Dmetsys wrote on 2024-11-23, 06:28:

Figured I would post the recent Athlon XP build that I did. […]
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Figured I would post the recent Athlon XP build that I did.

Chieftec Dragon Case
Sparkle 350W PSU
ABIT NF7-S 2.0
Athlon XP 2500 + @ 3200+
Thermaltake Volcano 7
OCZ Platinum 2GB PC3200 @ CAS 2
Built By ATi Radeon 9700 Pro
Audigy 2 ZS Value

Pretty close to what I had 22 years ago. That build had a DFI NFII Ultra Infinity for the motherboard and the Chieftec Dragon case was blue. This yellow version was "New Old Stock", never used.

Cool build! I never knew these were also made in aluminium (it looks to be on the inside at least). The dragon and matrix (maxi) towers i have are steel.

G-X wrote on 2024-12-25, 18:42:

Dmetsys wrote on 2024-11-23, 06:28:

Figured I would post the recent Athlon XP build that I did. […]
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Figured I would post the recent Athlon XP build that I did.

Chieftec Dragon Case
Sparkle 350W PSU
ABIT NF7-S 2.0
Athlon XP 2500 + @ 3200+
Thermaltake Volcano 7
OCZ Platinum 2GB PC3200 @ CAS 2
Built By ATi Radeon 9700 Pro
Audigy 2 ZS Value

Pretty close to what I had 22 years ago. That build had a DFI NFII Ultra Infinity for the motherboard and the Chieftec Dragon case was blue. This yellow version was "New Old Stock", never used.

Cool build! I never knew these were also made in aluminium (it looks to be on the inside at least). The dragon and matrix (maxi) towers i have are steel.

It's completely aluminum for the main portion of the chassis and the side panel. Only the front bezel is made from plastic.

RetroPCCupboard wrote on 2024-12-20, 06:30:

Looks great. Personally I think a beige optical drive would look more in line with the theme. But, if you are happy that's all t […]
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LeCroebar wrote on 2024-12-19, 15:58:

After 3 years looking for this case I've finally got my retro PC right where I wanted it 😀

Looks great. Personally I think a beige optical drive would look more in line with the theme. But, if you are happy that's all that matters.

LeCroebar wrote on 2024-12-19, 15:58:

P233MMX OC'd to 266MHz 32mb RAM SB32 w/32mb 4mb Diamond Monster VooDoo1 4MB S3 Virge DX PCI USB 2.0 CompactFlash -> IDE adapter […]
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P233MMX OC'd to 266MHz
32mb RAM
SB32 w/32mb
4mb Diamond Monster VooDoo1
4MB S3 Virge DX
PCI USB 2.0
CompactFlash -> IDE adapter

Very nice specs. Probably the most versatile DOS PC you can build.

YES! I need to get a pack of drive belts so I can put the beige drive in. I have one that has the play/pause and FF button on it!

zuldan wrote on 2024-12-19, 21:56:

LeCroebar wrote on 2024-12-19, 15:58:

After 3 years looking for this case I've finally got my retro PC right where I wanted it :) This case was used by AOpen and Comp […]
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After 3 years looking for this case I've finally got my retro PC right where I wanted it 😀
This case was used by AOpen and Compudyne, maybe others? All plastic and (mostly) screwless. You can mount the PSU and motherboard without screws, the drives still require screws.
It required some surgery to mount a power switch as the original 200w PSU has the power switch mounted IN the PSU and the cases uses a long plastic arm to push the switch.

P233MMX OC'd to 266MHz
32mb RAM
SB32 w/32mb
4mb Diamond Monster VooDoo1
4MB S3 Virge DX
PCI USB 2.0
CompactFlash -> IDE adapter

..... will not run Crysis.

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Very nice machine. You have the identical specs and PCI cards to one of my machines except the USB controller and I’m running Win95 so I can run Quake 1 on the Voodoo.

