All of this made me think that maybe I can reformulate the hardware configuration... I still have this old pentium laying around that could be a Dos dedicated machine:

Pentium-S 133 MHz / MS-DOS 6.22 / for 2D games
Pentium-MMX 200 MHz / Win98SE / for using with Voodoo 1

Seems adequate?

that would make a nice DOS/3Dfx rig.

I want to build the Pentium-S 133 because of all the games from the early nineties, but fitting a voodoo1 in it wouldn't be the best choice would it? So I keep this one and upgrade it to 200MMX so it can cope with voodoo1.

Having a Voodoo 2 can also work with the P200. Yes, it will require the use of batch files to get the Glide DOS games running, but you will be able to play games at 800x600 (or 1024x768 with SLI). POD and Quake are examples of games that run very well in 800x600 on a P200.

Well, the idea is to simplify but multiply, and having one dos-only games pc (that would be the P133 with a 2D card) and a Voodoo1 PC (the P200MMX), plus for the Voodoo2 (SLI or not) I'm upgrading my PII350.

Rigs:
1- Pentium-S 133MHz + 2D card (from late 80's to mid 90's)
2- Pentium MMX 200MHz + Voodoo1 (for the early 3D)
3- Slot 1 PentiumII (upgraded to ?500MHz?) + Voodoo2
4- Athlon XP + Geforce4 (for the best performance under Win98)
5- ...and maybe soon a 486 + overdrive, just because 😉
6- and at a long run a 386DX 33MHz.
7- Think I'm going to stop here.

*plus I have a Compaq with VIA MVP4 (with Trident Blade3D !) and a K6-2.

I used a 386sx 20MHz with 8MB clear into the Windows 95 years. I wonder why everyone jumps to Pentiums for early 90s games. I bought mine in the early 90s. Maybe it's just availability due to exploding batteries, etc and the flood of P1s for sale. My local thrift stores are 85-90% Pentium 1s. I guess I answered my own question but when I think DOS games I think 386.

I agree. My story is very similar, my 386SX at 25MHz ( sorry my 386SX was a whole 5 MEGA HERTZ faster 🤣 ) was where I played all my games in the 90's, it was a present from my dad in 1991 and I used it right until I went to college in 1998( and switch for P2).
The 486 are also a good reference, but mainly when the "multimidia capabilities" hype was starting to catch on, so mid 90's. I actualy installed a sound card on the 386 around that time.

I think there's one more reason beside the one's you've already pointed, the abibity to disable L1 , L2 or both at the same time, makes them a good choice for those who want to be able to play some "386/486" games and "pentium" alike on the same system.

When I joined this forum I was a "all-in-one-pc" kind of guy , but now I have a 386, a 486, pentium-s , pentium-mmx/voodoo 1, p2/voodoo2, athlon/geforce4, and was recently "forced" to start a Dual Core/ 8800GT.
I'm in my thirties now, so I don't have plans to go beyond Windows XP for my "retro-gaming", but my favorite era is and always will be the corresponding to my 386 days 😉

Filosofia wrote:

now I have a 386, a 486, pentium-s , pentium-mmx/voodoo 1, p2/voodoo2...

Sounds like you've got a nice setup. I've heard about cache disabling but I just really want the real thing. Even when I picked up my current 486 I couldn't use it unless it was on a 14" monitor. I have my sights set on a 386 for Christmas.

Filosofia wrote:

When I joined this forum I was a "all-in-one-pc" kind of guy , but now I have a 386, a 486, pentium-s , pentium-mmx/voodoo 1, p2/voodoo2, athlon/geforce4, and was recently "forced" to start a Dual Core/ 8800GT...

same here...funny the way that happens 😳

MrTentacleGuy wrote:

I wonder why everyone jumps to Pentiums for early 90s games.

Because there's not that many early 90s games that won't run on a Pentium. If it's too fast on a Pentium it will be too fast on anything faster than a 386. But a 386 can't really play DOOM or System Shock, so better to go with the Pentium.

That, and it's easy to build a pentium DOS rig with dirt cheap and plentiful PCI cards. Plus you get USB and PS/2 ports with a socket 7 system, and SDRAM is dirt cheap too. And you get a BIOS that will address more than 504mb of your hard disk, you probably even have an onboard IDE controller. Also, a removable coin cell battery is practically a given.

Now that I think about it, there's really a ton of advantages of a Pentium box for 90s DOS gaming. I do really like my Tandy machines and my 486, but if I could only keep one it would be my Pentium.

Hatta wrote:

Now that I think about it, there's really a ton of advantages of a Pentium box for 90s DOS gaming. I do really like my Tandy machines and my 486, but if I could only keep one it would be my Pentium.

Same here. I have a stack of retro PC's, but if I didn't have the room then a Pentium 1 + a modern machine would cover everything I'd want to play (early 90's and up).

But let's hope it doesn't come to that!