I'd say go with ATX. Easier to find cases for and you can use a PS/2 mouse (which could be optical) rather than suffering with a ball serial mouse.

Just a minor point, it's unlikely to have been 16GB ram.

For RAM, I think you mean 16 MB, not 16 GB.

ATX versus AT won't matter when it comes to sound card support. It's really more about form factor and that ATX boards have more built-in IO ports (serial, parallel, etc).

Overall, a Pentium 133 is a solid mid-90s PC. It's ideal for that era of DOS gaming just prior to the 3D accelerated graphics era. And if you wanted to push performance a bit more, you could up to a Pentium 200 which would still be period correct for 1996.

Thank you, yes, sorry "GB" was a typo (though 16Mb seems a bit low now come to think of it)

16MB is on the money for 1996.

Thanks. What kind of wattage would the PSU have been back then? 250W ?

So the experience on UK ebay seems to be that there are plenty of Socket 7 AT motherboards but not enough AT cases. On the other side, there's a lack of Socket 7 ATX motherboards but plenty of ATX cases!

NadJ wrote on 2025-01-23, 13:46:

I also helped a girl I was friendly with at the time buy a slightly faster spec Dan PC (her dad was richer)....I still have that stashed away today.

The girl?

NadJ wrote on 2025-01-23, 13:46:

What I had back in the day was a Dan PC, 133Mhz, possibly 16GB RAM and I reckon a 2GB hard disk.

Dan's of that era occasionaly come up on eBay if you want to get the real deal. Or is acquring the parts the fun bit? (for me it's both)

NadJ wrote on 2025-01-23, 16:43:

Thanks. What kind of wattage would the PSU have been back then? 250W ?

Yes. Those AT psu’s were typically around 230w.

Once again, the goal was to end up with a 1996/1997 PC experience. Except for a puny 15in monitor, I think I achieved that pretty well. Just need some decent vintage PC speakers/sub

The spec I ended up with in the end:

Midi-Tower PC case by a UK based company called ACS Computers?
Asus TXP4-X Motherboard - original BIOS right now, may upgrade to support larger disks.
Intel P233Mhz MMX CPU (also purchased a P133 CPU but things seem to be working perfectly so won't bother downgrading)
Generic Socket 7 PC fan - It's quite noisy though!
64Mb RAM (2x32Mb EDO)
Liteon DVD-ROM 8x
NEC Floppy Disk drive
40GB Quantum Fireball PATA disk - This is noisy beast, so I settled for a modern SATA 3.5in disk and am using a SATA>PATA converter that works just fine.
Sound Blaster AWE 64 sound card - Glorious low latency MIDI keyboard experience once again!
Yamaha SW1000 XG sound card - Much to expolore
ATI Mach 64 VT PCI graphics card - Basic card from 1996. May upgrade to a Voodoo 2/3 later on.
ATI All-in-wonder ISA TV tuner card - Works! Though no more analogue TV signals
Conexant 56k PCI modem - Having trouble with drivers, should be fixed with a bit more effort
US Robotics 10/100Mb PC network card = No issues, though scared to put the machine on the internet just yet

Next steps: Upgrading BIOS, PC case respray job, sourcing some blanking panels, reducing PC fan speed or getting a better fan, sourcing some vintage PC speakers/sub, see what I can do with the ATI all-in-wonder, Voodoo graphics card.

Looks great. Is that a wide-screen monitor you are using with it! If so I think 4:3 ratio screen would be better.

NadJ wrote on 2025-02-02, 11:13:

Once again, the goal was to end up with a 1996/1997 PC experience. Except for a puny 15in monitor, I think I achieved that pretty well. Just need some decent vintage PC speakers/sub

The spec I ended up with in the end:

Congrats on the build. A Pentium 233 MMX is a solid processor for 1996-1997 gaming and should throttle well for older speed sensitive titles.

ATI Mach 64 VT PCI graphics card - Basic card from 1996. May upgrade to a Voodoo 2/3 later on.

IMHO, a Voodoo2 or Voodoo3 would be better paired with a more powerful CPU. They are from 1998 and 1999 respectively, which is Pentium II / III territory.

For a 1996-1997 focused PC, I'd go with an original Voodoo 1 card for 3D graphics.

I'd go for more modern speakers, this way you'll enjoy your sound system way more. Edifier has some nice active speakers systems that don't cost too much and many come with wood finish that looks quite nice with a retro system. I have the R1280DB which has two RCA inputs for your retro PC as well as digital in via coax/optical and even Bluetooth for more modern hardware. There's also a "DBs" variant for use with a subwoofer. Just be careful if you want to use a CRT with them as they aren't shielded and will interfere with a CRT monitor if they are too close to it.

While the Voodoo 1 is more period correct I also opted for a Voodoo 2 with my 233MMX - you can basically run most games of 1996-1998 or even 1999 in 800x600 without penalty as the CPU is the limiting factor anyway.

RetroPCCupboard wrote on 2025-02-02, 14:18:

Looks great. Is that a wide-screen monitor you are using with it! If so I think 4:3 ratio screen would be better.

I just discovered 4:3 mode, and it works great. Not keen on a CRT as my other project will have me purchase a CRT TV.

I was still using a 486 in 97 (and 98) I was so jealous of these lightning-fast Pentiums.
OS is a bit new though? Should be Win3x or Win95.

It'll be a fun system though. Perfect for late dos, early Win9x gaming.