Quake was the first game I ever saw with an OpenGL/VooDoo and it blew my mind. Huge motivator for this system

This is my current Windows 98 build. I had originally planned to get my old Athlon 650 going from the year 2000 (minus the Voodoo 5 5500, which I am too concerned about to use), but the motherboard turned out to be no longer functional, as was the power supply, as well as the CD-RW drive, so I decided to target 1999 and bought some new parts. The case is still my original from back then, as is the hard drive (with a fresh Windows 98 SE install), and the four disc CD-ROM drive is one I used breifly in 1996 or 97 and forgot that I had. I bought a 'new' motherboard, power supply, a PIII 550MHz processor, and a Voodoo3 3000 to replace the one I lost (probably still in a box somewhere 😉), and I added the internal Zip drive (because I always wanted one - still have my old external model, but I needed something to use up one of the available drive bays 😉).

That's a beauty, great spec too. I had the same case back in the day, AOpen HX08. Spray painted black with some fan holes cut into the side!

My XP gaming PC. Soon to be replaced.

Dual boots into Debian Linux for web browsing. Offline when in XP. Monitor is Phillips 15" LCD. Model 150S4.

Specs:

I7 3770k
8Gb RAM
GTX 750 Ti 2Gb Low Profile
Creative Sound Blaster X-Fi Extreme Gamer Low Profile (SB0730)

RetroPCCupboard wrote on 2025-01-07, 21:21:

My XP gaming PC. Soon to be replaced. […]
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My XP gaming PC. Soon to be replaced.

Dual boots into Debian Linux for web browsing. Offline when in XP. Monitor is Phillips 15" LCD. Model 150S4.

Specs:

I7 3770k
8Gb RAM
GTX 750 Ti 2Gb Low Profile
Creative Sound Blaster X-Fi Extreme Gamer Low Profile (SB0730)

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That's a cute little thing, even though for me personally LGA775 is the limit for XP - anything newer can run even Windows 11 with a bit of convincing. What are you replacing it with?

Bishamon wrote on 2025-01-07, 18:43:

This is my current Windows 98 build. I had originally planned to get my old Athlon 650 going from the year 2000 (minus the Voodoo 5 5500, which I am too concerned about to use), but the motherboard turned out to be no longer functional, as was the power supply, as well as the CD-RW drive, so I decided to target 1999 and bought some new parts. The case is still my original from back then, as is the hard drive (with a fresh Windows 98 SE install), and the four disc CD-ROM drive is one I used breifly in 1996 or 97 and forgot that I had. I bought a 'new' motherboard, power supply, a PIII 550MHz processor, and a Voodoo3 3000 to replace the one I lost (probably still in a box somewhere 😉), and I added the internal Zip drive (because I always wanted one - still have my old external model, but I needed something to use up one of the available drive bays 😉).

Man, that case looks mint and sexy. I wonder if you did some restoration work on it, but I have a lot of respect for people who care for their gear like that. Cheers.

songoffall wrote on 2025-01-07, 22:57:

That's a cute little thing, even though for me personally LGA775 is the limit for XP - anything newer can run even Windows 11 with a bit of convincing. What are you replacing it with?

This is my "Ultimate XP" build. But I am making it more Ultimate by swapping Motherboard for Z77 chipset for PCIe 3.0. Then will be putting in a 980 Ti GPU, and housing it in a new case. If it fits that is. The 980 Ti is massive and the new case is quite small.

I will have a more period correct high end XP build too. With Geforce 7900 GTX SLI and Core 2 Duo E8600 @3.33Ghz.

RetroPCCupboard wrote on 2025-01-07, 23:08:

songoffall wrote on 2025-01-07, 22:57:

That's a cute little thing, even though for me personally LGA775 is the limit for XP - anything newer can run even Windows 11 with a bit of convincing. What are you replacing it with?

This is my "Ultimate XP" build. But I am making it more Ultimate by swapping Motherboard for Z77 chipset for PCIe 3.0. Then will be putting in a 980 Ti GPU, and housing it in a new case. If it fits that is. The 980 Ti is massive and the new case is quite small.

