JosefHrib wrote on 2024-02-18, 22:18:

And when is socket LGA1155 is ok for WinXP what from same Ivy Bridge lineup but year newer socket LGA2011? No go with XP?

I think LGA2011 is just... sooooo... overkill for a retro XP system. But I think people have done it...

I would add one other point: once you start getting into the late 2000s, a lot of games started to be distributed through online platforms like Steam, etc. You will probably have more luck playing Steam Game X from 2009 on your modern system with Windows 11 than trying to get your retro XP machine connected to Steam...

... meanwhile, the best candidates for the retro system are older games on CD/DVD that use that DRM type whose name escapes me that Microsoft disabled from 7-and-newer versions of Windows.

But... what I think drives the fairly-crazy Ivy Bridge XP builds is how plentiful and cheap Ivy Bridge hardware is. With the stagnation in Intel-land in the second half of the 2010s, there are a lot of people who have only been upgrading to newer systems in the last year or two. So... why not go for an all-out XP retro build if the parts are cheaper/easier to source than something slower?

VivienM wrote on 2024-02-18, 23:22:

I would add one other point: once you start getting into the late 2000s, a lot of games started to be distributed through online platforms like Steam, etc. You will probably have more luck playing Steam Game X from 2009 on your modern system with Windows 11 than trying to get your retro XP machine connected to Steam...

Can confirm. Even with games that released on DVD around that time potentially still needed online activation to work.

IMHO, the best way to play games on a retro-XP system has been via GoG since the offline GoG installers have traditionally supported Windows XP.

Shponglefan wrote on 2024-02-18, 22:43:

I can't speak to the Asus P8Z77-Deluxe since I haven't used it. I am using an Asus P8Z68-V Pro/Gen 3 with no complaints so far. 😀

I thiiiiink my ivy bridge system is a P8Z77-V, which is an mATX member of the same family. Works fine. The only challenge I had was installing a sound card when my graphics card blocked the slot...

Shponglefan wrote on 2024-02-18, 23:41:

IMHO, the best way to play games on a retro-XP system has been via GoG since the offline GoG installers have traditionally supported Windows XP.

I seem to remember that there were games in the late 2000s that were shipped on disc but required Steam for everything. For some reason one of the Civilizations comes to mind, probably IV...

I wonder if GOG has re-released any of those; that being said, I believe any Civ game newer than II works fine on a modern system...

VivienM wrote on 2024-02-19, 00:18:

Shponglefan wrote on 2024-02-18, 23:41:

IMHO, the best way to play games on a retro-XP system has been via GoG since the offline GoG installers have traditionally supported Windows XP.

I seem to remember that there were games in the late 2000s that were shipped on disc but required Steam for everything. For some reason one of the Civilizations comes to mind, probably IV...

I wonder if GOG has re-released any of those; that being said, I believe any Civ game newer than II works fine on a modern system...

I know Civilization V requires Steam activation. I somehow wound up with a couple physical copies of that game in my collection and they're basically useless. 😅

Civ III and IV are available through GoG. I've got them both installed on my XP machine via the GoG installers.

Shponglefan wrote on 2024-02-19, 00:25:

I know Civilization V requires Steam activation. I somehow wound up with a couple physical copies of that game in my collection and they're basically useless. 😅

Looking at the release dates more closely, I think V is the one I had in mind...

Motherboard
One thing I'm still thinking about is the motherboard. In my mb list are:
ASUS P8Z68-V PRO GEN3
ASUS P8Z77-V PRO
ASUS P8Z77-V DELUXE
ASUS Maximus V Extreme
GIGABYTE GA-Z77X-UP5
Is big diff between ASUS P8Z68-V PRO GEN3 and ASUS P8Z77-V PRO vs GIGABYTE GA-Z77X-UP5?

Sound Card
And about the sound card. From what I read on this forum, it seems that the best choice for WinXP is X-Fi Titanium Fatal1ty Pro/Champ.
But what about external DAC/AMP? No go with WinXP?

