VOGONS


First post, by Kahenraz

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Are there any PCI sound cards with DOS compatibility that also have Windows 3.1 and WSS support? There is discussion on another thread about ESS sound chips lacking WSS support. Instead of sacrificing another precious ISA slot for an edge case, can this missing feature be supplemented by a PCI card?

Reply 1 of 6, by Grzyb

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There are PCI sound cards with Windows 3.1 drivers - PCI or PCI Express Sound Card for Windows 3.X Sound

But AFAIK there's no PCI cards with WSS *hardware* compatibility.

Nvidia NV1 card does use AD1845 chip - which *can* be WSS-compatible, if located at correct addresses, and connected to ISA DMA - but no evidence about that card fulfilling these conditions.

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Reply 2 of 6, by Kahenraz

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Is having WSS hardware compatibility a DOS thing? Is it relevant at all from within Windows compared to non-WSS drivers?

Reply 3 of 6, by Gmlb256

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In DOS applications supporting WSS, the sound quality is superior to the SBPro mode on most clones. Within Windows, it is relevant as drivers for these clones tend to really use WSS outside of DOS applications.

PCI sound cards in my experience have support for the AC'97 standard instead of WSS.

Reply 4 of 6, by mockingbird

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Grzyb wrote on 2025-02-04, 21:09:

There are PCI sound cards with Windows 3.1 drivers - PCI or PCI Express Sound Card for Windows 3.X Sound

But AFAIK there's no PCI cards with WSS *hardware* compatibility.

Nvidia NV1 card does use AD1845 chip - which *can* be WSS-compatible, if located at correct addresses, and connected to ISA DMA - but no evidence about that card fulfilling these conditions.

Does the Yamaha YMF724 not have WSS compatibility?

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Reply 6 of 6, by Grzyb

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Kahenraz wrote on 2025-02-05, 00:11:

Is having WSS hardware compatibility a DOS thing? Is it relevant at all from within Windows compared to non-WSS drivers?

In theory, Windows is device-independent.

In practice - it all depends of the quality of device drivers...

Once upon a time, I tried to use a Mozart sound card with Windows 9x.
I installed the dedicated drivers, and it did work for basic WAV and MID playback - but there was heavy stuttering during MP3 playback in WinAMP.
So I got rid of the Mozart drivers, switched the card to WSS mode before loading Windows (MZTMODE WSS), and installed the WSS driver shipped with Windows - WinAMP plays fine!

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