This toolkit is designed for retro-hardware enthusiasts looking to push the limits of the “World’s First 3D Decelerator”. Whether you are restoring a classic build or chasing benchmarks, these tools allow you to manipulate the raw binary data of S3 ViRGE DX/GX BIOS files. You can customize the VGA color palette for specialized displays, verify ROM integrity with the Checksum…
At first glance, theq_rsqrtfunction in theQuake III Arenasource code looks like a programmer’s prank. It features a handful of bit twiddles, a mysterious hexadecimal constant, and a single Newton refinement.
Yet, that odd little routine – the Fast Inverse Square Root – was called millions of times rendering 3D environments. It helped shape the performance…
This is supposed to be a guide as to what hardware and what configuration was common for a given year. This is a work in progress and if you don’t agree with a specific configuration, please let me know. Each year shows an entry, mid- and high-end system configuration. It could be that the hardware listed was released at the beginning or at the end of the given year. So, it is not an exact…
A collection of browser-based utilities designed for hardware enthusiasts, retro-coders, and BIOS modders. These JavaScript-powered tools allow you to perform common file manipulations – such as splitting, merging, and doubling – directly in your browser without uploading your data to a server.
Binary File Tools (Even/Odd Splitter, Merger, & Doubler)
…
I am not here to insult your Socket 3 motherboard – if you are the owner of this specific model and love it: The PCChips M915i. I recently had this board in for “repair”, even though it is supposed to be “new old stock” (NOS). Luckily, nothing was at fault! All it needed was FPM memory instead of EDO. My suspicion is that the owner tried to run the board with EDO…
Now, there are four memory boards for the AWE64 – all available to the community! Schematics, Gerber files, PAL/GAL equations and the Bill of Material for each board will make it easy for anyone possessing the proper skills to make one of these memory boards for the Sound Blaster AWE64. OK, the MIDI FORGE Symphony (YouTube) is not yet available due to licensing issues with Creative…
Hey everyone, this AWEsome journey of AWE64 memory expansion boards isn’t over with the introduction of the MIDI FORGE Symphony – it was simply STARTING! And I can tell you, the MIDI FORGE Rhapsody won’t be the last chapter of this book! I’m really excited to share the latest addition to the AWE64 memory upgrade – the MIDI FORGE Rhapsody, a sleek, modernized 28MB memory…
Do you own an AWE64 sound card, but don’t have enough memory for loading larger sound fonts? This is especially true for the Value edition that came with a measly 512KB of onboard memory. It is almost as if Creative wanted to make sure that sound fonts was a feature reserved for their premium product: The AWE64 Gold.
AWE64 Value: 512KB of onboard memory
With 512KB onboard memory, you…
If you’re anything like me, you probably didn’t think much about the Wave Table header on those old-school sound cards. But I always wondered about that “General MIDI” option in games. Every time I picked it, the MIDI music just wouldn’t play. It wasn’t until recently that I finally cracked the code on what General MIDI is and how to make it work. Spoiler alert: you need a Wave…
If you’re a retro computing enthusiast or MIDI musician, you know the Sound Blaster AWE64 Gold and Value cards are legendary for their EMU8K synthesizer and SoundFont capabilities. Back in the ‘90s, these ISA soundcards brought DOS games like Doom and Duke Nukem 3D to life with rich MIDI soundtracks, and they’re still a staple for vintage music production. But to truly unlock their…