Super Socket 7 MB
Voodoo 3 3000 AGP
K6-3+ 550
Creative SB AWE64(if you are finicky about OPL sound fidelity, you can go with Yamaha audician 32, sb pro 2.0,etc)
this will cover about 95% of dos games, anything speed sensitive that would run on a 386(disabling caches and using setmul) up to late dos games will run fine.

Thanks but how about hardware that won't need such tricks like disabling caches and using slowdown software, for at least my first go at these games, as if something isn't quite right and needs tweaking I'm afraid I might not notice it since I wouldn't know how it was supposed to be to begin with? Basically first impressions are important so I want for my first go at these games to use period correct hardware that will have them work as they should, guaranteed, and only after that for subsequent playtroughs I'll be fiddling with getting them running on newer hardware and emulators?

For a good all-in-one sound card to cover a bunch of things.. and to reduce costs greatly, get a first gen Aztech sound card.
Any of them with the AZTSSPT0592-U01 is a good choice as long as you are aware that they are speed sensitive - 133Mhz is supposedly around the threshold of what they can handle before they start acting funny.
You get Adlib, Covox/DSS, SB Pro 2.0 and Windows Sound System support from a single card.
See here:
Aztech Sound Galaxy cards

Ivanov wrote:

I'd like to try them out on real hardware first, then compare that to emulators like dosbox and pcem to see just how accurate emulation is, and maybe sell the real hardware if Im satisfied with the emulation.

It makes more sense to start with the emulation, which is far simpler, and only head towards real hardware if you are not satisfied for some reason. It's just a million times simpler, cheaper and space-efficient.

yeah, it's true that its simpler, cheaper and more space efficient, but if I haven't seen the game run on real hardware first, I wouldn't know if the emulation is 100% accurate to the real thing or not

Ivanov wrote:

Thanks but how about hardware that won't need such tricks like disabling caches and using slowdown software, for at least my first go at these games, as if something isn't quite right and needs tweaking I'm afraid I might not notice it since I wouldn't know how it was supposed to be to begin with? Basically first impressions are important so I want for my first go at these games to use period correct hardware that will have them work as they should, guaranteed, and only after that for subsequent playtroughs I'll be fiddling with getting them running on newer hardware and emulators?

Well in that case there is clearly no single system that will cover all DOS games, as the last DOS games need something close to the specs listed by .legaCy. to run comfortably, but many of the oldest games would be completely unplayable (take a look at spacewar.exe on a system like that 😁 ), unless you slow it down *somehow*.

If you really want to cover everything with a system that can run at multiple speeds without unbalancing (no cache) or slowdown software, the best I could recommend is a very obscure early So7 motherboard I once had - Spring Circle P5C01 - that for some reason had an FSB you could clock down from 66MHz to 16MHz. Its performance scaled almost liniarly, so at 16MHz you had just over 1/4 of the performance you'd have at 66MHz. Downside was that it did not support split voltage, so unless you modded some kind of voltage regulator onto the socket (or found a Powerleap PL-K6-III 😉 ) the best CPU it could run would be the Intel PODPMT (Pentium MMX) Overdrive, or less unobtainium, a P54C-200. With a Pentium 200, you could do CPU speeds from 24MHz (1.5x 16) to 200MHz (3x 66), so a factor 8 difference in CPU speeds (and factor 4 in RAM and L2 performance, and assumedly a factor 2 in PCI performance) with a single system and CPU.

But eh... just try finding one of those boards 😉

OP mentioned "hardware" and "all DOS games". Never said one single computer 😉
So the answer is something like an XT and a 386 both supporting turbo on-off, plus some socket 7.

yes I was prepared for having to get several different machines, I was just not exactly sure what would be the perfect specs for them, especially the ideal CPU speeds for each

Ivanov wrote:

yeah, it's true that its simpler, cheaper and more space efficient, but if I haven't seen the game run on real hardware first, I wouldn't know if the emulation is 100% accurate to the real thing or not

1. As a gamer, knowing if it's 100% accurate or not is not something that you should care about.
2. It's never 100% accurate, but DOSBox compatibility with games is almost perfect for every practical case.

