Re: [Freedos-user] Speaking of (tiny) DOS gaming PCs
And I forgot to mention we also now have Raspberry Pis acting as Virtual Floppy connected via ISA. https://www.smbaker.com/raspberry-pi-virtual-floppy-for-isa-pc-xtat-computers On Tue, Dec 7, 2021 at 4:51 PM Louis Santillan wrote: > There seems to be a resurgence of 8088/ISA compatible homebrew computers > and designs. Besides NuXT[0], the original Sergey Kiseliev Designs > [1][2][3][4][5][6], we now have EMM's designs [7][8][9][10][11][12][13], > some ISA ethernet cards [14][15], some sound cards > [16][17][18][19][20][21][22][23][24], and a VGA card [25]. Would be > interesting if they could be shrunk down a bit. Otherwise, a Raspberry Pi > Zero W or Zero 2 W is far easier to sneak into a small case. > > > [0] > https://monotech.fwscart.com/NuXT_v20_MicroATX_Turbo_XT_10MHz_832K_XTIDE_MultiIO_SVGA/p6083514_19777986.aspx > [1] http://www.malinov.com/Home/sergeys-projects/sergey-s-xt > [2] https://github.com/skiselev/micro_8088 > [3] https://github.com/skiselev/isa8_backplane > [4] http://www.malinov.com/Home/sergeys-projects/isa-supervga > [5] http://www.malinov.com/Home/sergeys-projects/isa-opl2-card > [6] http://www.malinov.com/Home/sergeys-projects/isa-fdc-and-uart > [7] https://www.youtube.com/user/elijahmmiller/videos > [8] https://www.homebrew8088.com/ > [9] > https://www.homebrew8088.com/home/archived-pages/v40-motherboard-project > [10] https://www.homebrew8088.com/home/archived-pages/8088-pc-compatible > [11] > https://www.homebrew8088.com/home/archived-pages/8088-mother-board-project > [12] https://www.homebrew8088.com/home/archived-pages/isa-card-lcd-screen > [13] https://www.homebrew8088.com/home/archived-pages/raspberry-pi > [14] https://github.com/Manawyrm/ISA8019 > [15] https://github.com/skiselev/isa8_eth > [16] https://github.com/hkzlab/ES688_ISA8 > [17] https://github.com/hkzlab/ES1868_ISA8 > [18] https://github.com/spark2k06/Internal_ISAOPL3 > [19] https://www.excelvalley.com/product/opl3plt-synth/ > [20] https://github.com/zjuyzj/OPL2LPT-Replica > [21] https://github.com/yeokm1/pcb-covox > [22] https://github.com/schlae/snark-barker > [23] https://github.com/labs-lv/blasterboard > [24] https://github.com/schlae/graphics-gremlin > [25] https://github.com/Leshak-pcb/Pine-CL-GD5434 > > > > On Mon, Nov 29, 2021 at 12:14 AM Frantisek Rysanek < > frantisek.rysa...@post.cz> wrote: > >> FreeDOS embedded in the BIOS is certainly a nice touch. >> Then again, the one thing that speaks in favour of the weeCee is the >> SB-Pro-compatible audio chip. Unique to the weeCee, of all the >> Vortex-based machines out there. >> >> The Vortex86DX in particular is a "sweet spot" for old-school legacy >> DOS gaming - that Vortex generation still has native full-fledged ISA >> bus, can be underclocked below "an equivalent of Pentium 200 MHz" >> (which is more like 400 Vortex MHz), while at the same time already >> having an FPU. And the onboard XGI Z9s with 32 MB of dedicated VRAM >> is also nice (including its VESA option ROM). >> >> In other misc hardware, the Vortex86DX has one other potential >> advantage in the way of "legacy compatibility": the AMI BIOS from >> ICOP still has configurable options related to ISA IOMEM windows (no >> particular use for that in the weeCee). On the more modern Vortex >> generations, this is fading away. >> >> Frank >> >> >> On 28 Nov 2021 at 20:00, Ivan Ivanov wrote: >> >> > Dennis, thank you for sharing. First of all, if you'd like to get a >> > Vortex86 CPU-based PC, better to get those which are supported by the >> > opensource coreboot BIOS, instead of the proprietary closed-source >> > BIOS. This way, with the help of coreboot's SeaBIOS payload, you'll be >> > able to - using a simple "cbfstool" command - add a floppy image of >> > FreeDOS / whatever other floppy OS - to the coreboot.rom BIOS image, >> > flash it into a BIOS chip, and have a FreeDOS permanently available as >> > a boot entry! (being able to run it directly from a BIOS chip). If >> > you're interested, ask questions & I could reply with more info :-) >> > >> > , 27 . 