Errius wrote:

Aren't those trash PCChips 486 boards with PCI super common?

They're everywhere, not in their best shape though.

noshutdown wrote:

its an old topic but i would surely go with pci, so i can stuff in some extremely fast 3d cards like riva128 and even geforce2mx […]
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its an old topic but i would surely go with pci, so i can stuff in some extremely fast 3d cards like riva128 and even geforce2mx, and run some crazy games and applications:
quake3
need for speed 3/4
3dmark99
3dsmax
etc.

You'll need something faster than a 486/586 for those apps, no matter the 3D card.

I call them trash because they're those infamous 'fake cache' boards. That said, I have one set up as a 486 retro gaming machine and I like it. Obviously it can't handle Quake but runs most early-mid 1990s games just fine.

I like socket3 PCI boards more than ISA

ISa boards where the first to be released, meaning that you might not get the full CPU compatibility with latest cpu models. Some even only support 1 voltage for the CPU. Also VESA videocards are rare. Here in my city its almost impossible to find one, because many PCs from that era were from Compaq or other brands that had the video built into the motherboard. sure you can get cheap ISA videocards but for a build like that you want a VESA card.

PCI boards were later released,therefore you get more support for newer CPUs, and most of them support almost all models of 486 CPUS. plus you have ide built into the motherboard and PCI slots are very usefull and you can still find lots of videocards for it.

The sad part about them is that there are not that many boards available. I own a FIC 486-PIO-3 and i love it. But the most common ones like the PC CHIPS one you gotta be lucky because of so many problems with it.

socket 3 is nice but be prepared..some boards dont like EDO, some will work with FPM only. Some got fake cache. etc