mpe wrote on 2021-11-30, 16:07:
Yes. It was not that difficult. I am using NexGen VL motherboard, which is a kind of unusual as the bus is not driven directly by CPU, but by the chipset, which likely somwehat reduces the problem.
I am in the process of redoing my benchmarks (and adding even more cards) on a more conventional 486 system. Like Am5x86-133 and DX2-66. The numbers might change slightly, but I don't expect there will be relative differences between cards.
Whoa fantastic! I'd like so much to know more about those little 'details'. I was pretty knowledgeable at those times, but not that much like you guys are. VL Bus managed by the chipset instead of the CPU... am I mistaken or does it sound like a slower design? Like one extra step? At least nowadays, direct-CPU buses for NVMe SSDs grant faster speeds than NVMe slots that go through the chipset. But I don't know if this analogy works or not with that old hardware...
BitWrangler wrote on 2021-11-30, 16:22:
In my experience, it's not so much that VLB graphics won't do that, there are lots that do, but that VLB I/O cards won't co-exist with them without the wait state set. So with onboard, ISA or PCI i/o you're good to go, but otherwise you really need to cherrypick and match the graphics card and i/o card combo.
I understand. Interesting, thanks.
Alright, then: mpe, BitWrangler and WHOEVER ELSE:
What would be in your opinion the best bet for supporting a 40 MHz Bus speed for the following (only pre-1994ish-1995ish cards to maintain the spirit of nostalgia that is the very reason behind all this - for what I can remember, S3 968 / Cirrus 5434 things like that were as late as it got until the market went wild and other interests caught my attention for a few years - I'd say Matrox Millenium and S3 Trio were already ahead of that time):
1) A non-caching EIDE (PIO Mode 4) PCI controller
2) A non-caching EIDE (PIO Mode 4) VL Bus controller
3) A non-caching Ultra DMA 33/66/100 PCI controller
4) A non-caching Ultra DMA 33/66/100 VL Bus controller
5) A caching EIDE (PIO Mode 4) PCI controller
6) A caching EIDE (PIO Mode 4) VL Bus controller
7) A caching Ultra DMA 33/66/100 PCI controller
8) A caching Ultra DMA 33/66/100 VL Bus controller
9) A non-caching SCSI (possibly at least W, ideally UW) PCI controller
10) A non-caching (possibly at least W, ideally UW) VL Bus controller
11) A caching (possibly at least W, ideally UW) PCI controller
12) A caching (possibly at least W, ideally UW) VL Bus controller
13) Best DOS-DOS Games-Win 3.xx sweet spot graphics card, VLB
14) Best DOS-DOS Games-Win 3.xx sweet spot graphics card, PCI
15) Best DOS-DOS Games graphics card, VLB
16) Best DOS-DOS Games graphics card, PCI
17) Best Win 3.xx graphics card, VLB
18) Best Win 3.xx graphics card, PCI
I understand it's a lot. So, don't worry, just if you know it on top of your mind, no need to do research for that. Even just a partial reply on only a couple of points. Thanks a lot.
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