RJDog wrote:

jnjg25 wrote:

the pentium 2s motherboards are all in two peices, i think its called a riser card it has 3 isa slots and 3 pci (all same motherboard) not sure what its called all there is are serial numbers and a diagram.

Correct; riser cards were very common in desktop (horizontal) style cases to reduce the height of the case. These must be IBM NetVista machines? I think typically they came with network cards from factory...

would i be better off with a pentium 2 mobo that has an agp slot?

For an operating system for these games I would go with Windows 2000. It's very stable, and can actually be set up to run current web browsers. Plus you should be able to run Pentium 1through 4's on them as well. Avoid Windows ME as its the opposite, very unstable and one of the least liked Windows OS along with Vista.

jnjg25 wrote:

none of the pentium 2s have agp slots only pci and isa is this going to be a problem?

That all depends on what exactly you want to run. For some things it will be just fine; for other things, it will be inadequate.

and lastly which kind of 3dfx cards would you recommend price shouldn't be a concern unless its over 100$ a card. or some other glide supporting video cards. i found a couple matrox video cards in the batch and 3d rage cards.

There is no need to get a 3DFX card unless you specifically want to run Glide games, because 3DFX Voodoo cards are the only ones that ever officially supported Glide. Most games use either Direct3D or OpenGL, which are supported by almost any 3D card. As for which one you should get, that depends once again on exactly what you ant to run.

ookamithewolf1 wrote:

For an operating system for these games I would go with Windows 2000. It's very stable, and can actually be set up to run current web browsers. Plus you should be able to run Pentium 1through 4's on them as well. Avoid Windows ME as its the opposite, very unstable and one of the least liked Windows OS along with Vista.

That's a myth, Windows ME is not unstable, at least it's not any worse than the beloved Windows 98SE. Windows ME has improved file and printer sharing, even Windows 7 works with it.

Windows 2000 is good, but it has hideously bad Win9x 32-bit game support, forget Win16 and MS-DOS. Only use Windows 2000 if you're sure everything you use will work on it. Windows XP has better support, but it doesn't work as good on older Pentium 3 and 4 systems. WinXP SP2 is kinda slow, SP3 is really slow.

notsofossil wrote:

Windows 2000 is good, but it has hideously bad Win9x 32-bit game support, forget Win16 and MS-DOS. Only use Windows 2000 if you're sure everything you use will work on it. Windows XP has better support, but it doesn't work as good on older Pentium 3 and 4 systems. WinXP SP2 is kinda slow, SP3 is really slow.

Agreed, for any kind of DOS/Win9X gaming, don't choose Windows 2000. For a pure networked computer (networked Windows 32-bit apps, web browsing, etc.) sure, and it is super stable, but I don't think for what you're looking for, OP. Windows 98SE is my recommendation for P2/P3.

jnjg25 wrote:

would i be better off with a pentium 2 mobo that has an agp slot?

Not necessarily. If you have systems on hand that don't have AGP slots, I wouldn't discard them and go out and seek ones that do have AGP slots, for sure. You can get some great PCI video cards (Voodoo 1/2, nVidia RIVA TNT, many Matrox cards, I'm sure others).

notsofossil wrote:

Windows 2000 is good, but it has hideously bad Win9x 32-bit game support, forget Win16 and MS-DOS. Only use Windows 2000 if you're sure everything you use will work on it.

This is also myth. There are a few Win9x games that don't run (need for speed for me) but its not as bad as people say with the vast majority of games playing fine (mine anyway) and is vastly more stable then any Win9x no matter if
I've never tried playing dos games in Windows 2000 though and could imagine it being troublesome

The OS would have to match the PC.
For starters I would go with your P2 and P3's The hardware doesn't have to be identical, in fact it may be nice to have at least one that is slightly faster to act as the server.
Bonus of Pentium 2 or 3 is it'll be fast enough to play dos games from within windows so you can skip setting up networking in Dos all together.

For simplicity I would stick with Win98SE or ME at least to start with
Install both TCP and IPX Windows games let you choose either network protocol and this gives you a fall back if the other isn't working on a given day.

