Reply 20 of 45, by BeginnerGuy
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wrote:Make sure to pop the powersupply open for bad caps!
Newegg has a cheap EVGA 450 watt for $20 I may get.. I should just need a molex to floppy connector and it will fit the black aesthetic of the case. Cheap new supply can't be any worse than old full of dust 20 year old garage power supply, If it was an AT I would want to repair it.
So I can buy any PCI USB 2.0 card and it will work on Win 98 SE? Are drivers contained on the install CD? Or will I need to find a specific card that has drivers?
wrote:1. There are. I can't recommend an exact model, you'll have to scower add sites or aliexpress for them. […]
1. There are. I can't recommend an exact model, you'll have to scower add sites or aliexpress for them.
2. This is down to your personal preference of course, but I wouldn't bother - too much work and kind of ruins the look of the PC - audio front panels are more of a 2000-2005 PC thing. An easy and cheap solution would be a simple jack extender.
3. Definitely the AGP Voodoo 3. Fast enough for most games the CPU can run, glide, and great DOS performance / compatibility. Alternatively you could go for the S3 AGP card (or a RIVA TNT2) + Voodoo 2 or Voodoo 2 SLi but that might be a more expensive solution.
4. CPU: It really depends on what you want to run on it. As a 440bx machine, I think the 650 is a perfect fit. It will comfortably run most games up to year 2000 with a few exceptions. A faster CPU will only extend performance to running a few more titles, but not enough to warrant an upgrade - and will interfere with the machine's ability to properly run some DOS games. If you feel the need to run later titles, go for a socket 370 machine with a 1100MHz PIII or (preferably) a 1400MHz Tualatin - even better a socket A rig. The latter will allow you to run titles up to 2004 but will break compatibility with most DOS games.
I'd say keep the CPU and build around it.
2. I tend to agree with the front panel bay like the Audigy 2 ZS, I never even liked those at the time. I'm just going to pop out the headphone jack and replace it with a male to female line running straight to a splitter on the sound card. Maybe I'll eventually find a time period proper case for this machine anyway, but for now I'm trying to save up my chips to get a 486 running.
3. Since I'm bargain hunting, are there any OEM Voodoo 3 cards I can look for? I remember I had a pre-built machine with an unmarked 3dfx card.. Can't remember much about it but I'd guess those would be cheaper and under the radar.
I'll stay with the 650 then, it seems snappy enough for me as it is, plus the heat-sink is passively cooled and I only have some modern 120mm fans in the case. Only noise it makes is the drive spinning up 😎
Sup. I like computers. Are you a computer?