Alright then. How about the rest?

You have settled on an AMD 386DX? My excitement over this thread just turned to mush. Ti DLC's are practically free on CPU-World. Try looking at some old threads whereby not all the DLC's sold.

Well A) my board only supports the Am386DX (as far as I know)
B) this is just the first of MANY 386 builds i will likely do. I fully intend on doing a 386DLC one with VLB at some point.
This is a dedicated true 386 ISA only build

OK. Boards which arrived before the DLC won't specifically say that they support the DLC, although most of them will work with the DLC.

Maybe I'll upgrade to a DLC later, but i wanna stick with a DX40 for now.
That fact set aside, how about the other parts? I think the most important next is the video card. I was considering something from Cirrus Logic or Tseng if i can find it.

Those are certainly ideal video card brands to shoot for. Like everything else, these cards were nearly free in 2001.

I know video cards have been discussed before in this thread, but it really is a tough choice to make, as there are so many options. Obviously i want the best performance, but that varies between uses. Since this is likely going to be DOS only with maybe a little early Windows, I think Cirrus Logic and Tseng rule the roost there. I considered a Mach32 or S3 something but from the reading i've done, they simply weren't as good.

S3 801/805 is also a great choice for a 386. To be honest, I would have killed to have even a Mach32 in my 486 at the time. I'm planning to run either CL GD5434 or S3 805i in my 386. I haven't decided which yet as it's very close. I may go with the S3 805i, because it's such an oddity.

I suppose it all comes down to what is available at the time. I'll browse around and post my findings on here.

I'd sure like to see some DOOM benchmarks between the GD5434 and 805i on the same system, preferably with an SXL CPU. When do you think you could run this? Do you have a photo of the S3 805i ISA?

I assume $200 is wayyyyy much for a CL-GD5429 Correct?
I can make an offer though.

I think it’s down to the GD5429, ET4000ax, or Mach32.
Thoughts?

How much is the ET4000AX?

For any of those cards...30 bucks max.

I suggest if you want to see an ISA based S3 805i, just google ELSA Winner 1000ISA. As far as I know, it's the only 805i ISA out there.
Doom benchmarks appeared to be identical with the 805i and the 5434 when I tested. I suspect the ELSA has far better output quality than the Diamond.

This card is also available with a 16-bit RAMDAC. My card is equipped with that one. And by that, I mean it supports 16-bit transfers, not 16-bit colour. Even 8-bit RAMDACs can support true colour.

Identical results to GD5434? Interesting. What are the advantages and disadvantages of each?

The GD5434 has an integrated RAMDAC. I'm not yet sure how this compares with the discrete one used by the S3. I would think their capabilities are quite similar. I will have to look up the datasheet on the RAMDAC that is included on my card. It says "ATT20C409". The GD5434 is also 64-bit, while the S3 805i is 32-bit, but using memory interleaving. Neither of those technologies seem to have much effect on DOS performance though. The S3 may have a slight edge over the CL in terms of compatibility, and the CL might have a slight edge in terms of Windows performance, but I think they are both quite good.

External RAMDAC's also make card's feel more vintage and expensive.

Actually, doing a bit more research, it seems as though there were both Mach64 and ET4000/w32i cards made for ISA. Should I wait for one of those?

feipoa wrote:

I'd sure like to see some DOOM benchmarks between the GD5434 and 805i on the same system, preferably with an SXL CPU.

Both cards are VLB. The 805i for Doom is shit.

screen -1
GD5434 = 44.67 fps
805i = 39.92 fps

full screen
GD5434 = 38.84 fps
805i = 34.63 fps

Anonymous Coward wrote:

The GD5434 has an integrated RAMDAC. I'm not yet sure how this compares with the discrete one used by the S3. I would think their capabilities are quite similar. I will have to look up the datasheet on the RAMDAC that is included on my card. It says "ATT20C409". The GD5434 is also 64-bit, while the S3 805i is 32-bit, but using memory interleaving. Neither of those technologies seem to have much effect on DOS performance though.

The GD5434 for VLB is one of my best and preferred cards. As I PM'd you and discussed, it is equal to S3's Trio 64 and Vision 968, but beats both in Doom.

True... no affect in DOS. Though even without 64-bit v mem interleaving, in DOS... the GD5434 is miles better than the 805i. I was to continue bench-marking in Windows... then my bench-marking HD blew! I have yet had the time to reload software on to a new drive... I will again, when family permits.