Of course you can have mixed PC's playing together as well to bump your numbers to 8. I've got:
2x dos based 486's
2x Win9x/2k based P3's
1x Win9x/XP P4
They can all boot to pure dos and play network games if I need or the 2x P3's and the P4 can play Win9x games.
Maybe not as well as each other but means I get a bit of verity depending on what mood I'm in

You can get some great PCI video cards (Voodoo 1/2, nVidia RIVA TNT, many Matrox cards, I'm sure others).[/quote]
i found a couple matrox cards and nVidia RIVA TNT in the computers but they are all AGP,

My goal is to be able to play 3dfx games aswell as non 3dfx games . i understand most games like duke nukem, doom dont need old hardware to run there are many work arounds.. but there are tons of games i cant get to work on my socket 775 pcs(i got 4)and they all have xp32/win764. I also understand nglide helps some 3dfx games run on modern hardware. BUT! nothing is 100% so i figured with 4 p2/3dfx or p3 reallyy i could run all the 3dfx games properly aswell as some games that require a slower cpu.. i tried running twisted metal 1 on pentium 4 and the game was running at like 1000 frames.. i would be shot dead within 5 seconds 🤣..

One of the pentium 3's i pulled out was an apollo pro 133 , installed windows 98 on it last night, gonna install the drivers today, i also took buncha pics of my find, i will post some more motherboard names, and hopefully you guys can tell me what is the best to use.. there was another apollo pro 133A.. but ive heard mixed things on this site and google.

chinny22 wrote:

This is also myth. There are a few Win9x games that don't run (need for speed for me) but its not as bad as people say with the […]
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notsofossil wrote:

Windows 2000 is good, but it has hideously bad Win9x 32-bit game support, forget Win16 and MS-DOS. Only use Windows 2000 if you're sure everything you use will work on it.

This is also myth. There are a few Win9x games that don't run (need for speed for me) but its not as bad as people say with the vast majority of games playing fine (mine anyway) and is vastly more stable then any Win9x no matter if
I've never tried playing dos games in Windows 2000 though and could imagine it being troublesome

The OS would have to match the PC.
For starters I would go with your P2 and P3's The hardware doesn't have to be identical, in fact it may be nice to have at least one that is slightly faster to act as the server.
Bonus of Pentium 2 or 3 is it'll be fast enough to play dos games from within windows so you can skip setting up networking in Dos all together.

For simplicity I would stick with Win98SE or ME at least to start with
Install both TCP and IPX Windows games let you choose either network protocol and this gives you a fall back if the other isn't working on a given day.

Of course you can have mixed PC's playing together as well to bump your numbers to 8. I've got:
2x dos based 486's
2x Win9x/2k based P3's
1x Win9x/XP P4
They can all boot to pure dos and play network games if I need or the 2x P3's and the P4 can play Win9x games.
Maybe not as well as each other but means I get a bit of verity depending on what mood I'm in

Well there is a pIIIwindows ME computer in the lot, ive never tried the os before so maybe ill just check it out and see how the w9x games run.
theres gotta be atlest 5 different p3s or but some are SFF and i really dont wanna use a SFF tower maybe ill swap them into a bigger tower if they are what im looking for. gonna try to post everything today just gotta find my ipad.

thanks again to everybody tons of responses, LOVE IT! (=

http://postimg.org/image/sw7aaaezz http://postimg.org/image/y8w4of2wf http://postimg.org/image/9tnwnd3zj http://postimg.org/image/j2q2xhcvj

http://postimg.org/image/cdjjhgrjj

this is what i gotta work with i will post the mobo info asap

jnjg25 wrote:

Well there is a pIIIwindows ME computer in the lot, ive never tried the os before so maybe ill just check it out and see how the […]
Show full quote

chinny22 wrote:

This is also myth. There are a few Win9x games that don't run (need for speed for me) but its not as bad as people say with the […]
Show full quote

notsofossil wrote:

Windows 2000 is good, but it has hideously bad Win9x 32-bit game support, forget Win16 and MS-DOS. Only use Windows 2000 if you're sure everything you use will work on it.

