Best DOS video card?

This too
http://gona.mactar.hu/DOS_TESTS/

swaaye wrote:

This too
http://gona.mactar.hu/DOS_TESTS/

Based on that list the best as far as compatibility goes is an unheard of macronix mx86200, only one that pulls off green across all games tested.

Yeah, most ATI cards and some Matrox will mess up Keen due to not being 100% compatible with the EGA standard.

Something interesting, though: Keen Dreams (the "lost" episode) doesn't have this problem, even though it uses almost exactly the same engine ("Galaxy" engine) as Keens 4, 5, and 6.
Consequently, fangames based on the newly released Keen Dreams code don't have the scrolling problem, either. Commander Keen in Atroxian Realm is one such project.

This reminds me, I'm going to ask the geniuses over at the PCKF if there's a patch or other option to fix the jerky motion for good on Keens 4, 5, and 6.

I was facing the same problem lately. I was struggling, as I badly wanted some rather fancy card, like Tseng Et6000 (finally got one), but the best solution is to simply get some decent incarnation of S3 Trio (64v+) etc, as these cards work with absolutely anything. Tseng was tragic with scrolling in Commander Keen, not to mention Jazz Jackrabbit which is completely unplayable on this card. I know that similar problems relate to Matrox and other cards that otherwise are great.

Juat keep in mind that you should preferably get some good quality based S3 Trio card, as the output quality may vary depending on manufacturer (DAC quality probably being the reason). I was adviced to get some Number Nine or Elsa card. Got Number Nine Motion 331 and I'm perfectly happy with it.

Now I rather tend to focus on ISA soundcards. Can't stop buying them 😀 as they greatly affect the game experience, which isn't so with graphics adapters, as long as they are simply compatible.

Yes, if you search these forums you will find a lot of discussions on the same topic. that said, here are a few that are considered in the top tier for DOS:
-S3 Trio-based are fast and extremely compatible.
-GeForce TNT/TNT2/M64 and GeForce2 MX are not period-correct (being released between 1998-2000) but they are touted for being extremely fast and compatible with DOS games. I use a PCI TNT2 M64 in my own DOS machine. VESA is built in so no need to run UNIVBE.
-for ISA/VLB, ET4000-based cards get lots of praise.
-Voodoo3 2000 is fast and decent but has a couple of compatiblity issues that I've come across. Stargunner won't work with it and in Wing Commander 3, you have to choose the alternate video mode for the FMV cutscenes to display properly.

Hmm... Sounds like I will not just buy a new one, but go dig in my "workshop cellar", because I should have some S3 Trio somewhere in the mess... Sure there is Nvidia Riva Vanta TNT2 16m, which could also do the job... I will see, the trial and error is the way.

And to tikoellner: I absolutely LOVE ISA cards, but I have only single one (well, two, but the second one has BRUTAL driver issues...). I'd love to have some reliable one, like Creative Sound Blaster 16, or something like that.

Well, I now have 5 of them, and still looking for more.

I was the happiest man for a moment whet I found my GUS Classic in perfect condition which was a steal (10 USD equiv). It started it all. Hope some Roland eventually will stop it 😀

It's just pie in the sky, but my huge dream is Roland SC-88...
But Gravis, it has sign "Wanted dead or alive" too 😁

So, I dug through my stash, and found these cards, which should be compatible (at least according to the table). These are:

Nvidia MX440-T8X
Nvidia GeForce 6200
Nvidia Riva Vanta 16 TNT 2 16M
Nvidia Riva TNT2 - 64
Manli DH 806-11 (should be Nvidia Riva TNT2 PRO - at least I hope, because I couldn't get the heatsink off)
and Nvidia CGN - CS766, but I am not sure about this one, because I have NO idea whatsoever what it could be.

Next weekend I will try them, hopefully at least one of them is working. And which one is best to use.

You should plug each in and run some benchmarks. 😀 Use Phil's VGA Benchmark kit and run 3dbench2, pcpbench, Doom, and Quake on each card. It will be fun, trust me. Then you can see which is fastest overall. My bet on performance/compatibility is on the Riva TNT2.

Do I need drivers for cards if I use that Benchmark kit? Or it is just plug and play?

In DOS it's just plug and play.

Ok, makes sence, but it will be a little bit hassle carrying it on 3,5" floppies. Maybe ZIP100?

krivulak wrote:

Ok, makes sence, but it will be a little bit hassle carrying it on 3,5" floppies. Maybe ZIP100?

I'm not sure what you mean. Do you not have DOS installed on a hard drive on this machine? Or are you talking about the benchmark kit? I think I burned mine to CD on another computer and just copied to DOS hdd from the CD.

Well, sorry for my occasional improper syntax, I am not primarily english-speaking. Yes, the kit has 15 megabytes, so what I have to do is either put it on 10 floppies or find one ZIP diskette in my basement since I don't have any CD's handy.

Gotcha. Yeah, that's one option. Depending on how inconvenient that is, you can also pull the hard drive out of the DOS machine and connect it to another PC to copy the files over, then move it back.

Yeah, that is also possible, but since I don't have any other PC at grandmas apartment. I'll figure something out. At the end, I installed Office 97 with only one floppy 😁

Just wanted to mention, there is one game I found that doesn't like S3 Virge cards. Alien Logic. The game works, but has strange shimmering pixel artifacts on most screens in the game. I tried this with a Diamond Stealth 3D 2000 Virge DX and an STB Velocity 3D Virge VX, both had the same problem. Installing a Matrox Millennium surprisingly made the problem vanish.

If anyone else could test this game with a similar card, play it for a bit and let us know if you see these glitches.