First post, by donhonk
Hey guys! I'm new to the vintage hardware game, having grown up with some sort of Packard Bell playing lots of Jedi Knight and Lego Island. This build is going to be a bit more modern than that. (1999 - 2000 ish.) The plan is to use this machine as a base, replacing a fair bit of components. (Not throwing out the old stuff, but may sell some of it off!) Wanting to go pretty high end, while replacing as many components as I can with modern counterparts. (Storage, Fans, ETC.)
As the title suggests, this was a find from my local FB Marketplace, I really wanted a beige PC case to match my cute little Sony CRT that I found. Got a very well taken care of Gateway Essential 550. The original owner tossed in a lot of extras too! (Not pictured.) Like original restore discs, additional cards, etc. Gave him some money and was on my way.
I already started modifying it as you can see, with the Noctua fan going in place of the original OEM fan. It almost seems a shame to change the internals but the plan is to replace it with a new board!
Graphics Cards
This machine came with an Nvidia TNT2 it seems! Nothing wrong with this card as far as I can tell from the brief boot into the original owners installation of Windows ME. (Will be replaced with Windows 98.) What do y'all think of this card?
In the big box of additional components that the owner gave me, I found this Maxi Gamer Phoenix! So basically a Voodoo Banshee?
My plan is to go a bit higher end than this, I'd like to maybe play Glide stuff and Half Life at 60 fps. That kind of locks me into super expensive voodoo hardware right? So far thats the plan.
I've also purchased an ASUS CUV4X to support the modded Tualatin 1.4ghz that will going in it. I freely admit I honestly don't know a ton about this board in specific beyond it being able to support a modded Tualatin, so I'm excited to find out what its all about!
Heres the aforementioned 1.4ghz Tualatin modded! Did not take as long as I thought to receive from Korea actually.
Storage
Going to go with one of these SD to IDE adapters for storage for ease of use and also reducing noise. Already have one of these lying around. Not sure what I'll do with the drives included in this machine!
UPDATE 1: I'll be using a modern SSD + this adapter suggested by Phils Computer Lab.
Power Supply
Heres where I think I need help. I'm not sure what Power Supply I would need for a Tualatin 1.4ghz / maybe high end Voodoo! I've watched some of the vids Phils Computer Lab did about a Socket 370 build and he used a modern PSU in one of them. (The Corsair VS450.) The 5v rail / 12v rail thing is something I'm still trying to understand! Fully admit I'm a dumb dumb on the subject but willing to learn.
Sound Card
I have an Aureal Vortex 2 on the way for that sweet virtual surround. I'm not too concerned about DOS performance on this machine graphically or with audio, but maybe in the future I will expand in that area. Any suggestions?
I got pretty deep into the Mechanical Keyboard thing for a bit, still am really. I'll likely pair my Norbaforce with this build. Might swap back to the default spacebar for this one.
I also have this Viewsonic that I got for free from Craigslist. I kinda suspect it needs a recap as I had to crank on one of the Potentiometers to get it bright enough but its a truly gorgeous monitor, I only wish it was beige.
Thanks for reading! I'll be expanding this post with more as I go along, hoping to take lots of pics of the process! I'm very open to suggestions, my hope is to shape the future of this build based on your feedback!