This is also myth. There are a few Win9x games that don't run (need for speed for me) but its not as bad as people say with the vast majority of games playing fine (mine anyway) and is vastly more stable then any Win9x no matter if
I've never tried playing dos games in Windows 2000 though and could imagine it being troublesome

The OS would have to match the PC.
For starters I would go with your P2 and P3's The hardware doesn't have to be identical, in fact it may be nice to have at least one that is slightly faster to act as the server.
Bonus of Pentium 2 or 3 is it'll be fast enough to play dos games from within windows so you can skip setting up networking in Dos all together.

For simplicity I would stick with Win98SE or ME at least to start with
Install both TCP and IPX Windows games let you choose either network protocol and this gives you a fall back if the other isn't working on a given day.

Of course you can have mixed PC's playing together as well to bump your numbers to 8. I've got:
2x dos based 486's
2x Win9x/2k based P3's
1x Win9x/XP P4
They can all boot to pure dos and play network games if I need or the 2x P3's and the P4 can play Win9x games.
Maybe not as well as each other but means I get a bit of verity depending on what mood I'm in

Well there is a pIIIwindows ME computer in the lot, ive never tried the os before so maybe ill just check it out and see how the w9x games run.
theres gotta be atlest 5 different p3s or but some are SFF and i really dont wanna use a SFF tower maybe ill swap them into a bigger tower if they are what im looking for. gonna try to post everything today just gotta find my ipad.

thanks again to everybody tons of responses, LOVE IT! (=

If you are to use ME, I could advice you to do a clean install (though this will kinda be the case with basically any second hand system that finds its way into your lap). If you want to do a bit of further reading regarding ME, these threads are a nice way to start as they contain a lot of information:
Tetrium's guide to Windows ME
Windows Me - "Misunderstood Edition"

This one is a bit older:
Windows ME

ME isn't as bad as the rep it was given, plenty Vogoners here who all share good experiences having used ME with many systems for many years.

Setting it up is quite a bit different though, it's kinda the opposite compared to 98SE, you have to disable stuff instead of add stuff (for 98SE many people install generic mass USB storage drivers and a few other things while ME users often disable stuff like PC Health and that system restore thingy, along with a few other tweaks).

And if you want the best of both worlds, there's even 98SE2ME, which basically adds ME functionality to 98SE, improving it.
This page about 98SE2ME has existed even before written language was invented 🤣

A great resource for Windows's is msfn.org, which has a forum containing a vast wealth of information and many 3rd party projects, like the unofficial 98SE service pack.

You might be in for a world of time killing, hope you enjoy the ride as much as I have 😁

jnjg25 wrote:

but there are tons of games i cant get to work on my socket 775 pcs(i got 4)and they all have xp32/win764.

Why don't you name some of them? Aside from Twisted Metal?

BUT! nothing is 100%

If you aim for "100%" then you will fill your entire house with PCs and will still not be satisfied. That is why you should consider the games you actually want to run.

You're talking about using these for multiplayer, right? That means you'll be playing these with other actual people, so shouldn't you be considering what these "other people" also want to play? (Goodness knows it's already hard enough to get people together for anything anymore.)

i tried running twisted metal 1 on pentium 4 and the game was running at like 1000 frames.. i would be shot dead within 5 seconds 🤣..

So let's start there. Have you tried a speed-limiting program like WinThrottle?

EDIT: There is a thread at http://temp.tmalliance.com/?num=1248715982/30 which suggests that the game is very buggy and that multiplayer may not work correctly, even if you start trying to use it on a Pentium II.

BUT! nothing is 100%

If you aim for "100%" then you will fill your entire house with PCs and will still not be satisfied. That is why you should consider the games you actually want to run.

