DOS Laptop Audio Comparisons

Here I've listed audio comparisons of various DOS laptop sound card chips, each playing the first 30 seconds Duke Nukem 3D setup music. Most of the cards from older laptops which do work in DOS (and not all do) sound vaguely the same when it comes to playing back digital audio (usually if they implement Soundblaster 1.0/2.0 mono, or SB Pro / SB 16 stereo)… but the biggest difference is usually in their FM synth implementation.

All devices using true Yamaha OPL2/OPL3 parts (YMF262 or YMF3812) will sound the same, earlier ESS chips use their (excellent) ESFM implementation, but others (including Crystal) often have their own implementation which is not quite the same.

• ISA interface
• SBPro compatibility
• Average to Good Crystal FM synth emulation quality
• No drivers required, or minimal initialisation (no TSR needed)
• Found in: IBM Thinkpad 380ED, 385D, 385ED

This earlier Crystal audio chip has fairly good DOS compatibility. The FM synth implementation is actually pretty decent and reasonably faithful to a genuine Yamaha OPL part - it's not exact, but is perfectly adequate for most purposes - good even, compared to some other implementations. I'm not sure what Crystal did with their later sound chips to throw away this implementation, but they should have kept it!

• PCI interface
• SBPro compatibility
• Poor Crystal FM synth emulation quality
• TSR needs to be loaded to initialise and provide DOS compatibility
• Found in: IBM Thinkpad T20, T21, T22, 600X

The FM audio from this PCI sound chip, whilst advertised as having full legacy DOS support sounds really bad: music has missing notes, is played in the wrong notes/pitch etc. In isolation it could possibly be bearable, but played alongside another FM implementation, or playing something really well known you can instantly tell it's not what it is supposed to sound like. A small TSR is loaded in memory to initialise the chip and provide DOS support.

I do not recommend a laptop for DOS which is based on this chip.

• PCI interface
• SBPro compatibility
• ??? Crystal FM synth emulation quality
• TSR needs to be loaded to initialise and provide DOS compatibility
• Found in: IBM Thinkpad X20, X21, 240X, 240Z

I have been unable to get the CS4281 in the Thinkpad 240X to initialise in DOS. This makes the Thinkpad 240X/240Z (and possibly the X20/X21) non-starters for DOS gaming.

• PCI interface
• SBPro compatibility
• ESFM OPL3 synth
• Needs a driver loaded to put the chip into DOS compatible mode
• Needs a TSR loaded to set up the chip
• Found in: Compaq Presario 1800, IBM Thinkpad 240, 390E, 390X

• PCI interface
• SBPro compatibility
• Genuine Yamaha OPL3 synth
• Needs an initialisation tool to put the chip into DOS compatible mode
• Found in: Toshiba Satellite Pro 440, 460, 470, 480, 490, Tecra 520, 530, 550, 740, 750, 780, 8000, Portege 320, 3010, 3020, 7000, 7010

Expect perfect reproduction of OPL FM music using this Yamaha chip, since it has a full OPL chip implemented on-die; music sounds exactly the same as you would expect from a dedicated YMF262 (OPL3). It also has pretty good tone adjustment and 'spatializer' settings. It only needs an initialisation tool to set up the card - no drivers or TSR software in memory after.

Definitely one of the recommended options for a DOS laptop.