fitzpatr wrote:To me, period correctness only matters so far as compatibility is concerned. For example, someone on here recently had a thread where they were using an Asus P5A (Super7, 1998) with a Pentium 233MMX (1997), and Windows 3.1 (1993). As I had pointed out in that thread, a 5 year hardware and software gap in those days is quite significant, would not get the most out of the hardware (a concern when ATX Super7 boards are rare, or at least expensive), and could lead to driver troubles and other quirks.
As far as that combination goes, the Pentium MMX was targeted as a low-end processor in 1998/early-1999, so I'm sure someone would've built a budget P1 build with an ASUS P5A motherboard BITD. As far as Windows 3.1x is concerned: Sure, it may seem a little overkill to run just Windows 3.1x on a Pentium MMX machine, but for someone who wants to skip 486 hardware, a Pentium build (with or without MMX) with compatible hardware makes a fine multi-booter for DOS/WFW3.11, Windows NT 3.51/4.0, and Windows 95/98. I've been careful with picking hardware for my build by making sure I ended up with video, network, and sound cards with drivers for the designated OSes (in my case: MS-DOS 6.22 w/ WFW 3.11 and Windows NT 3.51).
fitzpatr wrote:There is no reason other than nostalgia to artificially limit your choices. I would not use an older power supply or fan, but I would use an old Hard Drive for that wonderful whirring sound!
I agree with you there. CF cards and SSDs are great and all, but I still quite enjoy the sound of an old hard drive. You've reminded me that I have a couple systems that are in need of a fan replacement.