VOGONS


First post, by aha2940

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Hi guys

I am currently using an ESS1688F ISA soundcard on my DOS/win98 machine. It's nothing spectacular, it seems to do the job. However, I recently fixed my SB16 CT2950. It has the two well-known SB16 bugs, so...there's that. The games I play the most are FPS ones, from Wolf3D to Quake, maybe pinball dreams games too, lemmings, the incredible machine, LucasArts adventure games (Full Throttle, Sam and Max hit the road, The Dig, Loom, Monkey Island,...). My questions are:

- Am I missing something important in DOS by using the ESS instead of the SB16?
- what about Windows? anything important there?
- What do you think about it, would you continue using the ESS1688F, or replace it with the SB16?

Thanks!

Reply 2 of 3, by RacoonRider

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ESS is a generally underrated good sound card.
SB16 is a generally overrated good sound card.

But that really does not matter! Stick the SB16 in and play with for a while, you've got to hear for yourself. They are different. Maybe you'll like it, maybe you won't, there's not much point having it around if you never play with it.

Reply 3 of 3, by Joseph_Joestar

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There are some late-era DOS games where having a 16-bit sound card does actually make a difference. Notable examples would be Crusader: No Remorse / No Regret, Master of Orion 2 and Privateer 2. However, most of these games do support ESS cards in their 16-bit mode (Audiodrive driver) so you should be good.

Check this thread for more info: A List of DOS Games with 16-Bit Sound

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