It seems like we build very similar systems Shponglefan (both having P4 based ISA systems) and this build is really very close to my main DOS/Win95 rig 🤣. I like the Idea of the Tropez and the SB32 for sound. I would love a Tropez (and the Maestro 32/96!)

I too have a Pentium 233mmx With a Riva128 and a Voodoo Card. I run a Gigabyte GA586-HX board in mine though and only 48MB ram. I *think* my board has 512kb of cache. Theres and option in the BIOS from what I can remember which can change the cache size, but I've never gone over 48MB with my machine so never looked into it. This board the Turbo acts as a 50mhz switch. I installed a DIP switch in Mine. I can change the FSB from 50/60/66 real time, and the multi's( but those require a reboot to take effect. Sound is pretty fluid with my machine and changes. Currently, it has a PicoGUS, SB16 CT2230 and a SW60XG and X2 and S2 Wavetable boards. Its the only machine I've never dismantled as its a great DOS/Win95 PC.

I do want to switch out the Mech HD for an SSD but I can't be arsed re-installing everything again!

Bit of an update on this build. I've had this particular configuration on my test bench for the past year now.

It uses the Terratec Maestro 32/96, Sound Blaster 16 (CT2290), and a Gravis Ultrasound (classic). An NEC XR385 daughterboard is connected to the Terretec's wavetable header.

Hardware set up is as follows:

Terratec Maestro 32/96:

SB Pro: A220 I5 D1
FM: 398
MIDI (internal): P330 I9
MIDI (header): P300 I11

Sound Blaster 16:
A240 I7 D3 H5
FM: 388

Gravis Ultrasound:
A260 I3 D7

Between these three sound cards I get SB Pro native support via the Terratec card along with Roland and Yamaha XG soundsets via MIDI, SB16 and OPL support via the Sound Blaster 16, and GUS support via the Gravis card. Only thing I'm missing is intelligent mode MPU-401 support, but that's not a deal breaker for a mid-late 90s PC.

This set up does use a lot of hardware resources, including 4 DMA channels and 5 interrupts just for the sound cards. IRQ 4 is also used by the graphics card (Riva 128).

I would have preferred to be able to use IRQ 15 for the Terratec midi wavetable header, but it would not work in that configuration.

One unresolved issue I have is the Terratec card causes the system to lock up when attempting a soft reboot. Only a hard reboot will work. Not sure if this is an issue with the Terratec card itself or some other incompatibility between it and this motherboard.

Originally my plan for this build was to toss it into an AT mid-tower and call it a day. But having acquired a Silverstone FLP01 case this past year and not knowing what to do with it, I was thinking of using it for this build.

One thing I do like about the FLP01 case is the inclusion of a horizontal slot connector on the back. This would ideal for a CF card adapter.

The case does only have a single 5 1/2" bay so I can only accommodate a CD-ROM drive. No floppy drive unfortunately, but I can live without that.

This does mean I'd need to switch out the motherboard for an ATX set up. I have an MSI MS5148 motherboard I could use. It even has a fourth ISA slot, so maybe an option for one more sound card (if I can juggle hardware resources).

Plugged everything into the MS5148 motherboard. Much to my surprise everything just worked right out of the box. Didn't even need to adjust any BIOS settings.

Curiously when I did start to tweak BIOS settings, including disabling LPT1 and COM2, I started to run into issues. Part of the issue was the Riva 128 being assigned IRQ 7 causing the SB16 to stop working. But then attempting to reserve IRQs in the BIOS resulted in the Terratec card failing to work.

I ended up resetting the BIOS settings and will leave things for now unless I run into other issues.

I also noticed that the soft reboot issue is present with this board as well. There is clearly an issue being caused by the Terratec card.

I did an initial installation / test fit with the Silverstone FLP01 case. Everything went in nicely with plenty of room to work inside this case.

I have both the Riva 128 and a Orchid Rightgous 3D card installed. I am a little concerned about cooling, since they are both passively cooled, so I spaced them once slot apart each. With the stock expansion brackets allowing for air flow plus ventilation on top of this case, this should provide lots of ways for hot air to escape.

I also really like that horizontal slot for the CF card.

Installed a 120mm Noctua fan for air intake next the CPU. It's complete and utter overkill for the CPU, but I'm hoping this will provide enough air circulation to help vent heat coming from the graphics cards.

Installed a 12x Mitsumi CD-ROM drive in the system. In doing so, I did run into a quirk of the screw hole positions for mounting the drive.

