First post, by Socket3
- Rank
- Oldbie
Hi everyone. After having to store most of my retro machine collection due to turning my office into a nursery, I've been researching and using old laptops for my retro gaming needs. There's very few info online about this topic, so I decided to open a thread about it. So far I've focused mainly on windows 98 / win XP capable machines with a 4:3 or 5:4 aspect ratio display and a dedicated video card. Here's a list of my favortites so far:
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+++ Pentium Class MS-DOS / Windows 95/98 Machines +++
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=== Dell Inspiron 3000 and 3200 (model 1997) * ===
CPU: 166 to 233MHz Pentium MMX processor (266MHz pentium II version available, but rare). The CPU is not socketed - it sits on a MMC-1 card, and is upgradable up to a 300MHz pentium II unoficially.
Display: These machines come with either a 12.1 or 13.3" 4:3 active-matrix color TFT LCD module, depending on sub-model. Some come with a 12" 800x600 screen, others come with a larger 13.3" 1024x768 screen. I have a 13.3" model, so I can't speak for the 12", but the 13.3" has good colors and great response time (30ms) for a 1997 laptop screen. Blacks are washed out and look like backlit inkjet printed paper, and the screen is not very bright, but the response time more then makes up for that. There's little to no noticeable ghosting, making fast paced games a pleasure to play, unlike most other laptops from that time period. In fact, I'd say this is the inspiron 3000's main attraction, as other pentium 1 laptops I've played with have quite a bit of ghosting and/or use pretty small screens.
RAM: 16MB of PC66 SD-RAM soldered onto the motherboard + 2 free SD-RAM SODIMM modules, up to 144MB (2x64MB SODIMM SDRAM PC66)
Video card: NeoMagic 2160 or 2160B (NeoMagic MagicGraph 128XD) with 2MB of EDO DRAM. This card is a bit rubbish. It's quite slow, and causes issues in some DOS games, but said issues are usually solvable using UNIVBE.
Sound Card: Crystal 4237B Sound Blaster Compatible. Pure DOS drivers are available for this card, and OPL3 emulation is decent.
Storage:
- 1x 2.5" IDE HDD up to 120GB (the bios will not display disk drive size correctly with disks larger then 36GB, but the OS will be able to see and format the drive fine.
- 1x Multibay slot witch can take a CD-ROM, DVD-ROM, FDD drive or a second battery.
Connectivity:
- 1x COM port
- 1x PS/2 port
- 1x 15 pin D-SUB (VGA)
- 1x USB 1.0 port
- audio jacks (line in, mic, line out)
- infrared
- 1x paralel port
- 2x PCMCIA card slots
- docking station connector
Notes: As I said, this machine's main selling point is it's screen - it has very good response time for a pentium 1 laptop and the 13.3" version is one of the largest displays available on a pentium machine. The built in speakers are decent, the touchpad and keypoard are pretty good, and the laptop is quite well built. As for disadvantages, fist of all I'd say it's the video chipset. If it's not the most compatible card for older DOS titles, but most games will run fine on it. So far I've played Prehistork, Vikings, Doom 1 and 2, Dune 2, Jazz Jackrabbit, Duke 3D, Quake 1 and Dyna Blaster on my machine in pure dos and had no issues. I have encountered some issues in supaplex and Keen 6, but there are workarounds for those games. * Dell also realeased a core i5 inspiron 3000 laptop (inspiron 15 3000) so mind your searches. It helps to add exact model number like M233XT or D233XT or M233ST.
=== Acer Extensa 355 and Extensa 390 ===
CPU: 133 to 233MHz Socket 7 pentium MMX. The CPU is socketed**, so you can replace it with say a AMD K6-2. I popped a 400MHz*** K6-2 into my unit, and after setting up the dip-switches for 2.4v and 2x mulriplyer (the K6-2 will interpret this as 6x) got the CPU stable at 400Mhz. BIOS lists "unknown processor" but otherwise the machine works fine. **Looking online, I've found pictures of a Acer Extensa 355 ram upgrade guide, and what I found odd is that the CPU did not come on a ZIF socket (regular socket 7) but instead had some odd smaller socket I've seen on some toshiba laptops, so don't count on this feature. There are at least two versions of the Extensa 355 - one with a 11.3" screen and one with a 12.1" screen. Mine has the 12.1" screen and the CPU is socketed.
