Hi.

Fallout and Diablo will work for sure, but this system will be very limited for other games of this era. You will probably be limited to software rendering for 3D (have your CPU to compute the 3D).

I suggest you to upgrade the system with a PCI graphics card: GeForce MX440 PCI / Quadro NVS280 PCI. Both great choices for w98 and generally available for cheap (NVS especially)

Hey thank you for the fast response! Would I need another psu or would the default work? That cpu. Do you think it'll be able to handle pretty much anything I throw at it or what are some popular titles that will push it?

The two graphics card I mentioned are low powered (most models are fanless). So the PSU must be fine. They are 2/3y more recent than your system.

The CPU is the fastest Celeron for this socket so this should be fine as well. You can probably change it for a coppermine Pentium 3 but it may actually be a downgrade (depending on the P3 you pick) Some vogons users will have an opinion on this for sure !

I'm very new to this site. I would browse it for info on a dos setup. I learned about native dos through 98 and now I have this setup to work with!

For gaming, this i810 platform is awful, and OC is out of the question.
- no AGP
- memory clock capped at 100MHz regardless of FSB
- memory bandwidth shared between CPU and IGP

By the time you get to Tualerons, a PCI VGA card will be a very significant bottleneck. If you want to OC, you need something other than an HP/Compaq OEM board like this (although SoftFSB might work).

I was thinking on a different motherboard. What would a good fsb speed be? I don't mind OC might keep everything stock. Hell I'm not sure what my most demanding game will be. Probably something before 2003. Like I won't be running doom 3 at all. Saving that for an xp build later on.

dionb wrote on 2023-08-07, 08:18:

For gaming, this i810 platform is awful, and OC is out of the question. - no AGP - memory clock capped at 100MHz regardless of […]
Show full quote

For gaming, this i810 platform is awful, and OC is out of the question.
- no AGP
- memory clock capped at 100MHz regardless of FSB
- memory bandwidth shared between CPU and IGP

By the time you get to Tualerons, a PCI VGA card will be a very significant bottleneck. If you want to OC, you need something other than an HP/Compaq OEM board like this (although SoftFSB might work).

Of course @dionb is correct : it's not the ideal system by far.
But for a first retro system, on a budget of 0€/$, for Fallout and Diablo : it works.

With a 20 €/$ PCI graphics card : HalfLife, Q2, Unreal and Max Payne will be playable as well.

This system would be far better than a lot of us had back in the days (P3 500 / integrated Rage in my case)

If you want to cover late dos up to Doom3… no. This won't work

Oh yeah definitely not doom 3 for this build. Grim fandango, Diablo 2, quake 2 stuff. Half life 1

My first pc was I believe a core 2 duo thing in a raidmax case back when crysis came out. I used it to emulate n64 and snes. My 2nd build was a core 2 duo with an HD sapphire 1gb card and ddr2 ram. I played on that setup for years. Now my build is a ryzen 5700g and an rtx 3060 ti.

But now Id love to build an awesome build to experience those games I used to play at my uncles how's back in the early 2000s on a crt and no emulation

What about the fx 5500?

EvilOrangeJuice wrote on 2023-08-07, 09:16:

What about the fx 5500?

It's almost identical to the Quadro NVS280. Same chip, sometimes different frequencies and mem. bus width.
The NVS280 PCI can generally be found more easily and cheaper (but requires a specific video. cable… generally included)

If you know that you're gonna need a more powerful system. You can also directly go for a more performant build instead, as suggested by dionb.

EvilOrangeJuice wrote on 2023-08-07, 08:09:

Oh yeah definitely not doom 3 for this build. Grim fandango, Diablo 2, quake 2 stuff. Half life 1

EvilOrangeJuice wrote on 2023-08-07, 08:26:

I was thinking on a different motherboard. What would a good fsb speed be? I don't mind OC might keep everything stock. Hell I'm not sure what my most demanding game will be. Probably something before 2003. Like I won't be running doom 3 at all. Saving that for an xp build later on.

Do you want to play DOS games on this build or not? As others have said, your current config with Asus TUW-LA would be very limited for gaming, although there are several ways to remedy or circumvent those limitations.

For early Win9x games with minimal 3D acceleration requirements: Your current system would be good enough.

For DOS/Win9x hybrid: What's the earliest DOS game you want to play? You might want a motherboard with at least one ISA slot for sound card. Tualatin-compatible MB with ISA are not very common but do exist out there. If you could afford RTX 3060 Ti then price wouldn't be much of an issue. Furthermore, 1.4 GHz might be way too fast for some DOS games.

For later Win9x games with 3D: You could either grab a PCI graphics card (Reasonably good PCI Video card for Win XP .... not PCIe ...) but with limited enhancements, or you could acquire a different system like Socket 754/939 Athlon or Socket 478 Northwood P4, along with DDR memories and AGP graphics (GF4Ti, R300, etc.); this build wouldn't be suitable for most DOS games, though.

I think it's always good to start with what you have and see where it can take you. If the suggested PCI-cards are not expensive then just get one and have fun with the system. You can always build a complete new one later.

HanSolo wrote on 2023-08-07, 12:52:

I think it's always good to start with what you have and see where it can take you. If the suggested PCI-cards are not expensive then just get one and have fun with the system. You can always build a complete new one later.

