Some DOS games are speed sensitive. See here: https://www.vogonswiki.com/index.php/List_of_ … sensitive_games

Additionally, certain Windows games can have issues when used on newer hardware. This thread covers those: Problematic Windows games list

You don't have to go with something as new as s478 in order to get SATA. I've used SATA PCI cards in Socket 7 boards. Pretty sure Socket 4 and 5 should work as well. Just need the option in the BIOS to boot from SCSI.

Thing with S478 is when you want fully working ISA slots, the boards end up usually being pretty expensive.

For older stuff, you can easily use the IDE to SATA adapters.

Why does it has to be SATA? To use SSDs?
Like cyclone3d said: You can use an IDE to SATA adapter.

For DOS you will want an ISA sound card for compatibility reasons.
Pentium 4 boards with ISA are rare. Getting a Socket 370 board with ISA is much easier.
On both you will be fairly limited when it comes to downclocking and will have to use programs like Slowdown.

Check out Phils Super Socket 7 time machine:
https://youtu.be/9CgisEFObjA?t=1296
But that's gonna be rather expensive. Expect something like 500 bucks or spend 1-2 years to hunt down bargains.
Instead of Voodoo3 I would recommend GeForce2 MX400 + Voodoo2. Don't bother using a GeForce2 Ultra or something like that. They drain to much power and will degrade the AGP slot over time. Also the CPU would bottlenneck a GF2 Ultra.

Lylat1an wrote on 2022-01-09, 17:43:

I'm looking to make a new DOS/98SE gaming build.

However I want the system to use SATA storage, and the controller cards need at least PCI 2.2.

No they don't. Look for Promise SATA150 cards (TX2(Plus), TX4), they work in PCI 2.1 5V only buses as found on late So7 and early Slot1 / So370.

Note that Via chipsets with 686-southbridge and Intel 8xx chipsets offer PCI 2.2 so should work with newer controllers too. You don't need to go for P4 to get PCI 2.2. The Via chipsets in particular are interesting for DOS builds as they still support native ISA.

RaiderOfLostVoodoo wrote on 2022-01-10, 09:37:

Don't bother using a GeForce2 Ultra or something like that. They drain to much power and will degrade the AGP slot over time.

Can you please explain what do you mean by a GF2 Ultra degrading AGP slot @RaiderOfLostVoodoo, please? I'm interested to know. Isn't the current an AGP port can draw depends on a motherboard design and AGP version? A video card is designed with that in mind. I can assume manufacturers making high end devices target high end system with powerful enough PSU but always in the respect of the spec though sometime in the margins. But I have never seen an AGP/AGP Pro slot of any version melting, breaking or corroding because of a too demanding video card. What I have seen is system freezes, graphic glitches and things like that. But maybe degradation can indeed happens, so if someone with such an experience can give an example, it's welcome.

@Lylat1an
@cyclone3d always gives good advice. For a good DOS retro gaming experience, it's better to have systems with ISA slots, limiting to motherboard with Slot 1/Slot A. Socket 370 can do, but often have only one ISA slot. Using an adapter IDE <> SATA works very well. From my experience, the only thing is that sometimes, a few SATA drives can be a little long to be detected during POST. There is also the possibility to use controllers such as Promise controllers and the like that can bypass BIOS limits that exists in older machines, there is ISA and PCI models. PCI IDE or SATA controllers (with or without RAID support) but with embedded BIOS so it can boot can do too with the advantage of SATA versions requiring no adapter in your case.
Just for information, can you tell us what is your SATA controller card?

Edit: But if your target is W9x gaming especially, CPU speed is not a problem and ISA slot nor required. Correctly programmed DirectX games will just work fine providing the fact your drivers are compatible.

The first game that I can think of that's VERY speed sensitive was Test Drive III. Basically to find the right CPU/config speed was incredible.. too slow on my 386SX-20 and too fast on a friend 486SX-25.. 😁
And the faster the config the faster the game became.. good times.. 😁

386SX wrote on 2022-01-10, 11:17:

The first game that I can think of that's VERY speed sensitive was Test Drive III. Basically to find the right CPU/config speed was incredible.. too slow on my 386SX-20 and too fast on a friend 486SX-25.. 😁
And the faster the config the faster the game became.. good times.. 😁

Yup. I remember when switched from a 486 DX 33 MHz to a PII 300 Mhz, sometimes games were too fast, some had sound glitches, sometimes they crashes with divide by zero errors or freezes the system, sometimes the game worked but not the installer, so files had to be extracted by hand. What a time!