The 5.25" bay is designed to install an optical drive in one of two configurations. One with the fake floppy drive cover in place and one with it removed. I opted to remove it because I like having direct access to the front of the CD-ROM controls.

However, the placement of the screw holes means the drive doesn't line up flush with the front of the case. If I put it flush, I can't screw in the drive.

In order to line up the holes, I need to recess it slightly. This is admittedly a bit annoying because if they included a more flexible hole arrangement, it would be easier to line up the drive.

I don't think it looks bad with the recessed option, but would have preferred to keep it flush with the front of the case.

That's a shame. I guess they don't expect most people to even use those bays TBH...

I suppose I should be thankful they at least included screw holes to mount it without the fake cover. I also considered drilling holes in the bottom of the frame to bottom-mount it. Though I don't know how practical that would be when it comes to installation.

At any rate, it looks good enough right now so I'll leave it for the time being.

I got everything set up with a proper 17" CRT on top. The frame features a metal cross brace that nicely holds the weight of the CRT. There no sag whatsoever on the metal case.

Aesthetically, the case fits in beautifully with the other retro equipment. Even the off-white color matches the CRT, keyboard and mouse.

It also doesn't cover the venting on the top of the case, which is nice.

In testing it, I still have a few things to sort out.

First, I forgot to install a PC speaker. The case obviously doesn't have one and doesn't even have a mounting point for one. So I'll have to experiment with figuring out how to mount one.

Second, I tested it out with external MIDI modules (MT-32 and CM-32L). I routed external MIDI through the Terratec sound card and it works. However, I cannot get SoftMPU to work. So games requiring intelligent mode (e.g. various Sierra games) don't have the correct sounding playback.

I also had an issue with Rise of the Dragon where it played back incorrect instruments. On other set ups, I have solved this issue by throttling the system, but that doesn't seem to work here. In testing other games like Dark Forces and X-COM, MT-32 playback was just fine.

I would like to get all MT-32 games working properly. If I can't get it working through the Terratec card, I might look at installing a separate MPU-401 card. I still have an extra ISA slot. It means I'd probably have to disable the wavetable on the Terratec card. Or alternatively if I can reassign its IRQ, possibly have a total of three MIDI port options in this build.

One thing I like about this FLP01 case is ease of access to internals. The top panel only has two screws on the back making it easy to remove.

However, it does have an additional bracket that covers expansion slot access including the screws. This bracket is part of the assembly that holds the horizontal expansion slot.

To make it easier to remove, I switched out the stock screws for thumbscrews, along with the top panel screws. This gives me toolless access to removing both the top panel and this slot cover bracket.

Nice access to the CF slot there. Though I suspect may be a bit awkward to get it back in, depending on how easy it is to see back there with it on the desk and CRT on top

I'm so used to using CF cards on my machines I can remove and insert purely by touch. So long as I remember which way the card is supposed to go in. 😁

Shponglefan wrote on Today, 17:22:

I'm so used to using CF cards on my machines I can remove and insert purely by touch. So long as I remember which way the card is supposed to go in. 😁

Yeah, this is one convenience for retro PCs of this era that I couldn't do without.

Being able to switch between MS-DOS 6.22 + Win 3.11 and Win95 by simply swapping CF cards is pure bliss. Heck, at one point I had Win98 and WinNT 4.0 in the mix as well. I know you can do some of that stuff with a dedicated boot loader and by hiding certain partitions from each other, but using multiple CF cards is just so hassle free. And copying files from a modern PC to the retro rig is as easy as inserting the CF card into an USB 3.0 reader.

I understand that using a CF card for DOS is fine. But I thought that Win9X / NT would wear it out with swap file usage?

RetroPCCupboard wrote on Today, 18:39:

I understand that using a CF card for DOS is fine. But I thought that Win9X / NT would wear it out with swap file usage?

I use industrial grade CF cards, which should handle repeated read/writes a bit better than the standard ones. And you can always disable the swap file if you have enough RAM.

I didn't run WinNT 4.0 a whole lot on my MMX system, but Win95 was on there from the start, and it's still going strong after almost five years.

Joseph_Joestar wrote on Today, 18:52:

I use industrial grade CF cards, which should handle repeated read/writes a bit better than the standard ones. And you can always disable the swap file if you have enough RAM.

I didn't run WinNT 4.0 a whole lot on my MMX system, but Win95 was on there from the start, and it's still going strong after almost five years.

Ok. Good to know. Thanks