Btw does anyone want to suggest an era appropriate PCI sound card? Im thinking either a 24-Bit LIVE or an Audigy

Windows 98 or XP? Would you prefer bit perfect playback or superior EAX support?

gdjacobs wrote:

Windows 98 or XP? Would you prefer bit perfect playback or superior EAX support?

This will most likely end up with a Dual Boot of some sort but Windows XP will most likely be the focus since that chipsets Windows 98 support is limited from what i can tell and that proccesor is a tad bit fast for windows 98 since anything that has a framerate-locked gameplay speed will end up a racing game. And EAX support is diffenatly on my list of high prioritys since i do own around 50-60 EAX-Enabled games like Battlefield Vietnam.

I like the idea of buying an OEM box, then adding parts and modifying it to your needs. Maybe some photos of the build as you go along?

PhilsComputerLab wrote:

I like the idea of buying an OEM box, then adding parts and modifying it to your needs. Maybe some photos of the build as you go along?

Thats why i created this. and yes i do this with OEMs quite often. I have a Optiplex 760 with 4GB of Crucial 800mHZ DDR2 RAM, an 768MB XFX 8800GTX, 3 Hard Drives, and Dual Boot 7/XP along with a 500W EVGA PSU as my HTPC and an Optiplex 330 Slim with a Core2Quad Q6600, 4GB of PNY Optima DDR2 667, a MSI GTX 750TI 2GB, 4 HDDs and an X-Fi Soundcard as my main systems. Lol i have a deskfan flush against the case for cooling the CPU which this mobo isnt even rated for, the Heatsink is resting on the GPU because i had to remove its mounts to make both it and the GPU fit etc ive done CRAZY thing to PCs. I used to have an HP SR2020NX with a AMD Athlon 64 3500+, 2GB of RAM, and a GT520 on an NFOrce 430 mobo but i disassembled it because one part would fail as soon as i got another replaced. But yeah ill post pics of the parts i've already go lying around i intend for this system tommorow and Pics of the PC when it gets here on or before the 6th of april.

Also, No the part about the 330 Slim isnt an april fools joke. I can post pictures. I see you have a youtube channel, if you ever want to know how i pulled those mods off just PM me. It wasnt easy 🤣

TheAbandonwareGuy wrote:

This will most likely end up with a Dual Boot of some sort but Windows XP will most likely be the focus since that chipsets Windows 98 support is limited from what i can tell and that proccesor is a tad bit fast for windows 98 since anything that has a framerate-locked gameplay speed will end up a racing game. And EAX support is diffenatly on my list of high prioritys since i do own around 50-60 EAX-Enabled games like Battlefield Vietnam.

I hate to reward Creative for being the jerks they are, but it sounds like an Audigy is the right card for you.

Make sure you replace the power supply on that thing, if it hasn't already been replaced by an aftermarket one. The PSUs that shipped with those systems were notoriously flaky.

mr_bigmouth_502 wrote:

Make sure you replace the power supply on that thing, if it hasn't already been replaced by an aftermarket one. The PSUs that shipped with those systems were notoriously flaky.

Yeah ill definitly be replacing that. Nearly had a cheap chinese build Shark Tech 650W burn down my house because it melted the end of the powercord that goes into the PSU. Also i checked my parts drawer and found a AGP 4x NVIDIA GeForce 4Ti 4200 64MB by MSI (assuming it works, i havent tested it) that i'll likely use til i have funds for a Voodoo card (Why are these so damn expensive compared to other retro cards like TNT2s?). and ill start looking around for a top-of-the-line audigy (Looking at a Audigy 2 ZS Gold atm). I already have some PCI network cards so im good to go there.

We have one of those at work, been running for years and years, it's never switched off, mostly used to stream internet radio into the workshop these days. P4 2.8, 1 GB RAM, i865 chipset. It's a really solid old machine.

BSA Starfire wrote:

We have one of those at work, been running for years and years, it's never switched off, mostly used to stream internet radio into the workshop these days. P4 2.8, 1 GB RAM, i865 chipset. It's a really solid old machine.

Yeah dells are suprisingly solid if you take care of them.

Ok so it arrived. Came with a Preinstalled copy of Windows XP Professional SP3 clean with no bloatware, 2GB of RAM across 4 DIMMs, and a relativly speedy CD-RW Drive along with an 80GB SeaGate Barracuda. Ive installed a GeForce 4TI 4200 128MB into it and am currently running Benchs. No floppy drive installed however but i think i have a floppy drive lying spare somewhere that ill most likely use.