Hello,

Thanks to everyone who has given me advice so far. Also special thanks to Phil from Phils Computer Lab for inspiring me to re-live my childhood dreams 😀

The main purpose of my project: To create the ultimate computer from my childhood, the dream machine (2000 ish era)

The specs:
Processor: Dual 866Mhz Pentium 3 Coppermines (I have the option to upgrade to Tualatin later once my chip mod arrives)
Motherboard: Asus P2B-DS (Intel 440BX Dual Slot 1)
Ram: 1GB SD RAM
HDD: 80GB Samsung SATA (with IDE to SATA converter Phil uses)
Graphics: Voodoo 5 5500 AGP w/ latest 1.18 bios
Sound: Sound Blaster X-FI (Yes I know this is a red herring)*
* I'm honestly not bothered about period correct sound, I just want the highest quality sound available on WinXP support, and I have one of these available with the front drive bay support which is very convenient.

The challenges (so far) and how I overcame them (to help people in the future):
1. The CPU's had a custom heatsink which was too large for the slot 1 brackets on the motherboard, I think they were pulled from a server system of some sort. So I had to cut off the side aluminum fins to make them fit (I'll attach pictures)
2. I could not get any OS to install, they would all lock up under 'detecting computer hardware configuration' before the main install would load (win2000/xp/2003)
Fix: Make sure the floppy disc controller is enabled, floppy seek can be turned off still (I had the controller disabled at first since I am making a floppyless build)
3. Windows would not auto-detect the correct HAL and therefore lock up under 'Setup is starting windows' section of the install'
Fix: Make sure MPS 1.4 support is turned ON in the bios (off by default) then press F5 at the 'press F6 for additional drivers' section of the install, then press the up arrow and select 'MPS Multiprocessor system' - if MPS 1.4 support isn't enabled, windows will STILL lock up during setup.
4. Windows would not boot once installed 'Unmountable boot volume' blue screen
Fix: Make sure to use modern IDE cables with the Sata to IDE adapter, the ones with the fine wires, not the bulky grey ones.

Unsolved challenges:
1. My CPU's are running at 650mhz due to them being 133mhz FSB CPU's on a 100mhz FSB motherboard.
*update1 - I pushed the FSB to 112 on the mobo jumper. Seems to run stable. CPU's are at 730mhz.
*update2 - It seems I have a version (1.05) of the p2b-ds that has no clock gen support for 133. I also tried SoftFSB which worked for every FSB setting except 133.

https://drive.google.com/open?id=0B6vqgf6MYPD … RVRWVDMtMmo0dlE
https://drive.google.com/open?id=0B6vqgf6MYPD … X1ZYTmlEWUdmYmM
https://drive.google.com/open?id=0B6vqgf6MYPD … T1p0OElsTHAzcmc
https://drive.google.com/open?id=0B6vqgf6MYPD … UnlfekRnRVRhbGc
https://drive.google.com/open?id=0B6vqgf6MYPD … dHQwdS1Xa3pwNk0
https://drive.google.com/open?id=0B6vqgf6MYPD … NlNvT2Z5WmZHZGs

I'll update the thread as I progress. I will benchmark when I've got everything setup correctly.

* Edit: 24/04/16
- FSB still rock solid stable. I'm still installing games etc, which is a slow and tedious process due to data transfer limitations. I completely forgot how slow IDE was! It's definitely the largest bottleneck in the system, luckily I have some awesome Silicon Image PCI to SATA cards arriving soon I can test. I also have PCI USB2 arriving soon which will dramatically increase my wifi performance and USB drive transfers.

https://drive.google.com/open?id=0B6vqgf6MYPD … c0RjOGhXNzNfaUU
^ The build displaying Unreal 1 in Glide at 1280x1024 on my Sony HX 800 40'' TV, retro has never looked so good.