If you want to play DOS games, I don't recommend PCI cards.
What's about an Sound Blaster AWE?

I don't know the pros and cons of awe, but it seems to me that it doesn't have an OPL3 so I'm not very good at DOS. Why do you recommend awe? and on which system?

AWE = Wavetable sound

Disruptor wrote on 2022-12-23, 17:35:

AWE = Wavetable sound

Wich specific models? Awe32? Awe64?

You can start with any model.
I prefer the ones with the SIMM sockets.
There are quite good soundfonts for 8 MB RAM.

Disruptor wrote on 2022-12-23, 20:52:

You can start with any model.
I prefer the ones with the SIMM sockets.
There are quite good soundfonts for 8 MB RAM.

i must learn about the difference "in game" using a regular OPL3 Card and a awe... you talk to use it in the P200? and let the DX4 and P60 with SBPro2.0 e SB16?

For the windows 95/98 with pci, I usually go for an audigy 2zs or a sb16

For the others, I would just give it whatever isa sb I had laying around. But there are those around here with more refined sound requirements than i

When your game supports the AWE, you won't use OPL3/CQM at all.
Yes, the AWE for the P200.

Disruptor wrote on 2022-12-23, 20:52:

You can start with any model.
I prefer the ones with the SIMM sockets.
There are quite good soundfonts for 8 MB RAM.

i have read a lot about it. whats the different between the sound midi loaded in the 30pin simm ram of the Awe32 and the instrument you can use in a add-on weawetable expansion for the sb16? in therms on quality/compatibility ecc…

Any intent to use MIDI modules? Or is the intent just FM synthesis for music playback?

Any interest in alternatives to Creative Labs cards? Gravis Ultrasound, Terratec, etc?

AlessandroB wrote on 2022-12-23, 17:08:

I don't know the pros and cons of awe, but it seems to me that it doesn't have an OPL3 so I'm not very good at DOS. Why do you recommend awe? and on which system?

There are AWE32s that have an actual opl3 chip onboard but they tend to be somewhat more expensive.

Shponglefan wrote on 2022-12-24, 02:18:

Any intent to use MIDI modules? Or is the intent just FM synthesis for music playback?

Any interest in alternatives to Creative Labs cards? Gravis Ultrasound, Terratec, etc?

Not really intend to use MIDI a part to experiment in game. I have seen some video that on some game using the midi loaded on awe32 ram can be make a different flavour.. just this.

Not interested in a non creative card

AppleSauce wrote on 2022-12-24, 03:58:

AlessandroB wrote on 2022-12-23, 17:08:

I don't know the pros and cons of awe, but it seems to me that it doesn't have an OPL3 so I'm not very good at DOS. Why do you recommend awe? and on which system?

There are AWE32s that have an actual opl3 chip onboard but they tend to be somewhat more expensive.

retro-pc-alkatresz-sound-blaster-awe32-ct3900-memoriabovitessel-35fb_1_big.jpg

Yes but i see that cost 2x to 6x the cost of my entiere computer!!!! I have found dome awe32 with opl3 at high but affordable price, the problem is that are not be able to expand using regular 30pin simm.. i am confusing about: (opl3 YES-NO) (header YES-NO) (30pin YES-NO) all this combination are a mess. Philcomputerlab review a CT3670 that a part form CQM is a good card... and price was not so bad.

I think you'll find that the DX4 (I presume it's a DX4-100) will very much overlap with your P60 in terms of integer performance and will sometimes outperform it. In other words, whatever games you can play on the P60, you can either play on the P200 or the DX4. The DX4 should be able to clock down a bit (in most cases via the turbo switch) to give you slower performance for those speed sensitive DOS games.
If you intend of using the P200 as a system for running DOS & Windows 9x games, then I suggest creating a start-up menu under Windows 9x which will then allow you to boot into DOS 7.x as well (How to create a boot (start up) menu under Windows 9x/ME).

I think there is nothing wrong pairing your DX4 with a Sound Blaster Pro 2 (as opposed to a SB16). Most games from that era didn't have 16-bit samples anyway (apart from your very late era games) and the Sound Blaster Pro 2 does have that nostalgia for you.
As for the P200, any AWE card will do as your target games will most likely be later DOS games (post 1992). You can refer to this article which provides more detail about the various AWE cards - http://nerdlypleasures.blogspot.com/2012/07/s … 64-options.html.

