I'd probably go for 1 or 2.
A voodoo 3 wouldn't take advantage of a fast system based like the KT333.
That's more Voodoo 5 territory, and overkill at that.

The 800mhz Slot 1 would be a good call, probably. More than enough for a V3.
The duron build would work fine too, but I'd get a Thunderbird at 1Ghz. they're dirt cheap on ebay.

Slot A, cause... duh, Slot A 😁

imi wrote:

Slot A, cause... duh, Slot A 😁

Second that. In fact, I'm planning to build something very similar. I have the same Slot A board, got it in a sorry state from the fleamarket and invested in it quite a few hours (and some $$$) to make it as good as new (better, actually, because I used Panasonic FS series for a full re-cap 😁 )
I was thinking on using the entry-level Athlon 500MHz, would this be too slow for a Voodoo 3 3500?

the slot a, not sure id use that mobo or that cpu tho.

Gigabyte KX133 is decent on a hardware level, but has some software quirks. Only early BIOS versions can work with Thunderbird CPUs and there's no option to set RAM timings to CL2 when memory is set to 133Mhz.

A voodoo 3 wouldn't take advantage of a fast system based like the KT333.

Tell that to Unreal Engine.

The duron build would work fine too, but I'd get a Thunderbird at 1Ghz

Full Thunderbird is only marginally better, so Duron is absolutely fine.

Some responses and general thoughts:

Slot-A sure is the rarer and more interesting platform to build among them but I want this system to be my daily driver; ie. it has to be as stable and non quirky. Is Slot A such a platform? Also the Pluto 800MHz is the only Slot A CPU I have, is it fast enough to max the Voodoo3 in late Win98 games?

For these reasons I was leaning towards the Socket A Duron build. I did not expect the overwhelming vote for Slot A.. The Duron is almost twice as fast on a more stable motherboard with no real drawback so why not just use that?

Finally, how does Setmul work with Slot A and Socket A CPUs?

As for the KT333; yeah I suppose that is worth saving for a Voodoo 4 or 5 build some day if I end up owning one..

"with as wide a range of coverage as I can"

Keeping this in mind you want ISA so #3 is out.

800Mhz is already overkill for dos so either 1 or 2 is fine for dos gaming.
I would also think 800Mhz is fine for any Win9x games that don't work in XP
Agree Slot A is way more interesting then Socket A

So with that in mind I would go with system 1, check it runs your games ok and if not upgrade to system 2. The stability you mention is also a valid consideration.

System 2 would also get you into the early days of WinXP if you really want to push the range but the voodoo will be holding you back never mind the CPU. Really you'll be wanting another PC for this era.

appiah4 wrote:

I want this system to be my daily driver;

Daily driver without sse and sse2 is total aids. No sse 2 is bad enough, no sse is useless as a daily driver.

SSE/SSE2 didn't hurt AMD that much back in the day, but these days id say SSE is mandatory and SSE2 is borderline. Even though XP will run without.

my daily driver is going to be Slot A too, and I don't think you'll have any issues maxing out a voodoo3.

Warlord wrote:

appiah4 wrote:

I want this system to be my daily driver;

Daily driver without sse and sse2 is total aids. No sse 2 is bad enough, no sse is useless as a daily driver.

SSE/SSE2 didn't hurt AMD that much back in the day, but these days id say SSE is mandatory and SSE2 is borderline. Even though XP will run without.

By daly driver I mean daily retrogaming/retrocomputing build; I will be using it for DOS/Win9x games and playing around with other OSs like OS/2, Win2K and Vintage Linux.

I doubt lack of SSE will be terribly crippling in this regard.

Daily driver usually means your main computer used for day to day tasks.
Like how people with classic cars only drive them for special occasions and for the daily drive to/from work, shopping etc they have their daily driver that's more economical, reliable, etc

But yeh figured you meant main retro rig. Not that you wanted to use this to do your internet banking 😉

The Serpent Rider wrote:

Tell that to Unreal Engine.

What is the point of 120 FPS on a 60-75hz monitor?

The Serpent Rider wrote:

Full Thunderbird is only marginally better, so Duron is absolutely fine.

Sure, until you connect the L1 bridges with a pencil.

What is the point of 120 FPS on a 60-75hz monitor?

You won't get stable 100+ FPS in Unreal Engine games with a CPU below 1Ghz. To be fair, you won't even get stable 60 FPS.

Part of the reason why I was (and still am really) leaning more towards the KT133.. Does Slot A offer anything that Socket A does not aside from the cooler/rarer aspect?

Inquiring one more time, how does Setmul work with Slot A and Socket A Athlon/Durons?

Does Slot A offer anything that Socket A does not aside from the cooler/rarer aspect?

Goldfinger device maybe? Motherboard agnostic solution for CPU tweaking.

Setmul work with Slot A and Socket A Athlon/Durons?

Slot A multiplier is hardwired on CPU PCB, you can change it only physically, via soldering or Goldfinger device. SetMul works with multiplier unlocked (factory or modded) Socket A CPUs.

The Serpent Rider wrote:

Goldfinger device maybe? Motherboard agnostic solution for CPU tweaking. […]
Show full quote

Does Slot A offer anything that Socket A does not aside from the cooler/rarer aspect?

Goldfinger device maybe? Motherboard agnostic solution for CPU tweaking.

Setmul work with Slot A and Socket A Athlon/Durons?

Slot A multiplier is hardwired, you can change it only physically, via soldering or Goldfinger device. SetMul works with multiplier unlocked (factory or modded) Socket A CPUs.

How about with regards to disabling cache? Can they both be throttled equally?

I don't think it's possible to disable cache, prefetch and other stuff on Athlon via utilities. Otherwise it would be already considered hot stuff, no pun intended, in retro PC communities.
Slot A CPUs have minimal multiplier of 5x plus 85-90mhz option for FSB on some boards, while Socket A CPUs have 3x multiplier (maybe not all of them).

chinny22 wrote:

800Mhz is already overkill for dos so either 1 or 2 is fine for dos gaming.

A few titles are known to eat all your cycles and ask for more. Have a look at Battlespire or the final generation of DOS games from Novalogic.