VOGONS


First post, by Mister98XPee

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https://www.ebay.com/itm/234805805303
Will it run too fast for Sim City 3000 or other similar games that require exact CPU speed because of the video card? Here are the specs of the machine as listed:

Laptop works great, includes power adapter.

Windows 98 Preinstalled with all drivers..

It is missing the center plastic cover in the front

Intel Pentium II 300 Mhz

128MB Memory

8GB HDD

Trident Cyber9397 Video 4MB Video

4X DVD Drive

3.5 LS-120 Floppy Drive

Yamaha YM715/704B Sound

External ports:

2 USB ports,

Fast IR,serial (16550A-compatible),

parallel (bi-directional, EPP,ECP),

NTSC or PAL video in,

NTSC or PAL video out,

game/MIDI,

PS/2 for keyboard or mouse,

docking connector,

PC Card Type III or two Type I or II card socket,

VGA external monitor

My Dell Latitude Sim City 3000 for example runs hyper active unable to control the map as it bounces with the slightest touch of the keyboard so the laptop great for racing games and such but is wonky for 98 era games of my childhood especially my educational ones I grew up on like Zoombini's or Land Before Time,etc that require 256 colors as you get sometimes 'funny' results.
Again this was the cheapest option I could find that isn't parts only and most either just have cheap onboard graphics that barely turn on or go for prices to the moon where you will meet Putt Putt and his friend Rover: "My name's Rover!" https://www.ebay.com/itm/234805805303

Why have Ebay prices for older machines so stupidly expensive? Could it be part of the Tariff thing? Perhaps LGR being so popular he helped fuel the prices for items that aren't/weren't even that great for it's day? Perhaps a bunch of factors?

I like the idea of it having a Yamaha sound card for the Dos Era games and 150$ doesn't seem outrageous but sadly above 100$ At prices of 500$ you might as well buy a decent Win 10 machine and emulate via PCEM so it will always run. I want to slap anyone online who claims they found a 'cheap' retro laptop for 50$ as they are as plentiful as a Unicorn Laptop.

Reply 2 of 2, by JonDoe

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First off, sorry for the late reply, had to create an account to reply to this. This model was one of my first laptops. Ironically, I got it for $20 from a thrift shop around 2004.
The one I started with was a Gateway 2000 Solo 9100, MMC1/P1 266Mhz but after a bad fall, the base and motherboard were replaced with the MMC2/P2 model, Gateway edition. Later, found an MMC2 300Mhz to upgrade, as well as taking it from 64 to 320MB RAM (one of the 3 RAM slots needs a particularly short stick, hence the 64)
Things to keep in mind, the chipset and drivers between the P1 and P2 are completely different chipset, even the video-in is different, and I never found an NT driver for the input, as I upgraded it to Win2k, then XP.
If you have to find a power supply for it, make sure it leans closer to 19/20V than 18V, at 18, the battery does not appreciably charge, even if capable.