First post, by GiSWiG
I've been collecting PCs and parts to build a retro machine or two or three or more (you know how it goes). I really need to condense to one, possibly two main retro PCs and I'd like some input on my ideas.
First, the inventory:
Video:
- Mix of NVIDIA and ATI, nothing special like 3Dfx
- Geforce 6800 (several)
- ATI Radeon 9600XT, 9700 Pro, 9800 Pro
- I have older cards but key is DVI output so I can convert to HDMI hookup
Sound:
- AWE64 Value
- Audician 32 Plus
- SB Live(s)
- Turtle Beach Montego Aureal Vortex 2
- Turtle Beach Santa Cruz
- SB Extigy (Ext USB)
- Dreamblaster S2 and Chill and Phil MPU-401 MIDI port adapter
Motherboards:
- ASUS P2B-F
- ASUS P3V4X
- ASUS K8V Deluxe (w/ Athlon 64 3000+)
- Dell Dimension 8300 (875 chipset, 3GHz P4)
- Two others for Athlon XPs w/ SiS and VIA KT400 chipsets
CPUs:
- P2 400, underclocks to 200MHz and lower
- P3 650
- P3 933
- Athlon XP 1800+
- Athlon XP 2600+
Other:
- Sidewinder Precision Pro 15-pin w/ USB adapter
- Sidewinder Precision 2 (USB only)
- Gravis Gamepad Pro 15pin
- Original XBOX controllers (work great)
- Thrustmaster Mark II FCS joystick (untested, feels stiff and creaky)
- Promise Ultra 133 TX
- USB 2.0 cards
Notes:
ASUS P3V4X seems to work better than P2B-F because of Jumper Free CPU/BUS Speed setting which works nicely with P2-400 and underclocking plus it has no trouble using a USB mouse and keyboard. The P2B-F is the 440BX requires using jumpers to set speed and the USB mouse doesn't work under DOS. In either case, I might just stick with 200 or 233MHz speed.
So my initial thought is to build one main PC using the ASUS K8V Deluxe, Geforce 6800 GT, TB Vortex 2, and USB 2.0 card (onboard 2.0 ports seem to crash Win98 when using flash drives). This PC would connect to my main monitor via DVI to HDMI as my main monitor only has a Display Port and two HDMI ports. I'm looking to dual boot with Windows 98SE and XP with a HDD for each and a third for sharing. I'm looking at using the Vortex 2 as the primary sound 98SE and the Extigy as the primary sound for XP. The speakers will connect to the Extigy and the Vortex2 will connect to the Extigy via line-in. I might consider an Audigy 2 ZS instead of the Extigy but it might be easier with the Extigy for dual-booting. Under Win98, it will just act as a reciever. The Dreamblaster S2 will be on the Vortex2 card.
Under WinXP, I'll have DOSBox for DOS gaming. I'll be able to use MUNT when MT-32 is desirable and general MIDI should be alright especially with the Dreamblaster if it works. Glide emulation will be available under DOSBox as well. Under WinXP, GOG and Steam games should work without having to modify them for Win98SE and DOS. The Extigy will provide EAX.
Under Win98SE, I'll be able to run glide emulation for Windows games. The Vortex2 w/ Dreamblaster should nicely cover DOS gaming under Windows and under MS-DOS Mode. I'll have the A3D support. I'll most likely not use the Extigy as a sound card under Win98 so not EAX. For DOS I do wonder how apps like Throttle will work on a 2.0 GHz CPU. Anything that just doesn't seem to work the best can be ran under WinXP DOSBox like glide emulation under DOS. Another thought is to use an SB Live! with the Dreamblaster using the Chill and Phil adapter IF SB Live will give better Sound Blaster support under DOS. This thought seems a little silly too.
If I do two machines, the second would be just for Win98 and DOS using the ASUS P3V4X and most likely the P2 400 underclocked to 233MHz or so. With the jumperfree BIOS, it is easy to change that to what I need to on reboot, but I've also had success using apps like 'Throttle' on the P3 933MHz. For audio, the Audician 32 Plus w/ Dreamblaster but there is the AWE64 w/Dreamblaster option as well. Video wise, I can go more "era accurate" because it would be hooked up to a monitor with VGA (1280x1024 LCD). If I can find a nice deal on a Voodoo3, that's the route I'll go.
So, what do you think? Any input is greatly appreciated.
Thanks!
Steamer/GOG-er: ASUS Crosshair IV Formula | AMD Phenom II X6 1100T 3.7GHz all cores | Mushkin 8GB DDR3 RAM 1333 w/ 6-6-6-18 1T | Dual AMD Radeon HD 6850s in CrossFireX | X-Fi Titanium | Dual-boot Windows XP and Vista