You're talking about using these for multiplayer, right? That means you'll be playing these with other actual people, so shouldn't you be considering what these "other people" also want to play? (Goodness knows it's already hard enough to get people together for anything anymore.)

i got plenty of freinds who still like the old school games (= , and as i stated earlier i only want 4 of each going, 4 is an easy number to get going,

and there are plenty of multiplayer 3dfx games diablo 2, turok 2 kingpin Carmageddon II: Carpocalypse Now, check it out !! (=
http://forum.digitpress.com/forum/showthread. … -3DFX-Glide-API

the motherboards i have are
3 IBM PC 300GL in mini towers it looks like there are pentium 2 chips in them the heat sync is exactly like the one in my p2s i could be wrong http://www.pc-collection.com/images/p/pc3/PC- … GL-6278-S1G.jpg and another one in a sff case http://mastodonpc.tripod.com/personal/6282-830.html

IBM netvista Type 6578-rbu http://id3416.securedata.net/megsales/netvist … _model_6578.htm

HP pavilion 8550c https://www.cnet.com/products/hp-pavilion-855 … e-series/specs/

Asus A7V133 http://www.anandtech.com/show/717

Asus a7v266-C https://www.cnet.com/products/asus-a7v266-c-m … a-kt266a/specs/

Asus A7V-E https://www.cnet.com/products/asus-a7v-e-moth … -a-kt133/specs/

Asus CUBX https://www.cnet.com/products/asus-cubx-mothe … x-series/specs/

and lastly C561-EC Rev a not sure who makes it only other wording on i can visualy see is foxcom i googled it and couldnt find anything out, maybe ill install an os on it and go from there.

wondering which 4 would be best to use for win98SE gaming. im thinking the asus boards? do these boards support p2 cpus? im thinking if so i could just change them with the other p2s i have

The Pentium II is a "Slot 1" CPU. None of those ASUS boards you linked to are Slot 1, so none of them will work with a Pentium II. http://mastodonpc.tripod.com/personal/6282-830.html specifically says "Socket 7" and will also not work with a Pentium II.

Jorpho wrote:

The Pentium II is a "Slot 1" CPU. None of those ASUS boards you linked to are Slot 1, so none of them will work with a Pentium II. http://mastodonpc.tripod.com/personal/6282-830.html specifically says "Socket 7" and will also not work with a Pentium II.

darn, well i guess i will try and find some pci cards for the p2s.

jnjg25 wrote:

it looks like there are pentium 2 chips in them the heat sync is exactly like the one in my p2s

Are you sure you know what a Pentium II looks like?

idunno maybe not 🤣.. the original pics i posted, the the computer cases for those say pII so i just figured they were.
The computer i thought was a p2 had the exact same heat sync thats why i thought it might be

BTW installed win98 se with riva tnt2 on apollo pro 133
installed TwistedMetal with whatever dx it comes with and it ran, ALOT better but still maybe to fast?? 🤣 i dont know i have it on psx and it runs slower but maybe the pc version just runs a bit faster, it seems playable but going to need to find an old controller from the droor to try, i am going to try it on a slower cpu aswell and see what happens.

I also installed a dos game star wars dark forces, but only the sound works not midi music, is this achievable on windows 98 with dos games, this motherboard doeas have an isa slot is there a working card out there? i only need music on 1 pc since they will all be in the same room when playing multiplayer.
I have a sound blaster live 5.1 card, a sound blaster 16 card, and creative labs ct 4810, 5803 and 4500 im going to look them up but if anyone knows from experience please let me know.

P2 chips are installed on a card that slots into the motherboard as are some Celeron and P3 CPUs. They (and their AMD cousins, the slot A) are very distinctive compared to pretty much everything else.

gdjacobs wrote:

P2 chips are installed on a card that slots into the motherboard as are some Celeron and P3 CPUs. They (and their AMD cousins, the slot A) are very distinctive compared to pretty much everything else.

i see, is there a program you could recommend that would display computer info? i dont know how to tell what is inside of what i think are p2s. im a pretty big newb when it comes anyhting under a p4, since my dad did it for me back in the day. ive really only been working with a a few p4s and socket 775 pcs updating the bios for some q9650s and building them form miscellaneous parts so im not a complete noob with computers...

Also probably a dumb question should i re thermal paste the cpus of the computers i will end up using? im sure they could use it.

One program you should definitely have (for DOS, anyway) is NSSI:
http://www.navsoft.cz/products.htm

My sound blaster live! works great in dark forces or even any DOS game for a matter of fact. They are incredibly cheap and easy to buy that is my go to sound card if you need some cheap and good for its price. But if you have an older Creative card that is PCI go for it. Just put them in and see what you love the most.