sliderider wrote:

mr_bigmouth_502 wrote:

Mau1wurf1977 wrote:

Define "Best" as it's very subjective what it means :) […]
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Define "Best" as it's very subjective what it means 😀

My recommendation would be a Super Socket 7 or a good 486 system. They are more flexible in terms of running games that are speed sensitive and having grunt to play some of the newer ones.

With a 386 you are are "stuck" in a very specific time period and a Pentium 2 and higher isn't flexible when it comes to running speed sensitive games.

If I had to pick one it would be based on an ATX Super Socket 7 board because then you can use a new ATX case, ATX PSU and all of that.

So, how well do SS7 boards work with Pentiums? I know that they're intended more for K6/K6-2 CPUs, but the idea of being able to put a lower-end Pentium system into an ATX case sounds quite tempting.

There wouldn't be much point, though. The fastest Pentium you're going to get in there in most cases is a 233 MMX. You might get a 266 Tillamook running, but usually not without issues. Even with their relatively weaker FPU's, a fast K6-2 or III of 500mhz+ will still outperform a 233 MMX easily.

This isn't really an issue for me, as I'm not really looking to play any games made beyond the mid '90s on this hypothetical rig anyways. In fact, I'd actually prefer a somewhat slower system just to better handle older, more speed-sensitive games.

Is there any compatibility gains when using a 66MHz FSB P2 over a 100MHz FSB P2?

leileilol wrote:

Is there any compatibility gains when using a 66MHz FSB P2 over a 100MHz FSB P2?

Not sure about compatibility, but has a huge impact when you have L1 disabled but L2 still enabled.

Take a look here:

leileilol wrote:

Is there any compatibility gains when using a 66MHz FSB P2 over a 100MHz FSB P2?

Once, I faced random lockups while playing Little Big Adventure when running at 100MHz FSB in a PIII machine with Socket370 1GHz Coppermine CPU.

The problem was eliminated when I reduced the bus speed to 66MHz.

Malik wrote:

leileilol wrote:

Is there any compatibility gains when using a 66MHz FSB P2 over a 100MHz FSB P2?

Once, I faced random lockups while playing Little Big Adventure when running at 100MHz FSB in a PIII machine with Socket370 1GHz Coppermine CPU.

The problem was eliminated when I reduced the bus speed to 66MHz.

That sounds a bit like an overheating CPU.
What did you end up with regarding a fix?

Tetrium wrote:

Malik wrote:

Once, I faced random lockups while playing Little Big Adventure when running at 100MHz FSB in a PIII machine with Socket370 1GHz Coppermine CPU.

The problem was eliminated when I reduced the bus speed to 66MHz.

That sounds a bit like an overheating CPU.
What did you end up with regarding a fix?

It happened only with certain Dos CD games like that LBA. Otherwise there are no other problems. CPU temp. is maintained at 40+ °C.

Mau1wurf1977 wrote:

leileilol wrote:

Is there any compatibility gains when using a 66MHz FSB P2 over a 100MHz FSB P2?

Not sure about compatibility, but has a huge impact when you have L1 disabled but L2 still enabled.

I didn't mean with the cache off. I mean as in compatibility, i.e. borland runtime error chances

Mau1wurf1977 wrote:

Not sure about compatibility, but has a huge impact when you have L1 disabled but L2 still enabled. […]
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leileilol wrote:

Is there any compatibility gains when using a 66MHz FSB P2 over a 100MHz FSB P2?

Not sure about compatibility, but has a huge impact when you have L1 disabled but L2 still enabled.

Take a look here:

What program do you use to disable only L1 cache? And does this also work on a P2 or P3?

So as far as Super Socket 7 boards go, what are some good models to look for, and what are some models to avoid? I'd prefer to have one in an ATX formfactor, but one in an AT formfactor would work fine as well if I can get the appropriate adapters.

Menkau_ra wrote:

My rig: Asus P2B 1GHz PIII 512MB RAM GeForce3 Ti200 Quantum3D Voodoo2 200SBi Gravis Ultrasound Extreme Roland MPU401AT with OPL4 […]
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My rig:
Asus P2B
1GHz PIII
512MB RAM
GeForce3 Ti200
Quantum3D Voodoo2 200SBi
Gravis Ultrasound Extreme
Roland MPU401AT with OPL4
Roland SC-55
Roland CM-64
Yamaha MU50

This rig covers most of the games that were made for DOS and Win98 😀

That's a rocking system you've got there. How much did you pay for that 200SBi? 😜

jwt27 wrote:

What program do you use to disable only L1 cache? And does this also work on a P2 or P3?

If it's a decent board it will have BIOS options for L2 and L1 cache.

But there are DOS command line tools.

I believe one is ICE.EXE and ICD.EXE (Internal Cache enable and disable) and there was another one, but can't remember the name.

If you do a google search (include VOGONS) you should find these tools quite easily.

