gerwin wrote:

I made an ISA Soundcard Overview that might be suitable to add to this stickified topic. It is pretty big and technical. Also it is not yet complete.
Data obtained from many datasheets, internet articles and pictures as well as some actual soundcards. Suggestions and Corrections are welcome.

Really great list! Amazing effort. Any updated one? Thanks!

i tried a couple of soundblaster ISA cards and i must say that

1. If the game setup supports awe32 , i can play with an awe64 gold and the sound kicks ass. (TESTED DOOM2 V1.666, SOUNDS AWESOME)

2. With an awe32 i have lots of hanging note bug that ruin the experience. (tested an awe32 with doom1)

3. If the game is older, and does not have awe32 support....then a SB16 sounds better than the awe64 gold. Happened to me on games like commander keen when i had the feeling that with an SB16 card the sound was much much better than with an awe64 gold. And also happened to me on DOOM1 v1.1 which that version does not include awe32 support, i had way better sound with a SB16 card than the awe64 gold

Pabloz wrote:

1. If the game setup supports awe32 , i can play with an awe64 gold and the sound kicks ass. (TESTED DOOM2 V1.666, SOUNDS AWESOME)

That's because the soundfont (sample ROM) for the Emu chip is identical for AWE32 and 64.

Pabloz wrote:

2. With an awe32 i have lots of hanging note bug that ruin the experience. (tested an awe32 with doom1)

With the Emu chip, or with a wavetable card or external MIDI device? The latter is pretty much expected - and also depends on the DSP version. Some are better, some worse.

Pabloz wrote:

3. If the game is older, and does not have awe32 support....then a SB16 sounds better than the awe64 gold. Happened to me on games like commander keen when i had the feeling that with an SB16 card the sound was much much better than with an awe64 gold. And also happened to me on DOOM1 v1.1 which that version does not include awe32 support, i had way better sound with a SB16 card than the awe64 gold

That's because the AWE64 doesn't have a genuine Yamaha OPL3, but Creative's emulation called CQM instead. There are also lots and lots of different versions of the SB16 with either OPL3 or CQM. The same is true for the AWE64.

I remember the good times using FastTracker II on my old PC. I had the Gravis Ultrasound so I would say it is.

Here are photos of card and box of Orchid SoundDrive 16(EZ), that can be added to list with more details
SoundDrive 16 - 16Bit ISA, ESS ES688, WBH, game/MIDI port, Mitsumi + optional SCSI2

Does ES1879 worth bying for DOS gaming? Or it's better to stick to good old ES1868/9?

To me, AudioDrives are AudioDrives, with relatively little variation. I don't really see any major compelling reason to get an ES1879 if you've already got an ES1868.
It should probably work quite similarly to your ES1868/9.

For the record though, I do very much like ESFM. It's a nice alternative take on OPL that is still close enough for most games without sounding too far 'off'.

Eep386 wrote on 2021-02-18, 19:29:

I don't really see any major compelling reason to get an ES1879 if you've already got an ES1868.

I'm building second 486 box so it needs some sort of soundcard. I found ES1879 not far from my place and slightly cheaper than ES1868's on the market.
But I'm suffering of driver problems on Win'95. 🙁

froller wrote on 2021-02-23, 02:18:

Eep386 wrote on 2021-02-18, 19:29:

I don't really see any major compelling reason to get an ES1879 if you've already got an ES1868.

I'm building second 486 box so it needs some sort of soundcard. I found ES1879 not far from my place and slightly cheaper than ES1868's on the market.
But I'm suffering of driver problems on Win'95. 🙁

I would recommend a non-pnp / jumper controlled card for a 486 system. So the ES688 (dedicated OPL3) or ES1688 (ESFM) would be good choice if available.

pc-sound-legacy wrote on 2021-02-28, 23:37:

I would recommend a non-pnp / jumper controlled card for a 486 system. So the ES688 (dedicated OPL3) or ES1688 (ESFM) would be good choice if available.

Why shouldn't I use PnP on mobo with PnP capable BIOS?

froller wrote on 2021-03-01, 12:41:

pc-sound-legacy wrote on 2021-02-28, 23:37:

I would recommend a non-pnp / jumper controlled card for a 486 system. So the ES688 (dedicated OPL3) or ES1688 (ESFM) would be good choice if available.

Why shouldn't I use PnP on mobo with PnP capable BIOS?

If you have a pnp bios, pnp card is fine. ES1868f is fenerally good quality, easy setup and available/cheap.