JosefHrib wrote on 2024-02-19, 10:03:

Sound Card
And about the sound card. From what I read on this forum, it seems that the best choice for WinXP is X-Fi Titanium Fatal1ty Pro/Champ.
But what about external DAC/AMP? No go with WinXP?

For gaming with EAX 5.0 support, the X-Fi Titanium Fatal1ty Champion or Titanium Fatal1ty Professional is about as good as it gets. There are audiophile level X-Fi sound cards like the Auzentech X-Fi Home Theater HD, but those are generally overkill just for gaming.

If you're using standard powered computer speakers, no need for an additional amp/dac.

Shponglefan wrote on 2024-02-19, 22:12:

JosefHrib wrote on 2024-02-19, 10:03:

Sound Card
And about the sound card. From what I read on this forum, it seems that the best choice for WinXP is X-Fi Titanium Fatal1ty Pro/Champ.
But what about external DAC/AMP? No go with WinXP?

For gaming with EAX 5.0 support, the X-Fi Titanium Fatal1ty Champion or Titanium Fatal1ty Professional is about as good as it gets. There are audiophile level X-Fi sound cards like the Auzentech X-Fi Home Theater HD, but those are generally overkill just for gaming.

If you're using standard powered computer speakers, no need for an additional amp/dac.

Really very thank you for info.
And if will be my first build "maybe" older setup, P3-S Tualatin1266/1400 or AthlonXP3200+/Athlon644000+, what is good option for these system as sound card?
Soon I will see if in my country will be better build as first system newer with IvyBridge or older with P3-S/Athlon3200+ (price of cpu and motherboard will be mainly factor in this).

JosefHrib wrote on 2024-02-19, 22:24:

And if will be my first build "maybe" older setup, P3-S Tualatin1266/1400 or AthlonXP3200+/Athlon644000+, what is good option for these system as sound card?

Probably an Audigy 2 ZS? That's the boring safe choice at least...

Shponglefan wrote on 2024-02-19, 22:12:

JosefHrib wrote on 2024-02-19, 10:03:

Sound Card
And about the sound card. From what I read on this forum, it seems that the best choice for WinXP is X-Fi Titanium Fatal1ty Pro/Champ.
But what about external DAC/AMP? No go with WinXP?

For gaming with EAX 5.0 support, the X-Fi Titanium Fatal1ty Champion or Titanium Fatal1ty Professional is about as good as it gets. There are audiophile level X-Fi sound cards like the Auzentech X-Fi Home Theater HD, but those are generally overkill just for gaming.

If you're using standard powered computer speakers, no need for an additional amp/dac.

VivienM wrote on 2024-02-19, 22:34:

JosefHrib wrote on 2024-02-19, 22:24:

And if will be my first build "maybe" older setup, P3-S Tualatin1266/1400 or AthlonXP3200+/Athlon644000+, what is good option for these system as sound card?

Probably an Audigy 2 ZS? That's the boring safe choice at least...

You guys are great, thank you so much for the advice, you have no idea how much every piece of advice has helped me. Now I just have to consider which option to buy and build first. Both options are very attractive to me.

JosefHrib wrote on 2024-02-19, 22:24:

And if will be my first build "maybe" older setup, P3-S Tualatin1266/1400 or AthlonXP3200+/Athlon644000+, what is good option for these system as sound card?

For PCI soundcards under Windows 98 I would either go with a Vortex2 based card (e.g. Diamond Monster MX300, Turtle Beach Montego II, etc.) or an Audigy 2 ZS.

Vortex2 based cards will have native support for A3D 2.0 if you happen to want 3D sound in games that support it. Vortex2 cards can also be used with DOS although it depends on the motherboard and support for DMA via the PCI bus. The Audigy 2 ZS supports A3D 1.0 and up to EAX 4.0 I believe.

Choice really comes down to which games you want to play and which audio standards they support.

And if you get a motherboard with an ISA slot, you could add an ISA sound card for DOS support.

JosefHrib wrote on 2024-02-19, 22:37:

You guys are great, thank you so much for the advice, you have no idea how much every piece of advice has helped me. Now I just have to consider which option to buy and build first. Both options are very attractive to me.

