If you are going high end Win98 and want really good DOS compatibility, you probably want to make sure to get something that still has at least one ISA slot with DMA support.

Unless you get an Industrial system (Single board computer with backplane... fastest is going to be Socket 478 PIV 3.06 or 3.2Ghz - you can disable HT through BIOS) that limits you to a few early PIV motherboards, Socket A (KT133A), and maybe a few others. Barton Mobile overclocked to about 2.4Ghz is about the best you are going to get in Socket A with an ISA slot.

You can also use an LGA 775 motherboard up to the Intel 865G chipset IF you get a PCI sound card with real mode DOS compatibility - for OPL3, you will want a Yamaha YMF 7x4 based card. Without a SBLINK/ PC/PCI header you will most likely have compatibility issues with some DOS games though

As far as fast and reliable storage, just about any SSD should be fine. If your motherboard has compatibility issues with SSDs, you will want to get a Promise S150 based PCI SATA raid controller.

A very nice cooler of the time was the Thermaltake Big Typhoon or Big Typhoon VX. Really, any decent heatpipe cooler is going to be great at cooling an older system and way quieter than and of the hunk-o-metal and high rpm fan coolers.

VIA chipsets also work well with the ES1938 PCI sound chip which has an ESFM hardware synth onboard, so you can pursue that angle if you wish. Yeah, not genuine OPL3, but still one of the best options for PCI.

The issue with the Geforce 6xxx series is they lack support for fog table and 8-bit palatalized textures (which is used in games that use D3D 3-5 rendering), and on top of that some older games don't really play nice with newer nVidia drivers, which is why the use of older nVidia cards is advocated over the use of newer but still semi-compatible ones. If you're looking to cover games up to the D3D8 era, the most common suggestions would be the nVidia Geforce3 or 4Ti video cards (4MX doesn't count for D3D8 because that's actually a rebranded GF2).

As far as multi-core and hyper-threaded CPUs go, they'll just be treated like a single-core/threaded CPU on Windows 9x, so it'll still work but it would be a waste unless you wanted to also run an SMP-aware OS like Windows 2000 or XP in a dual-boot configuration alongside Windows 98.

Just about any good CRT that you can get your hands on should be fine, please try not to be too picky because nowadays CRT monitors can be difficult to find locally and most eBay sellers will refuse to ship them because of their enormous size and weight. 😵

KCompRoom2000 wrote:

The issue with the Geforce 6xxx series is they lack support for fog table and 8-bit palatalized textures (which is used in games that use D3D 3-5 rendering), and on top of that some older games don't really play nice with newer nVidia drivers, which is why the use of older nVidia cards is advocated over the use of newer but still semi-compatible ones. If you're looking to cover games up to the D3D8 era, the most common suggestions would be the nVidia Geforce3 or 4Ti video cards (4MX doesn't count for D3D8 because that's actually a rebranded GF2).

The 4MX is a little more than a rebranded GF2, but for the purpose of gaming the differences don't really matter. Any D3D8 card would be really nice for Win 98, but a 4Ti is probably the best due to better support for Splinter Cell. Still, I love my R200 based card too much to change.

Just my opinion but if you have deep pockets and just want the very best of 2000 ERA historically appropriate hardware this would be my pick

Motherboard with AGP 4x For
GFX card nvidia geforce 3/4
Sound Creative Audigy 1 > or a SB LIVE the 5.1 version
CPU If you want strong single core performance go with either Intel Pentium III-S Tualatin > or Pentium 4 Northwood core (this is just my opinion) I think Tualatin 1.4GHZ is the way to go if you wanted the best single core that is 2000 ERA But a Northwood Core 478 paired with a i875 canterwood could be a good alternative and really strong compared to the Tualatin.
Chipsets Intel 815E for Tualatin, Intel i875 for a northwood

For audio, you want at least an EAX compatible card and a Vortex 2.

Northwood is not period appropriate for 2000, nor is Tualatin. The major cores available in 2000 were Thunderbird, Willamette, and Coppermine. Of these, Thunderbird is generally considered to be the performance leader with the P4 performing in underwhelming fashion (mixed at best) and the P3 at the limit for it's process tech and quite long in the tooth. Most often, the T-Bird was paired with a KT133 based board, but the DDR capable 760 chipset was becoming available by the end of the year, so it would technically be the most powerful option.

Why would it have to be "period correct"?

That is one thing I just don't get.

I have never, ever kept a machine I built the same way I built it for even a year. And this is going back to the 80386 days.

Upgrade, upgrade, upgrade.

Building a machine with hardware that was only available up to specific year and keeping it that way due to "period correctness" just seems kinda lame.

And besides that, the OP didn't specify hardware of a certain year, just the type of performance being looked for.

gdjacobs wrote:

For audio, you want at least an EAX compatible card and a Vortex 2.