F2bnp,
200SBi was about $400. It's the best Voodoo2 board 'cous it has heatsinks on it and it's SLI and it's QUANTUM3D. I have X-24 also but it needs something to cool it down like extra fans in the system. That's why I desided to switch it over to 200SBi.
I wish there would be Win98 drivers for Mercury Brick!!! That would be an ultimate priceless system!!! 😀

Menkau_ra wrote:

F2bnp,
200SBi was about $400. It's the best Voodoo2 board 'cous it has heatsinks on it and it's SLI and it's QUANTUM3D. I have X-24 also but it needs something to cool it down like extra fans in the system. That's why I desided to switch it over to 200SBi.
I wish there would be Win98 drivers for Mercury Brick!!! That would be an ultimate priceless system!!! 😀

Cool, wish I had that kind of money to spend on my hobby 😁. Quantum3D always made awesome stuff hehe.

I think having a 386 or early 486 will let you play anything up until thing started coming out on cd. then you want a pentium and I think having a nice P2 setup will then keep you clear.

jwt27 wrote:

Mau1wurf1977 wrote:

Not sure about compatibility, but has a huge impact when you have L1 disabled but L2 still enabled. […]
Show full quote

leileilol wrote:

Is there any compatibility gains when using a 66MHz FSB P2 over a 100MHz FSB P2?

Not sure about compatibility, but has a huge impact when you have L1 disabled but L2 still enabled.

Take a look here:

What program do you use to disable only L1 cache? And does this also work on a P2 or P3?

lowering the multiplier at the minimum on the k6-2 would have a significant effect on the equivalent speed or not?

sepultribe wrote:

lowering the multiplier at the minimum on the k6-2 would have a significant effect on the equivalent speed or not?

Nope it doesn't. Same goes for the other chips. Doesn't matter if your Pentium is running at 133 or at 200.

So I picked up a 333MHz AMD K6-2 box at the local recycling center the other day, and it seems like it should work well for my purposes. 😁

I don't know the exact specs on it, but I know that it's an old Packard Bell with an onboard ESS Audiodrive soundcard, 128MB of ram, a SiS chipset of some sort, and a 2MB onboard video card (which I'm definitely planning on upgrading 🤣). It doesn't have AGP, but I'm not too worried about that since I know that AGP is rather buggy on these boards, and most of the AGP cards I have in my stash would be too overpowered for it.

As well, the previous owner installed Win98SE with the unofficial Service Pack 2.1 on it, and it FLIES. 😁 I'm thinking of trying Unreal Gold (with the software renderer) on there just so I can see how much I can stress it. 🤣

Mau1wurf1977 wrote:

sepultribe wrote:

lowering the multiplier at the minimum on the k6-2 would have a significant effect on the equivalent speed or not?

Nope it doesn't. Same goes for the other chips. Doesn't matter if your Pentium is running at 133 or at 200.

that's a pity. there are always slowdown utilities for anything further than that.

mr_bigmouth_502 wrote:

So I picked up a 333MHz AMD K6-2 box at the local recycling center the other day, and it seems like it should work well for my purposes. 😁

I don't know the exact specs on it, but I know that it's an old Packard Bell with an onboard ESS Audiodrive soundcard, 128MB of ram, a SiS chipset of some sort, and a 2MB onboard video card (which I'm definitely planning on upgrading 🤣). It doesn't have AGP, but I'm not too worried about that since I know that AGP is rather buggy on these boards, and most of the AGP cards I have in my stash would be too overpowered for it.

As well, the previous owner installed Win98SE with the unofficial Service Pack 2.1 on it, and it FLIES. 😁 I'm thinking of trying Unreal Gold (with the software renderer) on there just so I can see how much I can stress it. 🤣

lucky you, that's not so bad at all 8-] just need a good pci combo like matrox+voodoo and maybe another soundcard and you're set.

ps: i once played unreal on software mode and the quality was so bad i almost couldn't see where i was going in dark areas.

sepultribe wrote:

that's a pity. there are always slowdown utilities for anything further than that. […]
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Mau1wurf1977 wrote:

sepultribe wrote:

lowering the multiplier at the minimum on the k6-2 would have a significant effect on the equivalent speed or not?

Nope it doesn't. Same goes for the other chips. Doesn't matter if your Pentium is running at 133 or at 200.

that's a pity. there are always slowdown utilities for anything further than that.

mr_bigmouth_502 wrote:

So I picked up a 333MHz AMD K6-2 box at the local recycling center the other day, and it seems like it should work well for my purposes. 😁

I don't know the exact specs on it, but I know that it's an old Packard Bell with an onboard ESS Audiodrive soundcard, 128MB of ram, a SiS chipset of some sort, and a 2MB onboard video card (which I'm definitely planning on upgrading 🤣). It doesn't have AGP, but I'm not too worried about that since I know that AGP is rather buggy on these boards, and most of the AGP cards I have in my stash would be too overpowered for it.

As well, the previous owner installed Win98SE with the unofficial Service Pack 2.1 on it, and it FLIES. 😁 I'm thinking of trying Unreal Gold (with the software renderer) on there just so I can see how much I can stress it. 🤣

lucky you, that's not so bad at all 8-] just need a good pci combo like matrox+voodoo and maybe another soundcard and you're set.

ps: i once played unreal on software mode and the quality was so bad i almost couldn't see where i was going in dark areas.

That's exactly the combo I was thinking of using. I know I have a PCI Matrox card somewhere, and I may also have a Voodoo card kicking around. Of course, it's only a Voodoo 1, so it'll probably be replaced with a Voodoo 2 if I can get one cheaply enough.

Looking forward to seeing some photos 😀