atariangamer wrote:

New random question for the knowledgebase... It's been awhile since I saw a CRT. In fact, I just tried to see if anywhere around me sold any (secondhand shops, computer stores, thrift stores) and it seems like some sweep happened a few years ago where everyone collectively sent their tubes to the trash.

My favorite thing about CRT monitors was the ability to jump to 75hz, 85hz, 100hz as the resolution went down. Super quick response times, decent colors if you set it up right... Can any LCD monitor fill that gap? I was kinda looking forward to one but I can't justify paying 300$ for a trinitron and then 200$ to get it shipped to me.

Are there any display opinions?

Find something local and don't be too picky.

atariangamer wrote:

New random question for the knowledgebase... It's been awhile since I saw a CRT. In fact, I just tried to see if anywhere around me sold any (secondhand shops, computer stores, thrift stores) and it seems like some sweep happened a few years ago where everyone collectively sent their tubes to the trash.

My favorite thing about CRT monitors was the ability to jump to 75hz, 85hz, 100hz as the resolution went down. Super quick response times, decent colors if you set it up right... Can any LCD monitor fill that gap? I was kinda looking forward to one but I can't justify paying 300$ for a trinitron and then 200$ to get it shipped to me.

Are there any display opinions?

You can try looking on Craigslist to see if anyone is selling a CRT Monitor on the cheap or even for free, Once in a while I see a few random CRT monitors pop up on there, posting a wanted ad helps if you're having trouble finding one.

If you choose to go for an LCD monitor, I would suggest a used/NOS high-quality 4:3 or 5:4 LCD monitor from a professional brand (A few examples include: NEC, Viewsonic, EIZO, or Sony) since they seem to be the best for gaming on a period-correct LCD.

If you are dead-set on a period correct 2000 rig, get a Socket A machine. This spec should have the fastest thing money could buy back then:

Athlon 1200MHz - http://www.cpu-world.com/CPUs/K7/AMD-Athlon%2 … A1200AMS3B.html - fastest CPU available in 2000.
Abit KT7-RAID
256MB SDR PC133
Geforce 2 GTS/PRO/Ultra (or Voodoo 5 5500 if you have deep pockets - tough the GF2 is much faster)
Aureal Vortex (If you want A3D) or Yamaha DS-XG (If you prefer great MIDI).
Optional Voodoo 2 SLi for Glide compatibility (in case you go for a Geforce card)
2x20GB HDD's in RAID

The build is fairly straight forward with the only possible complication being a poorly matched PSU (ya need a strong 5v rail for these old socket A machines) or installing the CPU cooler incorrectly and cracking the CPU. Also make sure you get a well ventilated case, the GF2 Ultra gets HOT and they are known to die from thermal stress.

If you want to go exotic, you could try and source a socket 423 pentium 4 machine - I believe the 1.5 GHz model was available at launch (november 2000?) but it's a pain in the ass to find a working CPU + motherboard + cooler. Not to mention that in 2000 all socket 423 pentiums would be using RDRAM boards, and those can be a pain in the ass to deal with, and the 1.5GHz model is slower the the 1200MHz athlon XP or the 1400Mhz P3 Tualatin. If you do want one, best bet for one of these babies is an OEM machine like the Dell GX400.

In my opinion there's nothing interesting about a year 2000 pentium 3 build. It wasn't the fastest thing around in that year, and it was very, very common. Most new machines of that period had either a socket 370 celeron or 600-800Mhz P3 under the hood, paired with a Geforce MX or TNT2.

KCompRoom2000 wrote:

If you choose to go for an LCD monitor, I would suggest a used/NOS high-quality 4:3 or 5:4 LCD monitor from a professional brand (A few examples include: NEC, Viewsonic, EIZO, or Sony) since they seem to be the best for gaming on a period-correct LCD.

I'd go with with a more modern 4:3 LCD like a 21" 1600x1200 5ms Samsung or a newer LED Backlit 4:3 Iiyama Prolite. These look superb. Old 2000's LCD image quality is... frankly, crap. CRT's aren't a very good bet either because it's very hard to find a good one today - most have calibration / geometry issues and are pretty tiring to stare at.

I got my 17" Sony branded trinitron for $2.12 at a value village so there are still some nice ones in the wild. You just gotta keep looking.