RAM: 16MB PC66 SD-RAM soldered to the motherboard + 1 SODIMM slot (max 64MB)
Display: 11.3" 800x600 CSTN or 12.1 800x600 TFT LCD. The 11.3" display is a bit... sad. Washed out colours and noticeable ghosting. It is bright, but playing faster paced games can be a hassle. The 12.1" version comes is a TFT screen witch is a lot easyer on the eyes, and should have less ghosting as the manufacturer states a 36ms response time.
Video card: Chips and Tech 65550B 1MB EDO. This card is great for old DOS games compatibility-wise, but don't expect great things from it in Quake or Duke 3D.
Sound Card: ESS Audiodrive ES1868. This card is SB-Compatible and you can find drivers for it quite easily. OPL3 emulation is spot-on.
Storage:
- 1x 2.5" IDE HDD up to 36GB
- 1x FDD
Connectivity:
- 1x COM port
- 1x PS/2 port
- 1x 15 pin D-SUB (VGA)
- 1x USB 1.0 port
- audio jacks (line in, mic, line out)
- infrared
- 1x paralel port
- 2x PCMCIA card slots
Notes: This machine's most attractive feature is the fact that is uses a socket 7 CPU making it very flexible. ***While I did manage to get a K6 running at 6x66MHz in this little laptop, it did get extremly hot. The cooling solution is a simple aluminum block that sits under a metal cover under the keyboard and a small fan. It cannot safely handle a 400MHz K6-2. While testing I used a large socket A heatsink and had the laptop partly dissasembled. When I tried to use the CPU @ 400Mhz with the laptop in one piece, it got very hot after 20 minutes of playing around. Other advantages are it's great sound card and very dos compatible video chipset, making it a good choice for early dos games. Despite the great sound card, the computer only has one speaker - it's not very loud, and it doesn't sound nearly as good as the inspiron 3000. The screen is pretty poor, regardless of what version it comes with. The 11" CSTN display is nigh-unusable for gaming, and the 12" TFT is a bit on the small side and I can notice some gosting in games like DOOM.
=== IBM Thinkpad 765D/L ===
CPU: 233MHz pentium MMX
RAM: 16 or 32MB soldered, 1 SODIMM slot, up to 96MB
Display: 13.3" TFT LCD 1024x768, 40ms response time.
Sound card: IBM Mwave Audio - this card is a bit odd and I'd say the laptop's weak point. DOS drivers are available, but OPL-3 emulation is poor, and I've had issues getting sound at all in some games.
Video card: Trident Cyber 9385 with 2MB of VRAM. Excelent compatibility with early DOS games, and pretty speedy in Duke 3D and Quake
Storage:
- 1x 2.5" IDE HDD up to 36GB
- 1x FDD
- 1x CD-ROM
Connectivity:
- 1x COM port
- 1x PS/2 port
- 1x 15 pin D-SUB (VGA)
- audio jacks (line in, mic, line out)
- infrared
- 1x paralel port
- 2x PCMCIA card slots
- Docling station connector
Notes: At first glance this is a great little DOS machine, but it's let down with the quirky audio chipset. It also has a slew of proprietary connectors, and lacks USB witch would have been a quick and easy way of getting games onto the machine. The power brick for it uses an odd connector and is hard to come by these days. Beacuse of that odd connector i haven't been able to use it with a universal power brick, and it sat on a shelf for over 5 years until I came about an original power brick that came with a 760 with a cracked screen. It also does not come with a touchpad, but a rather hard to use pointing stick. One MAJOR ISSUE with this machine is the RUBBER COATING on the case. It breaks down over time, and turns into something resembling tar - sticky and frankly discusting to touch. It's not very easy to remove completly, but it's doable. I managed to remove the rubber coating on mine using the fuid found in car air freshners. I got the ideea after I noticed the rubber on my old car's center console start to come off where the air freshner leaked - so I started using it on various rubberised plastics with great results.
That's it for today, I'll post a short list of Win98 3D capable 4:3/5:4 laptops and quick specs in the post below, and will elaborate on them tomorrow.