tbh I think the most daunting thing here (from my point of view) is getting Windows 98 to dual-boot with another copy of Windows 98, somehow. I have a dual sound card setup (one OS) and it seems to function just fine swapping between the cards (I just enable/disable each in Device Manager and reboot to swap between them). With dual video cards I'd expect more trouble, even if one were AGP and the other PCI. Although I suppose if there are two separate installs where you just ignore the other card, the games wouldn't get confused by the presence of the second card.

Does seem more complex than it has to be, but the love of all this tinkering is why we're here, eh?

The reason why I thought of separating the partitions is that the MX300 works best with DX 7 and the Audigy works best with DX 9. Trying to run them together seems like it would be trouble.

Looks like an ambitious build. I cant comment on what issues you may face, as I haven't tried it. But will watch with interest.

It's completely feasible and honestly not that difficult.

I did the same thing with two Windows 98 partitions to run MX300 and Audigy 2 ZS cards on the same system. See my Pentium 4 build in my signature.

I use BootIt Bare Metal for partition management and as a boot loader. It makes it trivial to have a pile of partitions on a single computer.

I'm currently running a Vortex 2, SB Live, ATC-6631 and PicoGUS along with GF4 Ti4200 + V2 SLI while sticking to DX7 so I'd say it's all very doable. CF, single OS (+DOS), different hardware profiles. Multiple partitions is probably overkill? I'd sooner go with a card per OS/config setup, easier to get it backed up and restored in the long run.

such wrote on 2026-06-03, 11:08:

Multiple partitions is probably overkill? I'd sooner go with a card per OS/config setup, easier to get it backed up and restored in the long run.

My apologies, I’m not very well versed in these matters—how does your solution work in practice? I don’t think I’ve had exposure to it.

Shponglefan wrote on 2026-06-03, 10:22:

It's completely feasible and honestly not that difficult.

I did the same thing with two Windows 98 partitions to run MX300 and Audigy 2 ZS cards on the same system. See my Pentium 4 build in my signature.

I use BootIt Bare Metal for partition management and as a boot loader. It makes it trivial to have a pile of partitions on a single computer.

Yeah back in the day I just swapped the active with fdisk. Mildly inconvenient but fine.

AndreaColombo86 wrote on 2026-06-03, 11:13:

such wrote on 2026-06-03, 11:08:

Multiple partitions is probably overkill? I'd sooner go with a card per OS/config setup, easier to get it backed up and restored in the long run.

My apologies, I’m not very well versed in these matters—how does your solution work in practice? I don’t think I’ve had exposure to it.

No need to apologize 😀 I'm on 440BX so I went with CF to IDE for compatibility, but it's basically the same type of setup with SD to IDE.

The idea is you get a CF card adapter you plug into IDE as you would an ordinary HDD, and the CF card functions as your HDD, it's compliant with the standard. You lose the fun times of spinning rust (which I genuinely do enjoy), you gain reliability and the fact that you can plug that CF card into your PC via a USB adapter. So, you can set everything up, then easily plug that CF into your modern PC, image/back up your entire CF partition and whenever anything goes wrong you can just write that partition image back to your CF card. A couple of minutes and you're back.

Next you can mount that CF to IDE adapter at the front of your case (one example: https://www.printables.com/model/617340-cf-id … ive-bay-adapter) and at that point you can simply swap out whatever OS or config catches your fancy. Multiple instances of 98, 2000, Me, ye olde Linux distros etc.

Whether you CF or internal drive also might depend on what system you are actually building.

For a later model Pentium 4 era system with native SATA support, I would go with a SATA SSD drive. It will be faster than a CF card. On the other hand, if you're going for an early era system with native IDE then you can use a CF adapter and go with multiple cards.

I've done both, though I tend to prefer CF cards on older systems with DOS / Win 95 combos. If I was just doing multiple Win 9x installs, I would go with multiple partitions on an SSD.

Thank you, guys 😊

The PC I bought to use as the basis for this build comes with a 160Gb WD Velociraptor, so I was hoping to use that. But if the CF card is significantly more convenient, I will look into it.

AndreaColombo86 wrote on 2026-06-03, 12:32:

Thank you, guys 😊

The PC I bought to use as the basis for this build comes with a 160Gb WD Velociraptor, so I was hoping to use that. But if the CF card is significantly more convenient, I will look into it.

