Reply 20 of 61, by mkarcher
MrMateczko wrote on 2022-11-13, 19:26:As for the Celeron 333MHz/AMD K6-2 450MHz - how would they compare with same RAM and S3 Virge GX (or similar/better GPU)? I'll be doing tests myself as well.
Probably they are around on par. The Celeron 333MHz (Mendocino core) has 128KB L2 at 333MHz (yeah, full core speed!), whereas the AMD K6-2 uses L2 on the mainboard, likely 512KB at 100MHz. As far as I understand it, the execution engine of the Pentium II/Celeron is slightly more powerful than the AMD K6-2 execution engine. Probably the K6 still has a slight advantage due to the significantly higher clock in most software. Don't expect too much of the 3D performance of the Virge/GX, though. I know, I am just the person who warned agains "retro snobism" some posts ago, but at 3D graphics in 1998 there was just one gold standard: The 3Dfx Voodoo 2 chipset. Most games at that time were optimized for it. The Virge/GX is not a bad card. It provides excellent 2D performance, and entry level 3D performance.
The very bad reputation of the Virge being a "3D decelerator" was not completely undeserved for the original Virge chip, but already kind of unfair for the second generation Virge chip, the Virge/DX. The Virge/GX might be considered third generation, and it definitely helps with 3D rendering. Games using Direct3D for 3D rendering can make use of the Virge/GX accelerator, and will likely work with sufficient performance at 640x480, so the card is not a bad start.
MrMateczko wrote on 2022-11-13, 19:26:Also bought at a reasonable price an ESS1688 ISA sound card, I think it's a good choice from what I've read. Would be interesting to test the OPL emulation between it and the CMI8330 that it integrated in the PCChips motherboard.
This card is neither SB16 nor WSS compatible, but it provides good SB Pro and OPL3 compatibility and is generally regarded as a good retro gaming card. You shouldn't have any significant problems with it, especially for DOS games.
MrMateczko wrote on 2022-11-13, 19:26:My family's first PC was in circa 1999-2000 with a Celeron 533MHz Socket 370 with 192MB RAM that was upgraded from unknown stock amount, and a S3 Savage4 GPU (upgraded later to I think GeForce 2 MX or something alike). It had a yellow motherboard with a VIA chipset...and that's all the information I have on it, I still do not know what was the model of the motherboard and what was the sound card. I remember DOS games running well so maybe it was ISA, dunno. Of course Win98SE, only a few childhood pics remain 😀
The stock amount most likely was 64MB, and the upgrade was adding another 128MB DIMM to it. An option for a yellow motherboard that fits the general theme of that computer could be the Shuttle HOT-681V or the Elitegroup P6BAP-A+, but those are definitely not the only option.