Just found this old thread: List of CD-Rom Games for DOS 1990-94

Looks like a pretty short list, but not sure how comprehensive it is.

short answer - no

it wasn't until the 486DX2 era that they started to gain mass market traction

No, CD-ROM drives were definitely not common in the early 90's. They were very expensive and not many software (like games) came on CD-ROM (for various reasons).

I would even go so far as to say that having a sound card in your computer in 1990/91 was considered a luxury.

p6889k wrote on 2020-07-24, 14:33:

But I'm curious, were CD-ROMs common on 386 machines back in the day? What kind of applications or games were CD-ROM based at that time and actually benefitted from CD-ROM?

No, not common. CD-ROM drives in PCs were not common until killer apps like Myst (released for PC in 1994) came out. By 1994, even budget PCs were 486s and the Pentium had been out for a year. Myst, Star Wars: Rebel Assault, and 7th Guest all required a 386 DX @ 33 MHz, excluding most 386s, and that was the minimum.

Early CD-ROM-only applications like Encarta would run on a 386. For productivity and reference titles, the CPU is less of an issue if you're just willing to wait a while longer.

I'm wondering what was the first PC OS shipped on a CD... perhaps Windows NT 3.1 from 1993?
But it was way to heavy for an average 386, more like for a high-end 486 or Pentium.

In 1994 there was OS/2 Warp 3, and in 1995 - Windows 95.
Again, not good for a typical 386.

So, usability of CD-ROM on 386 machines was somewhat limited...

jesolo wrote on 2020-07-24, 14:59:

I would even go so far as to say that having a sound card in your computer in 1990/91 was considered a luxury.

I didn't have a sound card as late as even 1995/96 and 96 is also when I got my first CD-ROM while still using a 386 shortly before upgrading to a pentium.

I remember that having the CD music play in command&conquer would slow down the game a lot on the 386 for some reason ^^

Even if nowdays I find the cd drive to be the fastest way to pass applications to the 386 machine I've built, back in those days I suppose it was even difficult to see any 486DX/DX2 with cd drive. My first PC having a cd drive was a K6-2 350 machine you can imagine... but I remember a friend having a 486DX4 100Mhz (I suppose I don't think it was a Pentium) that had the cd drive but like in the 1996.
Back in those times technology evolved so fast I didn't even know most of the new ones coming out and still fighting with my 386SX-20. 😁
And about sound card same thing, I remember some 486DX 50Mhz and later beginning to have some sound card and speakers but I remember I didn't like that kind of game sound at all and preferred the PC speaker. Probably because I was all about the graphic back then.. I didn't care at all about music and sound effects.

LGR just did a video on one of the earliest CD-ROM drives, the capacity must have been mind blowing back then https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yBupNdYe08g

Also I suppose nowdays those drives would hardly read any writeble cd disc. Anyway I remember back in those years even the Iomega ZIP100 (a friend had it) looked like a beast of backup solution considering my own 50MB hard disk.. 🤣.. 😁

386SX wrote on 2020-07-24, 16:46:

Also I suppose nowdays those drives would hardly read any writeble cd disc. But I remember back in those years even the Iomega ZIP100 (a friend had it) looked like a beast drive compared to my own 50MB hard disk.. 🤣.. 😁

nah, even the most primitive CDROM drives will read a CD-R (NOT -RW) burned on high quality media

I remember getting a soundcard for my 386 sometime in 1993 I think and being blown away hearing sounds in Wing Commander. Which was kind of silly now that I think about it, because before my 386 I had the Amiga 500 with superb sound.

Grzyb wrote on 2020-07-24, 16:15:

I'm wondering what was the first PC OS shipped on a CD... perhaps Windows NT 3.1 from 1993?

I remember being in a computer store selling HighScreen brand (I think) computers and them having a Win3.11 install CD. I was in awe just seeing that software can be delivered on CD and thinking how much better Win3.11 must be coming off of CD 😀

maxtherabbit wrote on 2020-07-24, 16:58:

386SX wrote on 2020-07-24, 16:46:

Also I suppose nowdays those drives would hardly read any writeble cd disc. But I remember back in those years even the Iomega ZIP100 (a friend had it) looked like a beast drive compared to my own 50MB hard disk.. 🤣.. 😁

nah, even the most primitive CDROM drives will read a CD-R (NOT -RW) burned on high quality media

Maybe I wasn't lucky finding good cd-rom drives but I always had problems with CD-R and older drives even not-RW. Obviously the time passed might be the reason for a not well working drive who knows. Or probably also to find high quality CD-R disks in these years is not that easy in the usual commercial shops. I suppose that might be a problem too as suggested.
Many years ago there were really many type of really high quality media of good brands. Nowdays most seems like transparent cd. 😉

