Matrolisk wrote on 2022-10-31, 01:11:

Storage-Kingston A400 240GB

For Win98 stick with a 127 GB drive or smaller. The OS cannot properly recognize drives larger than that, and using something bigger will eventually result in data corruption. It's not enough to simply create a smaller partition, the actual drive size matters.

Phil has a video which explains this in more detail.

@Matrolisk

Windows 98 has a bug in it's ESD1_506.PDR driver where past the 137GB barrier it will wrap around to the start of your drive and start overwriting data.

rloew made a patch for this that will resolve this though -
https://rloewelectronics.com/distribute/PATCH137/pro5.3a/

Like Joseph_Joestar and Duffman said: 240GB is way too large for a Win98SE build; my very first WinXP build back in May 2003 had only an 80GB HDD (that HDD is still alive today). WinXP did not support 137GB / 128GiB natively until SP1. The manual of TUSL2-C did not specify the largest HDD it supported either.

Theoretically you could install a separate Ultra ATA/133 controller card that supports >137GB HDD, but it would only increase the chance of incompatibility. You really don't need a 240GB HDD for a Win98SE build unless you'd like to dump >200 CD-ROM ISO inside for virtual CD.

I've been using the 120GB version of the Kingston A400 in my retro builds with great results.

Additionally, for a PSU, I recommend going with something like the EVGA 500BQ or Corsair CX450M, since they have a 20+4 pin connector.

Joseph_Joestar wrote on 2022-10-31, 04:22:

For Win98 stick with a 127 GB drive or smaller. The OS cannot properly recognize drives larger than that

It's been a long time since I used 98, didn't realize there was a hard drive size limit.
Will definitely consider something the the suggested Kingston A400.

mrzmaster wrote on 2022-10-31, 14:51:

Additionally, for a PSU, I recommend going with something like the EVGA 500BQ or Corsair CX450M, since they have a 20+4 pin connector.

Wanting to go for a clean build, would something like the Rosewill PHOTON-550, 550W work? It says it has the 20+4 pin connector.

Yes, that psu should work well, as you can just plug the 20 pin connector into the motherboard and leave the 4 pin aside.

Some newer psus just have a 24 pin connector and there’s often obstructions (like capacitors) right next to the 20 pin on older motherboards.

mrzmaster wrote on 2022-11-02, 00:30:

Some newer psus just have a 24 pin connector and there’s often obstructions (like capacitors) right next to the 20 pin on older motherboards.

Some older motherboards with only 20-pin ATX also have capacitors blocking off-center (from 20+4-pin connector) or larger connector clips. MB designers had only very specific PSU connector in mind and forgot to leave some room for other models.

Any suggestions on a good cooler? I'm thinking of 3d printing an adapter to use a 120mm fan.
That way I can use lower rpms making it quieter while still getting good airflow.

Can I use any 168pin ram as long as the total capacity is supported?
I've seen some ram chips with a 32Mx64 on it, which I'm not familiar with.

Also any thoughts on my GPU and Sound Card?
I know that some people prefer the voodoo cards for glide but can't find any reasonably priced at the same level as the GeForce 2 (Voodoo 5)

Matrolisk wrote on 2022-11-03, 00:54:

Any suggestions on a good cooler? I'm thinking of 3d printing an adapter to use a 120mm fan.
That way I can use lower rpms making it quieter while still getting good airflow.

IMHO the stock cooler/fan should be sufficient for a Coppermine P3; just replace the fan with a new one of the same size if it gets older and/or noisy.

Matrolisk wrote on 2022-11-03, 00:54:

Can I use any 168pin ram as long as the total capacity is supported?
I've seen some ram chips with a 32Mx64 on it, which I'm not familiar with.

It really depends. The manual said it can take up to 3x512MB, but if I were you I'd just insert 2x256MB. Note that double sided RAM are usually more compatible than single sided RAM of the same capacity (i.e. smaller capacity per chip = better compatibility).

Matrolisk wrote on 2022-11-03, 00:54:

Also any thoughts on my GPU and Sound Card?
I know that some people prefer the voodoo cards for glide but can't find any reasonably priced at the same level as the GeForce 2 (Voodoo 5)

GPU: GeForce4 Ti, GeForce FX (just be sure the cooling fan works and is quiet enough), or Radeon R300
Sound: SB Live! or Audigy for EAX, Diamond Monster MX series for A3D

dormcat wrote on 2022-11-03, 08:34:

IMHO the stock cooler/fan should be sufficient for a Coppermine P3; just replace the fan with a new one of the same size if it gets older and/or noisy.

I don't have the stock cooler for the cpu, so I need to buy something.

dormcat wrote on 2022-11-03, 08:34:

It really depends. The manual said it can take up to 3x512MB, but if I were you I'd just insert 2x256MB. Note that double sided RAM are usually more compatible than single sided RAM of the same capacity (i.e. smaller capacity per chip = better compatibility).

From what I've read the TUSL2-C only supports 512MB of ram so I'll look for 2 stick of 256 double sided ram.

dormcat wrote on 2022-11-03, 08:34:

GPU: GeForce4 Ti, GeForce FX (just be sure the cooling fan works and is quiet enough), or Radeon R300

The chipset only supports 4x AGP so I'll have to go for a GeForce 4 Ti

dormcat wrote on 2022-11-03, 08:34:

Sound: SB Live! or Audigy for EAX, Diamond Monster MX series for A3D

I can't find an MX300 card for A3D 2.0, or any card that supports it. So for now I'll stick with one of the SB cards.

