Tetrium wrote:

Escape, could you please try to edit your posts instead of posting lots of tiny ones? The edit button is the really small one on […]
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EscapeVelocity wrote:

What should I get, if the RAM doesnt pan out? […]
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What should I get, if the RAM doesnt pan out?

PC100
PC133

128MB sticks
256MB sticks
512MB sticks

Escape, could you please try to edit your posts instead of posting lots of tiny ones?
The edit button is the really small one on the top right of your post

PC133 of course. And as I'm not sure what chip density will work on ss7 boards, your safest bet would be to get 256MB double sided ones.
Theres no compelling reason to go for PC100, it's just binned down PC133 anyway.
Get PC133 in case you ever want to overclock. Also you can set the cas latency to 2 instead of 3. Small bonus, but if it's the same efford, why not? Right?

Yes, is there a cost savings or something? Sorry.

Yeah, so get PC133 and I can downclock it, maximum flexibility.

256MB double sided SDRAM, got it.

Edit: Oops I did it again. Sorry.

EscapeVelocity wrote:

The problem as I see it, is if I would like to change out the cpus to a K6-2 or a Pentium MMX, right? Then 1MB Pipeline Burst Cache is ideal in these Super7 era systems....certainly better than 512k or 256k.

Might be worth looking into what kind of impact it actually makes.

For DOS I wouldn't worry about it at all. Under Windows, maybe, but if you are using Windows with lot's of Ram you would use a K6 with on-chip cache anyway or build a Slot 1 system.

The cacheable size is 128MB I believe, which is plenty for DOS.

Thanks, again, for your thougths.

How much SDRAM would be best?

Say if I wanted to run Windows games fromt he late 90s too, with 3D and all that.

I think its 64MB, the cacheable RAM memory....with 256K L2 on the motherboard.

But that should be fine for Dos.

Ive been reading and doing some research.

If I have a choice, what brand of PC100 or PC133 SDRAM should I be looking for.

Apparently the 256MB double sided module is the way to go, from a recommendation earilier. Non ECC PC100 or PC133 SDRAM.

EscapeVelocity wrote:

Thanks, again, for your thougths.

How much SDRAM would be best?

Say if I wanted to run Windows games fromt he late 90s too, with 3D and all that.

If you're going to run 98SE or ME, I'd suggest getting 256MB

The EPoX boards seem to be limited to 384MB, 3 128MB SDRAM.

Video Card Roundup

NVidia Riva TNT & TNT2
3Dfx Voodoo Banshee
Matrox G200 & G400
S3 Virge

Motherboards:

Asus P5A ATX
EPoX MVPG2
Iwill XA100Plus

CPUs:

Pentium 100, 133, 166, 166MMX, 200MMX, 233MMX
AMD K6 II

RAM:

256MB (double sided) to 768MB PC133 or PC100 non ECC SDRAM

Case:

ATX Case
ATX Power Supply

Drives:

3.5" Double Density Diskette
Teac 5.25" Floppy 1.2MB Double Density

Plextor, TDK, Creative

CD-R/W

ATA 33 Hard Drive

Video Cards:

Asus, Diamond, Hercules, Matrox, Quantum, 3Dfx

TNT Asus V3400, STB Velocity 4400, Diamond Viper V550

TNT2 Asus V3800, Diamond Viper V770

GeForce2 MX/GTS/Pro/Ultra Asus V6600 256, Asus V6800 256, Asus V7100 MX, Asus V7700 GTS, Guillemot/Hercules 3D Prophet II

3Dfx Voodoo2 PCI Diamond Monster 3D II PCI, STB Blackmagic

3Dfx Voodoo Banshee Guillemot Maxi Gamer Phoenix, Diamond Moster Fusion, Quantum3D Raven

3Dfx Voodoo 3 3000 AGP

Kyro II AGP Hercules 3D Prophet 4500 64MB

S3 Trio64 PCI Diamond

Matrox G400 Max 32MB AGP

Sound Cards:

