There should be empty memory slots on the motherboard to upgrade the CL. You can get memory chips off of other graphics card or buy on ebay, etc. Honestly though, the memory upgrade will only give you higher SVGA resolutions, no impact on game framerates. The CL is not terrible, but definitely not your best choice. The V1000 is actually a fairly uncommon card and from what I remember, was a decent Windows accelerator, but not very good in DOS. Plus, combined with the V2, you can test games that supported both, like Quake and Grand Prix Legends. 😎

Personally, I'd use the V1000 with the V2. If there are issues with compatibility, you can always fall back to the CL+V2.

Mid 1990s? That straddles the border between DOS and firmly 2D (or at least: no 3D acceleration) and Windows supporting acceleration. This Deskpro 2000 would be excellent at the former and pretty crap at the latter. How crap depends on the motherboard chipset. Later Deskpro 2000 used the quite adequate AMD640/Via VP2, earlier ones used the abominable Compaq Triflex.

If you want to span a considerable range of performance and operating systems, you generally want a very controllable system at the higher end of your range. A Deskpro 2000 is hardly high-end and like other OEM systems offers very limited configuration options. I'd recommend pretty much any contemporary noname system over this one, and actually I'd recommend two separate systems - a DOS system with VGA & (ISA) sound aimed at the last DOS titles (this Deskpro2000 could do that) and a Win9x system with (accelerated) VGA and 3D sound aimed at that stuff. I'd generally suggest something from the P3-era for that.

Given that context, what do you expect to gain by increasing the video memory of the onboard CL5434? All that will give you is higher supported resolutions/colour depths. For DOS it's pretty irrelevant as hardly any games even come close to the limits of 1MB (640x480@24b, 800x600@16b, 1024x768@8b), but for Windows, running a desktop at either 800x600@16b or 1024x768@8b is painful. 2MB lets you go to 1024x768@16b, whcih is good enough for most period-correct work. What the extra memory won't give you is any extra performance.

For more performance, you'd need another card. That Verite Rendition V1000 is a bit of an oddball, but a definite improvement over the CL5434 in (Windows/DX) performance and an excellent 1996 option. Chuck in a Voodoo2 for 1998 and you can run pretty much anything that a CPU that could fit in the Deskpro 2000. And of course, 4MB lets you run 1024x767@24b on the desktop, which is nice.
For DOS the Verite's not going to make much difference. The compatibility matrix shows it has similar compatibility to the GD5434, which is slightly above average - not as good as 3dfx, nVidia or S3 but much better than ATi or Matrox chipsets. If you hit issues, you can always try with the onboard CL5434 instead.

The Deskpro 2000 uses a small PCB with the two memory chips piggybacked to the existing video RAM to upgrade the video memory.
Search for Compaq 213859-001 Video Memory 1MB Upgrade Board will quickly show up some pictures in online search, or even auctions.
I would prefer upgrading the onboard video with the voodoo board for gaming performance.
eisapc

Thanks for the advice, I'll try using the V1000 first rather than fiddle with finding more memory for the onboard.

I'm using these parts because they're what I found in the attic, I would be open to the idea of buying new parts if they are affordable (I'm going to be using a CF IDE adapter for example).

Older games are probably higher priority for me, I had a PC a very long time ago that had very limited colours and I'd like to play some of these with lovely VGA goodness (Civilization, Elite etc.). So with that in mind, I am not terribly concerned about 3D-acceleration but I thought since I had a Voodoo2 handy I could put Windows 98 on it.

In that case you should be set, just don't expect too much from the CPU - it will be the limiting factor under Windows, particularly in anything actually using the Voodoo2.

Re the CF, remember that DOS 6.22 is FAT16 only, so supports max partition size of 2GB.

Aah I see, can I split an 8GB into 2+6 for DOS and Windows respectively? I haven't looked into boot managers or anything yet so not sure if it's possible. Is it not a good idea to just use the DOS that's baked into Windows 98?

Also if I were to pick up a used graphics card, what would be something age-appropriate? I've read recommendations for S3 Virge DX.

What about MMX CPU's? Currently the CPU is a P166, would it be possible to get a 200mhz MMX variant in there?

MarbleMouse wrote:

Aah I see, can I split an 8GB into 2+6 for DOS and Windows respectively? I haven't looked into boot managers or anything yet so not sure if it's possible. Is it not a good idea to just use the DOS that's baked into Windows 98?

DOS 7.x as supplied with Windows isn't a full DOS environment like 6.22 would be. It also causes issues with some hard and software - most famously with newer Creative Soundblaster ISA PnP cards. The tools flatly refuse to run under DOS 7.x. There are workarounds, but it remains a pain in the rear-end.

