Hopefully someday I can find one of these boards at that price so I can recoup the cost of this one 🤣.

Awesome finds at those prices!

Is the 968 your fav VLB board? It seems like everyone had a trade off so far. I’m currently leaning towards the Hercules Stingray ARK1000 because it’s the fastest in dos and doesn’t have any weird issues in Windows unlike the Trio64+. But the 968 has the best PQ at higher Windows resolutions for sure.

I ended up with the S3 968 because it is 4 MB capable more than any other reason. I have two desks in the office, both of which have 17" LCD's native at 1280x1024. So when I pull the 486 out of the closet for the occasional tinkering, I want the display to look sharp, meaning to use the native LCD's resolution. While you can do 1280x1024 at 256 colour and 2 MB, the 8-bit colour depth is too much of a sacrafice for my taste. I also have a slight preferance for Windows GUI and niche MPEG-1 decoding over absolute maximum DOS speed. If there was one card which did it all, I'd use that one.

I think there is one other VLB card which can accommodate 4 MB of RAM. I'm pretty sure it is the ATI Mach64, but if the ISA counterpart is any indication, the DOS speed will be falling behind the competition. There should be an ATI Mach64 card which has a connector for a 2 MB expansion module. Unfortunately, mine is 2 MB only without a connector, but there are unpopulated SOJ sockets. Maybe someone knows if I solder on the missing memory, resistors, and caps then it will work at 4 MB?

I am planning a PGA-132 build in another VLB/ISA only system that would utilise the replica PowerGraph Trio64V+. The plan is to use a BL3-75 in that system.

feipoa wrote on 2021-11-16, 04:02:

I ended up with the S3 968 because it is 4 MB capable more than any other reason. I have two desks in the office, both of which […]
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I ended up with the S3 968 because it is 4 MB capable more than any other reason. I have two desks in the office, both of which have 17" LCD's native at 1280x1024. So when I pull the 486 out of the closet for the occasional tinkering, I want the display to look sharp, meaning to use the native LCD's resolution. While you can do 1280x1024 at 256 colour and 2 MB, the 8-bit colour depth is too much of a sacrafice for my taste. I also have a slight preferance for Windows GUI and niche MPEG-1 decoding over absolute maximum DOS speed. If there was one card which did it all, I'd use that one.

I think there is one other VLB card which can accommodate 4 MB of RAM. I'm pretty sure it is the ATI Mach64, but if the ISA counterpart is any indication, the DOS speed will be falling behind the competition. There should be an ATI Mach64 card which has a connector for a 2 MB expansion module. Unfortunately, mine is 2 MB only without a connector, but there are unpopulated SOJ sockets. Maybe someone knows if I solder on the missing memory, resistors, and caps then it will work at 4 MB?
ATI_Mach64_VLB_resize.jpg

I am planning a PGA-132 build in another VLB/ISA only system that would utilise the replica PowerGraph Trio64V+. The plan is to use a BL3-75 in that system.

And here I was thinking I might not even need to upgrade my GD5429 to 2MB. I had a 4MB 2D accelerator back in the day and unless you have a top of the line monitor you are never going to max out the potential of the card. And then you need something that will actually run at 1600x1200 which is mostly going to be flight sims, and not many at that. I think EF2000 might have run at 1600x1200, along with the Jane's games like USNF and ATF.

feipoa wrote on 2021-11-16, 00:37:

I've run into similar issues with the refresh rate options disappearing like that, but with the MVP-2000 MPEG drivers. There's a way to create your own monitor inf files to set your target refresh, however I suggest you try driver version *.325 and *.241 first. I'm pretty sure *.325 didn't have this issue.

I booted up my Asus VL/I-486SV2GX4 system and checked the notes. It looks like before I was using the MVP-2000 decoder card & its related video drivers, I was actually using the Microsoft Windows drivers for my S3 Vision968. My notes indicate that drivers from 4-8-1998 and 8-24-1996 point to the same files. I think the driver comes from the DirectX 6.1 files.