Creative, Gravis, Diamond, Terratac, Ensoniq, Turtle Beach, Roland, Yamaha

Sound Blaster 2.0
Sound Blaster Pro 2.0
Sound Blaster AWE32
Sound Blaster 32
Sound Blaster AWE64 Gold

Roland MT-32
Roland SC-55

Yamaha MU-10
Yamaha MU-50

Pro Audio Spectrum
Ensoniq Soundscape

Network Card

CH Gamecard III
Gravis Eliminator Dual Game Port
Game Port Y Adaptor
Joyswitch

CH Flightstick
CH Flightstick Pro
Logitech Wingman
Logitech Wingman Extreme
Thrustmaster PFCS

Gravis Gamepad

Software:

Win98se
Dr. Dos 5.0
MS-Dos 5.0
Norton Utilities 7.0
PC Tools Utilities 7.5

Looks good!

Trying to get a working list so I can start aquiring parts and checking them off.

Sound Cards Im having difficulty with. They are quite complicated.

SB Pro 2.0 is all you need for starters.

For Roland stuff, either a MPU401 ISA card or SCC-1 (has the MPU401 built in). I prefer external modules as you can use them with DOSBox and a USB Midi cable.

SCC-I and LAPC-I you are "stuck" with ISA mainboards.

Omce you have a MPU401 interface get a old MT-32 and a CM-32L or CM-64. And a SC-55 as well.

Mau1wurf1977 wrote:

SB Pro 2.0 is all you need for starters. […]
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SB Pro 2.0 is all you need for starters.

For Roland stuff, either a MPU401 ISA card or SCC-1 (has the MPU401 built in). I prefer external modules as you can use them with DOSBox and a USB Midi cable.

SCC-I and LAPC-I you are "stuck" with ISA mainboards.

Omce you have a MPU401 interface get a old MT-32 and a CM-32L or CM-64. And a SC-55 as well.

Thanks for that.

Finding a MPU-401 ISA board at a decent price will take some time. I saw a SCC-1 for cheaper. How about using the MPU-401 interface on another card like the Sound Blaster AWE64 Gold?

I like the USB Midi connection to use the external models on modern set up too. Thanks for that bit of advice.

If the SCC-1 is cheaper, just go with that!

Sound Blaster MIDI ports aren't 100% MPU401 compatible. Games like Wing Commander won't work.

If I have USB 1.0 or 1.1 ports on my motherboard, can I use a USB cable/box to connect the external units and have them operate with old games or are they looking for and can only talk to a MPU-401 ISA solution?

Nooo that won't work I'm afraid...

Asus P5A ATX Rev. 1.04 motherboard on the way....with a AMD K6-II 350 processor inserted plus fan.

Very nice 😜

Diamond Moster 3D II PCI (Voodoo2) on the way.

Id like to stay with PCI Video Cards as much as possible to save ISA slots. With a 5/2/1 card distribution, 7 slots with 1 shared ISA/AGP....Id just assume stay away from AGP video cards.

Question: Can I use a Matrox G400, Voodoo3, or GeForce 256/MX, GeForce2 GTS/Pro/TI/Ultra card with older DOS games from the early and mid 90s? Or is there compatability issues, and a moving on to other standards like 32bit or drivers or something....making staying with the Voodoo2, Banshee, TNT, TNT2 a better choice.

Swaynes CGW hardware review images..

1990s PC Hardware Magazine Review Archive

AFAIK Nvidia cards are awesome for DOS. I have a Geforce MX440 in my Socket 7 machine and it's fine.

Regarding the 3D cards, no idea mate. I'm a DOS only guy at this point in time...

cd rw

lite on 48x to 52x
plextor premium
plextor 1210
plextor 1610
plextor 2410

cd-rom

asus or aopen

dvd rom

asus e616 dvd rom

dvd rw

benq 1620 1640 1650 1655