2021 . 18:37, dmccunney : >> > > >> > > >> https://www.pcbway.com/project/shareproject/weeCee___Tiny_DOS_Gaming_PC.html >> > > >> > > https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=USHvvSbYmJA >> > > -- >> > > __ >> > > Dennis >> > > >> > > >> > > ___ >> > > Freedos-user mailing list >> > > Freedos-user@lists.sourceforge.net >> > > https://lists.sourceforge.net/lists/listinfo/freedos-user >> > >> > >> > ___ >> > Freedos-user mailing list >> > Freedos-user@lists.sourceforge.net >> > https://lists.sourceforge.net/lists/listinfo/freedos-user >> >> >> >> >> ___ >> Freedos-user mailing list >> Freedos-user@lists.sourceforge.net >> https://lists.sourceforge.net/lists/listinfo/freedos-user >> > ___ Freedos-user mailing list Freedos-user@lists.sourceforge.net
Re: [Freedos-user] Speaking of (tiny) DOS gaming PCs
There seems to be a resurgence of 8088/ISA compatible homebrew computers and designs. Besides NuXT[0], the original Sergey Kiseliev Designs [1][2][3][4][5][6], we now have EMM's designs [7][8][9][10][11][12][13], some ISA ethernet cards [14][15], some sound cards [16][17][18][19][20][21][22][23][24], and a VGA card [25]. Would be interesting if they could be shrunk down a bit. Otherwise, a Raspberry Pi Zero W or Zero 2 W is far easier to sneak into a small case. [0] https://monotech.fwscart.com/NuXT_v20_MicroATX_Turbo_XT_10MHz_832K_XTIDE_MultiIO_SVGA/p6083514_19777986.aspx [1] http://www.malinov.com/Home/sergeys-projects/sergey-s-xt [2] https://github.com/skiselev/micro_8088 [3] https://github.com/skiselev/isa8_backplane [4] http://www.malinov.com/Home/sergeys-projects/isa-supervga [5] http://www.malinov.com/Home/sergeys-projects/isa-opl2-card [6] http://www.malinov.com/Home/sergeys-projects/isa-fdc-and-uart [7] https://www.youtube.com/user/elijahmmiller/videos [8] https://www.homebrew8088.com/ [9] https://www.homebrew8088.com/home/archived-pages/v40-motherboard-project [10] https://www.homebrew8088.com/home/archived-pages/8088-pc-compatible [11] https://www.homebrew8088.com/home/archived-pages/8088-mother-board-project [12] https://www.homebrew8088.com/home/archived-pages/isa-card-lcd-screen [13] https://www.homebrew8088.com/home/archived-pages/raspberry-pi [14] https://github.com/Manawyrm/ISA8019 [15] https://github.com/skiselev/isa8_eth [16] https://github.com/hkzlab/ES688_ISA8 [17] https://github.com/hkzlab/ES1868_ISA8 [18] https://github.com/spark2k06/Internal_ISAOPL3 [19] https://www.excelvalley.com/product/opl3plt-synth/ [20] https://github.com/zjuyzj/OPL2LPT-Replica [21] https://github.com/yeokm1/pcb-covox [22] https://github.com/schlae/snark-barker [23] https://github.com/labs-lv/blasterboard [24] https://github.com/schlae/graphics-gremlin [25] https://github.com/Leshak-pcb/Pine-CL-GD5434 On Mon, Nov 29, 2021 at 12:14 AM Frantisek Rysanek < frantisek.rysa...