Northwood is not period appropriate for 2000, nor is Tualatin. The major cores available in 2000 were Thunderbird, Willamette, and Coppermine. Of these, Thunderbird is generally considered to be the performance leader with the P4 performing in underwhelming fashion (mixed at best) and the P3 at the limit for it's process tech and quite long in the tooth. Most often, the T-Bird was paired with a KT133 based board, but the DDR capable 760 chipset was becoming available by the end of the year, so it would technically be the most powerful option.

OK. OP said early to Mid 2000s in his post so anything from 2000 to 2005 is what he wants. So it doesn't matter. If we are going off what OP said early to mid 2000s I would still recommend what I wrote over any of your suggestions. Actually I would suggest him to build a 479 platform and use a Pentium M. Since around Mid 2000s 2004-2005 this was just about the most effienct CPU you could get at the time. This platform obviously destroys my previous suggestions and destroys yours also while keeping with what he wanted. Only problem is finding a 479 board and finding one with drivers and a chipset that would play nicely on 98se. Finding a Peg card that would still play nicely with some retro games.

Thank you all for your nice insights!

Indeed, I'm not looking for a period correct build, I'm going for a high performance build with great compatibility. I fondly remember Frankensteining my computers those days, so I guess they weren't period correct at all at that time either. 😀

Some questions:
- I thought the GeForce 6xxx did offer support for fog table support (http://www.vogonswiki.com/index.php/NVIDIA), what is the impact of missing out on it? I'm thinking of adding Voodoo2 SLI for native glide support, so that could perhaps fix that problem? Should I look for a geforce 5800/5900 series?
- I should add that I have acquired Nvidia 3D Stereo (Elsa 3D Revelator) glasses for fun and tinkering.
- How "incompatible" will a GeForce 6xxx series' driver be?
- I still have a Soundblaster Live 5.1 and I think an Audigy or Audigy2, will compatibility in DOS mode be good enough?
- How big will the impact be of not having an ISA slot. I think focusing on this would be limiting my motherboard options a lot

I 'm not looking want 100% compatibility (that's never possible anyway) but am looking in the 90%+ region and want to "max out" features and performance. As I'm currently informed, looking for a pentium 4 based systems (northwood or prescott) should be a nice "in between" generation" product that, as a plus, supports modern PSU's. (of course I don't mind disabling hyperthreading through the BIOS).

I've read up on the Wiki in the meantime: http://www.vogonswiki.com/index.php/Windows_9x_Builds and http://www.vogonswiki.com/index.php/NVIDIA Seems like we're on the right track?

I was thinking of getting this graphics card:

https://www.benl.ebay.be/itm/Leadtek-NVIDIA-G … W8AAOSwmNxakxJD
It has a custom cooling and is very quiet. I'm considering downgrading to GeForce FX series if I encounter too much problems.

It woud drive a Sony Multisync G500 21" CRT monitor.

As such I will be able to support DirectX 9.0c games (the latest on offer in Windows 98SE).
As said, I want as powerful a machine as possible, while getting every last feature from Win9x possible. 😀

Warlord wrote:

OK. OP said early to Mid 2000s in his post so anything from 2000 to 2005 is what he wants...

ChAoS Overlord wrote:

As such I will be able to support DirectX 9.0c games (the latest on offer in Windows 98SE).
As said, I want as powerful a machine as possible, while getting every last feature from Win9x possible. 😀

It is just a personal opinion of mine, but I think "2005" is too much of a stretch for any kind of Windows 9x build. According to my experience, vitually all games released in and after 2002 supports Windows XP, and there is not much reason to play games in a Windows 98 rig if the mentioned games
specifically supports XP (except od course "because I want to" 🤣 ).

Note that DirectX9 was first released by the end of 2002, and 9c was released in 2004. This is in my opinion definately XP era. If somebody wants to play games from that era and wants them maxed out, an XP rig would be easier and hasslefree route. A killer XP machine could be built by easily utilizing most things contemporary or quite modern, which are still commercially available or only 2-3 years old.

In my opinion, a Windows 98 rig with occasional need for DOS support should cover like late 90s and 2001-2 max. Hardware choices should reflect this era.

Tualatins, GF2 (real) and 4Tis (with supporting V2000, even in SLI, if desired), SB live (with a suitable secondary ISA card for dos support) would be more appropriate. All the others (lan, hdd, fdd, ram, odd, etc.) are just non consequential details.

gdjacobs wrote:

The 4MX is a little more than a rebranded GF2, but for the purpose of gaming the differences don't really matter. Any D3D8 card would be really nice for Win 98, but a 4Ti is probably the best due to better support for Splinter Cell. Still, I love my R200 based card too much to change.

Word.

Radeon 8500 forever.

Warlord wrote:

OK. OP said early to Mid 2000s in his post so anything from 2000 to 2005 is what he wants. So it doesn't matter. If we are going off what OP said early to mid 2000s I would still recommend what I wrote over any of your suggestions. Actually I would suggest him to build a 479 platform and use a Pentium M. Since around Mid 2000s 2004-2005 this was just about the most effienct CPU you could get at the time. This platform obviously destroys my previous suggestions and destroys yours also while keeping with what he wanted. Only problem is finding a 479 board and finding one with drivers and a chipset that would play nicely on 98se. Finding a Peg card that would still play nicely with some retro games.

