I'd go for XP.

In addition, is there any possibility of getting my hardware or DOSBOX to recognize my Thrustmaster dedicated gameport card? I have a full Thrustmaster flight control setup including rudders, but no USB flight controls.

if the host system (XP) recognizes the game controller, then Dosbox *should* be able to use it as well.

I forgot to mention that I have the following OS options: DOS 3.2, Win 95, 98, XP & 7

If you are using gameport, then stay away from all 64bit windows OS!! Gameports simply don´t work with them. Getting gameport functioning with 32bit Vista and Windows 7 is also a bit of a hassle, but in some cases it is possible. I would go with 32 bit Windows XP Pro, since it supports gameports, is thoroughly tested over the years, and has possibly the most impressive amount of drivers made for it.

I'd go for Win98 since gameports suck on the NT family in general (never had luck with them on 2000 and XP either). Be careful with Win98 though, it won't agree with your ram or your hard drive (do you like data loss!?) so throw that on a much older computer instead. Like, some athlon xp with 512mb ram, voodoo something and a 40gb HD

Yeah, but that would require a KVM switch at the very least. I'm space - restricted.

[Thread moved to DOSBox General]

This *might* help you.
http://sewelldirect.com/USB-to-Gameport-Adapt … nd-Gamepads.asp

I was under the impression gameports work with xp, what wont work however is any kind of profiling software,
as for the usb adapters you have to be careful some work some dont

Thanks, bloodbat. That'll save me a TON of $$$

Do keep in mind what Davros said, though.

What is profiling software? What, in everyone's opinion, is the easiest course to playing the old flight sim & driving games I mentioned? I have quite a few old DOS/Win 95 motherboards with the CPU's still in place, but it would be a nightmare at my skill level to correctly identify all of the compatable components such as memory sticks, sound & video cards.

With lots of old parts, you could build a "new" old rig, but if you're so unsure, get the motherboard's manual and, if in doubt, ask someone to help you, it shouldn't be that difficult.
http://sonic840.deviantart.com/art/Computer-h … r-1-7-111402099
That poster could be of some use to you too.

I've got the manuals for most of the old boards. It's identifying to memory sticks that's my big problem. What memory is this! Is is compatable with this board? Hom many Mb is it?

And what's "profiling software"?

Software that profiler use. You know the ones from the fbi... 😀
Seriously, I think, software that lets you assign key presses to joystick buttons and assign this as profiles for varios games or programs

Oh, OK. Like the old Thrustmaster program for programming the FLCS & WCS sticks?

Wow! Nice chart! That will help a LOT! Still, do you think that a second computer with either seperate keyboard, monitor, etc. or a KVM switch is better than DOSBox on a Win 98 or XP system?

If I understand correctly, Win 98 won't recognize a lot of the existing hardware such as the 4gb of RAM that I have on my current desktop system.

In your opinion, what would be the optimal, top end system to run the games without the use of DOSBox?

Ok, I love DosBox and use it with no problems, quite simply, it rocks (unless I use some svn self built versions, but that's another issue) with my simple joysticks and such, it's a great emulator (though it's still kinda icky how I can still hear the buffer after the "PC Speaker beeps"), but if you're willing to go the distance and use your Thrustmaster thingies...
Funnily enough, depends on what games you intend to run: some might actually run too fast, if they run at all, I remember trying to run digger on my old VGA 286 (yes, real hardware)...no go...so...you can imagine. (Hell speed issues are why I started using VDMSound and then DosBox a lot of years ago)
KVM switches can probably be fine, their problem is, with higher resolutions, that they tend to look like crap instead of lower ones, but still...check the specs, after all, most DOS games didn't go to a really high res. And the switch may not support it, though it would be weird. While I'm on the subject...be prepared to have a monitor that looks like crap at such low resolutions under a KVM or using a direct connection...if it works at all. Ahh lovely LCDs.
Given the fact that you're hell bent on using that old hardware, I'd say the way to go is to build a system, the motherboard manuals should have a spec and even model numbers for supported ram (though the sockets themselves are pretty, pretty clear), so you can do a quick google check against all that old hardware you have (if you have so much, I'd say you run a shop, but you do say you have no clue...so...why?): it's DRAM with no ECC and such? Maybe RIMMS? Compare the model or part number of what you have against a google search (the specs should pop up somewhere, and rather quickly) and see if it fits whatever motherboard you choose.
I don't know if your game card needs dedicated drivers, but if the floppy/cd got misplaced/rusted/eaten by a dog/eaten by Leon's mom you should be able to find them floating somewhere around the net.
If you have so much old hardware, there was a nice PCI Yamaha card...Sound Blaster compatible and kick ass midi (XG thingies=, hell, I have one...somewhere...I think...unless I sold it.
Anyway...that's what I say.

I'd go for XP. As far as I know, it's still the best OS out there for gaming. 😀

Nope, I don'y own a shop. I just don't throw away stuff like that. I've got computers dating back to an old Tandy SX (8088) including 386's, Pentium 1's and up.

I'm not stuck on using all the old Thrustmaster stuff, I'm just looking for the easiest and/or cheapest way to run those games at the highest performance possible. If I have to buy a whole new set of USB controls to do it, then I'll go that way. At some point I'm going to have to move up anyway.

So, bottom line: not counting the Thrustmaster issue, what's the best route? Here are my choices:

My current system running Win 7 and DOSBOX
My current system running Win XP with/without DOSBOX
A standalone with DOS 3.2 or Win 98 and a KVM box
A complete & seperate dedicated legacy game system running DOS 3.2 and/or Win 98.

If you're willing to replace your joysticks I say keep your current rig and use DosBox, if you have the old hardware lying around and are willing to invest the time and effort to put together a "new" dedicated complete legacy system, go for it too, but do keep in mind the monitor problem, though I suppose you have some around too.
The KVM box could do the trick, but not a lot have, for example, audio connectors and most I've seen limit your res. Somewhat.
The only game I've tried that has a bit of an issue speedwise is Descent to Undermountain: the opening videos stutter...and I can't manage to see the video, but a simple ESC does the trick, the game itself works right...but that game had issues in my 486 too.
As for XP, I never could manage to get my old Slam Tilt! running after some SP, can't remember which, it does run under Vista and 7, the only sort of problem I've found is that some games use 16 bit installers and, since I'm running 64 bit edition, you need to find some workarounds, not that much of an issue really; then there's the 256 colour palette warping, but that too can be fixed by killing or suspending explorer.exe, editing the registry or using an utility linked somewhere else in this forum.