I will have a more period correct high end XP build too. With Geforce 7900 GTX SLI and Core 2 Duo E8600 @3.33Ghz.

I think 980Ti requires at least Windows Vista, and for it to run on XP it requires you to edit the .inf file (or else you might get the "no card detected" error).

As far as I remember, 960 was the last GeForce to natively support XP.

But I might be wrong.

The problem with "ultimate" builds is that with DX9 games you leave a lot of performance on the table, and at some point it makes more sense to move to Windows7 and DirectX11. 980Ti makes for a pretty badass Windows 7 gaming PC.

Another problem is, Windows XP 64-bit is essentially pointless, and with 32-bit you're limited with the amount of RAM you have, and even if you go with Windows Server 2003 PAE mod, 32-bit apps still can't access more than 2Gb RAM. That's a bottleneck that's a lot harder to eliminate.

I'm not a big proponent of "period correctness", but there must be a point at which more performance is just wasteful.

songoffall wrote on 2025-01-08, 08:40:

I think 980Ti requires at least Windows Vista, and for it to run on XP it requires you to edit the .inf file (or else you might get the "no card detected" error).

As far as I remember, 960 was the last GeForce to natively support XP.

But I might be wrong.

No, I believe you are correct. I used to have a GTX 970 in my QX9650 machine which dual booted between windows 7 and XP. It gave me a few extra years of gaming out of that CPU. But I believe I did have to mod some drivers to get XP working.

songoffall wrote on 2025-01-08, 08:40:

The problem with "ultimate" builds is that with DX9 games you leave a lot of performance on the table, and at some point it makes more sense to move to Windows7 and DirectX11. 980Ti makes for a pretty badass Windows 7 gaming PC.

Yes, I agree. Though my intension is run late XP games at high resolution with EAX sound and forcing high settings in nVidia control panel for AA and AF. When doing that on my 750 Ti it goes 100% usage, even at 1024x768 resolution.

I haven't decided what screen I will connect it to. I have a 1600x1200 screen that I could use. If I were to use that, then I think I will have to put it where my 15" 1024x768 screen is. That is also shared with my Windows 98 ultimate build. I'm in two minds about whether I want to do that, as 1024x768 is a nice resolution for late Win98 games.

Another alternative is I could connect it to my 1080p 32" touchscreen. I've not positioned it yet, but it will be wall mounted next to where I work. That would be good to use with Linux, as basically I could turn it into a giant iPad for controlling spotify etc, or watching videos or web browsing. I will have to check the idle power consumption of this PC to determine whether I'm happy to leave it on all day.

Finally, I could connect it to my 1440p 27" screen, which I use mostly for modern gaming.

songoffall wrote on 2025-01-08, 08:40:

Another problem is, Windows XP 64-bit is essentially pointless, and with 32-bit you're limited with the amount of RAM you have, and even if you go with Windows Server 2003 PAE mod, 32-bit apps still can't access more than 2Gb RAM. That's a bottleneck that's a lot harder to eliminate.

Agreed. I will be using 32-Bit Windows XP. I'm considering putting Windows 7 on it as another boot option. But an early version before Microsoft blocked copy protection on disks from working.

songoffall wrote on 2025-01-08, 08:40:

I'm not a big proponent of "period correctness", but there must be a point at which more performance is just wasteful.

I'm kind of in both camps of opinion. I will have some period correct builds for troublesome games, or just if I want to play a game how it originally was. Though, I don't want to put myself through pain, if quoted recommended requirements are stupidly unrealistic. But, also, there's some games that can be made to look amazing at high resolutions or with custom high res texture packs. As the GPU will have the power I should be able to set AA and AF to high settings. That's what this ultimate build is for.

RetroPCCupboard wrote on 2025-01-08, 11:00:

No, I believe you are correct. I used to have a GTX 970 in my QX9650 machine which dual booted between windows 7 and XP. It ga […]
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songoffall wrote on 2025-01-08, 08:40:

I think 980Ti requires at least Windows Vista, and for it to run on XP it requires you to edit the .inf file (or else you might get the "no card detected" error).

