First post, by JayCeeBee64
- Rank
- Retired
Greetings everyone, new poster here (but long-time lurker 😀 ).
In short, I'm a middle-aged guy who is finally placing the finishing touches to the gaming rig he only dreamed of having in his younger years. The sole purpose is to have a classic computer that can run mostly 90's games, both DOS and Windows, and do so with 3 requirements in mind: stability, reliability, and dependability.
So far, this is the system I have right now:
Asus TX97-XE Socket 7 ATX Mobo
Pentium 166MMX CPU
64MB FPM RAM (four 16MB 72-pin SIMM modules)
3.24Gb Fujitsu & 4.31Gb Seagate hard drives
Lite-On 32x IDE cd-rom
Iomega ZIP-100 atapi drive
Generic 3.5 floppy drive
Matrox Millennium II 4MB PCI video card
3dfx Voodoo 2 12MB PCI 3D card
SMC 1211-series PCI network card
SB Pro 2 sound card
GUS ACE sound card
Yamaha SW60XG MIDI card
Generic 300-watt ATX power supply
Gravis Gamepad Pro
Generic PS2 mouse & keyboard
Generic ATX Mid-tower case
After a lot of trial & error, this setup has come the closest to fulfill my needs. Just about all the games I have tried worked flawlessly; those that don't or won't will be looked at more closely to determine what changes, if any, have to be done to realize my dream.
All in all, this has been quite a journey (which started back in 2006!) and a great way to relearn & remember everything I used to know back in my late 20's-early 30's. And finding this forum in early 2008 has helped me a lot as well. I'm sure I will reach my goal - and have the gaming system I always wanted to have back then. 😎
UPDATE 1: Changes done on 11/13
-FPM RAM replaced with EDO (same amount as before)
-Lite-On CD-ROM replaced with Plextor PX-W2410A CD-RW
-5.25 floppy drive added
-New CPU cooler
-Bigger ATX case (Antec KS-288 Valueline Series)
-Network card removed
Also corrected some minor errors and omissions
UPDATE 2: Changes done on 2/14
-Old power supply replaced with new StarTech 300-watt unit
-Fujitsu hard drive replaced with Western Digital Caviar 4.31Gb hard drive
FINAL UPDATE: Changes done on 5/14
-finished testing additional hardware & software
-improved cable management
-final configuration is as follows:
Asus TX97-XE Socket 7 ATX Mobo
Pentium 166MMX CPU
Generic Socket 7 CPU cooler
64MB EDO RAM (four 16MB 72-pin SIMM modules)
4.31Gb Western Digital & Seagate hard drives
Plextor PX-W2410A IDE CD-RW
Iomega ZIP-100 atapi drive
Generic 3.5 & 5.25 floppy drives
Matrox Millennium II 4MB PCI video card
3dfx Voodoo 2 12MB PCI 3D card
SB Pro 2 (CT1600) sound card
GUS ACE (Version 1.0) sound card
Yamaha SW60XG MIDI card
StarTech 300-watt ATX power supply
Gravis Gamepad Pro
Microsoft USB/PS2 mouse
Generic PS2 keyboard
Antec KS-288 Valueline Series ATX Mid-tower case
ADDENDUM:
-replaced Matrox Millennium II 4MB PCI with Graphics Blaster Riva TNT 16MB PCI (10/14)
-replaced 3dfx Voodoo 2 12MB PCI with Diamond Monster 3D 4MB PCI (3dfx Voodoo 1) (12/14)
-added case badges to Antec KS-288 (4/15)
-build finalized and closed on 2/15/16; no more updates will be posted
Ooohh, the pain......