@post.cz> wrote: > FreeDOS embedded in the BIOS is certainly a nice touch. > Then again, the one thing that speaks in favour of the weeCee is the > SB-Pro-compatible audio chip. Unique to the weeCee, of all the > Vortex-based machines out there. > > The Vortex86DX in particular is a "sweet spot" for old-school legacy > DOS gaming - that Vortex generation still has native full-fledged ISA > bus, can be underclocked below "an equivalent of Pentium 200 MHz" > (which is more like 400 Vortex MHz), while at the same time already > having an FPU. And the onboard XGI Z9s with 32 MB of dedicated VRAM > is also nice (including its VESA option ROM). > > In other misc hardware, the Vortex86DX has one other potential > advantage in the way of "legacy compatibility": the AMI BIOS from > ICOP still has configurable options related to ISA IOMEM windows (no > particular use for that in the weeCee). On the more modern Vortex > generations, this is fading away. > > Frank > > > On 28 Nov 2021 at 20:00, Ivan Ivanov wrote: > > > Dennis, thank you for sharing. First of all, if you'd like to get a > > Vortex86 CPU-based PC, better to get those which are supported by the > > opensource coreboot BIOS, instead of the proprietary closed-source > > BIOS. This way, with the help of coreboot's SeaBIOS payload, you'll be > > able to - using a simple "cbfstool" command - add a floppy image of > > FreeDOS / whatever other floppy OS - to the coreboot.rom BIOS image, > > flash it into a BIOS chip, and have a FreeDOS permanently available as > > a boot entry! (being able to run it directly from a BIOS chip). If > > you're interested, ask questions & I could reply with more info :-) > > > > , 27 . 2021 . 18:37, dmccunney : > > > > > > > https://www.pcbway.com/project/shareproject/weeCee___Tiny_DOS_Gaming_PC.html > > > > > > https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=USHvvSbYmJA > > > -- > > > __ > > > Dennis > > > > > > > > > ___ > > > Freedos-user mailing list > > > Freedos-user@lists.sourceforge.net > > > https://lists.sourceforge.net/lists/listinfo/freedos-user > > > > > > ___ > > Freedos-user mailing list > > Freedos-user@lists.sourceforge.net > > https://lists.sourceforge.net/lists/listinfo/freedos-user > > > > > ___ > Freedos-user mailing list > Freedos-user@lists.sourceforge.net > https://lists.sourceforge.net/lists/listinfo/freedos-user > ___ Freedos-user mailing list Freedos-user@lists.sourceforge.net https://lists.sourceforge.net/lists/listinfo/freedos-user
Re: [Freedos-user] Speaking of (tiny) DOS gaming PCs
FreeDOS embedded in the BIOS is certainly a nice touch. Then again, the one thing that speaks in favour of the weeCee is the SB-Pro-compatible audio chip. Unique to the weeCee, of all the Vortex-based machines out there. The Vortex86DX in particular is a "sweet spot" for old-school legacy DOS gaming - that Vortex generation still has native full-fledged ISA bus, can be underclocked below "an equivalent of Pentium 200 MHz" (which is more like 400 Vortex MHz), while at the same time already having an FPU. And the onboard XGI Z9s with 32 MB of dedicated VRAM is also nice (including its VESA option ROM). In other misc hardware, the Vortex86DX has one other potential advantage in the way of "legacy compatibility": the AMI BIOS from ICOP still has configurable options related to ISA IOMEM windows (no particular use for that in the weeCee). On the more modern Vortex generations, this is fading away. Frank On 28 Nov 2021 at 20:00, Ivan Ivanov wrote: > Dennis, thank you for sharing. First of all, if you'd like to get a > Vortex86 CPU-based PC, better to get those which are supported by the > opensource coreboot BIOS, instead of the proprietary closed-source > BIOS. This way, with the help of coreboot's SeaBIOS payload, you'll be > able to - using a simple "cbfstool" command - add a floppy image of > FreeDOS / whatever other floppy OS - to the coreboot.rom BIOS image, > flash it into a BIOS chip, and have a FreeDOS permanently available as > a boot entry! (being able to run it directly from a BIOS chip). If > you're interested, ask questions & I could reply with more info :-) > > , 27 . 