As far as I remember, 960 was the last GeForce to natively support XP.

But I might be wrong.

No, I believe you are correct. I used to have a GTX 970 in my QX9650 machine which dual booted between windows 7 and XP. It gave me a few extra years of gaming out of that CPU. But I believe I did have to mod some drivers to get XP working.

songoffall wrote on 2025-01-08, 08:40:

The problem with "ultimate" builds is that with DX9 games you leave a lot of performance on the table, and at some point it makes more sense to move to Windows7 and DirectX11. 980Ti makes for a pretty badass Windows 7 gaming PC.

Yes, I agree. Though my intension is run late XP games at high resolution with EAX sound and forcing high settings in nVidia control panel for AA and AF. When doing that on my 750 Ti it goes 100% usage, even at 1024x768 resolution.

I haven't decided what screen I will connect it to. I have a 1600x1200 screen that I could use. If I were to use that, then I think I will have to put it where my 15" 1024x768 screen is. That is also shared with my Windows 98 ultimate build. I'm in two minds about whether I want to do that, as 1024x768 is a nice resolution for late Win98 games.

Another alternative is I could connect it to my 1080p 32" touchscreen. I've not positioned it yet, but it will be wall mounted next to where I work. That would be good to use with Linux, as basically I could turn it into a giant iPad for controlling spotify etc, or watching videos or web browsing. I will have to check the idle power consumption of this PC to determine whether I'm happy to leave it on all day.

Finally, I could connect it to my 1440p 27" screen, which I use mostly for modern gaming.

songoffall wrote on 2025-01-08, 08:40:

Another problem is, Windows XP 64-bit is essentially pointless, and with 32-bit you're limited with the amount of RAM you have, and even if you go with Windows Server 2003 PAE mod, 32-bit apps still can't access more than 2Gb RAM. That's a bottleneck that's a lot harder to eliminate.

Agreed. I will be using 32-Bit Windows XP. I'm considering putting Windows 7 on it as another boot option. But an early version before Microsoft blocked copy protection on disks from working.

songoffall wrote on 2025-01-08, 08:40:

I'm not a big proponent of "period correctness", but there must be a point at which more performance is just wasteful.

I'm kind of in both camps of opinion. I will have some period correct builds for troublesome games, or just if I want to play a game how it originally was. Though, I don't want to put myself through pain, if quoted recommended requirements are stupidly unrealistic. But, also, there's some games that can be made to look amazing at high resolutions or with custom high res texture packs. As the GPU will have the power I should be able to set AA and AF to high settings. That's what this ultimate build is for.

Ah, now I get it. Yeah, Microsoft did screw us by removing hardware audio since Vista.

As for the display, I try to go CRT whenever it's practical, and tbh 800x600 on a CRT gives me a better gaming experience than 1600x900 on an LCD. I have 2 CRT monitors at the moment, and the only drawback is the space they take. I'll likely get a couple of Trinitrons soon too.

songoffall wrote on 2025-01-08, 12:47:

Ah, now I get it. Yeah, Microsoft did screw us by removing hardware audio since Vista.

As for the display, I try to go CRT whenever it's practical, and tbh 800x600 on a CRT gives me a better gaming experience than 1600x900 on an LCD. I have 2 CRT monitors at the moment, and the only drawback is the space they take. I'll likely get a couple of Trinitrons soon too.

I have a 1600x1200 19" Trinitron CRT for my Period correct builds. Using an 8 Port KVM.

It's only the two "Ultimate" builds that I'm using LCDs on.

RetroPCCupboard wrote on 2025-01-08, 13:05:

I have a 1600x1200 19" Trinitron CRT for my Period correct builds. Using an 8 Port KVM. […]
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songoffall wrote on 2025-01-08, 12:47:

Ah, now I get it. Yeah, Microsoft did screw us by removing hardware audio since Vista.

