Doom 3 runs on Windows 2000 Pro officially too. Crysis and even Crysis 2 are both Windows XP (Crysis 2 does need SP3) compatible.

Far Cry works fine even on a GeForce2 card.

No, it doesn't. Even shaderless, Far Cry is quite geometry intensive game for GeForce 2.

Crysis works fine in 32-bit mode as well.

It runs fine, but there's noticeable difference in texture streaming between two versions.

appiah4 wrote:

Does Morrowind run 'well' on anything?

I played morrowind in 640x480 with like <20fps and yet I remember I was so amazed by the graphics 😁

The Serpent Rider wrote:

It runs fine, but there's noticeable difference in texture streaming between two versions.

Nah.

imi wrote:

appiah4 wrote:

Does Morrowind run 'well' on anything?

I played morrowind in 640x480 with like <20fps and yet I remember I was so amazed by the graphics 😁

Same, when I dug up my old screenshots, I was surprised to see framerates <35, even less in cities like Vivec, down to <10. I did not have a top-end card, but still I could not stop playing 🤣.

and today we complain when we can't get constant 60+fps 🤣

The Serpent Rider wrote:

No, it doesn't. Even shaderless, Far Cry is quite geometry intensive game for GeForce 2.

Never had issues with that. The faster GF2 models (Pro, GTS, Ultra) have insanely good T&L performance.

The Serpent Rider wrote:

It runs fine, but there's noticeable difference in texture streaming between two versions.

Not really.
Especially not on XP/DX9 setups, because they use lower quality textures, shadowmaps, geometry etc anyway, so there's less texture data to stream.

For me, the two most demanding games that ive built systems around are Nascar racing, and grand prix legends.

nascar racing uses a ton of cpu power, but still needs SB16 type audio. so basically the fastest pc i can get with an ISA slot and DOS or DOS mode.
Grand prix legends was released with win98 as a contemporary, so i find im going to have another pc with win98 to run it as it was intended. Not needing ISA sound, i can probably go much faster.
i have a few other games but they will run on just about anything acceptably.

DOS: SVGA versions of System Shock, Cybermage, USNF, Screamer 2, Blood, Shadow Warrior, and Descent 2.
Win9x: Morrowind hands down. Needs tons of CPU.

I like the following so far but I'm still open to suggestions arguments for the perfect gaming test suite. I think we need to stick to out of the box experience and maxed out graphics at 1024x768 - 1600x1200.

Win98 : Farcry, Morrowind (More to be added)

What do you guys think about Arx Fatalis for Win98? That would be a late game like Farcry and Morrowind and very demanding. We probably dont need Arx Fatalis though as if you can run the other 2 you can probably run Arx too...

Funnily enough, Morrowind was actually the 'killer app' that made me buy/compile a new PC back in 2002...!

Tried at first to make it run on my 1998 model Abit BX slot1 mobo, with a TNT(1!) card....

It started up and I could move around, 1-5 frames per second or so, while still in the recruitment/prison boat, which I then never got off before things crashed as soon as I tried to open the hatch or something... 🤣

BUT I still installed Win98 on the brand new Pentium4 that summer ! Had no WinXP.

And, it worked just fine on Win98 (FE!), as far as can remember - no problems at all, finishing the full first installment (before the add-ons came out). Granted, I had used a GF Ti-4400 for that build, and maxed the lowly 1.6Ghz/400mhz P4 to a whopping 2.67Ghz (while at normal voltage!), so that may have helped a little, heh.. 😀 Don't remember what resolution settings, but pretty sure they were not low, 1280x1024 springs to mind. So I don't think the OS itself was of any hindrance for this particular game, just the hardware....

PS: I still have that very same PC, all* original(!) parts, and even use it for gaming today. And only one of the 2 80gb hdds has developed a couple dozen unrecoverable sectors, but everything seems to work just fine regardless.
*:Only thing I've changed out is the 40x Plextor CDRW drive, which wore out long time ago.

What were the last games that ended Win 3.11 lifespan?

Image is kinda blurry because (at least some) magazines at some point stopped informing about W3.11 compatibility if game was released in W95 days for that OS but as far as I remember:
Civilization 2 (og 1996 release)
Berdmuda Syndrome (1996)
The last of Talonsoft's strategy games from Battleground franchise (Napoleon in Russia, Bull Run, Prelude to Waterloo - all in 1997)