First post, by valnar
Over a decade ago when I decided to build my retro DOS+Windows 98 machines, I decided on the ASUS P2B motherboards (i440BX chipset) because it had all the slots and compatibility necessary - AGP, PCI and ISA. I have a SB16, MIDI cards, etc. To make it faster, I used a Slotket or Powerleap adapter and could get up to a Tualatin CPU running in it.
However, for the life of me I can't recall why I didn't just buy an i815EP board instead. It could natively support ISA, has faster ATAPI/IDE and could accept a Tualatin CPU.
I don't expect anyone to read my mind, but can anyone recall any special features (regarding retro gaming) that would be inherent to the 440BX generation that is NOT in a 815E/815EP? Do they both work with DDMA? Was anything us gamers care about removed between the two generations? I assume both support DOS, Windows 3.1 and Windows 98 just fine?
I was thinking of buying another motherboard and after looking at the options, I don't know why I just didn't do it all on an 815EP chipset in the first place.