Dell branded CRT monitors are pretty good and can usually be found cheap locally. If you go LCD just stay away from early and/or cheap LCD monitors (2002ish and older) as their response times can be horrific.

Its been down to luck finding CRT monitors. I found my NEC XM29Plus in another state and had a friend pick it up for $30. One crt was a generic dell I found in the attic of a rental house I lived in for a bit. Another is a super old CRT from a x486 computer I found at an estate sale. I have a Dell branded Trinitron I got from a friend at work that was sitting in a server closet.

I have much better luck with regular televisions. Sony Trinitrons are usually for free or $30 or less. I have my Phillips CRT from back when I bought it. To this day though I have tried and failed many times to get a PVM. I had a lead on a church that had a closet full of them but I bailed on the appointment because of a job interview and felt like a jerk so didn't bother emailing them back. It'd be nice to get one still because my XM29 emits an annoying coil 15khz type sound and is just really bulky and heavy. Most I come across are listed for way too much money now though.

I'd like to get a list of like super nice PC CRT monitors from back in the day and maybe snag 1 more monitor like the nice NEC monitors. I used to have one of the nicer Nokia monitors but it stopped working one day and I pitched it in the early 2000's. I wish I'd tried to fix it.

Today was a good day. I had to drive an hour away to pick them up, but I got a Diamond Monster3D II 12MB! I also sourced a free CRT monitor... 17" ViewSonic UltraBrite E70F+, 1024x768@85hz. A bit of a later CRT as well, so it's incredibly light and only takes 75W to run.

Also, I've nailed down what I consider to be my final build. I have to say, due to the fact I'm not just going to be gaming (also considering some old school Windows development), I decided to run with Intel Chipset, Tualatin Processor. I couldn't find decent AMD motherboards, and the one or two VIA P3 boards I found weren't optimal, especially for the price. So, here we go... Parts with a star I haven't sourced yet:

• MOBO: Asus TUSL2-C w/ i815 Chipset
• CPU: Pentium III-S 1.4GHz Tualatin
• RAM: * 2x256MB SDRAM @133MHz, CL2
• AUDIO: Turtle Beach Montego II (Vortex 2)
• VIDEO AGP: * GeForce 4 Ti
• VIDEO PCI: Diamond Monster3D II 12MB
• HDD1: * 30GB IDE -or- Flash Memory adapter
• HDD2: 12.7GB Quantum Bigfoot TS
• Optical: * Sony CD-ROM
• Floppy: * Gotek emulator

I did manage to get some spare parts from all these transactions... GeForce 2 MX200, ATI Rage 128 Ultra, Celeron 700, and 128MB of SDRAM. Still need a case and PSU, but if it really comes down to it, I'll run to the electronics store and buy a cheap case, and I know where to go for power supplies.

I still haven't decided on operating system. Worst case, I'll just try WinME out, and if it doesn't work how I want, I'll fall back to Windows 98SE.

I'm questioning the Bigfoot, too... depending on what case I get, that drive can be over loud just by existing. We'll see! I haven't used it for 5 years...

Those +400 MHz are redundant, except for 2002-... games. Late games like Dark Forces may be acceptable with GM/DAC. But generally you may forget about good sound in DOS and more stuff will have speed issues.

In the end, it comes down to cost and availability.

I got these because they were inexpensive and easily found. While I can say all day that I want one of the Abit KT7's, I'm never going to pay 200$ for a motherboard... I didn't pay that much for the motherboard in my brand new machine! And I've searched all over the place, but the local computer shops throw out anything earlier than 2007 immediately, and the recycling centers don't keep generic boards (they hang onto Dell, HP, Compaq, etc). The best hope I had (a place that offered access to their warehouse) didn't even know what SDRAM was, that DDR was the slowest memory you could get. I looked, and sure enough... if it wasn't Pentium 4 or newer, it wasn't there.

I keep my eyes on places like letgo and offerup (which is where I found the Voodoo II and CRT monitor), but otherwise my only marketplace is eBay, which is crazy expensive.

EDIT: Just in case someone else looks at this... if I get a motherboard (such as the MSI K7T) that has space on the board for an ISA slot, but doesn't have the actual slot soldered in... can I just solder on an ISA slot and use it?