A Pentium II is too fast for all but the latest DOS games (from 1996 to 1997) and does not do well when disabling cache (it becomes too slow). It would make a more appropriate Win98 PC, but then the TNT2 M64 is not very good for that. 🙁 My recommendation is to use it for Win98, running newer DOS games on it either from the desktop or in MS-DOS mode. You can upgrade the graphics card to something like a TNT2 Ultra, or a GeForce 3 and it will run Win98 games great as well as late DOS games.

Welcome!

You don't really need Win 3.11 for that — unless you're simply curious. Windows 98SE will do just fine and is more appropriate for this machine. It has a real DOS mode that is just as good as a "pure" MS-DOS 6.22. Also, it has a lot more software available, including Daemon Tools for mounting CDs, latest versions of Total Commander for network transfers and other useful stuff.

Sound Blaster Live! may not be the most compatible option — depending on what kind of games you want to run. Generally, for DOS games you might want to find an ISA soundcard, like a Soundblaster 16/AWE32/AWE64 or many, many others. You'll really have to do some research on that, as there is no single "best" soundcard that everyone likes. But first, check if your motherboard actually has ISA slots. Pentium II motherboards usually had them, but since you have a Compaq machine, there can be some surprises. Also check if it has any integrated audio and video — it might give you some options.

Riva is also a bit too "modern", but should work OK. You can pair it with a Voodoo 2 for some Glide games, if you want. Also, if you can get your hands on a cheap Diamond Monster Sound MX300, do that — it could be nice if you ever want to play some late 90s Windows games on that machine.

Get in touch with drzeissler, he raves about his Slot 1 DOS machine a lot 😀

Although I prefer the Super Socket 7 platform, Slot 1 can also work very well and is a great platform. You avoid some issues because the Intel chipsets are very good. Slowing them down however is a bit of a challenge, so IMO they are not well suited for 386 era games.

But for anything 3D, the are awesome.

It might not be a perfect dos machine, but its a good computer to mess around with, I presume this will be your first dos computer?

There are several things you can do to make it a bit more forgiving in dos, but personally I would dual boot Dos 6 and Windows 98se on it 😀

- You can Decrease the core clock to make it run a bit slower
- Maybe buy a P2 233mhz cpu from ebay their dirt cheap
- The SB Live will have compatibility problems with some dos games , so have a look if it has a Isa slot and swap it for a older 16-bit isa card
- Early 90s and late 80s games sadly will have problems, but try the PC for a bit first and maybe build a 386/286 for the really old stuff

For better windows performance:

- The M64 TNT 2 might not be as bad as most people said, it all depends on what games you want to play ,if its early 1998 games it will be fine
- Maybe upgrade the gfx card to a nice TNT 2 Ultra

PS Welcome 😀

First great thanks for replies! I didn't except so many responses, and so quickly!
Well...I already have a rig with Sempron 3000+ and Radeon 9600 for Windows games(with 98/xp), so I thought I'd make this one for old games(and I'm curious too how win 3.11 performs).
As for sound card I still have working Sound Blaster 128 for a start. I think it should be somewhat better for that than Live, right ?
If Pentium II is too fast, then maybe Pentium Pro would be good(if it is supported)? Will know what motherboard it has, when it comes in few days.
As for graphics...I can get/borrow Matrox G400. Will it be any better for older games ?

Also, keep in mind that a lot of really popular CPU-sensitive games have been fixed in rereleases — either as Windows ports or as CD versions or anthologies. For instance:

- Wing Commander doesn't like anything faster than 386 — Wing Commander Kilrathi Saga (the first three games) have no issues with faster CPUs
- Warcraft II doesn't like anything faster than Pentium 133-166 — Warcraft II Battle.net Edition runs OK
- Original X-COM: UFO Defense doesn't like Pentiums — X-COM Collector's Edition runs on anything you want.
- Ultima VII doesn't like anything faster than 386 — Ultima Collection uses Moslo so all games run pretty much OK.

This is also the reason you want to have a Win 9x, not Win 3.11 or pure DOS — all of the rereleases I've mentioned need it.

Arkzyw wrote:

If Pentium II is too fast, then maybe Pentium Pro would be good(if it is supported)? Will know what motherboard it has, when it comes in few days.

First, Pentium Pro is Socket 8, not Slot 1. Your motherboard won't take it.
Second, it won't help much. There is nothing (to my knowledge) a Pentium II can't run properly that a PPro can.

Look at this list for reference.

Honestly, I wouldn't worry about CPU speed too much. A lot of the issues are fixable and occur in select games only in the first place.

