StriderTR wrote on 2023-07-17, 19:23:

Do you, or anyone, have an honest opinion on the OPTi vs the CtT4520? I'm no audiophile, I just want good DOS compatibility and sound. 😀

You can find my full take on that OPTi card in this thread: OPTi 82C930 review

As for the CT4520, it has benefits and drawbacks compared to the OPTi, but it's a fairly nice card overall. In the end, it comes down to which games you want to play and what kind of music you prefer. For older stuff which doesn't support anything better than FM synth (e.g. Duke Nukem 2, Jill of the Jungle, Lemmings) you probably want a card that has a genuine OPL3 chip on-board. The CT4520 uses CQM instead of OPL3, and will therefore sound a bit harsher and more metallic in such games. Exactly how much varies depending on the music track in question.

For slightly newer games like Doom, Duke3D and Descent, you may appreciate the richer sounding AWE music over any kind of FM synth, whether it be CQM or OPL3. Of course, this might depend on personal preference. If you want a direct comparison, here's how Doom's E1M1 sounds with all of those:

• Doom - OPL3
• Doom - CQM
• Doom - AWE

As for digital sound, the CT4520 is fully SB16 compatible, which matters in some late DOS games like Crusader: No Remorse. On the flip side, the OPTi is only SBPro and WSS compatible. However, it has the proper SBPro low-pass filter, which is very nice for older "talkie" adventure games like Indiana Jones and the Fate of Atlantis.

Joseph_Joestar wrote on 2023-07-17, 19:55:

*snip*

Your review is what sold me on the OPTi to be honest. 😀

I love the idea of running both cards for most of the reasons you mentioned. I will likely still do that, but my starting card may end up being the CT4520. In fact, I just ordered one so I can this build up and running and I'll see how the OPTi works out. It's the only part I'm waiting on.

Again, thank you! Your advice has been invaluable!

Gmlb256 wrote on 2023-07-12, 03:26:

I would also recommend enabling write combining to improve performance in higher resolutions, K6INIT is handy for this.

Also, if you can, replace the CPU with a K6-2+ one which has the ability to adjust the CPU multiplier on the fly. Jan has a modded BIOS for that ASUS motherboard.

The K6-x+ cpus also lift the caching limitation of TX boards.

gdjacobs wrote on 2023-07-18, 00:02:

Gmlb256 wrote on 2023-07-12, 03:26:

I would also recommend enabling write combining to improve performance in higher resolutions, K6INIT is handy for this.

Also, if you can, replace the CPU with a K6-2+ one which has the ability to adjust the CPU multiplier on the fly. Jan has a modded BIOS for that ASUS motherboard.

The K6-x+ cpus also lift the caching limitation of TX boards.

Indeed, it is due to those CPUs having on-die L2 cache.

Well, it looks like I'm the proud owner of both the Opti and CT4520, so the dual card setup is going to happen right away.

The Opti seller got it out to me today and gave me a refund for being a week late on the shipping, I'm not going to complain. 😀

Good to hear! If you're going to be using both cards together, I suggest configuring the OPTi at A220 I7 D1 P330 T4 (SBPro) and A530 I7 D1 (WSS). This will give you the best compatibility with some older games like Gods, which expect those specific configuration parameters.

After that, you can configure the CT4520 at A240 I7 D3 H7 P300 E640 T6. You'll likely be using that card with later DOS games, and those generally let you select configuration parameters in setup. Also, you may need to create a couple of batch files to swap between two BLASTER variables on the fly, since certain games can be picky about those.

Lastly, since you now have an AWE card, take a look at this thread by Cloudschatze. It highlights some games which make good use of its capabilities.

Joseph_Joestar wrote on 2023-07-18, 06:59:

Good to hear! If you're going to be using both cards together, I suggest configuring the OPTi at A220 I7 D1 P330 T4 (SBPro) and A530 I7 D1 (WSS). This will give you the best compatibility with some older games like Gods, which expect those specific configuration parameters.

After that, you can configure the CT4520 at A240 I7 D3 H7 P300 E640 T6. You'll likely be using that card with later DOS games, and those generally let you select configuration parameters in setup. Also, you may need to create a couple of batch files to swap between two BLASTER variables on the fly, since certain games can be picky about those.

Lastly, since you now have an AWE card, take a look at this thread by Cloudschatze. It highlights some games which make good use of its capabilities.

Sounds good to me. Now that I have all parts on hand, and all next week off work, I know what I'll be doing! 😀

Side note, I love "new old stock" cards, the OPTi is in pristine condition, but everything else is also in excellent shape. Couldn't be happier. Now, as long as it all works... 😜

I just noticed that your OPTi card has an on-board QS700 wavetable. This will give you even more options for DOS game music, assuming the drivers recognize it correctly. My own card didn't come with that, so I have no personal experience as to how it's supposed to be configured.

That said, @boxpressed made a few QS700 recordings. some time ago, so we at least know how it should sound.

Joseph_Joestar wrote on 2023-07-22, 18:32:

I just noticed that your OPTi card has an on-board QS700 wavetable. This will give you even more options for DOS game music, assuming the drivers recognize it correctly. My own card didn't come with that, so I have no personal experience as to how it's supposed to be configured.

That said, @boxpressed made a few QS700 recordings. some time ago, so we at least know how it should sound.

Interesting... I do like the sound of that sample.

Having never owned anything other than Sound Blaster for most of my life, I'm looking forward to doing some comparisons on my own using this setup.