Case looks like a Pentium 3/early P4 era case. Honestly a P1 should feel right at home in there. The Virge DX to GX upgrade is not worth it honestly. Here is a great in depth review and testing http://vintage3d.org/virgedx.php#sthash.UTEmI2oR.dpbs the DX makes a great 2D card and the pair of SLI Voodoo's will pick up all the slack for 3D. Maybe a good SB16 or Awe32 for audio? Only chance I can think of. In any case sounds like a nice build and looking forward to pics 😀

I would think a Voodoo 1 would be better for a Pentium 1 build. You need P2/P3 setup to feed SLI Voodoo 2.

Unknown_K wrote:

I would think a Voodoo 1 would be better for a Pentium 1 build. You need P2/P3 setup to feed SLI Voodoo 2.

Voodoo 1 is more period correct, but Voodoo 2s are a little cheaper on average, and with batch files can run nearly all of the statically-linked DOS Glide games with the exception of Dreams into Reality I believe.

With a 200MHz PMMX you would definitely get some performance increase with a single V2 over the V1. Two V2s in SLI would be wasted on any Socket 7 machine though.

ODwilly wrote:

Case looks like a Pentium 3/early P4 era case. Honestly a P1 should feel right at home in there. The Virge DX to GX upgrade is not worth it honestly. Here is a great in depth review and testing http://vintage3d.org/virgedx.php#sthash.UTEmI2oR.dpbs the DX makes a great 2D card and the pair of SLI Voodoo's will pick up all the slack for 3D. Maybe a good SB16 or Awe32 for audio? Only chance I can think of. In any case sounds like a nice build and looking forward to pics 😀

Tnx for the link, makes the decision alot easier as the upgrade would merely be "the name" rather then noticable improvement.
The audio card awe32 are expensive, maybe some nearby garage sales offer some included in a whole computer.

Unknown_K wrote:

I would think a Voodoo 1 would be better for a Pentium 1 build. You need P2/P3 setup to feed SLI Voodoo 2.

what are you referring too, power consumption or actually fully utilising the cards to their full potential?

ElementalChaos wrote:

Unknown_K wrote:

I would think a Voodoo 1 would be better for a Pentium 1 build. You need P2/P3 setup to feed SLI Voodoo 2.

Voodoo 1 is more period correct, but Voodoo 2s are a little cheaper on average, and with batch files can run nearly all of the statically-linked DOS Glide games with the exception of Dreams into Reality I believe.

With a 200MHz PMMX you would definitely get some performance increase with a single V2 over the V1. Two V2s in SLI would be wasted on any Socket 7 machine though.

hmmm, you have a point there although for now I will keep both of them in there and maybe change them out at a later date when I start my P2 project for the Voodoo 1. The intention for this build is that it should run old Dos games and run windows games under W98 (SE), so it should be able to run games like Earth 2150/Tiberian Sun/Dune 2000/age of empires II maybe even stronghold/Diablo II (stronghold will be close and diablo 2 might not be possible outright).
Besides that if its possible, its also for shits and giggles to outperform a friends pentium I build he build recently. and ofcourse the 1024x768 *insert random nipple rub emoticon*

Richo wrote:

what are you referring too, power consumption or actually fully utilising the cards to their full potential? […]
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Unknown_K wrote:

I would think a Voodoo 1 would be better for a Pentium 1 build. You need P2/P3 setup to feed SLI Voodoo 2.

what are you referring too, power consumption or actually fully utilising the cards to their full potential?

ElementalChaos wrote:

Unknown_K wrote:

I would think a Voodoo 1 would be better for a Pentium 1 build. You need P2/P3 setup to feed SLI Voodoo 2.

Voodoo 1 is more period correct, but Voodoo 2s are a little cheaper on average, and with batch files can run nearly all of the statically-linked DOS Glide games with the exception of Dreams into Reality I believe.

With a 200MHz PMMX you would definitely get some performance increase with a single V2 over the V1. Two V2s in SLI would be wasted on any Socket 7 machine though.

hmmm, you have a point there although for now I will keep both of them in there and maybe change them out at a later date when I start my P2 project for the Voodoo 1. The intention for this build is that it should run old Dos games and run windows games under W98 (SE), so it should be able to run games like Earth 2150/Tiberian Sun/Dune 2000/age of empires II maybe even stronghold/Diablo II (stronghold will be close and diablo 2 might not be possible outright).
Besides that if its possible, its also for shits and giggles to outperform a friends pentium I build he build recently. and ofcourse the 1024x768 *insert random nipple rub emoticon*

He is referring to fully utilising the cards. Realistically, even just 1 Voodoo2 would be overkill for a P1, let alone the added complexity of SLI. They continue to improve performance up to about 1GHz CPUs. Why subject both to use and heat if it isn't necessary?

