Intel chipsets are known for their compatibility. Maybe something like an i815E? Why not universal AGP?

I would say universal AGP or AGP-Pro slots (essential Universal + more)

Go for an Intel D815-EEA2 or an Asus A7V266-E board. They both seem to be fairly cheap, and they are solid boards.
At least solid and stable in my book, as I have used them in a couple of build's from time to time.

clueless1 wrote:

Intel chipsets are known for their compatibility. Maybe something like an i815E? Why not universal AGP?

I've been looking at a few i815E MB and they certainly seem to fit with my needs. I had forgotten about universal AGP, so thanks for that! I guess the easiest way to identify is looking if there are no notches in the slot - am I correct?

Got my eyes on these:

- MSI MS-6337 815EPT PRO (Intel 815E)
- Asus TUSL2-C (Intel 815E)
- Abit VH6 (VIA Apollo Pro133A)
- EPoX 8KTA3L+ (VIA Apollo KT133A)

Any comments for these boards?

brostenen wrote:

I would say universal AGP or AGP-Pro slots (essential Universal + more)

Go for an Intel D815-EEA2 or an Asus A7V266-E board. They both seem to be fairly cheap, and they are solid boards.
At least solid and stable in my book, as I have used them in a couple of build's from time to time.

Hejsa! 😉

Hm, an initial Ebay didn't find much on those two boards. Am I missing something here?

rpz wrote:

brostenen wrote:

I would say universal AGP or AGP-Pro slots (essential Universal + more)

Go for an Intel D815-EEA2 or an Asus A7V266-E board. They both seem to be fairly cheap, and they are solid boards.
At least solid and stable in my book, as I have used them in a couple of build's from time to time.

Hejsa! 😉

Hm, an initial Ebay didn't find much on those two boards. Am I missing something here?

Hejsa 😁 Anyway....
There should be a "brand new" (never used) A7V266-E on "DBA" somewere. The seller is located on Sjælland.
(note... Search "Intel VC820")

A Slot 1 system should well, with a fast CPU, around 800 MHz or so.

This should work with old and new cards. Not 100% sure what your cutoff is, GF2 or GF3 maybe?

Anything newer and I would go with 2 systems. Slot 1 for DOS, Windows 9x, and Socket A / 754 / 939 or 478 / 775 for XP.

I would love to hear how you go with the very early stuff. I always struggle finding games, good benchmarks that actually run well on these old cards and are supported. There were so many different chips out there...

If it is a pure Win98 setup, using nothing but Win98 software, then ISA soundcards does not matter at all.
Then I would say that a Socket-A system with something like an AthlonXP 2400+ to 2800+ is a good choice.
Slot 1 systems with ISA slot, are for those systems, were late Dos games and early Win98 games really shine.

PhilsComputerLab wrote:

A Slot 1 system should well, with a fast CPU, around 800 MHz or so. […]
Show full quote

A Slot 1 system should well, with a fast CPU, around 800 MHz or so.

This should work with old and new cards. Not 100% sure what your cutoff is, GF2 or GF3 maybe?

Anything newer and I would go with 2 systems. Slot 1 for DOS, Windows 9x, and Socket A / 754 / 939 or 478 / 775 for XP.

I would love to hear how you go with the very early stuff. I always struggle finding games, good benchmarks that actually run well on these old cards and are supported. There were so many different chips out there...

Actually, what will become my regular system is a Slot 1 - but it is not built yet and I'd prefer to not use it for testing (which is why I'm building a test system). I've watched almost all your videos (and it was also these that finally pushed me to go ahead with this project). So thanks a lot for all the work and time you've invested in that! About the cutoff - for my regular system, it will definitely be Voodoo - see below. For the testing system I guess anything before PCIe is nostalgic enough for me - if it is possible have such a system.

My 'regular use' DOS / Win98SE system
Acquired:
MB: Intel SE440BX-2 (got this brand new, seal on the antistatic bag not even broken)
CPU: PIII, 650Mhz (this is only for the initial build - I want to either get a faster Slot 1 or go Slot 1 > 370 and use a Tualatin)
Memory: 128MB (also just for initial build - will max out once everything else is up and running)

To Get:
GPU: Voodoo2 SLI or Voodoo 5 5500
Audio: YMF718-S (Yamaha Audician 32 Plus) for ISA and Audigy 2 ZS for PCI
HD: Haven't decided yet on this. On this particular matter, I prefer stability over nostalgia - so maybe go with a SD adapter. Otherwise a modern SATA disk with IDE adapter
Chassis: Still considering what to get. I'm in contact with another Vogons member to get a Aopen case. Having a 90's/early 2000's case is important for me in terms of nostalgia.
Monitor: Currently, I'll be checking out a Dell M991 19" CRT (black). I'd prefer a Trinitron or Flatron, but it's difficult to get.