Best of luck with the builds! 😁

Shponglefan wrote on 2024-02-19, 23:02:

JosefHrib wrote on 2024-02-19, 22:37:

You guys are great, thank you so much for the advice, you have no idea how much every piece of advice has helped me. Now I just have to consider which option to buy and build first. Both options are very attractive to me.

Best of luck with the builds! 😁

Thank you.

On gpu side, I received here tips, if will be motherboard with AGP slot so is best FX5900 for older setup, and if PCIe so 780/980Ti for newer setup. Right?

Now my friend said me, that exist third option (second variant for newer build with i7-3770k, little cheaper)
and it AMD Athlon 64 X2 6000+ ADX6000IAA6CZ with ASUS M2N-SLI Deluxe (mb support SLI x16/x16 for two 780/980Ti), drivers for Windows XP exist too.
I fast looked on eBay, price CPU+MB(without RAM) cost little less that combo i7-3770K, but?
Is it good third option or here exist some hide problems?

More and more I thinking about newer build so it looks that for newer build is more options, maybe will be more easy way as first build older setup with p3-s. 😁

JosefHrib wrote on 2024-02-19, 23:03:

On gpu side, I received here tips, if will be motherboard with AGP slot so is best FX5900 for older setup, and if PCIe so 780/980Ti for newer setup. Right?

FX5900 is what my not-exactly-finished 98SE setup is running...

I think the GF4 series is very highly regarded too, but a GF4 will cost you more than a FX5900.

Crazy thing is, back in the day the ATI 9700/9800 was the card you wanted, but I think i) far fewer of those have survived, and ii) their compatibility is not as good as the Nvidias, so somehow that doesn't seem to be a popular choice.

VivienM wrote on 2024-02-19, 23:21:

FX5900 is what my not-exactly-finished 98SE setup is running... […]
Show full quote

JosefHrib wrote on 2024-02-19, 23:03:

On gpu side, I received here tips, if will be motherboard with AGP slot so is best FX5900 for older setup, and if PCIe so 780/980Ti for newer setup. Right?

FX5900 is what my not-exactly-finished 98SE setup is running...

I think the GF4 series is very highly regarded too, but a GF4 will cost you more than a FX5900.

Crazy thing is, back in the day the ATI 9700/9800 was the card you wanted, but I think i) far fewer of those have survived, and ii) their compatibility is not as good as the Nvidias, so somehow that doesn't seem to be a popular choice.

Yes, I remember that back in time was ATI 9800 Pro top, best of the best. And lineup GeForce FX back in time hm, to put it politely: hot garbage

JosefHrib wrote on 2024-02-19, 23:38:

VivienM wrote on 2024-02-19, 23:21:

Crazy thing is, back in the day the ATI 9700/9800 was the card you wanted, but I think i) far fewer of those have survived, and ii) their compatibility is not as good as the Nvidias, so somehow that doesn't seem to be a popular choice.

Yes, I remember that back in time was ATI 9800 Pro top, best of the best. And lineup GeForce FX back in time hm, to put it politely: hot garbage

Yup, and somehow in retroland, it's the other way around. FX5900s and FX5200s are highly regarded...

VivienM wrote on 2024-02-19, 23:44:

Yup, and somehow in retroland, it's the other way around. FX5900s and FX5200s are highly regarded...

Same thing happened with various 3DFX Voodoo cards. I remember they were considered inferior to nVidia cards at the time, but now they've achieved an almost cult status in the retro community.

Shponglefan wrote on 2024-02-19, 23:49:

VivienM wrote on 2024-02-19, 23:44:

Yup, and somehow in retroland, it's the other way around. FX5900s and FX5200s are highly regarded...

Same thing happened with various 3DFX Voodoo cards. I remember they were considered inferior to nVidia cards at the time, but now they've achieved an almost cult status in the retro community.

Right, but I presume that has something to do with Glide, which was a known feature difference back in the day... but I think everybody by ~2000-2001 considered Glide to be dying. (But, of course, the fact that something was seen to be dying, and then indeed did die, is precisely what makes it valuable for retro purposes. It's not like there's any better hardware way to play a Glide-only game than a later Voodoo card...)