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…
The Hanging Note Bug on the Sound Blaster 16 is a frustrating issue that disrupts MIDI playback in games like Hexen and Doom, causing notes to stick and loop endlessly. Specific to DSP chip versions 4.11, 4.12, and 4.13 [1], the bug stems from faulty firmware that mishandles certain MIDI commands, resulting in persistent audio glitches. While the Sound Blaster 16 has other issues, this particular…
Click on a chip to drag it to the correct position. Press the ‘r’ key on your keyboard to rotate the chip. Press “Check” to evaluate your chips placement. Make sure that the chips are not overlapping! Overlapping chips, or chips that are too close to each other will be counted as misaligned.You can also see which chips are active when the corresponding RAS and CAS lines are…
Camera for Chip Markings
Click “Start Camera” to scan chip markings. Adjust sliders and invert image to improve text detection. Click and drag on the OCR video to draw a rectangle for OCR focus; click outside to clear, double-click inside to clear, or click and drag inside to move. This tool is limited to supported chips only, but will be gradually extended.
The camera I tested…
A list of memory chips with their characteristics and properties. This list may help you find the required chips for your projects. Use the filter option to narrow down the memory chips you are looking for. The memory chip repository is maintained over at github.
Part Number
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Few games capture the magic of ‘90s gaming like Tomb Raider. Released in 1996, it introduced us to Lara Croft and set a benchmark for 3D action-adventure games. For retro gaming enthusiasts, there’s nothing quite like playing the original Tomb Raider on a period-accurate PC, especially with the enhanced visuals of a 3dfx Voodoo card. But it isn’t that easy to get everything right –…
Most vintage sound cards feature a 2×13 pin Wavetable connector – something I’ve personally never used! This header has the potential to elevate your sound card to a premium level. However, if you’re looking for a Wavetable daughter board, you’ll quickly find that these small add-ons can cost you hundreds of dollars. And they are rare!
Wavetable Header on a Creative…
A few years back, I picked up a lot of 10 graphics cards on eBay for around $100. Most of them turned out to be junk—though they might make for interesting test subjects someday. But one card immediately stood out: a silver heatsink with the unmistakable shape of a 3dfx Voodoo 3! Of course, the lot was sold as untested – which, in eBay terms, means NOT WORKING! I really should have seen…
If you own a 3Dfx Voodoo Graphics or Voodoo 2 card, there’s a good chance it might not work as it once did. In my experience, the most common issue is broken solder joints. Over time, solder can weaken, losing both its electrical conductivity and physical strength. However, don’t give up on your card just yet – there is still hope it can be saved!
Poking 3Dfx chips and look for…