If you want to dive into the world of assembling and tinkering with old junk machines, just for the heck of it, like many good folks here, that's one thing. 😀

If you just want to play DOS games and extract maximum enjoyment from them, it's simply unnecessary.

I'm afraid I might not notice it since I wouldn't know how it was supposed to be to begin with?

It's really hard not to notice when a game is not working properly, trust me. Speed issues and crashes are really obvious. 😀

Like, is any 486SX or 486DX needed to cover any games?

Yes. For example, 486DX@33 MHz is often considered an optimal CPU for Ultima VII.

Any games need a 286? And at what speed if so?

Not really, but some people like 286 as their EGA/AdLib gaming rigs just because it's a bit faster and easier to work with than an XT. It can use regular IDE and 3.5" floppy drives, for one. And it's not restricted to 8-bit ISA hardware that is expensive and kind of tricky to find.

Honestly, I would start with a more common and fast system — like Socket 7 (Pentium, Pentium MMX, AMD K6) or Slot 1 (Pentium 2 and 3). These machines are usually cheap, common and run a great variety of games. Also, they allow you to experiment with a lot of hardware (sound cards, General MIDI modules, video cards) as you find different stuff. After a while you will understand whether you need older hardware and whether you like tinkering with retro hardware at all.

dionb wrote:

the best I could recommend is a very obscure early So7 motherboard I once had - Spring Circle P5C01 - that for some reason had an FSB you could clock down from 66MHz to 16MHz. Its performance scaled almost liniarly, so at 16MHz you had just over 1/4 of the performance you'd have at 66MHz.

Lucky Star 5V-1A reportedly can go all the way to 10MHz and does support split voltage. I have that board myself, but didn't have the time to try it yet. But yeah, having to mess around with jumpers every time you want to change speed isn't ideal.

jheronimus wrote:

dionb wrote:

the best I could recommend is a very obscure early So7 motherboard I once had - Spring Circle P5C01 - that for some reason had an FSB you could clock down from 66MHz to 16MHz. Its performance scaled almost liniarly, so at 16MHz you had just over 1/4 of the performance you'd have at 66MHz.

Lucky Star 5V-1A reportedly can go all the way to 10MHz and does support split voltage. I have that board myself, but didn't have the time to try it yet.

Nice link - that's some range!

And there is one on eBay at the moment for a not too extortionate price. Must... resist... temptation... 😜

But yeah, having to mess around with jumpers every time you want to change speed isn't ideal.

Better than software IMHO, but not ideal. My idea for my next build (first So7 system I'm touching in a decade) is to replace the jumper caps with leads to toggle switches, so you can just flip the switches instead. Not sure that's something you should do on-the-fly, but even if you do the sensible thing and power down first, it avoids grubbing on the board every time.

if I'm not mistaken switching the multiplier on the fly should work fine but switching the FSB will freeze the system so you do need to power it down for that. Still, that seems like a great idea, you can get some switches on a 5.25" panel that should do the job. This is indeed an interesting motherboard, I wonder if it will be capable to cover all DOS games by itself

God Of Gaming wrote:

if I'm not mistaken switching the multiplier on the fly should work fine but switching the FSB will freeze the system so you do need to power it down for that. Still, that seems like a great idea, you can get some switches on a 5.25" panel that should do the job. This is indeed an interesting motherboard, I wonder if it will be capable to cover all DOS games by itself

Way back in the day when I was running a 486 DX2-66 as my only computer, I had installed a jumper on the front of the case with the wires going to the motherboard in order to be able to change the FSB between 33 and 40Mhz without having to open up the computer. I used to switch the speed with the system powered on and it never gave me any problems.