Well, why stop there? K8 was released around 2004. A S939 or S754 system would be dandy for Win98. It would offer plenty of performance in an AGP platform. Multipliers are also downward unlocked if you ever need some performance flexibility. The K8T800 chipset from VIA also offers excellent compatibility with the ESS Solo 1 chipset, so K8 could even be a solid choice for DOS gaming.

Alternately, a socket 775 based P4 using the Intel 865 chipset would offer excellent performance and AGP along with decent DOS compatibility with the right sound card (a Vortex 2 or possibly a YMF PCI, for instance).

As for video, I question the utility of D3D9 on Win98. However, with AGP you have the choice of using D3D9 cards along with cards meant for earlier API versions. So, you can use a GF6800 and swap in a 4600 Ti if you need it for a particular game.

I'm all for 775, I don't know, why there are people rule out it just because it's not "period correct". If somebody want overkill machine with possibility to run Win 98, it's certainly option (I went that route as well, even though it's not Win 98 machine primarily, but it's still running it without problems). CPUs are SO cheap and some of them are REALLY powerful (and you don't need to look only on single core ones, Win 98 will just use only one core from it), you can find motherboards with AGP support, Win 98 it supported on some chipsets as well and cooling solutions are widely available, with massive cooling potential, not like that 478 jokes for Prescotts sometimes.

I wouldn't use Voodoo cards though (with one exception), because V2 and V3 for PCI could have overheating problems, and all AGP cards but one are not compatible with AGP 4x slot. You can use V4 4500 AGP, but good luck to find one with at least remotely reasonable price. And even if you find it, Its not really powerful card for rest of PC, since rest of build is able to run games on 1280x1024, and even 1600x1200, if you use powerful card (X850, 6800), but V4 can only dream about that resolutions (and not-eye-hurting fps).

And bonus part, if you will find game, which is not Win 98 compatible, just install Win XP into dual boot, maybe change GPU and add RAM and boom, new completely capable build has born.

P.S. I'm not saying, that 775 is the only way, quite opposite it's really overkill, but it is possible, and it will be much more powerful and versatile, than "period correct" Tualatin build. Not mention about price, that Tualatin is cool, no doubt about it, but if try to build it from scratch, you will be burning money at quite insane rate).

Thanks for your kind insights. I think the statement that I'm overkilling the Win98 machine is definitely correct. I'm just looking for a versatile set-up (that I can still convert later on to W2K or WXP if I ever feel inclined to. I'm intent on having one single retro computer, so it should be versatile in its application rather than the best for 1 specific purpose. Is S939 preferable over S775 or not for W98SE?

ur welcome. Here is a page that has benchmarks. This is not necessarily facts because, the testing methods are probably not scientific. I would probably ignore a lot of the low numbers on the chart and ignore the high numbers. Numbers I would look at are towards the middle to upper middle. When I look objectively at that graph some CPUs I know there is no way that they could score that Low unless a total moron was running the test or built the computer. Some of the really high ones I know thats an overclock because I can see what CPUs it beat. But you need to have some indepth knowledge of CPUs I think to understand this concept and alot of it is on a case by case basis.
https://www.cpubenchmark.net/cpu_lookup.php?c … ntium+4+3.20GHz

On the topic on versatility/overkill: I've found out about the existence of these motherboards:

https://www.asrock.com/mb/ULi/939Dual-VSTA/index.asp
http://www.asrock.com/mb/Intel/ConRoe865PE
http://www.ecs.com.tw/ECSWebSite/Product/Prod … lID=457&LanID=0
http://www.asrock.com/mb/VIA/4CoreDual-VSTA/

Especially the latter would be interesting, I guess, since I already have an E6600 Conroe as mentioned in the first post, with custom cooling solution. Any chance this will work on Win9x driver wise? I can't seem to find any discussion/topics about this. (I would need to be able to disable one CPU core through BIOS or other means too, I guess)

I would go with a a Conroe board if thats what you are looking at. It should smoke the AMD board. The tricky part is finding one for sale. It's easy to find pictures. Another thing to find an Intel 865 chipset conroe board on ebay for cheap or at all. Remember it is very rare to find Core2 boards with AGP like by the time Core2 was coming out AGP was already phased out and PCI-E was the thing.

With a conroe board you can socket a Core2 or another varient of this architecture and obviously this will be pretty awesome for windows 98 and still be able to run XP pretty well with 2gb or ram. You will need unofficial patches to run that on 98se.

915 chipset will run and there are drivers but it not as good as 800 series. I know that 98se can be coaxed to run on even newer hardware and I know people have done it, but its never with full driver support its always with hacked 3rd party drivers, and these people generally consider something running as in oh its not crashing. "Not crashing" Doesn't mean running and it doesnt mean it will run games.