First post, by FrostyTheSnowman
- Rank
- Newbie
Retro Pentium 4 Rig - 27-year-span (PC) software supported *without* use of emulation
About Me/About My Rig:
First-time poster, long-time lurker. Known by the same name within other forums online. This was a 6-month project with LOTS of trial and error, and LOTS of hardware/software testing to find the 'perfect' balance for playing PC games from 1981 up to 2008 within a single system *without* the use of emulation in *any* form *or* without needing to switch out hardware physically (no need to open the case). Beige/White parts and cables used wherever possible. Hardware compromises were made, performance could always be better but it *plays* everything no problem. My design is 'complete' at this point hardware-wise (new games are always being added though) and I do not intend to change it (unless there is a very good reason to do so), but feel free to comment/recommend/advise/mock/tease/troll me or my design as you like. My main intention of posting this is to provide a path for others who may want to build a similar rig. But... does it play Tetris, X-WING, Doom 1, Doom 2, Doom 3, Crysis 1 and Crysis 2? Absolutely, along with everything in-between. 😉
NOTE: ZIP files with pictures attached to this post - I did it this way so there would be no need to rely on an external server for image hosting.
Compatible Software Years: 1981 – 2008
Final Parts Cost: $1230.26
Research/Development Cost: $986.92 (hardware that didn’t work out for one reason or another, *none* of which is listed here)
Basic Description: Based on Pentium 4 3.4Ghz (478), industrial motherboard w/865-chipset and ISA/PCI/AGP slots, 4 video cards, 2 sound cards, 4 hard drives, 2 optical drives, 2 floppy drives and PLoP bootloader w/custom GPU switching solution
Core Components:
• Video Cards: AMD Radeon HD 3870 AGP, Nvidia Geforce FX 5200 PCI, Nvidia Riva TNT PCI, 3dfx Voodoo 2 PCI
• Sound Cards: Sound Blaster Audigy 2 ZX PCI (SB0350), Sound Blaster 16 ISA (CT1740)
• Hard Drives: Western Digital 40GB HDD (PATA), Western Digital 80GB HDD (PATA), Intel 500GB SSD (SATA), Seagate 750GB HDD (SATA)
• CD/DVD Drives: Sony DVD-RW (PATA), Panasonic/Matsushita CD-ROM (Proprietary)
• Floppy Disk(s): Epson SD800/SD700 Combo (3.5”/5.25”)
• RAM: Patriot DDR-400 (4x1GB)
• Motherboard: Advantech AIMB-742 Industrial (AGP/PCI/ITE8888-based ISA w/IRQ & DMA redirection)
• CPU: Intel Pentium 4 3.4Ghz (478)
• Power Supply: AGI 350W ATX
• Keyboard: Mitsumi PS/2
• Mouse: Optical Serial Mouse (barcode-based)
• Monitor: ASUS VX238W 23” 1080p HDMI/VGA LCD
• Speakers: Sony SA-SPC5 2.1 Reference (Studio-grade)
• Game Controllers: Gravis 4-button Gamepad, Gravis 10-button Gamepad, Sony PSOne Dual Shock w/USB adapter
Hardware Reasoning/Compromises:
• 865-based industrial motherboard used for full DMA support with ISA (all chipsets above 865 lack DMA support for ISA bridges) and full Windows 98 support (other chipsets would work, but won’t be fully compatible)
• HD 3870 GPU used for maximum video performance in Windows 7 (best AGP GPU ever made aside from the HD 4670 which is only marginally better, unless someone designs an AGP-to-PCI-Express adapter in the future... if so then I will upgrade further)