That was only a single jumper though so unless you can switch a single one at a time in order to eventually jump down to what you want it isn't really going to work when you have to change multiple jumpers.

Hey Ivanov.
If you want to cover DOS I personally have no problems with machines setup like so:

-Socket 3 motherboard with a 66mhz 486 (DX or DX2. Doesn't matter too much)
--You can use a Socket 5 or 7 machine with a Pentium chip if you don't want to pay the premium 486 systems are going for right now
-16mb ram (you can get away with 8 in many cases but these days 30 and 72 pin ram is pretty cheap)
-Sound Blaster 16
-Basically any VESA mode compatible video card, we'll use for example the ATI VGA Wonder as they are quite plentiful.
--Keep in mind though that many of the classic DOS games are CGA and EGA. A VGA card will still play them but CGA/EGA emulation on VGA is not perfect, but your option is to shell out for a proper CGA or EGA card and a compatible monitor. I'm assuming you don't want to spend a lot of money.

Optimally I'd be running a 40mhz 386 (I can also suggest just a regular 33mhz chip as they are cheaper but you will start seeing issues on some of the late DOS games) machine that has a toggle for Turbo, but otherwise the sound and video cards would remain the same.
I'm not sure exactly why half the people on this forum insist you have hot-rodded system specs better suited for Windows 95/98 gaming. DOS gaming isn't rocket science unless you demand it be *perfect*.

God Of Gaming wrote:

if I'm not mistaken switching the multiplier on the fly should work fine but switching the FSB will freeze the system so you do need to power it down for that. Still, that seems like a great idea, you can get some switches on a 5.25" panel that should do the job. This is indeed an interesting motherboard, I wonder if it will be capable to cover all DOS games by itself

On a Cyrix 5x86 you can change FSB on the fly, and adjust between 3x and 1x (or 2x and 1x with software.
On a socket 7 Pentium setup you can switch FSB and multiplier on the fly but they only take effect after a reset.

Yeah it's nice and everything slowing down a faster machine, but what about CGA games? That's why I also mentioned an XT. Of course most people don't care about them, but the title says "all" 😉

konc wrote:

Yeah it's nice and everything slowing down a faster machine, but what about CGA games? That's why I also mentioned an XT. Of course most people don't care about them, but the title says "all" 😉

Cautionary update: I now realize I'm confusing my IBM models, I had it in my head that AT represented the original 4.77MHz 8088 and that a 286 would turbo down to compatibility for it:

XT 286 8MHz is a total must if you want to cover "all" dos games in my humble opinion. You can drop it down to AT speed for your 1981 needs and it will also handle graphic adventures and even the first Keen games happily (if you're lucky enough to have enough RAM) in EGA glory.

I see this conversation constantly and everybody has their own list.. Here's mine..
286 8mhz (1981-1990 - minus 'high end' late 80s games).

486 ~33-66mhz (disable l2 cache and smack the turbo button for an instant 386, possibly disable l1 cache if it's a faster 486). This will cover late 80s all the way up to the end of dos (as long as you don't mind duke3d in 320x200).

Socket 7 P5 || MMX ~200 to run anything later to run in high res like butter (1993 - infinity) dos. Or just build a Slot 1 win98 machine to cover this era and 9x all the way up to ~2001.

BeginnerGuy wrote:

XT 286 8MHz is a total must...

I need to get one of those 🤣 OK just joking, I see you wrote the other way around the "AT that you can drop it down to XT speed".
Although that's not entirely true for the very few 4.77MHz things, so if you really need to cover "all", you need a 4.77MHz capable XT and a CGA for the correct colors.
The dedicated CGA PC is far more important in my opinion than the XT. How else can you get the correct CGA colors? That's why for me a single PC is not enough, no matter what speed you can bring it down to. Of course this does not apply for most people who maybe haven't ever seen a true CGA and don't have any interest in such old games.