You can just use one of the two voodoo 2 and it should perform the same. Yeah you won't have 1024*768 on 3D games with just one of them, but it would be unplayable otherwise anyway. You *can* feel some improvements with framerate on a pentium between the voodoo 1 and the voodoo 2, but it won't make the game completely smooth most of the time (on my pentium mmx 200, lego racers was a little bit laggy when using a voodoo 1 but payable whereas it was smooth with my voodoo 2, but it's the only example of game that becomes completely smooth with this. Otherwise, most game that could benefit from it would probably ask too munch to the pentium). So running two voodoo 2 in sli (oced to 100mhz ?) is definitely worthless, but just one is fine

From my point of view a P1 is perfect for early 3dfx games at 640x480 on a Voodoo 1 which is what I currently have in one of my machines. My V2 SLI is in a Gateway 2000 tower with a P3-500 slot 1.

Granted Voodoo 2's are easier to source these days then V1's, I only have one spare V1 myself.

Whatever everybody already said for SLI Voodoo 2 is very true. Your second Voodoo2 would be a wasted investment on a Pentium platform. It will only add an unplayable (CPU bottle neck) higher resolution, and nothing else.

For soundcard, I would suggest an SB AWE64. As far as I know, they are still relatively cheap when compared to AWE32 cards, and even better SB16 cards.

ODwilly wrote:

Case looks like a Pentium 3/early P4 era case. Honestly a P1 should feel right at home in there. The Virge DX to GX upgrade is not worth it honestly. Here is a great in depth review and testing http://vintage3d.org/virgedx.php#sthash.UTEmI2oR.dpbs the DX makes a great 2D card and the pair of SLI Voodoo's will pick up all the slack for 3D. Maybe a good SB16 or Awe32 for audio? Only chance I can think of. In any case sounds like a nice build and looking forward to pics 😀

Was taking apart the tower to clean it and came across the production date (I believe that has something to do with the CE mark): Clicky
It seems the tower was from 12-1996, a Task TK-430

Already took the tower apart and fixed most of the things that were broken or not to my satisfaction; replaced all screws to match 1 type, put small rubber rings between them to prevent vibration noises, superglued loose steel so they wouldn't start vibrating.

clicky 1
clicky 2
clicky 3

the only thing that still remains is the power button which I would need to fully repaint (for now its a fast paint job with car paint) and I need to look for a spring as the power button is missing one, already tried using one from a ballpen but those were to small of a fit.
The diskette drive is one from '97 which I bought the case on, also the seller included some cables and toshiba 32x cd-rom '98. So after I tested them I will refurbish and clean them.

tayyare wrote:

Whatever everybody already said for SLI Voodoo 2 is very true. Your second Voodoo2 would be a wasted investment on a Pentium platform. It will only add an unplayable (CPU bottle neck) higher resolution, and nothing else.

For soundcard, I would suggest an SB AWE64. As far as I know, they are still relatively cheap when compared to AWE32 cards, and even better SB16 cards.

Thanks, the Ebay AWE 32 are abit expensive. got a AWE 64 on a national selling website for a good price.

I am in the midst of building such a box. I have decided on a 1997'ish build for myself. I am going for nostalgia and compatibility with a few cheats.

OS: Windows 95 OSR2 - FAT32, DOS 7.1, period correct, lightweight, does what I want.
Motherboard: Intel 430 VX or TX chipset - stable, compatible, period correct, does what I want.
CPU: Intel Pentium 233 MMX - period correct, awesome. Either run it at 133 or be able to easily switch between 133 and 233.
RAM: 32 or 64MB SDRAM - I am leaning heavily towards 32MB of RAM, which is what I had in 1997.
Video Card: S3 Virge/DX or GX - Very compatible, period correct, both cards use same BIOS.
3D Card: Monster 3D Voodoo 1 - defacto 3D card of that era and I had one.
Sound Card: Yamaha YMF-719 modified per James-F for filter and wavetable - Almost perfect sound blaster pro compatibility, low noise, just great. Possibly toss in a SB16 too but not needed.
MIDI Module: DreamBlaster S1 - I have one, inexpensive, sounds good to me, was easy to find. I mostly use FM anyway.
Power Supply: Modern Seasonic ATX - has much better safety features for my precious hardware.
Case: a close to period correct ATX beige case.
Optical Drive: not period correct, just have color match case
Hard Drive: 120GB IDE drive - not period correct but compatible and plenty of room to store ISO files on.
Floppy Drive: single 3.5", 1.44MB drive - period correct, gotta have it.

Just my thoughts. Your parts selection looks good!

Anyone have any thoughts on 32MB vs 64MB for such a system? I didn't see OP list amount of RAM anyways.