So much this! OP has a system which with slight modifications (adding a cheap GPU) can play many win98 era games just fine. Is it perfect? No, but there is already actual computer which can get most of the job done. And that is indeed a good starting point. Actually the best.

We can all throw in countless better performing options, but all of them require a) more money b) effort to purchase parts and building it. And all these options can get quite confusing for a beginner.

EvilOrangeJuice wrote on 2023-08-07, 07:21:

Hello! 31 year old here who played Diablo 2 that one time and since then has had a fascination with retro hardware and software! […]
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Hello! 31 year old here who played Diablo 2 that one time and since then has had a fascination with retro hardware and software! I've recently came across some older computers and one of which seems like a good choice of setting up a windows 98se build! I don't really know what I'm doing but I do know specs and all that.

What I have is an Hp Pavilion 512n

CPU: Celeron Tualatin 1.4 Ghz
(100 mhz FSB, 256 kb L2 cache, 32 bit)

Motherboard: Asus TUW-LA
(Intel 810E2 GMCHE chipset)

512mb pc 133 ram

AC 97
(crystal cs4299)

Throwing an 8gb ide drive from my Xbox in there after I unlock it with Xbox hdm

There are no agp slots only PCI for a gpu

The igpu is something like 4mb? (whitney?)

I suppose my question is is this a good starting oc for 98 gaming like fallout and Diablo?

Yeah it is.
It will play the game, and if it doesnt then... well thats a problem for tomorrow, and if there isnt a problem then you can play until there is.

AGP wasnt the complete requirement for games its made out to be. Windows 98 games will do just fine on PCI based graphics cards too.

it's a pretty good pc for win98 and adding a pci card as advised will do wonders, if you like it enough you'll end up getting a slightly later PC with windows XP and AGP anyway. and then some more, and maybe just one more, oh and that one is cheap... and i can repair that one so wont throw it out... and well, i dont have that type so may as well get it.... and so on 😀

acl wrote on 2023-08-07, 08:59:

Of course @dionb is correct : it's not the ideal system by far. But for a first retro system, on a budget of 0€/$, for Fallout a […]
Show full quote

dionb wrote on 2023-08-07, 08:18:

For gaming, this i810 platform is awful, and OC is out of the question. - no AGP - memory clock capped at 100MHz regardless of […]
Show full quote

For gaming, this i810 platform is awful, and OC is out of the question.
- no AGP
- memory clock capped at 100MHz regardless of FSB
- memory bandwidth shared between CPU and IGP

By the time you get to Tualerons, a PCI VGA card will be a very significant bottleneck. If you want to OC, you need something other than an HP/Compaq OEM board like this (although SoftFSB might work).

Of course @dionb is correct : it's not the ideal system by far.
But for a first retro system, on a budget of 0€/$, for Fallout and Diablo : it works.

With a 20 €/$ PCI graphics card : HalfLife, Q2, Unreal and Max Payne will be playable as well.

This system would be far better than a lot of us had back in the days (P3 500 / integrated Rage in my case)

True, but he also mentioned "oc" and it's not going to do that in any significant way.

dionb wrote on 2023-08-07, 16:42:

True, but he also mentioned "oc" and it's not going to do that in any significant way.

Reading what OP actually said about OC I don't think he is after some overclocking beast here:

I don't mind OC might keep everything stock. Hell I'm not sure what my most demanding game will be.

The way I see is that OP has a computer which can be used completely fine for many, many terrific w98 era games just by getting a cheap PCI card, throwing that inside and you are good to go. It would be silly to waste time and money for building some dream setup if OP at this point hasn't a clear vision what kind of games he will be even playing. What he has is perfectly fine as a starting point, he is not suggesting using a 286 as a win98 platform, after all. Much of the w98 era we, me included, used some PII or early celerons as gaming platforms. System he already has smokes those systems out of the water when it comes to CPU power, all it needs is some semi-decent PCI GPU for 3D games. If he later on wants something beefier, we can then point him to right direction. But that humble celly can already give him everything he actually wants from win98 gaming system. Wouldn't it be silly to just pass this system when he doesn't have clear picture in his mind what he actually expects from a win98 system or how far this system can go to fulfilling those expectations?

dionb wrote on 2023-08-07, 16:42:

acl wrote on 2023-08-07, 08:59:

Of course @dionb is correct : it's not the ideal system by far. But for a first retro system, on a budget of 0€/$, for Fallout a […]
Show full quote

dionb wrote on 2023-08-07, 08:18:

For gaming, this i810 platform is awful, and OC is out of the question. - no AGP - memory clock capped at 100MHz regardless of […]
Show full quote

For gaming, this i810 platform is awful, and OC is out of the question.
- no AGP
- memory clock capped at 100MHz regardless of FSB
- memory bandwidth shared between CPU and IGP

By the time you get to Tualerons, a PCI VGA card will be a very significant bottleneck. If you want to OC, you need something other than an HP/Compaq OEM board like this (although SoftFSB might work).

Of course @dionb is correct : it's not the ideal system by far.
But for a first retro system, on a budget of 0€/$, for Fallout and Diablo : it works.

With a 20 €/$ PCI graphics card : HalfLife, Q2, Unreal and Max Payne will be playable as well.

This system would be far better than a lot of us had back in the days (P3 500 / integrated Rage in my case)

True, but he also mentioned "oc" and it's not going to do that in any significant way.

Typo.
oc
pc

reformulate your idea based on his level of knowledge based on what he has said and substitute the o for a p.