Reading further on my notes, I have:

1The problem with using the Diamond Stealh64 drivers is that Win95 will crash on shutdown. The only way to avoid this is to switch monitors to NEC - LCD72VX-60Hz, Apply, then switch back to Plug-n-play just before every shutdown.  Not fun.   For the Diamond driver, the only options for refresh rate are Adapter Default and Optimal. Best to use Adapter Default as the refresh rate is lower.
2
3You can use these monitors for my NEC AccuSync LCD72VX:
4Plug-n-play
5NEC - LCD72VX-60Hz (inf file made by me to limit the refresh rate to 57-60 Hz
6NEC LCD72VX (provided by monitor manufacturer)

feipoa wrote on 2021-11-16, 04:02:

While you can do 1280x1024 at 256 colour and 2 MB, the 8-bit colour depth is too much of a sacrafice for my taste.

I think there is one other VLB card which can accommodate 4 MB of RAM. I'm pretty sure it is the ATI Mach64, but if the ISA counterpart is any indication, the DOS speed will be falling behind the competition. There should be an ATI Mach64 card which has a connector for a 2 MB expansion module. Unfortunately, mine is 2 MB only without a connector, but there are unpopulated SOJ sockets. Maybe someone knows if I solder on the missing memory, resistors, and caps then it will work at 4 MB?

Hard to tell. My guess is that these unpopulated sockets are not for upgrade, but rather the PCB was designed for alternative memory RAM chip configuration (4bit or 16bit). The only way of telling would be to investigate how address RAS/CAS and address lines are wired. There is a register in Mach64 where you can query memory configuration. It is either DRAM 256Kx16 or DRAM 256Kx4 (or VRAM configurations), but not a mixture of types. That makes me thing your card is 2MB max...

However, even with 4MB I don't think that the STG1702 RAMDAC would support 1280x1024 with more than 256 colours.

mpe wrote on 2021-11-16, 11:52:

However, even with 4MB I don't think that the STG1702 RAMDAC would support 1280x1024 with more than 256 colours.

This sounds familiar. I had investigated this some years ago and determined that I would also need to swap the RAMDAC. There are pads for different RAMDACs. I also suspect the SOJ pads are for either/or, and not both.

feipoa wrote on 2021-11-16, 00:37:

I've run into similar issues with the refresh rate options disappearing like that, but with the MVP-2000 MPEG drivers. There's a way to create your own monitor inf files to set your target refresh, however I suggest you try driver version *.325 and *.241 first. I'm pretty sure *.325 didn't have this issue.

Where can I find these driver versions? Thanks!

I beleive I found the other drivers from wayback and the diamond website. However, I'm no longer confident that 241 and 325 driver versions have the refresh rate options. Try using the driver from DirectX 6.1. I know the Microsoft drivers had the options. Also, even if using the Diamond driver, "adapter default" should run at 60 Hz for this card. Does it not?

feipoa wrote on 2021-11-18, 12:05:

I beleive I found the other drivers from wayback and the diamond website. However, I'm no longer confident that 241 and 325 driver versions have the refresh rate options. Try using the driver from DirectX 6.1. I know the Microsoft drivers had the options. Also, even if using the Diamond driver, "adapter default" should run at 60 Hz for this card. Does it not?

Yes 60hz works but since I’m using a CRT I’d like to use 70hz at least. If I use the Windows driver my preferred resolution of 1152x864 only works in 256 colors but higher resolutions like 1280 or 1600 support 16-Bit, so strange. I’ll keep searching.

Chadti99 wrote on 2021-11-15, 23:09:

I can dump the EEPROM for sure, thought I could use CPU-Z but it only spits out a text file which I’m sure someone smart enough could make work. Anyone know a good way to dump the EEPROM with the card in the pc?