It all depends on what you'll be building on. For a Slot 1 build I wouldn't use that HDD, but if you're aiming for something newer it could be perfectly fine... once you get around the capacity. You haven't specified the motherboard, and that's pretty key here...

such wrote on 2026-06-06, 00:36:

AndreaColombo86 wrote on 2026-06-03, 12:32:

Thank you, guys 😊

The PC I bought to use as the basis for this build comes with a 160Gb WD Velociraptor, so I was hoping to use that. But if the CF card is significantly more convenient, I will look into it.

It all depends on what you'll be building on. For a Slot 1 build I wouldn't use that HDD, but if you're aiming for something newer it could be perfectly fine... once you get around the capacity. You haven't specified the motherboard, and that's pretty key here...

I can't say anything to unknown hardware.
Velociraptor uses SATA.

You are right, of course. Here comes more context 😀

This is where I envisioned the build would ultimately land:

Seasonic Focus GX-750
ASUS P4C800-E Deluxe
Intel Pentium 4 3.4Ghz
Zalman CNPS7000B-AlCu
2 x 512mb Corsair XMS PC-3200 CL2
160Gb WD Raptor 10000rpm
Gainward GeForce FX 5950 Ultra
3dfx Voodoo5 5500 PCI
Creative Sound Blaster Audigy 2 ZS
Diamond Monster Sound MX300

The basis is an early WinXP computer I acquired. A couple modifications give me the rig above, which I want to use with Win98 SE. I assume I can run the VelociRaptor in IDE compatibility mode until I install the main board’s drivers, but I am not above replacing it with a more period correct 74Gb Raptor.

The issue I foresee with CF cards is that I’d have to crawl under my desk, open the PC and swap them every time I want to use a different configuration, which is kinda bothersome 😅 Two partitions might be overkill but I’d get to choose one when booting the computer.

A very accurate build. I have a similar one in the process of rebuilding it. A few notes: 1. 1024 MB of memory is too much for Windows 98se – you should use one of the known solutions. 2. The processor is too fast for the Vortex2 drivers, which may cause problems. 3. At the same time, the processor is too slow to fully utilize the 5950 Ultra – a Core2 would be better, although your setup is historically accurate. 4. You can't use these two sound cards simultaneously – you either need to dual boot or somehow disable and enable hardware in the system and copy/replace libraries. 5. Hyperthreading doesn't work in 98se – performance will be slightly faster in most games in Windows XP.

Thank you for your reply.

In order:

1. Indeed. I thought I would limit it to 768Mb to increase compatibility.
2. This is important information. I was not aware. What issue could I run into?
3. That’s OK. None of the games I’m going to play on it are likely to suffer from the bottleneck as both CPU and GPU are overkill for them.
4. Absolutely. The whole idea to have different partitions was born when I decided to have these two sound cards. I don’t want them anywhere near each other.
5. That’s also OK. I have a different, much more powerful WinXP build I’m putting together for more demanding games. The games I want to play on this Win98 build wouldn’t benefit from HT anyway.

AndreaColombo86 wrote on 2026-06-06, 07:25:

The issue I foresee with CF cards is that I’d have to crawl under my desk, open the PC and swap them every time I want to use a different configuration, which is kinda bothersome 😅

With CF cards, the idea is to use an adapter that connects to an expansion card slot or drive bay. Then you can access and swap CF cards without opening the PC.

For example: https://www.amazon.com/StarTech-com-Single-Ad … BWIX3EVB7Z&th=1

Kruton 9000 wrote on 2026-06-06, 10:55:

2. The processor is too fast for the Vortex2 drivers, which may cause problems.

I'm running a Vortex 2 card (MX300) in a Pentium 4 3.4GHz setup and haven't noticed any issues with it.

What specific issues are you referring to?

Can't you just change hardware profiles from single Windows 98 installation ?

I'm running a MX300 and Audigy 1 on the same Win98 build without issue. I can change the output device on the fly. I have SPDIF out from the Vortex 2 card going into the Sound Blaster so I don't need to move wires around. The only thing you might run into is the Audigy 2 uses the newer Live Drive interface. The older style on the Audigy 1 and SB Live you can fake having a Live Drive connect and gain access to a bunch of extra internal IO.

I suggest getting things up and running with your current GPU first. I use an FX 5500 in mine and haven't felt the need to get a Voodoo. I still have a Voodoo 1 in my Pentium DOS system if I get the itch. GLIDE wrappers work fine if I have a game that isn't its best in Direct3D.