I have a similar build. Same motherboard but with Audigy 2 ZS , Geforce FX 5900 Ultra, Core 2 Duo X6800, 10k RPM Veliciraptor.

I only run Win98 on it though. It runs most games that I have tried at stupidly high frame rates including glide games (using a glide wrapper). I have set vsysc to stay on though, as some games didn’t like the high framerates.

I don't really use this machine much TBH. It, is more of a showpiece. That's not to say there is anything wrong with it. I am glad to have built it.

Jeff Lange wrote on 2026-11-07, 03:41:

An X58 would be beneficial in some regards, allowing much newer CPUs and so on, but the goal here is to target 1990-2003/2004'is […]
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An X58 would be beneficial in some regards, allowing much newer CPUs and so on, but the goal here is to target 1990-2003/2004'ish with native support. X58 breaks a bunch of the rules I had for this project and would force me into a newer GPU or some messing around to try to get a Quadro X1300 or something working in Win 98. It goes against the spirit of the build. I want every piece of hardware I use to have been officially supported by MS-DOS through Windows 7. X58 breaks that.

I have newer computers to actually use newer stuff. I created a list of games I want to play, and this system will play 148 out of 152 games. The others were newer (and play perfectly on my i9 in Windows 10 or 11).

I agree X58 has the potential to cover a bit of a wider range with community support/non-official drivers, etc., so it's a great option, but it gives up some native DOS/Win9x support when the purpose of the build was specifically targeted at native DOS/Win9x support, haha.

There's probably room for an X58 in my house though. Maybe I'll even like it better. We'll see.

Your argument would only hold water if you had installed an ISA sound card.
You have an AGP graphics card; an identical version exists in a PCIe format.
You have a PCI sound card, which—as you yourself admit—is not 100% compatible with MS-DOS.
In Win9x, the CPU and RAM can be patched without any issues.
Your argument doesn't hold up...
And if you really want to experiment with running Windows 7, 10, or 11 on 1GB of DDR1 RAM, go ahead—but it will be practically unusable given the rest of your configuration.

Yeah, I know all that, though the PCX 5950 never actually existed... but a lower PCX card would maybe be worth it if I really wanted Win 7-11 to actually run properly.

I have a PCI sound card, but it will not work in DOS on an X58 with the original DOS drivers. The X58 south bridge does not have DDMA support.

(Also I have 2 GB of DDR1 RAM, not 1 GB -- though your point still stands)

I will say, you've really got me second guessing not going for an X58. I felt so confident before posting this thread that I really wanted to have the native DOS/Win9x support of the 865 chipset. I'm still pretty sure that's the right move, but I might even have an X58 motherboard kicking around with an i7 mounted. Alas, I'm going to stick to my guns and build it this way, if I want to I can then swap it out for an X58/i7-990X with a PCX 5900 (if I can ever find one) and a bunch of extra RAM. The rest of the build can carry over without any trouble. Or maybe I'd even just try running a GeForce 6 series PCIe card with some of the older games to see how much I hate losing some of that compatibility.

Time will tell.

Jeff Lange wrote on Yesterday, 05:22:

with a PCX 5900 (if I can ever find one) and a bunch of extra RAM. The rest of the build can carry over without any trouble. Or maybe I'd even just try running a GeForce 6 series PCIe card with some of the older games to see how much I hate losing some of that compatibility.

Time will tell.

The PCX 5900 won't gain you anything over the 6 series in 98, the drivers are too crappy.

Creating a high-quality multiboot system requires years and years of experience and experimentation.
For instance, you mention that the X58 chipset lacks DDMA—well, you could simply add an Aureal Vortex card to get everything working.
And it’s not just about the chipset; simply saying "X58" isn't enough—every motherboard, every graphics card, and so on, will present its own unique set of problems to solve (and often, they can’t even be solved at all).
Furthermore, online forums won't be of much help; everyone has their own take, and more often than not, it’s incorrect.

This is all true, and this is something I have spent years and years experimenting with to get to the build plan I'm at. Honestly this thread is just making me second guess myself, which is basically why I posted to begin with.

But I also have decades of experience knowing that forum people are not to be trusted, so... but still, it is making me reconsider some things. Not enough to change my plan yet, but it's still nice to talk things through with others who have experimented as well.