hinder their CPU performance, removed mine, and voila!

Increasing PCI latency to 255 should fix that. If it's any lower, it can have priority over other devices using the pci bus, and hog up CPU time and bandwidth that it doesn't even need. Weird Incoming Voodoo 2 benchmark results. Sound Blaster Live! never ceases to prove this to me, and even USB most the time. More latency equals less priority; can be times that doesn't make things better 😜.

How to increase it? The kind of "hacks" i found decrease it only

PCI latency tool for Windows 9x:
http://www.3dfxzone.it/files?object=file&objid=1163

Holering wrote:

http://www.3dfxzone.it/files?object=file&objid=1163

Thanks! Let's hope it will work! 😁

Just to let you know; I switched my rage 128 vr (pci card) and Live! PCI slots, and I also had to re-adjust PCI latency for both cards. Rage 128 had 32 latency in old slot, but had to switch it to 192 in new slot that live occupied (had to change live to 32 since it now uses what rage occupied.). Rage ran really slow with massive input lag otherwise, and sound chopped up too. Basically, when I swapped cards for each slot, I also had to swap latency values. So I guess you really have to know your system, and which PCI slot is going to need higher or lower latency.

Don't blame me if that tool blows you or your folks up... Okay?

ODwilly wrote:

Matti: I was watching that auction for 2 weeks waiting for funds! You lucky devil 😀 good to know it went to a fellow forum member

What part was it? The motherboard? And thanks!

I re-ran 3DMark 2001se and got 2609!
I also ordered a NEC USB 2.0 Firewire combo card for $7.62. Figured that SATA would never see any use, and I couldn't stop the USB controller from sharing a IRQ with my graphics card. I'm hoping this will prevent me from having to increase my latency too.
The QAM HDTV is soooooo close. There's long periods of synched audio/video at a decent frame rate then a sudden freeze and resume. I wish there was a way to enable hardware accelerated decoding on the Arcsoft video decoder for Total Media 3.5. I'm having the best luck so far with that media suite. (It had the lowest system requirements of the 3 I own)

Did Holering's suggestion work for you Space Marine?

EDIT: I forgot to say that removing that multifunction PCI card also knocks my Aureal into the ideal IRQ 5.

Holering wrote:

matt102498 wrote:

I found people complaining that VIA USB 2.0 add on cards seriously hinder their CPU performance, removed mine, and voila!

Increasing PCI latency to 255 should fix that. If it's any lower, it can have priority over other devices using the pci bus, and hog up CPU time and bandwidth that it doesn't even need. Weird Incoming Voodoo 2 benchmark results. Sound Blaster Live! never ceases to prove this to me, and even USB most the time. More latency equals less priority; can be times that doesn't make things better 😜.

Ok, so after weeks of trying BIOS settings, tinkering, and buying a new NEC USB 2.0/Firewire combo on my own I decided to try your suggestion Holering. What kind of wizardry is involved in this little program? It allows me to lower my AGP latency (which I was happy to do) from 255 to 32! After a few hours of tinkering I now have videos playing smoothly and USB 2.0/Firewire! I even installed both USB 2.0 cards at once and it works flawlessly!

The trick for me was to Increase the Host bridge latency from 16 to 96, and to decrease all other available latency settings (Including AGP) to 32!

Thanks so much! Total bad-assery! Re-ran 3dMark with USB 2.0 wireless card and got a 2400. I'm not complaining.
EDIT: Even more amazing is if I detach all USB 2.0 devices, I can keep the Host Bridge at 16 and lower AGP to 0 giving my 3dMark 2001se a 2769.

This suggestion is amazing Space Marine, and if you haven't yet, try it!

The warped fx 5950 ultra. They seem to go for around $50-60.

Any Pics? Always nice to see the PC were talking about

Took these a few hours ago. Hope it's what you were looking for.
I bought the warped card because I couldn't see myself spending the 100+ everyone wants for that card. I'm amazed that two Tyan S1598C2s were recently listed brand new. I'm jealous of the newer southbridge.