I think the PCI and VLB BIOSes are the same, provided they use the same RAMDAC. Thus, I have pulled the v2.07 BIOS from my PCI card. Tested to enter Windows 95 and appears to work fine. Attached for anyone else who comes across this thread.

Another annoying issue with the 968, at least mine, is that it won’t consistently post when bus speed is set to 40MHz.

The issue I have with the 968 is at shutdown only, but only with Diamond drivers. I suspect it may be related to using VLB SCSI with write-back L1, but I'm not sure.

If you are using an Asus VL/I-486SV2GX4 at 40 Mhz and S3-968, ensure that:

• BIOS set to Synchronise
  Latch Bus Set to T3
  DRAM CAS Write set to 2T
  JP26 must be set to Delay
  VL Bus clock and wait state set to 0ws <=33MHz (JP28/29=1-2/1-2)
  CPU Voltage set to 3.60 V if using Am5x86

Your resolution limits are usually set by your monitor. If your monitor supports 1280x1024x16bit at 70 Hz, but you cannot run with this, then either your Diamond card only has 2 MB of RAM or your video driver isn't receiving the correct monitor information. Try using the inf file supplied by your monitor's manufacturer; try using plug 'n play inf; try creating your inf files. I remember the w3.1 drivers for the Diamond Speedstar ISA card allowed you to create your custom monitor files. There are also some other programs which let you do this, but the names escape me now. If Vogons PM's had a search feature, I could find it pretty easily.

When you are using the Diamond drivers, are you not having any issue at shutdown?

Thanks for this!

Setting JP26 to “Delay” has resolved my inconsistent posting. Also discovered the 325 drivers allow me to run more optimal refresh rates at say 32Million colors. So now I’m running 1152x864 at 70Hz which looks pretty good on my 19”. Also no restart or shutdown problems, I’m using a Promise 2300 EIDE controller.

Edit: sometimes a restart is unsuccessful, loss of video, system hangs

Slightly off topic but the PS2 Rate utility has got to be one of the most satisfying. Mouse and windows movement looks really smooth when you bump up the mouse polling rate to 60+.

Chadti99 wrote on 2021-11-18, 12:42:

Another annoying issue with the 968, at least mine, is that it won’t consistently post when bus speed is set to 40MHz.

Specifically 40, and it works on 50? Or doesn't go 40 or higher? Most VLB cards require a wait state set on anything over 33. If that's automagic, maybe the quantisation falls either way at 40 on that board. It may even behave different on a different motherboard, that extra couple of hertz tripping it the right way, or maybe the shape of the pulse freaks it out.

BitWrangler wrote on 2021-11-18, 15:07:

Chadti99 wrote on 2021-11-18, 12:42:

Another annoying issue with the 968, at least mine, is that it won’t consistently post when bus speed is set to 40MHz.

Specifically 40, and it works on 50? Or doesn't go 40 or higher? Most VLB cards require a wait state set on anything over 33. If that's automagic, maybe the quantisation falls either way at 40 on that board. It may even behave different on a different motherboard, that extra couple of hertz tripping it the right way, or maybe the shape of the pulse freaks it out.

Not really tested 50MHz, but the resolution was to enable “delay” with JP26.

@feipoa Curious if you get this blue post message with your 968? Not mine, found on YouTube. It’s not something I see on my setup.

The blue ribbon common for Diamond video cards.

Glad to hear that one of my tips resolved your issue. I've gone through all of this already, but I only had trial and error to help me.

The VL/I-486SV2GX4 does show that blue Diamond bar w/968, but only briefly on a hard reset. Press the reset button and don't blink.

OK, so it sounds like you are also having the occasional issue at shutdown - same as me! Now if you use the Microsoft driver, this shutdown bug will go away. Did you not have this issue with your previous driver version (v268)?

First of all, nice VLB-build! It gave me lots of ideas for my own computer with the same motherboard.

What cache chips did you get to upgrade to 1024k? I Thought I saw what you had used in the thread but I couldn't find it when reading it now.