There are many games for such hardware. If it's CGA graphics you will probably want a different video card.

But I thought that 15-pin means at least VGA?

And wtf is that K/B connector, is it a mere PS/2 or something more intricate?

I bet the video output is normal VGA unless the whole machine was custom-made for some medical equipment or machinery... I don't see a ps2 mouseport, only a keyboard one. Most likely you need a serial mouse

That's a Tandon 286/N. It was a low-cost workstation from ~1990.

Yes, it's VGA, and regular PS/2 for the keyboard. I believe it's also standard IDE for the hard drive interface.

Yes, it's a Tandon 286/N, and it has an IDE Seagate ST157A HDD, but I couldn't find any info on its video subsystem.

Seems it was a cheaper model of the later times of 386, otherwise it wouldn't cost a mere thousand bucks.

I remember having a 12 MHz 286, and some games were still just a little bit too fast to be reasonably playable.

The more important question is, would you really want to play something that old? And if you would, would DOSBox really be such an unacceptable alternative? We are not talking about particularly entertaining games here.

I am more into game music than into the games themselves. I have already encountered that one PC isn't enough to install all the music hardware and stumbled upon this in search for a compact something (I don't want to be slaughtered by wife!) This one could serve a home for some SB 2.0 or an ATI Stereo F/X...

What are recommended soundcards for a 286 anyway?

Aside from an SB 2.0, the only thing that would be vaguely appropriate would be the Adlib or Adlib Gold.

The 286 was hardly a golden age for PC music; most things were still operating on PC speaker beeps.

Will there be a possibility to install a faster 286, or these CPUs are soldered to motherboards?

It's not just a matter of soldering; the higher speed would also have to be supported by the motherboard. You'd have to dig out the manual somewhere to be sure.

http://redhill.net.au/c/c-2.html suggests the only faster chip you're likely to find is a 286-16.

Wolf3d will be just playable on that machine. It will be too fast for games meant for a 4.77mhz XT. But there are still plenty of games to make it worthwhile. This is a great system for Sierra adventure games. Jetfighter 2 should be fine. Civilization will work too. SSI Gold Box RPGs will be great. Commander Keen will be great. Plenty of good stuff to play on that machine.

For $25 you will seldom find better deals than this epically when it is in good condition. I think that you will find plenty of games that will run on this machine playable. Don't worry to much about the cpu not being fast enough.

Hatta wrote:

Wolf3d will be just playable on that machine. It will be too fast for games meant for a 4.77mhz XT. But there are still plenty of games to make it worthwhile. This is a great system for Sierra adventure games. Jetfighter 2 should be fine. Civilization will work too. SSI Gold Box RPGs will be great. Commander Keen will be great. Plenty of good stuff to play on that machine.

Except all of those will be quite a bit better even on a much faster machine.

There are lots of games designed for XT systems and they would run great on this 286. There are many VGA games for a 286 too. I had a 20MHz 286 and I fell in love with dos games back then with it. A love I still carry on today. When 286 arrived, games started having labels with 'Requires ....IBM PC AT and compatibles....' just like how the games during Pentium era came with Pentium labels. With a MT-32 and a SoundBlaster card, that 286 will do wonders.

I doubt many XT games will run at the right speed on this machine. I have to underclock my 8mhz 286 Tandy to get many games to run at the right speed. Fortunately my Tandy comes with a MODE command that will cock it to 4.77mhz. I dunno about this machine.

And yes, most games that will run on this machine will run better on a 386. But the OP doesn't have an opportunity to buy a 386 for $25, so that's not really relevant.

I just noticed, is that a PS/2 mouse port? That's really unusual for a 286 if it is. Bus mice are more common on 286s but I don't think I've seen them built into the motherboard before. That would fit pretty well into a KVM setup if you have one.

As for music. Yes, Adlib is the typical sound card you'd put in this machine. A Creative Game Blaster would also be a period appropriate option. If you're interested in PC music, you should pick one up. It's nifty.

Jorpho wrote:

I remember having a 12 MHz 286, and some games were still just a little bit too fast to be reasonably playable.

The more important question is, would you really want to play something that old? And if you would, would DOSBox really be such an unacceptable alternative? We are not talking about particularly entertaining games here.

Considering I wholeheartedly enjoyed the games that ran on my Atari 1200XL, and it ran at less than 2 MHz, 12 seems like a godsend.

Well, I do have an opportunity to buy a 386 for 30$ BIN, and a 486 for 17$ BIN, but these are in full-tower and mini-tower cases respectively.

As of 286, it has a 22.50$ starting bid and no BIN... but it's in a really slim case and is miraculously compatible with modern peripherals for a 286.

It's no mouse PS/2 port, but a keyboard one. As for Game Blaster, I doubt it's easy to find one. Maybe I'll get myself an ATI Stereo F/X or SB 2.0 to use with Philips CMS chips. Or if I'm extremely lucky, an IMF card... though it'll barely fit this particular case.

BTW, won't a SB Pro CT1330 be a good pair to this PC?

Logistics wrote:

Considering I wholeheartedly enjoyed the games that ran on my Atari 1200XL, and it ran at less than 2 MHz, 12 seems like a godsend.

Yes, and the SNES CPU was only 3.58 MHz. It was also completely different hardware.

bristlehog wrote:

BTW, won't a SB Pro CT1330 be a good pair to this PC?

If it meets your interests in terms of game music, what else matters?

Er, I kinda don't know if the games utilizing CT1330's dual OPL2 will run on a 286.