2021 . 18:37, dmccunney : > > > > https://www.pcbway.com/project/shareproject/weeCee___Tiny_DOS_Gaming_PC.html > > > > https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=USHvvSbYmJA > > -- > > __ > > Dennis > > > > > > ___ > > Freedos-user mailing list > > Freedos-user@lists.sourceforge.net > > https://lists.sourceforge.net/lists/listinfo/freedos-user > > > ___ > Freedos-user mailing list > Freedos-user@lists.sourceforge.net > https://lists.sourceforge.net/lists/listinfo/freedos-user ___ Freedos-user mailing list Freedos-user@lists.sourceforge.net https://lists.sourceforge.net/lists/listinfo/freedos-user
Re: [Freedos-user] Speaking of (tiny) DOS gaming PCs
On 28 November 2021 21:31:34 CET, dmccunney wrote: >This also looks like it will be useful to Old Skool folks who want to >boot DOS and run it directly on the bare metal, instead of in an >emulator or VM. In this context, I am very much impressed by the micro 8088, a minimalist homebrew PC XT clone by Sergey Kiselev: https://github.com/skiselev/micro_8088 It uses a true 8088 CPU and not a SOC like the Vortex. Sadly, I couldn't find any place where I could buy one, it is rather targeted to people wanting to assemble it themselves. Mateusz ___ Freedos-user mailing list Freedos-user@lists.sourceforge.net https://lists.sourceforge.net/lists/listinfo/freedos-user
Re: [Freedos-user] Speaking of (tiny) DOS gaming PCs
On Sun, Nov 28, 2021 at 12:02 PM Ivan Ivanov wrote: > > Dennis, thank you for sharing. First of all, if you'd like to get a > Vortex86 CPU-based PC, better to get those which are supported by the > opensource coreboot BIOS, instead of the proprietary closed-source > BIOS. Thank you, and noted. I'm not personally interested. I'n not a DOS (or any other kind of) gamer. I want to run some DOS applications, and my needs are met by emulation. What fascinated me here was a tiny computer with built in hardware support for DOS video modes, and especially for Soundblaster compatible audio. How do I get *sound* in my DOS games is a regular question when using an emulator. This also looks like it will be useful to Old Skool folks who want to boot DOS and run it directly on the bare metal, instead of in an emulator or VM. I suspect others here might reach out to you for more information, and thanks for being ehre to provide it. __ Dennis ___ Freedos-user mailing list Freedos-user@lists.sourceforge.net https://lists.sourceforge.net/lists/listinfo/freedos-user
Re: [Freedos-user] Speaking of (tiny) DOS gaming PCs
Dennis, thank you for sharing. First of all, if you'd like to get a Vortex86 CPU-based PC, better to get those which are supported by the opensource coreboot BIOS, instead of the proprietary closed-source BIOS. This way, with the help of coreboot's SeaBIOS payload, you'll be able to - using a simple "cbfstool" command - add a floppy image of FreeDOS / whatever other floppy OS - to the coreboot.rom BIOS image, flash it into a BIOS chip, and have a FreeDOS permanently available as a boot entry! (being able to run it directly from a BIOS chip). If you're interested, ask questions & I could reply with more info :-) сб, 27 нояб. 2021 г. в 18:37, dmccunney : > > https://www.pcbway.com/project/shareproject/weeCee___Tiny_DOS_Gaming_PC.html > > https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=USHvvSbYmJA > -- > __ > Dennis > > > ___ > Freedos-user mailing list > Freedos-user@lists.sourceforge.net > https://lists.sourceforge.net/lists/listinfo/freedos-user ___ Freedos-user mailing list Freedos-user@lists.sourceforge.net https://lists.sourceforge.net/lists/listinfo/freedos-user