EDIT: I like that case by the way.

squareguy wrote:

I am in the midst of building such a box. I have decided on a 1997'ish build for myself. I am going for nostalgia and compatib […]
Show full quote

I am in the midst of building such a box. I have decided on a 1997'ish build for myself. I am going for nostalgia and compatibility with a few cheats.

OS: Windows 95 OSR2 - FAT32, DOS 7.1, period correct, lightweight, does what I want.
Motherboard: Intel 430 VX or TX chipset - stable, compatible, period correct, does what I want.
CPU: Intel Pentium 233 MMX - period correct, awesome. Either run it at 133 or be able to easily switch between 133 and 233.
RAM: 32 or 64MB SDRAM - I am leaning heavily towards 32MB of RAM, which is what I had in 1997.
Video Card: S3 Virge/DX or GX - Very compatible, period correct, both cards use same BIOS.
3D Card: Monster 3D Voodoo 1 - defacto 3D card of that era and I had one.
Sound Card: Yamaha YMF-719 modified per James-F for filter and wavetable - Almost perfect sound blaster pro compatibility, low noise, just great. Possibly toss in a SB16 too but not needed.
MIDI Module: DreamBlaster S1 - I have one, inexpensive, sounds good to me, was easy to find. I mostly use FM anyway.
Power Supply: Modern Seasonic ATX - has much better safety features for my precious hardware.
Case: a close to period correct ATX beige case.
Optical Drive: not period correct, just have color match case
Hard Drive: 120GB IDE drive - not period correct but compatible and plenty of room to store ISO files on.
Floppy Drive: single 3.5", 1.44MB drive - period correct, gotta have it.

Just my thoughts. Your parts selection looks good!

Anyone have any thoughts on 32MB vs 64MB for such a system? I didn't see OP list amount of RAM anyways.

EDIT: I like that case by the way.

64 mb SD ram is what I will be using, its high but not 128 mb too high;)
I will be running Win98SE although win95+ also has possibilities (Depends what I can get with original serial key)
most of my stuff varies in between 1996 and 1998 (tower '96, HD samsung wn31273A '96, mainbord '97, floppy '97, CD-rom '98, voodoo '98), I am actually surprised about how I was able to actually stay within my goal (the power supply will be new either AT or ATX, ill see how decent the ATX are at lower Watt's otherwise I will get a new FSP AT power supply, also the HD I will be using is a DoM 8 GB IDE so yeah:D)

You can find Windows 95 and 98 new/used on ebay. If you get 98 make sure it is SE like you want. If you go with 95 make sure it is OSR2, below that has no FAT32 and OSR2.5 has integrated IE in explorer like 98.

This is what OSR2 looks like

http://www.ebay.com/itm/Microsoft-WINDOWS-95- … PMAAOSwm0JYDfA9

It has USB support but not the integrated Internet Explorer / Windows Explorer

I think win98 will be a no go since I am planning on building a p2 in the near future so I will be switching between those systems using a KVM switch, which I hope is compatible with Windows 98 and later(the P2 will be running a modded winME)

Richo wrote:

Sound card: sound boaster v1.4

Gotta have one of these, maybe a Sound Toaster 9000 too... 😁
You can't go wrong with a Audician 32 Plus (YMF71x) especially when modified.

A Pentium MMX can do 486 and 386 with caches disabled.
Overall you got all the right parts in the first post.

I like to stick my Pentium P54 machines in small beige AT minitower cases. They're the most appropriate for me.

Today I recieved my Mobo, memory and CPU. finally I was able to start assembling the build, only to realise after I was done and started it up that it DIDN'T work 😠
Tried everything except measuring the every electrical line on the mobo.
- different PSU (no effect)
- different memory (2x edo, 2x SD) (no effect)
- different CPU (no effect)
- 2x different graphics card and also the on board one (no effect, used a different PCI slot for the second graphics card just in case)
- removed everything redundant (no effect)
- different keyboard (no effect)
- different screen (no effect)
- different power switch (no effect)
my conclussion is a broken mobo, but broken where I dunno. Returning it as I bought it on ebay, not my problem anymore (its either the Caps or something else). I am quite dissapointed as I was looking forward for this build to properly work.
finally, first I need to settle everything with the seller (hopefully we can settle this fast and easy) and from there on I can start looking for a new Mobo.
My first idea of the Mobo was based on experience from friends who were had a few and were most satisfied with in generally asus and the sis chipset, but after that I have very little to experience going for me for the build I am going for.
what would be recommended chipsets to start looking out for?

I would agree that it is most likely the motherboard.

Have you tried clearing the CMOS? You didn't mention it.

tincup wrote:

Have you tried clearing the CMOS? You didn't mention it.

Yeah forgot to mention it but I cleared it through jumper settings.