First post, by MrKsoft
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First off, hello everyone, this is my first post here. I'm probably a lot younger than some of the crowd around here, but still very interested in old hardware and games.
Anyway, I have liked DOS games since I first started with PCs. I first came in touch with them when I was four years old (1996), and the computer was a brand-new 486DX2/66. I've been using this to play DOS games ever since.
However, I feel the need to move on from it because it has a lot of flaws. Firstly, it's a Packard Bell, and I'm sure we all now how crappy those are. Secondly, while it can be upgraded to an extent, it's not much-- there are only a few expansion slots and the processor has no really rewarding upgrade path. Thirdly, the IDE controller doesn't seem to support any hard drive larger than 518 MB, which means I've unfortunately maxed it out while needing more space still.
So, I figure the time has come to put together a really awesome machine for the two operating systems that made up most of my childhood-- DOS and Windows 3.1, although I'm really favoring DOS most of the way. I just want 3.1 for GUI-based, relatively easier to set-up networking (I run an FTP server off my main computer in order to transfer files without having to worry about USB support, floppy disk storage space, or burning CDs) and a few old games that I miss.
I basically want to be able to play VGA-based DOS games and beyond. I like a few late EGA games (anyone remember the Jason Storm in Space Chase platformers?) but I've confirmed they won't be bothered by slightly newer tech. The most intensive titles I can think of are Quake and various Build-engine games like Duke3D. I'm also interested in OPL based music writing using Adlib Tracker, and tracker music with Scream/Fast/Impulse Tracker.
Anyway, why am I posting this? Because, to be honest, I'm much more familiar with the software side of things than the hardware side, at least with this age of computer. I want to know what I should be looking into. I basically want this to be completely tricked out with all the coolest parts for DOS games. I also want opinions on parts that I already have, as I saw someone else do in a thread about a month ago. I'm also hoping that if I'm looking for some specific parts for this, some kind souls here might be able to assist me with such-- golly, the Ebay prices for these sorts of parts are completely unreasonable.
My current plan:
I'm basically gutting another system I have, a Gateway 2000 P5-133 manufactured in 1996 that I got off a guy down the street for fixing his newer PC. The full tower case is way too big to be moved around easily, and in order to work inside you have to take the entire top off which is difficult to manage, annoying to put back on, and makes a lot of noise as it clangs around on the way off. (click for picture) I'm planning to remove the motherboard and place it in a smaller ATX case I have, which used to house a Pentium III system. The BIOS chip seems to have blanked out on that board with no way to restore it, so I'm left with an empty case that actually looks like a much better fit. (click for picture) The case itself is a bit worn so I may give it a paint job first.
Here's a rundown of the parts I have and also what I'd like to put in it. Pictures are supplied for most things. If what I have is too pathetic, I wouldn't mind picking up new things-- I've only started building up extra parts over the past year, so I'm new to this.
Motherboard:
The P5-133 came with a Gateway motherboard, obviously, but after some research I discovered it's not really anything unique. In reality, it's a standard Intel board based on their Advanced/ATX ("Thor") motherboard. It's almost exactly the same except that it has the cache on an external slot instead of directly on the board. The chipset is the 430FX, it uses Socket 7, it has 4 PCI slots and 3 ISA slots, and it already has 256k of cache installed. (click for (blurry) picture)
There is some information and a manual for the Advanced/ATX in this thread.
Processor:
Right now it has a 133mhz Pentium, which I believe will be enough for what I want (mentioned earlier). Would you guys agree? Or should I try upgrading the processor? (Apparently due to a voltage change I would need a Pentium Overdrive, but I'm not sure)
Memory:
The board takes 72-pin SIMMs. There is currently 16MB installed. I figure this is good enough-- I doubt I'd see huge performance gains going up to 32MB or 64MB. At least in DOS-- Windows 3.1 might be a bit different.
Video card:
Okay, here's where things get questionable. I have a few random PCI video cards and want to know what's going to perform best in DOS. I know some of them have 3D hardware, which would be a waste, but if the 2D performance rocks then I don't mind.
ATI 3D Rage II (seems to have composite and S-Video output)
ATI 3D Rage II DVD (Label says "Rage II+")
Cirrus Logic card (GD5446 chip, back side says CLVGA54PCI)
STB PowerGraph 64 (S3 Trio 64V+)
Sound cards: I don't have very many DOS-era sound cards. Ideally, I want to use all the ISA slots for the varying audio options for DOS games. One should be the typical Sound Blaster setup, although I really want it to be one with the OPL3 for music composition purposes. Next, I was thinking a Gravis Ultrasound or other wavetable-like card (to obtain later, because it seems they are ungodly expensive), and then the third card would be a LAPC-I or an interface to an external MT-32 (correct me if that's how it would work, I don't really understand DOS-era MIDI/MT-32 handling). Obviously the two other than the Sound Blaster are probably wishful thinking for starting off-- both seem very expensive. I'll be fine with just the SB to start.
Here's what I actually have in terms of sound cards:
Creative CT2960 (Vibra 16C)
Creative CT4180 (Vibra 16C)
Ensoniq Soundscape VIVO (Gateway 2000 OEM model)
Voyetra Sound144AM (The card in my old 486. SB Pro compatible, OPL2 only, also includes a 14.4 modem. Recognized by newer operating systems as an Aztech Sound Galaxy Washington 16. Cheap Packard Bell OEM crap.)
All these cards except the last are Plug 'n Play, which has been problematic for me in terms of DOS. Would I be better off with non-PNP cards across the board?
As you can see, my sound card selection is pretty crap. Apart from those, I just have some AudioPCIs that wouldn't be very helpful to this project. Recommendations would be very helpful, especially in finding a Sound Blaster or compatible with good sound and OPL3 quality. (I probably want one with a real YMF262 on it, I'm guessing) If anyone thinks there's a better combination of cards to cover all my bases, let me know.
Networking:
Any recommended PCI 10/100 ethernet cards for Windows for Workgroups 3.11? The only thing I have that isn't in use is this Netgear FA311, and it seems to be defective-- data transfers quickly for a few seconds, then slower and slower and slower, transferring at mere bytes per second, until the connection is cut and re-established and it does the same thing again. Tested on multiple systems.
Storage devices:
Planning to use the primary IDE channel for hard drives. Initially, I'll start with a single 8GB hard drive, partitioned into four 2GB partitions. If I need more, I'll add a second 8GB drive... I have tons of them. In the future, I might think about replacing them with CompactFlash cards, so the system runs faster and quieter.
The secondary IDE channel will have a 24X CD-ROM drive for sure. Thinking about adding a ZIP-100 drive, but I'm not sure if I'll need it, and the drivers would just take up more conventional memory.
For floppy drives, the standard 3.5" drive should suffice, but if I run into some older games perhaps I'll add a 5.25" drive later. As it is, I have no such disks.
I don't expect to have this fully loaded right away-- I want to get the basics down and then slowly add the "extra" parts (for instance, I can probably guarantee unless I have an excellent score at a garage sale or thrift shop, adding a MT-32 or LAPC-I will be a project for later on)
...wow, this is a long post and it took me almost two hours to write. Sometimes I impress myself. 😜 So, any thoughts?