Any comments or notes about this, please let me know! 😀

brostenen wrote:

If it is a pure Win98 setup, using nothing but Win98 software, then ISA soundcards does not matter at all.
Then I would say that a Socket-A system with something like an AthlonXP 2400+ to 2800+ is a good choice.
Slot 1 systems with ISA slot, are for those systems, were late Dos games and early Win98 games really shine.

Yeah, a pure Win98 system for testing purposes might not be a bad idea. The only thing is the risk of getting a newer graphics card (closer to 2005) and no drivers being available for Win98. Maybe that's just in my head?

Nice 🤣

Well have fun with your testing, I always enjoy benchmarking cards I've never used before.

This seller, has 4 computers that might or might not be at some interrest to you.

http://www.dba.dk/brugerens-annoncer/brugerid-4672990/

Wow I was just thinking of building a test system myself 🤣

I used my 98 gaming pc for a bit to test my graphics cards and found that its Abit BE6 motherbpard is excellent for testing cards-- 440bx chipset, and you can use AGP, pci and ISA cards to boot, it recognizes all three. Paired with an overclocked 600mhz Coppermine Pentium III it's a great temporary test system till I buy a second motherboard and build a dedicated test system.

brostenen wrote:

This seller, has 4 computers that might or might not be at some interrest to you.

http://www.dba.dk/brugerens-annoncer/brugerid-4672990/

Thanks a lot, I might just get one of those just for the case 😁

Yeah.... Though I fear that they are flimsy as every other early-00's cases.
Never the less.... They are a start, untill something better shows up.

rpz wrote:

I had forgotten about universal AGP, so thanks for that! I guess the easiest way to identify is looking if there are no notches in the slot - am I correct?

Correct.

rpz wrote:

My 'regular use' DOS / Win98SE system Acquired: MB: Intel SE440BX-2 (got this brand new, seal on the antistatic bag not even bro […]
Show full quote

My 'regular use' DOS / Win98SE system
Acquired:
MB: Intel SE440BX-2 (got this brand new, seal on the antistatic bag not even broken)
CPU: PIII, 650Mhz (this is only for the initial build - I want to either get a faster Slot 1 or go Slot 1 > 370 and use a Tualatin)
Memory: 128MB (also just for initial build - will max out once everything else is up and running)

Unfortunately, the SE4440BX-2 has a fairly locked down BIOS. It doesn't support non Intel CPUs nor P3s with an FSB > 100 mhz. Furthermore, BIOS modding is problematic due to the non-socketed EEPROM which precludes hot swapping in the event of a flash failure.

brostenen wrote:

Yeah.... Though I fear that they are flimsy as every other early-00's cases.
Never the less.... They are a start, untill something better shows up.

The XP 1800 got an Enlight case, so for the systems listed I would choose that one.

brostenen wrote:

I would say universal AGP or AGP-Pro slots (essential Universal + more)

Go for an Intel D815-EEA2 or an Asus A7V266-E board. They both seem to be fairly cheap, and they are solid boards.
At least solid and stable in my book, as I have used them in a couple of build's from time to time.

I like the idea of having AGP-Pro support! Workstation graphic cards are dirty cheap now and I would love to see how they compete in games.
To eliminate the possible bottleneck from CPU it's better to go high end on CPU and motherboards, but not too high to lose AGP 2x support, and I agree that Intel platforms have less compatibility issues. That leads to a Tualatin + 815 setup. I did a google search and this is an example of such board, TUSL2, but I am not sure about the reputation of this particular board.

gdjacobs wrote:

Unfortunately, the SE4440BX-2 has a fairly locked down BIOS. It doesn't support non Intel CPUs nor P3s with an FSB > 100 mhz. Furthermore, BIOS modding is problematic due to the non-socketed EEPROM which precludes hot swapping in the event of a flash failure.

Thank you for the details. I remember seeing a post with somebody running the SE4440BX-2 with a 1.2Ghz (I think) Tualatin with a BIOS downgrade. However, I can't find it now - so I'm probably wrong. Would you consider a PIII 1Ghz@100FSB a 'fast Win98' rig?

Kamerat wrote:

The XP 1800 got an Enlight case, so for the systems listed I would choose that one.

Enlight cases doesn't ring a bell to me - were they popular? It does have the right 90's look though 😀

rpz wrote:

gdjacobs wrote:

Unfortunately, the SE4440BX-2 has a fairly locked down BIOS. It doesn't support non Intel CPUs nor P3s with an FSB > 100 mhz. Furthermore, BIOS modding is problematic due to the non-socketed EEPROM which precludes hot swapping in the event of a flash failure.

Thank you for the details. I remember seeing a post with somebody running the SE4440BX-2 with a 1.2Ghz (I think) Tualatin with a BIOS downgrade. However, I can't find it now - so I'm probably wrong. Would you consider a PIII 1Ghz@100FSB a 'fast Win98' rig?

Yeah, for sure, although the limitation is in the BIOS, so if there's a firmware revision which is more compatible I'd be very interested to hear about it.