The CUV4X has a Via 686A southbridge. Although not to the same extent at the 686B, it is not very compatible with the Sound Blaster Live. So if you want to use that, the AX6BC-EZ would be a better choice. If the AX6BC-EZ supports Coppermine it would be the better choice, if not, choose what is more important.

Hey, thanks. I didn't know that. The live is one of that components I definitely wanted to use, because it runs well with games in dos-mode. And yes, the mainboard supports Coppermine with the latest BIOS-Update. So I guess this MoBo would make the best base for my system.

Kampfkoloss wrote:

... I've read ExcelStor HDDs suck, because they'd tend to fail pretty often. Has anybody here experience with these?

These mostly are re-labeled IBM/Hitachi Deskstars, produced after the 75GXP fiasco, and as such should perform well. However, my impression is that they are produced "lower-grade" than equivalent Hitachi models, which tend to be very reliable. tl;dr I'd personally go with the WD.

@SW.SSG Thanks for your advice. I'm going to resell the ES-Hard Drive then.

You really need real OPL for those Dos games. And as you want to play Win98 games, then ditch that SB-Live and go for an YMF-724.

brostenen wrote:

You really need real OPL for those Dos games. And as you want to play Win98 games, then ditch that SB-Live and go for an YMF-724.

Thanks. What do you think about this one? It has a yamaha synthesizer (YMF744B) and supports Direct-Sound 3D, A3D and Sensourus 3D-Dynamic-Positioning. The price is pretty good compared to some soundblaster AWE ^.^

https://www.ebay.de/itm/Guillemot-Maxi-Fortis … QgAAOSweEFbH6dR

Kampfkoloss wrote:

brostenen wrote:

You really need real OPL for those Dos games. And as you want to play Win98 games, then ditch that SB-Live and go for an YMF-724.

Thanks. What do you think about this one? It has a yamaha synthesizer (YMF744B) and supports Direct-Sound 3D, A3D and Sensourus 3D-Dynamic-Positioning. The price is pretty good compared to some soundblaster AWE ^.^

https://www.ebay.de/itm/Guillemot-Maxi-Fortis … QgAAOSweEFbH6dR

Looks ok. Personally I prefer the 724, as it is an stereo card. I have absolutely no nostalgic reason for surround. Actually never games with anything else than a two speaker setup. Taste differs though, and surround might be what other people are looking for.

Other than that, then I normally use YMF-718/719 cards, when we are dealing with YMF cards. Like Audician32. Both 718/719, 724 and 744 have OPL core build into the chip, and they deliver sound to rival those Yamaha external midi modules. I find them better than AWE32/64, when running Win9x. In MS-Dos-6.22 I like to use eighter AWE64 or Audician32+DreamblasterS1.

The ESS Solo 1 is also an excellent DOS sound card for a PCI slot. The Terratec cards should have both a PC/PCI connector and a wavetable header, although they might not both be populated. Fortunately, that's a fairly easy fix -- just break out the iron.

gdjacobs wrote:

The ESS Solo 1 is also an excellent DOS sound card for a PCI slot. The Terratec cards should have both a PC/PCI connector and a wavetable header, although they might not both be populated. Fortunately, that's a fairly easy fix -- just break out the iron.

I'm not sure, if I've understood you correctly, but are you suggesting that I should solder a wavetable-header onto my card?^^ I could try - the soldering-spots are marked, but I've never used a soldering iron before xD

Short update with the parts I'm going to use: I've managed to get a P3 Coppermine 900 MHz with a MSI Master- Slot1-adapter for 16 € (including shipping). I've got a spare copper cooler I'm going to use. That's a quite strong CPU for such a PC. Which Geforce would be best considering, I'm trying to get high resolutions under Windows? I've got an FX5200 (128) right here, but I'm looking for something more period correct.

Kampfkoloss wrote:

I'm not sure, if I've understood you correctly, but are you suggesting that I should solder a wavetable-header onto my card?^^ I could try - the soldering-spots are marked, but I've never used a soldering iron before xD

Short update with the parts I'm going to use: I've managed to get a P3 Coppermine 900 MHz with a MSI Master- Slot1-adapter for 16 € (including shipping). I've got a spare copper cooler I'm going to use. That's a quite strong CPU for such a PC. Which Geforce would be best considering, I'm trying to get high resolutions under Windows? I've got an FX5200 (128) right here, but I'm looking for something more period correct.

I don't want to push you into doing something you're uncomfortable with, but soldering is a great skill to have in this racket. If you have some old scrap boards, I recommend practicing so you can become comfortable with heat management, solder behavior, etc.

Also, you'll want a PC/PCI cable if you want to use the AOpen board with either the Solo or a YMF-PCI card. That's the best option for compatibility.

This is the Hardware I'm going to use now.

Pentium 3 Coppermine 900 MHz FSB 100 on MSI Master Slot1-Adapter (Rev. 2) = 17,50 €
Aopen AX6BC-EZ (440ZX) free (Part of my old Siemens-Office-PC, from mid 1999)
512 MB SDRAM (PC133 with CL2) free
Nvidia Geforce 2 GTS 32 MB (Green-Reference PCB in color with mainboard) --> seems to be manufactured by Nvidia themselves, analog signal is pretty good 7 € refurbished
Creative 3D Blaster II 8 MB (Voodoo²) free
Creative SB Live! free
Intel Pro 1000MT NIC 5 €
Seagate 40 GB UDMA 100 HDD on TX100 IDE-PCI-Controller
1x LG CD-RW 5 € (old CDROM only opened when it feeled like it)/ 1x LG DVD-ROM free
Fortron FSP 250W PSU 10 € refurbished
Case: Original Siemens Xpert-Miditower from my old Office-PC free
Display: HP LP1965 (19 inch LCD), don't have room for a CRT now... 🤣
Mouse: MS Intellimouse 1.3A ps/2
Standard ps/2 keyboard
sound: Logitech Z623 🤣

Thanks for your suggestions. If you are interested I can upload some pictures, when I'm on vacation in july. Is it possible to mark this as solved?

all looks solid to me! have fun

Looks like good late dos WIn9x crossover PC
SBLive may still cause problems for dos, but you have an ISA slot to fall back on, but wouldn't worry about it till you've tested all your games.

We love a bit of hardware porn, so definitely post some pics when you get a chance 😀

isn't 512MB too much ? I remember back in the days I had a pretty high end W98 setup with 128MB of ram and a PIII 650mhz

Actually you're right: Around 1999 to 2001 128 to 256 were pretty much the maximum already. But I think 512 should be fine. I sure won't run into any memory shortage then 🤣

I was able to get a sb awe64 value ISA-Card (CT4520) for cheap with a year warranty to free up one PCI-Slot - in my last plan they were all occupied, so there wasn't any room for a second voodoo2 😠