• FX 5200 PCI GPU used for 44.x driver compatibility in Windows 98 (best PCI GPU available with 44.x driver compatibility - better FX cards *could* be used but AGP slot is already in use)
• 3dfx Voodoo 2 GPU used for DOS/Windows 98 Glide compatibility (Voodoo 3 PCI not fully compatible with DOS Glide)
• Riva TNT GPU used for proper CGA/EGA/VGA/VESA video support in DOS (including smooth side-scrolling in Keen games)
• SSD used for Windows 7, HDDs used for DOS/Windows 98 (lack of OS TRIM support prevents use of SSDs)
• Sound Blaster Audigy 2 ZX used for full surround sound in Windows OSes (OEM model used, as it *does not* have a joystick/MIDI port and therefore won’t conflict with the SB16 for joystick/MIDI)
• Sound Blaster 16 used for proper sound support in DOS (also allows for PC speaker pass-through)
• Era-correct AGI 350W PSU used for strong amperage on 5v rail *and* 12v rail
• ASUS VX238W 23” LCD used for 1080p HDMI/VGA support and 4:3 ratio support (I don’t like CRTs, despite being raised with them)
• Startech 2-port VGA auto-switcher used for FX 5200/Riva TNT VGA switching (only one VGA port on LCD)
• PS/2-based keyboard and Serial-based optical mouse used for full DOS compatibility (PS/2 keyboard is fine, Serial mouse ensures no issues with older DOS applications)
• 40GB HDD used for DOS (40GB is plenty)
• 80GB HDD used for Windows 98 (avoids file system corruption issues)
• 500GB SSD used for Windows 7 (loading performance)
• 750GB HDD used for HDD backups (secondary Windows 7 OS)
Hardware/Software Tricks:
• Windows 7 (located on 750GB HDD) used for maintenance/backups
• Windows 7 (located on 500GB SSD) used for Windows 2K/XP/Vista games
• Windows 98 (located on 80GB HDD) used for Windows 3.0/3.11/95/98 games
• DOS 7.11 (located on 40GB HDD) used for *all* DOS games
• AGP/PCI GPU switching done via BIOS, PCI GPU (FX 5200/Riva TNT) switching done via custom FX 5200 BIOS wipe/reprogram script utilizing NVFLASH (NOP’d i.e. no-operation BIOS file flashed to FX 5200 results in the Riva TNT booting instead, reversing the process i.e. flashing original BIOS back results in the FX 5200 booting)
• Nvidia 44.x drivers used under Windows 98 for game compatibility
• HIMEMX used to force Windows 98 to only ‘see’ 1GB of RAM (no memory errors in Windows 98)
• Windows 98 HDD is the first drive in order physically *and* in the BIOS, contains PLoP bootloader (prevents MBR errors in Windows 98)
• Additional PATA/SATA controllers disabled in Windows 98 (ensures no ‘triangle’ errors in Device Manager, allows full drive performance and no lockups)
• Service Pack 3 (Unofficial) used to update Windows 98 OS core files
• DirectX 7.0 used on Windows 98 (intentionally omitted DirectX 8.1/9.0 support in Windows 98)
• PLoP bootloader used to launch OSes and to ‘hide’ FAT partitions to ensure booted DOS/Win98 OS only ‘sees’ one FAT partition (itself)
• UNIVBE (DOS) used to ensure full VESA support for Riva TNT GPU
• Hyper-threading and CPU caches need to be disabled, and MOSLO used to slow CPU to run 1980’s-based DOS games
• PC speaker routed through SB16
• Daemon Tools (Windows 7 and Windows 98) used for ISO mounting