386SX wrote on 2020-07-24, 16:25:

Even if nowdays I find the cd drive to be the fastest way to pass applications to the 386 machine I've built, back in those days I suppose it was even difficult to see any 486DX/DX2 with cd drive. My first PC having a cd drive was a K6-2 350 machine you can imagine... but I remember a friend having a 486DX4 100Mhz (I suppose I don't think it was a Pentium) that had the cd drive but like in the 1996.
Back in those times technology evolved so fast I didn't even know most of the new ones coming out and still fighting with my 386SX-20. 😁
And about sound card same thing, I remember some 486DX 50Mhz and later beginning to have some sound card and speakers but I remember I didn't like that kind of game sound at all and preferred the PC speaker. Probably because I was all about the graphic back then.. I didn't care at all about music and sound effects.

We had a CD drive in use with our 486dx33. I used it to play Alone in the Dark 3, Warcraft I/II and Realms of Arkania 3. We also had a Soundblaster. BUT I remember that I got the system handed down in 1996 so it had seen many upgrades over the time. It even had 32 MB RAM but when I got it Pentium CPUs were already quite common (later on I got a Pentium 90 handed down).
I still remember when later DVD drives were not common and I remember when Black and White was released but I still had a cd drive only (had a Duron 750 at that time).

When 386s were introduced, absolutely not common
When people still used 386s (let's say roughly the win95 era in many countries) is was not unheard-of.

Marentis wrote on 2020-07-24, 17:02:

386SX wrote on 2020-07-24, 16:25:

Even if nowdays I find the cd drive to be the fastest way to pass applications to the 386 machine I've built, back in those days I suppose it was even difficult to see any 486DX/DX2 with cd drive. My first PC having a cd drive was a K6-2 350 machine you can imagine... but I remember a friend having a 486DX4 100Mhz (I suppose I don't think it was a Pentium) that had the cd drive but like in the 1996.
Back in those times technology evolved so fast I didn't even know most of the new ones coming out and still fighting with my 386SX-20. 😁
And about sound card same thing, I remember some 486DX 50Mhz and later beginning to have some sound card and speakers but I remember I didn't like that kind of game sound at all and preferred the PC speaker. Probably because I was all about the graphic back then.. I didn't care at all about music and sound effects.

We had a CD drive in use with our 486dx33. I used it to play Alone in the Dark 3, Warcraft I/II and Realms of Arkania 3. We also had a Soundblaster. BUT I remember that I got the system handed down in 1996 so it had seen many upgrades over the time. It even had 32 MB RAM but when I got it Pentium CPUs were already quite common (later on I got a Pentium 90 handed down).
I still remember when later DVD drives were not common and I remember when Black and White was released but I still had a cd drive only (had a Duron 750 at that time).

I suppose the sound card might have been probably the last common upgrade to be asked for the usual average home PC considering wasn't really "necessary" for most consumers and I remember different 486 not having any sound card just like my own 386. But in those time I was way late in computer upgrade components. When I had the 386, there was already the 486DX probably 66Mhz and the early Pentiums; the only upgrade that PC did see was the 4 simm modules for 4MB of ram.
The first game I had in CD format was the original genuine Duke Nukem 3D in its own book/box, it sure looked like so advanced in technology and the amount of MB possible seems like incredible (I already had the K6-2 machine).

p6889k wrote on 2020-07-24, 17:01:

I remember being in a computer store selling HighScreen brand (I think) computers and them having a Win3.11 install CD.

Some OEM variant, right?
I think generic Windows 3.11 was only on diskettes.

I got a CD-ROM SB Combo for my 386/25 in 1991. It came with the talkie version of King's Quest V. So I had a CD-ROM drive from very early on but from the other comments it seems like I was a bit ahead of the curve.

Grzyb wrote on 2020-07-24, 17:20:

p6889k wrote on 2020-07-24, 17:01:

I remember being in a computer store selling HighScreen brand (I think) computers and them having a Win3.11 install CD.

Some OEM variant, right?
I think generic Windows 3.11 was only on diskettes.

Yeah, it was OEM - labeled HighScreen.

Edit: and it looks like here's a vogons.org user that actually has a copy: Re: Bought these (retro) hardware today

386SX wrote on 2020-07-24, 17:17:

....the only upgrade that PC did see was the 4 simm modules for 4MB of ram.

This reminded me of the time when I was saving all my money to upgrade from 1MB to 4MB and then when i finished saving and was ready to buy the RAM, literally within days some major memory factory burned up, the prices quadrupled and I had to wait a year before it dropped back down and I could upgrade.