Matrolisk wrote on 2022-11-04, 00:58:

From what I've read the TUSL2-C only supports 512MB of ram so I'll look for 2 stick of 256 double sided ram.

That's pretty much the perfect amount, since Windows 98 (and ME) can encounter problems when going over 512 MB RAM. There are third-party patches which can remedy this, but games from the Win9x era don't really benefit from having more than 512 MB.

The chipset only supports 4x AGP so I'll have to go for a GeForce 4 Ti

Excellent choice. A GeForce4 Ti provides both good compatibility and superb performance for a Win9x system.

I can't find an MX300 card for A3D 2.0, or any card that supports it. So for now I'll stick with one of the SB cards.

If you plan on using a surround sound system (for example 5.1 speakers) you're better off with an Audigy 1 or 2. But if you're playing using normal stereo speakers or headphones, then the SBLive is good enough. Note that later SBLive and Audigy drivers include A3D 1.0 support as well, so they will work fine for older games which only use that, like Dark Forces 2 for example.

Joseph_Joestar wrote on 2022-11-04, 06:37:

The chipset only supports 4x AGP so I'll have to go for a GeForce 4 Ti

Excellent choice. A GeForce4 Ti provides both good compatibility and superb performance for a Win9x system.

And less heat problem too. I always treat GeForce FX like Pentium 4 with NetBurst architecture: they provide marginal performance upgrades at the expense of far more power consumption than their respective predecessors (GeForce4 and Pentium 3).

Off topic question for JoJo: Have you ever used any AMD Steamroller CPU? 😆

dormcat wrote on 2022-11-04, 06:51:

And less heat problem too. I always treat GeForce FX like Pentium 4 with NetBurst architecture: they provide marginal performance upgrades at the expense of far more power consumption than their respective predecessors (GeForce4 and Pentium 3).

Yeah, the GeForce FX cards are nice if you want to crank up AA and AF in some later Win9x titles, but that extra power comes at a cost. They need slightly newer drivers (starting from the 4x.xx series) which a couple of older games don't like. There's also the text corruption issue which I recently became aware of, and of course the extra heat/noise. A GeForce 4 Ti is a lot more manageable while still offering plenty of performance.

Off topic question for JoJo: Have you ever used any AMD Steamroller CPU? 😆

ROAD STEAM ROLLER DA! 😁 Heh, no I haven't tried one yet, but I guess I'll have to at some point. I do carefully watch the Hamon Ripple on any PSU that I get though. 😉

So based on the advice provided this is the updated build.

CPU-Intel PIII SL5B3 - No IHS - OWNED - Will any socket 370 cooler work? (For motherboard compatibility)
MB-ASUS TUSL2-C - OWNED
GPU-Either the ASUS NVIDIA GeForce4 TI 4400 128MB V8440 or XFX Geforce 4 TI 4200 128MB DDR SDRAM AGP 4x GRAFIKKARTE
(Not sure if the first is 8x or 4x and it's about $75 more)
Sound-Creative Labs SB0090 Sound Blaster AUDIGY
Memory- 512MB 2 x 256MB PC133 SDRAM 168 pin
PSU-Rosewill PHOTON-550, 550W
Storage-Kingston A400 120GB

Also would something like this work for transferring files?
https://www.ebay.ca/itm/193578823084?hash=ite … %3ABFBMlq7V1Yhh

Matrolisk wrote on 2022-11-05, 01:40:

CPU-Intel PIII SL5B3 - No IHS - OWNED - Will any socket 370 cooler work? (For motherboard compatibility)

You seem highly concerned about cooling; the TDP of your SL5B3 (Pentium III 1000EB) is only 29W so any average quality thermal paste + heatsink + fan can handle with ease.

Matrolisk wrote on 2022-11-05, 01:40:

GPU-Either the ASUS NVIDIA GeForce4 TI 4400 128MB V8440 or XFX Geforce 4 TI 4200 128MB DDR SDRAM AGP 4x GRAFIKKARTE
(Not sure if the first is 8x or 4x and it's about $75 more)

IMHO "$75 more" is way too much to justify the slightly increased performance. I got my Radeon 9600 Pro (Gigabyte GV-R96P256D), GeForce FX 5600 XT (Asus V9560XT/TD/128M), and GeForce4 Ti 4200 8X (ELSA Gladiac 528) for US$32, $16 (both from auctions), and $5 (from e-waste), respectively.

Matrolisk wrote on 2022-11-05, 01:40:

Also would something like this work for transferring files?
https://www.ebay.ca/itm/193578823084

Certainly, just remember the SD card would be considered as a fixed HDD and NOT hot-swappable.

Matrolisk wrote on 2022-11-05, 01:40:

GPU-Either the ASUS NVIDIA GeForce4 TI 4400 128MB V8440 or XFX Geforce 4 TI 4200 128MB DDR SDRAM AGP 4x GRAFIKKARTE
(Not sure if the first is 8x or 4x and it's about $75 more)

The AGP4x versions of GeForce4 Ti cards are more desirable. They can use slightly older drivers and also overclock better (if one wants to bother with that).

And yeah, the Ti4400 is not worth the extra $75 for only a slight increase in speed over the Ti4200.