• SHSUCD (DOS) used for ISO mounting
• CTMOUSE (DOS) used for smallest possible mouse driver footprint
• ACCESS 4.60 (DOS) used for menus
• JEMMEX (DOS) used for memory management
• MIXERSET (DOS) used to set volume levels and enable PC speaker pass-through on SB16
• Network adapter disabled under Windows 98 (for obvious reasons)
Benchmarks:
Windows 7 (SAPPHIRE/AMD Radeon HD 3870 512MB AGP, 3DMark Vantage) - P2972
Windows 98 (PNY/Nvidia Geforce FX 5200 256MB PCI, 3DMark 2000) - 10837
Windows 98 (STB/Nvidia Riva TNT 16MB PCI, 3DMark 2000) - 2544
Windows 98 (Diamond Multimedia/3dfx Voodoo 2 12MB PCI, 3DMark 2000) - 2391
Finalized Hardware List w/Pricing (*not* sorted by type, most parts purchased on eBay):
Chenbro Server Case (ATX, Beige) - $49.95
AGI 350W PSU (ATX) - $14.44
Advantech AIMB-742 Industrial Motherboard (AGP/PCI/ISA) - $149.97
Pentium 4 478 Heatsink (Copper Core) - $13.50
Pentium 4 3.4Ghz 478 CPU (SL7PP) - $19.98
Patriot 4GB DDR-3200 RAM (DDR1) - $23.75
Sony DVD-RW (PATA, White) - $12.88
Panasonic/Matsushita CD-ROM (Proprietary, Beige) - FREE
Western Digital 40GB HDD (PATA) - FREE
Western Digital 80GB HDD (PATA) - FREE
Intel 500GB SSD (SATA) - FREE
Seagate 750GB HDD (SATA) - $29.15
Molex Splitter - FREE
12v Fan Controller - $3.78
Floppy Cable (Supports 5.25") - $3.99
PATA Cables (Shielded) - FREE
SATA Cables - FREE
Panasonic CD-ROM Cable - FREE
3.5mm Mono Male to RCA Female Adapter (Gold) - $5.89
3.5mm Stereo Male to Male Cable (White) - $5.49
3.5mm Stereo Male to RCA Male Cable (White, x2) - $19.98
RCA Male to Male Cable (White) - $11.99
Mini-DIN-7 to 3x Component RCA Female Adapter (Black) - $9.99
Mini-DIN-7 to Composite RCA Female Adapter (Black) - $3.19
2x Molex Female to 8-pin PCI-E Male Adapter - $2.89
PC Speaker Cable - FREE
DVD-RW Audio Cable - FREE
CD-ROM Audio Cable - FREE
ATI Radeon HD 3850 512MB GPU (AGP) - $111.99
Nvidia Riva TNT 16MB GPU (PCI) - $29.44
Diamond Multimedia (3dfx) Voodoo 2 12MB GPU (PCI) - $139.00
Creative SoundBlaster Audigy 2 Sound Card (PCI) - $14.95
Creative SoundBlaster 16 Sound Card (ISA) - $40.00
Mitsumi Keyboard (PS/2, White) - $20.00
Barcode Mouse (Serial, White) - $16.99
ASUS VX238H-W LCD Monitor (VGA, HDMI x2, White) - $84.50
Gravis 4-button Gamepad (Joystick Port, Beige) - $10.99
Gravis Gamepad Pro (Joystick Port, Beige) - $15.00
Sony PSOne Gamepad (PSX -> USB Adapter, White) - $7.74 + $9.99
3v Motherboard Battery - $2.00
Arctic Silver 5 Thermal Grease - $8.00
3dfx Stickers - $12.45
Nvidia Stickers - $15.75
ATI Stickers - $4.94
Windows XP Sticker - $2.50
Windows 2000/98 Sticker - $6.99
Pentium 4 Sticker - $3.65
DVI-D to HDMI Cable (White, x2) - $15.98
VGA Cable (White, x3) - $20.97
3dfx Loopback VGA Cable (Black) - $9.08
Sony SA-SPC5 2.1 Reference Monitor Speakers - $60.00
IMATION 5.25" Floppy Disks (10-pack, sealed) - $7.33
TDK 3.5" Floppy Disks (10-pack, sealed) - $12.70
Logitech Trackball Trackman Mouse (Serial) - $17.00
Molex-to-3.3v Power LED Adapter - $8.57
Epson SD800/SD700 Combo Floppy Drive - $114.00
Startech 2-port VGA Auto Switcher - $18.95
SP/DIF to TOSLINK Adapter - $10.99
Nvidia Geforce FX 5200 256MB GPU (PCI) - $19.00
Final Total: $1230.26