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Frequently Asked Questions
Vortex
1 (8820) based sounds cards
Are
3DNow optimised drivers available for Vortex 1 based sound cards ?
Do
Vortex 1 based sound cards require an CPU with MMX support ?
What
is the difference between the Aztech PCI 338-A3D and Turtle Beach
Montego A3DXstream ?
Do
Vortex 1 based sound cards have bass & treble controls ?
Do
Vortex 1 based sound cards support DownLoadable Sounds or Soundfonts ?
Are
BeOS drivers available for Vortex 1 based sound cards ?
Are
Linux drivers available for Vortex 1 based sound cards?
Are
OS/2 drivers available for Vortex 1 based sound cards?
Are Windows Millennium drivers available for Vortex 1 based sound cards
?
Are
Windows 3.x drivers available for Vortex 1 based sound cards?
Are
Windows 98 drivers available for Vortex 1 based sound cards ?
Are
Windows 2000 drivers available for Vortex 1 based sound cards ?
Are Windows XP drivers available for Vortex 1 based sound cards ?
Which sound card drivers should I use in Windows 9x or ME ?
Which sound card drivers should I use in Windows 2000 ?
Which sound card drivers should I use in Windows XP ?
Do Vortex 1 based sound cards support EAX ?
How
do I install the Vortex 1 Windows 9x reference drivers ?
How
can I remove the dos support when using the Windows 9x Vortex 1
reference drivers ?
How
does the 3D stereo enhancement option work ?
Is
an audio mixer available to adjust the sound volumes in DOS on Vortex 1
based sound cards ?
Which
dos games have been tested on the Vortex 1 based sound cards ?
Vortex
1 (8820) based sounds cards
Are
3DNow optimised drivers available for Vortex 1 based sound cards ?
Yes the Vortex 1 Windows 9x 4.06.1186 beta reference drivers include
3D Now optimisations for Aureal A3D
Do
Vortex 1 based sound cards require an CPU with MMX support ?
No the latest Vortex 1 reference drivers allow Aureal A3D to work on any
CPU
What
is the difference between the Aztech PCI 338-A3D and Turtle Beach
Montego A3DXstream ?
The Aztech board is designed for amplified speakers. It is not designed
to drive un-amplified speakers, headphones, or to provide signal across
a very long cable. The basic hardware differences are listed below:
Turtle Beach has:
1. Wavetable header
2. S/PDIF header
3. Larger output amp (capable of driving headphones)
4. Larger analog voltage regulator for item 3
5. MPC type internal connectors (larger)
Aztech has:
1. Smaller internal connectors (2mm vs. MPC)
2. Video internal connector instead of Wavetable Header
3. Smaller output amp
4. Smaller voltage regulator
The board layout and basic components are identical. Of course the
silk screens on the boards are different to show the Turtle Beach logo
or Aztech name. The Turtle Beach board also comes with better utility
software and an optimised (upgraded sound from 8 bit - 11 KHz to 16 bit
- 22 KHz) Battlezone from Activision (with A3D support of course). The
Aztech PCI 338-A3D card is STELLAR and is very affordable. The Turtle
Beach Montego A3D builds on this great design and adds some features and
functionality at an additional cost.
Do
Vortex 1 based sound cards have bass & treble controls ?
Yes software tone controls (bass and treble) were added in the Vortex 1
Windows 9x 4.05.1160 reference drivers but get the Vortex 1 Windows
95/98 4.06.1185 or later reference for best performance.
Do
Vortex 1 based sound cards support DownLoadable Sounds or Soundfonts ?
Yes the Vortex 1 Windows 9x 4.06.1187 or later reference drivers support
DownLoadable Sounds 1.0 and any Soundfonts 2.0 files with don't use ROM
samples.
Are
BeOS drivers available for Vortex 1 based sound cards ?
Yes, BeOS 5.0 includes basic sound support for Vortex 1 based sound
cards.
Are
Linux drivers available for Vortex 1 based sound cards ?
Yes, unofficial Vortex
1 linux drivers are available at SourceForge
Are
OS/2 drivers available for Vortex 1 based sound cards ?
Yes, OS/2 reference
drivers are available
Are
Windows 3.x drivers available for Vortex 1 based sound cards ?
Yes some sound cards include Windows 3.x drivers and Windows
3.x reference drivers are available
Are
Windows 98 drivers available for Vortex 1 based sound cards ?
The current drivers support Windows 98.
Are
Windows Millennium drivers available for Vortex 1 based sound cards ?
No, the Vortex 1 Windows 9x reference drivers will work but with the
following limitations:
Hibernation support will be disabled in Windows Millennium since it
requires all audio devices to use WDM drivers.
Sound will fail after the computer resumes from standby mode, to work
around this problem just mute and unmute sound in the volume control in
Windows Millennium.
Are
Windows 2000 drivers available for Vortex 1 based sound cards ?
Vortex 1 drivers with basic sound support are included in Windows 2000
and beta reference
drivers are available
Are
Windows XP drivers available for Vortex 1 based sound cards ?
Vortex 1 drivers are included in Windows XP, Microsoft got the source
code from Creative Labs and updated the drivers to make them compatible
with Windows XP.
Which
sound card drivers should I use in Windows 9x or ME ?
If have an AMD CPU with 3D Now support than use the Vortex 1 Windows 9x
4.06.1186 beta reference drivers
Otherwise use the Vortex 1 Windows 9x 4.06.1186 reference drivers
Which
sound card drivers should I use in Windows 2000 ?
Use the Vortex 1 Windows 2000 5.10.1500.49 beta reference drivers.
The Aureal A3D drivers and Vortex 1 Windows NT4
reference drivers should not be installed in Windows 2000!
Which
sound card drivers should I use in Windows XP ?
Use the default souund card drivers installed by Windows XP and the Vortex
control panel at Aureal and Quantex
Help Site
The Aureal A3D drivers and Vortex 1 Windows
2000 beta reference drivers should not be installed in Windows XP!
Do Vortex 1
based sound cards support EAX ?
No
How
do I install the Vortex 1 Windows 9x reference drivers ?
For complete drivers:
Download the Vortex 1 Windows 9x reference drivers
Unpack the file to a temporary directory
Go to Add/Remove in the control panel and remove the old sound card
drivers
The uninstall entry should be called Aureal Vortex AU8820 or the name of
the sound card
Reboot and point Windows 9x to the temporary directory when it asks for
drivers
For updates drivers:
Download the Vortex 1 Windows 9x reference drivers
Unpack the file to a temporary directory
Copy aurealgm from /Windows/System/ to directory where the reference
drivers are.
Go to Add/Remove in the control panel and remove the old sound card
drivers
The uninstall entry should be called Aureal Vortex AU8820 or the name of
the sound card
Reboot and point Windows 9x to the temporary directory when it asks for
drivers
How
can I remove the dos support when using the Windows 9x Vortex 1
reference drivers ?
Instructions are available here
How does
the 3D stereo enhancement option work ?
An explanation by Alan Yee from Aureal Inc:
There are various versions of the Codec 3D expander depending upon the
Codec. Most perform basic stereo spreader functions by delaying
the right signal and mixing it into the left channel, and vice versa.
When the 3D stereo expander is on our crosstalk canceller may get munged
and the positional sound may not be rendered correctly.
Is
an audio mixer available to adjust the sound volumes in DOS on Vortex 1
based sound cards ?
Yes an audio mixer
for real mode MS-DOS is available
Which
dos games have been tested on the vortex 1 based sound cards ?
A list of tested dos games taken from the readme file is available here
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