I agree with Jheronimus , lots of them have been patched.

A SB 128 is still a PCI card, I highly recommend a 16-bit card, like a Sound Blaster 16.

Wait until you get the computer and then do some tests to see if your happy with the performance or if you want to push it further.

Arkzyw wrote:

As for graphics...I can get/borrow Matrox G400. Will it be any better for older games ?

I think, people are mostly saying that your Riva isn't fast enough for PII-era Win games, not that it won't work in DOS. Consult this table for compatibility issues. Rule of thumb is, nothing can beat S3 in terms of compatibility. Matrox cards are a popular second choice due to the high quality of their 2D output.

Again, wait until you play some games on this machine until you decide that you need a different card.

Great thanks again. A lot has been clarified, and now it really looks much better, than I thought at first. Well...now I just have to wait for this PC to come, and see myself what is what 😀

Another option you have is to play your DOS games in Win9x
SBLive has good Dos legacy support from within windows (its ok-ish from real dos) and the P2 will be fast enough to play just about anything without having to drop back to real dos mode.

If it does have a ISA slot that is still the preferred way to go but lack of ISA doesn't automatically make it a bad dos gaming PC

FaSMaN wrote:

I agree with Jheronimus , lots of them have been patched.

A SB 128 is still a PCI card, I highly recommend a 16-bit card, like a Sound Blaster 16.

Any AudioPCI-based card will work fine with most DOS games under Windows 98SE.

My main retro PC is a PII 400, if I remember correctly. The vast majority of games (mostly early 90s onwards, but earlier ones have been fine) I've tried have been absolutely fine with it, excepting:

Sam and Max (original version. quits to command prompt. Re-release is fine)
Ultima VII (too fast, not used moslo yet)

Ultima VII is I understand it perfect on a 486DX33, which is exactly what I originally played it on. The DX2 66 I have currently is a tiny bit too fast in parts.

I'm going to build a 486 I have lying around for older games, it'll be the 'Ultima box'

P-II does not seem like a perfect platform for late-80's and onwards. Especially if you plan on installing MS-Dos-6.22 as the main os.
If you swap out the motherboard/cpu and the soundcard, with something like a SS7 with eighter a P-133 or K6-III, I think you will
have a better setup. The soundcard can be swapped with something like a SB16/Pro with somekind of midi/wavetable module.
Or you can go for an AWE64 if real authentic OPL is not that big a deal. Some people a like AWE64 with a bit of reverb and chorus.
If you go for strict authentic sound, then you can only go for a soundcard with a real OPL chip and a daughterboard.

May I suggest U7Run for Ultima VII? I understand a lot of people don't care for Exult, but U7Run allows the original Ultima VII to run under Win9x.

With an early Deschutes PII 350 there's still a chance of underclocking to 133MHz (though not all can do this) and then combined with slowdown tool. With a locked multi PII-350, if you can force a 66MHz then you're limited to 233MHz at 3.5x. A safer bet for underclocking would be early PII 233/266.

I think a slower 386/486 or even Socket 7 system is not worth the hassle until you actually come across a handful of games that really need it (that is, no fix/patches available whatsoever). Unless you really like PCs from a given period enough to re-build one yourself. 😀

A PII is a very good machine for the latest dosgames like "duke3d", "shadow warrior", but it is not a good idea for playing older stuff!
The PII is too slow for "dosbox", so emulation is also not a good idea.
You can play a lot of older stuff, that's right, but I have choosen a PII for a big range of compatibility, but the key feature is playing
3dfx-stuff before 2000. Therefore the PII is a good idea. As I mentioned above, a lot of old dosgames do work on this machine,
either in plain dos (multiboot), or in a Fullscreen-Dos under running Win98se. Perhaps using Win95II-Dos-Fullscreen is a bit better, but I
did not have tested this.

If you wish to play dosgames, especiall the old ones then I have this advice for you:

- Go for a 386/40 or a 486/25 up to dx2/66
- use a et4000 isa vga card
- go for a sbpro soundcard or a stereo-compatible sbpro emulation card
- go for a native MPU-401i Interface and put a MT32 behind
- go for a gravis-ultrasound (I really recommand the ace-model if you already have joystick-port on your other soundcard)
- go for a LPT-Dac for some old exklusives
- go for a nice crt. I really like the IBM 12" VGA Color Monitors (320x200 looks as good as on a SC1224!!)

Doc

EDIT:
Currently I am testing with a 630-Dos-Compatible. This is a very nice machine. 68040/33 with 486dx2/66 fully integrated.
Very nice!