As for the display, I try to go CRT whenever it's practical, and tbh 800x600 on a CRT gives me a better gaming experience than 1600x900 on an LCD. I have 2 CRT monitors at the moment, and the only drawback is the space they take. I'll likely get a couple of Trinitrons soon too.

I have a 1600x1200 19" Trinitron CRT for my Period correct builds. Using an 8 Port KVM.

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It's only the two "Ultimate" builds that I'm using LCDs on.

Really nice setup there.

songoffall wrote on 2025-01-07, 22:59:

Man, that case looks mint and sexy. I wonder if you did some restoration work on it, but I have a lot of respect for people who care for their gear like that. Cheers.

I had to paint the top of the case (not pictured), as a copper pipe had been dripping onto it occasionally for years. I could not remove the green staining, so paint was required. 🙁 I managed to get fairly close to the original colour. Most of my old gear is maintained better; I have lots of old stuff in storage, most in original boxes, that I can't bring myself to part with. In the 90s I went through a LOT of hardware, as I was almost constantly upgrading. 😉

Bishamon wrote on 2025-01-08, 14:09:

songoffall wrote on 2025-01-07, 22:59:

Man, that case looks mint and sexy. I wonder if you did some restoration work on it, but I have a lot of respect for people who care for their gear like that. Cheers.

I had to paint the top of the case (not pictured), as a copper pipe had been dripping onto it occasionally for years. I could not remove the green staining, so paint was required. 🙁 I managed to get fairly close to the original colour. Most of my old gear is maintained better; I have lots of old stuff in storage, most in original boxes, that I can't bring myself to part with. In the 90s I went through a LOT of hardware, as I was almost constantly upgrading. 😉

Still, you've done a remarkable job with that case. Cheers.

songoffall wrote on 2025-01-08, 08:40:

I'm not a big proponent of "period correctness", but there must be a point at which more performance is just wasteful.

Here's another advantage for going overkill that you may not have considered.... Silence! A high end GPU will have better cooling so, if you were to underclock it to be similar performance as a lower end card, the chances are good that you can make it near silent.

RetroPCCupboard wrote on 2025-01-10, 08:35:

songoffall wrote on 2025-01-08, 08:40:

I'm not a big proponent of "period correctness", but there must be a point at which more performance is just wasteful.

Here's another advantage for going overkill that you may not have considered.... Silence! A high end GPU will have better cooling so, if you were to underclock it to be similar performance as a lower end card, the chances are good that you can make it near silent.

That part is true. You don't even have to under clock it, you just won't get GPU loads high enough to make any significant noise.

And then, my XP PC is a Core2Quad Q9400 with GeForce 8800GT and after that beast ran Oblivion with highest settings in 1080p without breaking a sweat, I knew I had reached my sweet spot. Of course, the case was an enthusiast Cooler Master model from early 2000s, with a mesh front and cooled with 4 120mm fans and one 140mm fan. The GPU exhaust gets sucked into the CPU cooler, which warms the CPU, and the case fans are attached to a fan controller which is attached to the CPU PWM header on the motherboard, so the case fans kick in before the GPU fan needs to. It's a sweet cooling configuration for a PC from that era, when GPUs didn't always have dedicated exhaust through the PCI brackets. As for the CPU, a modern CoolerMaster Hyper 212 is more than enough to keep it cool.

songoffall wrote on 2025-01-10, 09:54:

my XP PC is a Core2Quad Q9400 with GeForce 8800GT and after that beast ran Oblivion with highest settings in 1080p without breaking a sweat, I knew I had reached my sweet spot.

Certainly that's a beast PC for XP. From what I have been told in this forum though, the sweet spot is actually the GPU gen below, as some Unrealengine-based games stutter under XP with nVidia 8000 series and later. This was the primary reason for me adding a 7900 GTX machine to my collection. Obviously performance is slower the 8800 GTS 512 that I was going to use though. But if you don't play those games, then it's great.