An AWE card is basically just a SB16 with an "integrated" wavetable synthesis engine (utilising the EMU8000 synthesis chip). The sound quality of your MIDI music will depend on which "samples" you use to play back your MIDI sounds.

Practically all DOS games from that era until around 1996/1997 did provide in game AWE32 support and/or General MIDI (GM) support negating the need for an OPL (or CQM) synthesis chip as the sound (music) quality is considerably better than using FM synthesis. Where your game lacks direct AWE32 support, then you can use the General MIDI option of the game in conjunction with the Aweutil utility.
Check out this thread as well for another utility that user georgel wrote that provides additional GM support for protected mode games as well (by default, Aweutil only provides GM support for real mode games under DOS) - DOS32AWE - DOS/4G compatible DOS Extender with Sound Blaster AWEUTIL MIDI synthesizer support for Protected mode,VIASB.

I do wish to point out that, if you intend on playing DOS games prior to 1992, then your MIDI support will be mostly based around the Roland MT-32 standard. The AWE cards' MT-32 support is very limited and I would suggest that you there look at other options (like MUNT). Philscomputer lab also made a video on that subject a while back.

PS: The CT3670 is a basically a "low cost" AWE64 with 30-pin simm sockets.

I mostly go with the theme and the purpose of the computer. If its a gaming stuff, i try find the best of the era. If its something else like backups, ofcourse there has to be something about sound but its more like combatability and cheap.

Couldnt get a spefific soundcard for my 286 nor 386 so they have some generic SB clones. My 486 has a better SB16 and my P133 has an awe32 and k6-2 has a 64 gold. My Athlon 64 has an audigy because its a blue card and the rest is blue too.

Not the best of matches but if it pleases your eye and works 😀

Am I correct in saying you already have other systems beside these IBM ones?

If so, you don't need to worry about basics and can be a bit adventurous here. The obvious - and actually workable - choice would be what IBM themselves would have installed. That would probably have been mWave cards, most likely the IBM 'Dolphin'. They have a bit of a bad rep, but are actually usable under DOS and pretty good under Win98SE. Maybe it's just me but I've never, literally never, been able to get one to work under Windows 95.

For DOS, the SB Digital audio is fine. The OPL3 is... well... amusing 😉
In Windows you have a full and decent MIDI synth available.

If you do want to have as broadly useful sound as possible, I'd suggest setting up the 486 for legacy stuff, so with real OPL3 and SBpro2 - and bug-free MIDI, and the P200 for newer games. There the CT3670 would be ideal, but even the pretty ubiquitous and cheap CT4520 AWE64 Value would be doable. I'd recommend a second card next to it for bug-free MIDI though (AWE64 doesn't have hanging note isues, but does suffer from MIDI slowdowns when 16b audio is being played, which is exactly your P200 use case). That second card could be exactly the same as the card in the 486. Any generic OPTi 929/930, Aztech 2316/2320 or similar would fit the bill.

And then you still have the P60. Stick the mWave in there anyway 😜

AlessandroB wrote on 2022-12-24, 10:01:

i am confusing about: (opl3 YES-NO) (header YES-NO) (30pin YES-NO) all this combination are a mess.

This is why I asked earlier if you were interested in any non-Creative Labs cards. With Creative Labs, it seems like every card involves a compromise in some way.

Thanks fot all your reply, i will reply tomorrow. But… having a card with simm socket is better than the one without? you can load a big quality midi instruments thats not fit in awe64.

I've found out that there exist decent soundfonts that fit in 8 MB size (*.sf2, *.sbk).
AWE64 just has 512 kB RAM
AWE64 Gold has 4 MB RAM
AWE32 with SIMM sockets may have 2x256 kB, 2x1 MB, 2x4 MB or 2x16 MB. From the last pair just 28 MB are useable.
However, once populated I do not recommend to change the SIMMs in the AWE32 sockets since they tend to be very fragile.

No matter what amount of RAM you use.
Alone the presence of wavetable improves games and MIDI playback compared to FM synthesis.
But I guess you want to play with soundfonts too 😀