For Windows, the S3 968 VRAM followed by Mach64 VRAM should be the fastest option. Both are available with 4MB VRAM, so that 1280x1024@24bit is possible. The Trio64 and S3 864/868 DRAM should be nearby speedwise (if you don‘t chose the maximum available resolution/color depth combination) but supports 2MB „only“. So the best compromise between DOS and Windows is a Trio64 and the S3 864/868.

I changed my POD SV2GX4 VLB system and have a DX2/66 VLB/EISA now with a more time correct Mach32. But i plan to switch to the S3 968 4MB (has the highest dick waving factor). My personal favorite VLB card is the Miro 20SD Version with the S3 RAMDAC.

Without driver you get a standard isa ide adapter, which on this class hardware maxes out at around 3mb/s linear read speed.
With driver - 4x better.

Shared some notes here that you may find relevant, plus the following discussion with pc-engineer, and following benchmark of bunch of vlb video cards on this motherboard which basically confirms what pc-engineer said above.

VLI at 200mhz is possible but the system is not fully stable, especially with tight bios timings and 1024Kb L2 cache. Also, one VLB card at a time only.
Still, it reaches the highest benchmark results in interactive dos graphics, which is what most people around here care about - good for bragging rights.
Posted some info about that in the "fastest 486" thread.

Bolting POD100 on fully optimized VLI gives you the highest sockets 3 place for quake 1 for example. Some notes for reference.

Thanks pshipkov! Such a wealth of info in these threads.

Are you saying the GX4+POD100 gives the fastest Quake Time Demo scores for any socket 3 board? Or just the fastest VL based Socket 3 board?

On a side note, I received the PS2 header and was able to wire it up correctly, no more serial ball mouse! The one I’ve been using is pictured below, very easy to re-wire.

I also might have to rescind my Doom score in the first couple of posts as I’ve not been able to duplicate it.

Waiting for me at home is a 28-pin EEPROM and a Trio32 based VLB card. Hoping we can get my scores up but I won’t have a chance to test until Monday.

PC-Engineer wrote on 2021-10-07, 18:36:

My personal favorite VLB card is the Miro 20SD Version with the S3 RAMDAC.

Thanks for the recommendations! What is it that makes you favor this particular board? Is this dual head board?

It has the S3 Vision864 Accelerator and a good vga signal quality (better than Genoa, Orchid and Number Nine derivates) and i had it in my childhood … and i like Miro. Alternativly i would recommend Elsa Winner 1000 and Spea Mirage with the S3 864. Speedwise the Diamond Stealth 64 should be the fastest because they clocked a little bit higher and had the fastest Windows drivers in my experience. But all in all it doesn‘t matter, their quality and speeds are very similar and better and faster than your GD5429. You can take a S3 Vision864/8 VLB which you can get. This cards are becoming rare nowadays.

PC-Engineer wrote on 2021-10-08, 12:46:

It has the S3 Vision864 Accelerator and a good vga signal quality (better than Genoa, Orchid and Number Nine derivates) and i had it in my childhood …

Def a decision maker for a few folks here I’m sure. I hope you find one if you haven’t already!

Ohh thanks, but i have one! 😀

Chadti99 wrote on 2021-10-08, 08:47:

On a side note, I received the PS2 header and was able to wire it up correctly, no more serial ball mouse! The one I’ve been using is pictured below, very easy to re-wire.

Yes. A PS/2 header is the most important thing in a gaming 486.

Chadti99 wrote on 2021-10-08, 08:47:

Are you saying the GX4+POD100 gives the fastest Quake Time Demo scores for any socket 3 board? Or just the fastest VL based Socket 3 board?

Seems to be the case for any socket 3 hardware.

pshipkov wrote on 2021-10-08, 16:41:

Chadti99 wrote on 2021-10-08, 08:47:

Are you saying the GX4+POD100 gives the fastest Quake Time Demo scores for any socket 3 board? Or just the fastest VL based Socket 3 board?

Seems to be the case for any socket 3 hardware.

Got it, what’s the top Quake score for this board? Testing methodology? Phil’s dosbench option “C”?

Also, is anyone interested in some Duke3D numbers, is there a standard test for this game?

It looks like the highest Quake 1 score on socket 3 hardware is with VLI + POD100. That is vanilla Phil's C test.

Pass from me on Duke3D. 😀

pshipkov wrote on 2021-10-08, 20:25:

It looks like the highest Quake 1 score on socket 3 hardware is with VLI + POD100. That is vanilla Phil's C test.

Pass from me on Duke3D. 😀

Haha, you may have to ignore some future posts.

So 27FPS is the top Quake score with this board? That beats my best POD100 PCI socket 3 board combo by 0.3FPS, if we’re talking Dosbench option C. This is a fast board for sure, hope I can coax the same performance out of mine.

I may not participate actively, but that shouldnt stop you from posting your DN3D stuff. Looking forward to see what you got.

After some point performance gains are marginal, so differences are on the right side of the decimal point.

fastest socket3 8-bit pixel pusher for sure.
ok at offline computing and windows GDI.

I used Phils DOSBench Suite for the Benchmarks above. For Doom i used the modification with (+) button one time for the Full UI and HUD.

I tesded with normal bootmenu and drivers (mouse, smartdrv, scsi, S3VBE or UniVBE …). With clean bootmenu (himem and keyboard only and UniVBE for SVGA Benches) the values of all benches increased appr. 1…3%. If you‘re hunting for highest values you should consider the best dos driver combination.

Got it, thanks for the clarification. I’m def interested to see where this board will top out for Quake but I think ultimately I’ll leave it configured for best Duke 3D performance. I’m thinking the 5x86 will win against the POD but it will be interesting to see which video card pulls the best score. Interestingly Duke has some optimizations in the config file for specific boards, like a Tseng labs.

I think I’ll base my scores based on the starting point for a few levels. I’ve mainly been typing “dnrate” at the very beginning of the game and wait to see where it settles without moving the character.

Was playing some Daggerfall on this setup while I wait for some parts, it runs reasonably well at the moment. Does this game have a benchmark tool?

@jakethompson1
So, can you confirm if that board is really a carbon copy of VLI - perf-wise ?
People need to sell kidney and kid to afford VLI/PVI mobos these days.
Alternatives will be welcome.

Okay, I’ve got the bios update from feipoa installed in a new eeprom. I see the jumper settings for 5x86, and what I think should be the correct jumpers for write back operation. I’m hanging just after post, when it should be initializing my hard drive. Can someone double check me? I’m assuming I should leave the jumpers off where it says “short for WT”?

This is what i got for WB L2 cache policy.
Red arrows indicate what is needed for WT.

You probably want to do WT for better perf.

Thank you, trying now!

Duplicating your jumper settings For WB I’m Just hanging at this screen with an ADZ 5x86 or TurboChip, odd for sure.