As I've mentioned on another thread, there's a 286-shaped hole in my heart and memories. I started with a TRS-80 CoCo II, then moved on to a Turbo XT clone, then to a 386SX-40 based system. I was aware of the existence of the 286 but I never had the opportunity to use one. I don't even know if I've ever touched one, to be honest. But I've been curious for decades...

So I've decided I want to build at least one 286 based system in order to achieve that missing "286 experience". I already have the following:

* Plenty of IDE hard drives and SSDs with SATA<->IDE adapters
* Plenty of ISA sound cards of all varieties from SB 1.5 to AWE64
* Plenty of AT-connector keyboards
* Plenty of mice with various adapters to convert to a serial or PS/2 connector
* A single EGA card that I pulled from a working original IBM 5150 XT that had been upgraded
* Several ISA multi I/O cards
* Plenty of 3.5" and 5.25" floppy drives
* Several AT-compatible system cases(I have done plenty of case mods in the past anyway, so I'm not worried about this issue)
* Several spare MT-32s and a spare SC-55 MkII
* Several 3V lithium coin batteries and battery mounts to solder to whatever motherboard I choose

I'm seeking advice on any potential pitfalls to look out for, and also what speed and make of CPU I should be targeting in my purchasing. I'm aware that the MHz range was 6 to 25, but I don't know which level well-represents the 286 era. Also, how much RAM? Any motherboard makes or models to avoid? Any to seek out?

Even though I can play any of the games of the 286 era on my existing XT Turbo (@ 10MHz) system or my Am386DX-40 system, I want to hit something close to the original 286 experience, with the possible exception of having upgraded drive speed. I'm not a stickler when it comes to maintaining "period correct" drive speeds or capacities. But I do want to use that EGA card and probably get an authentic EGA monitor, despite how pricey they have become.

A lot of games have unclear system requirements or recommendations for the system speed. For instance, I have found that the original DOS version of Warcraft had a recommended base system spec of 386 @ 20MHz, yet I have been unable to get it to run acceptably quickly even on an Am386DX-40. I tried two different ones with all kinds of hardware and BIOS configurations, to no avail. I ended up using my 486DX2-66 with L2 cache disabled and was happy with that.

So -- which games SHOULD I play on such a 286 based system? Space Quest I and II come to mind, because they both run too slowly on my XT Turbo and too quickly on my 386DX-40. (When I toggle the turbo switch on the 386, it's *too slow*...same when I disable the 386's cache; arghh.) Original Duke Nukem games? Since I never played games on a 286, I'm partially in the dark and partially in the light.

Also, I'm in the process of learning ASM, so I'm probably going to use this system as a way of feeling out the performance and design characteristics of the 286 CPUs and simultaneously ensuring that the exact opcode set of the 286 is all that's available to me when I do so.

I perused many threads concerning 286 systems on vogons, but I didn't find any that quite fit what I wanted to discuss; hence why I created this thread.

Thanks in advance!