VOGONS


OEM PC Recommendations

Topic actions

Reply 20 of 26, by rishooty

User metadata
Rank Member
Rank
Member
oeuvre wrote:

Look for Optiplex G1 or GX1 then

Earlier in the thread, I was looking at them. But i'll take build quality over compatibility any day.

I guess the last question is, Deskpro EN or find a way to build cheaper. I dunno are socket 462, 754, 939, 940, Slot A, Socket A, 423, or 478 cheaper and still 95 compatible? At this point having drivers for 95 and desktop/cube/htpc configuration are pretty much my only requirements.

Reply 21 of 26, by oeuvre

User metadata
Rank l33t
Rank
l33t

Optiplexes are built quite well and are sturdy... you won't really beat them

HP Z420 Workstation Intel Xeon E5-1620, 32GB, RADEON HD7850 2GB, SSD + HD, XP/7
ws90Ts2.gif

Reply 22 of 26, by dionb

User metadata
Rank l33t++
Rank
l33t++
rishooty wrote:

I'm pretty well aware. But there's a slight contradiction in this in that there's tons of results for replacement parts. I'm also willing to give up some repairability to have a smaller form factor, if only to have it easier to fix than a laptop. Also, the power supply could technically be replaced by a picopsu. Though I'm not so sure of the picopsu's 5v rails.

[EDIT] I don't know, is the general consensus that I should try to build one myself but try to be cheaper about it? How exactly would I do that. Like what platforms are even affordable.

Once again, just wait and see what appears on Craigslist/marketplace. Your requirements are broad and (aside from the BTX thingy) eminently realistic, so something will pop up sooner or later.

* My MB choices are pretty much Socket 7, Super Socket 7, Slot 1, and Socket 370. Motherboards especially feel overpriced on ebay.

Very much so. Avoid. Apart from Craigslist & co, check vintage sites like amibay.com (global, but significant number of US sellers) and vcfed.org. There are some Deskpro EN SFFs on Amibay for EUR 30 each located in Slovenia, which even after shipping 8.5kg to the US would still be cheaper than local eBay options...

* Beige cases also seem to be expensive in general too. I guess I should just look at a cheap modern case? I only care about having it in desktop configuration or a cube form factor(micro atx). The idea is that when I move out to my new apartment in 2 months, I can have it hooked up to my tv but not stick out like a sore thumb. I'm going to use a wireless ps/2 set and a sewell hammerhead to convert it to HDMI.
* Sound cards other than the vortex or awe64 gold are pretty cheap usually.

Picked up a Turtle Beach Montego II (Aureal Vortex II on probably best card) in a larger lot for EUR 15 a year ago, picked up an AWE64 Gold together with two other cards (64b PCI SCSI and NIC, neither of which I need/want) for EUR 25 last Friday. Both from the local marketplace-variant. Do I live in an ideal location? Nope, in fact for this stuff I'd really like to live in the US between NYC and Washington (i.e. not so far from where you live!) or West coast between SF and Seattle - or even in Germany. But I'm patient, watch what pops up and pounce when I see something I want for a price I'm prepared to pay, which is surprisingly often. I'd be very surprised if nothing acceptable turned up within a week or two of checking Craigslist & marketplace every evening.

Reply 23 of 26, by rishooty

User metadata
Rank Member
Rank
Member

Thanks for the advice. I guess I'll either splurge on the EN and some upgrades, or regularly check out craigslist, amibay, and vcfed.

Reply 24 of 26, by SpectriaForce

User metadata
Rank Oldbie
Rank
Oldbie

If you want to drop your requirement of a SFX enclosure, then the COMPAQ Deskpro EP is a very affordable option, one that's still common. It is available in many variants and because of the ATX form factor, you can upgrade it easily with run of the mill cheap parts. The i440BX PII / PIII / Celeron variants have a rock solid Intel motherboard (only slightly adapted for COMPAQ) and you won't have to worry about the power supply either. It is a corporate grade pc, so no overclocking options, but it will last.

You wrote about the AWE64 Gold. I have a PII running with a AWE64 Value and all my '94-'97 DOS and early Windows games work fine with it. If all you want to do is play some old (not too old) games, then the AWE64 Value is all you need and it costs half or even less of the price of the Gold.

Furthermore the Voodoo3 is nice. But do you really need it? It costs easily 3x as much as a regular Asus Riva TNT. Do some research on which games and their API's that you want to play and maybe you can save money over here as well.

Oh and here's a top tip: search for an old Celeron pc and save even more. Most retro gamers want a Pentium or x86 or K6-II+.

Reply 25 of 26, by dionb

User metadata
Rank l33t++
Rank
l33t++

Right, measured my Voodoo3: 17cm - about 6.6 inches.

Reply 26 of 26, by rishooty

User metadata
Rank Member
Rank
Member

I already bought everything and committed to it, but excellent! I figured as much. Thanks for the measurement.