Windows will happily work with FAT16 partitions, so you don't need separate partitions. Instead I'd go for separate CF cards, one 2GB card for DOS, another larger one for Windows.

Also if I were to pick up a used graphics card, what would be something age-appropriate? I've read recommendations for S3 Virge DX.

S3 Virge cards are common as muck, perform well at 2D and have superb DOS and Windows compatibility. But they wouldn't really add much beyond what your V1000 can do. Tbh video cards are the least of your concert with what you have now.

What about MMX CPU's? Currently the CPU is a P166, would it be possible to get a 200mhz MMX variant in there?

I already asked about the motherboard (chipset), that's relevant here. If it's the Triflex: no. If it's the AMD640/VP2: yes, if the voltage regulator circuitry is present. Worst-case you could upgrade to P200 (which isn't really worth it), but an MMX would be significantly faster due to the bigger L1 cache.

MarbleMouse wrote:

Older games are probably higher priority for me, I had a PC a very long time ago that had very limited colours and I'd like to play some of these with lovely VGA goodness (Civilization, Elite etc.). So with that in mind, I am not terribly concerned about 3D-acceleration but I thought since I had a Voodoo2 handy I could put Windows 98 on it.

What about MMX CPU's? Currently the CPU is a P166, would it be possible to get a 200mhz MMX variant in there?

With older DOS games there is more potential of 2D compatibility issues with the Verite. I also have a vague memory of Verite being really slow in DOS 2D, someone else can confirm? The CL is about as compatible as you can get, with solid image quality, and you probably won't be playing any DOS games in SVGA, (which is where the CL's performance will falter) so I'd personally either stick with the Cirrus Logic or get something like an S3 Virge variant.

If you can find a Pentium Overdrive MMX cpu (either 166 or 200Mhz), then you'll open the doors to more slowdown options using setmul. Plus, like dionb mentioned, the extra L1 cache will help out for any later games that push performance. But in general, a 166Mhz P54C will have no problem with any VGA DOS game. It's when you start to go beyond 320x200 that the MMX or a faster 2D core will make any sort of difference.

MarbleMouse wrote:

Would the onboard CL be fine enough on its own with 1MB?

anything requiring more video ram will either require 3dfx, or wont run at acceptable speed at all on socket 7

rasz_pl wrote:

MarbleMouse wrote:

Would the onboard CL be fine enough on its own with 1MB?

anything requiring more video ram will either require 3dfx, or wont run at acceptable speed at all on socket 7

I second that.

Tseng ET6000 with 2,25MB of RAM was considered an overkill for DOS/Windows not 3D-accelerated gaming back in Pentium era. More video RAM is required only in 3D accelerated games - S3 Virge + Voodoo 1 or Riva 128 PCI will be a nice upgrade for every Socket 7 system.

dionb wrote:

I already asked about the motherboard (chipset), that's relevant here. If it's the Triflex: no. If it's the AMD640/VP2: yes, if the voltage regulator circuitry is present. Worst-case you could upgrade to P200 (which isn't really worth it), but an MMX would be significantly faster due to the bigger L1 cache.

How would I tell which it is? I can't see references to either of them.

Here's a few photos of it, if that helps 😀

This board has an Intel 430HX chipset which is a good one for classic Pentiums but not many boards of this age will support Pentium MMX. I see no sign of this on this particular board, there should be an option to set the lower voltage it needs. The multiplier table shows this too but it's not a 100% sure way to tell as the MMX simply remaps 1.5x to 3.5x so it can run at 233MHz at 1.5x setting. So you should look for something saying "2.8V" or "2.9V" - something I can't see in these photos.

On the other hand, with adequate cooling a Pentium MMX should survive running at 3.3V - but I really don't know if it would work in this particular board. It's definitely off-spec, though.

As for the VRAM upgrade it's possible but I'm not sure it's worth hunting down the module it needs.
It should look something like this one I have in my "strange memories" box:

430HX and mmx is fine, I guess you mean the FX chipset?

meljor wrote:

430HX and mmx is fine, I guess you mean the FX chipset?

No. I mean the HX. AFAIK not every stepping supports MMX, and indeed I have a DTK HX board (PAM-0055I-E0) that doesn't.

Thanks everyone, I have one last question!

Regarding the power supply, I have no idea what condition it's in only that it appears to be working, but for how much longer?

Is there a way of using a modern ATX power supply? I have a spare Corsair AX750 lying around, is it just a case of using adapters or is it totally incompatible?