First post, by rakun86
I wanted to show my first attempt at a retro PC build.
I had 4 guidelines during the build:
- Nostalgia (to use as much as possible of my first PC that Ive been very fond of)
- Desire (things I wanted back in the day but could not afford... yes 3dfx, im thinking about you!)
- Some period correctness, limit being 31 December 1999 (PSU and HDD are newer, Im OK with that)
- New acquired knowledge (things that I learned later on, reading on sites like this one)
I got my first PC in 1999, The specs were nothing much but it was my introduction to PC gaming and games that are still tome of my favorite.
Chaintech 6BTA3 with integrated sound, Celeron 333, 64 MB SD Ram, Intel I740 8mb graphics card, Quantum Fireball 6.4GB HDD.
It had some minor upgrades during the years until I got my first HP laptop in early 2000s and it sat unused till 2015 when I used the components to build my tabletop MAME arcade with changed processor and graphics card. I recently changed the components on the arcade and started on building my first retro PC.
System specs of the build:
MOTHERBOARD: Chaintech 6BTA3
PROCESSOR: PIII 550Mhz Katmai
RAM: 3x128 mb 133 MB
GRAPHICS CARD: ATI All in Wonder Rage 128 Pro 32MB
Voodoo 2 SLI 24mb (not paired unfortunately)
Sound Card: SB Live! CT4760 Platinum with Live Drive IR
LAN Card: 3COM 905C
HDD: Seagate Barracuda 7200 80gb
Seagate ST340015 40gb
OPTICS: TEAC CD-532E
Philips DVD8801
FLOPPY: Alps Electric
PSU: Delta DPS-370AB server
I realize there are some better options for the motherboard but that is the one from my original PC and its good enough (Slot1, 440bx, 4 slots for ram, 4 PCI, 2 ISA, SB-link). The case (modified by me), floppy and Teac CD rom are also from my original PC. The rest I had to change because it was low end components. The Voodoo 2s were the cheapest things i acquired for the build, got one for free from a friend, and bought one for 3 eur some 8 years ago in a flea market in some box pile full of card, in untested condition. Of course it did not work. Lucky for me, only one small capacitor was missing, it was clearly visible so the local electrician fixed it for free. The ATI Rage 128 Pro works nice, but perhaps ill swap it for a Matrox G400 if I find one. I have a G450 but its from 2000 so its a no go. The PSU is a very quiet Delta server PSU that I had recapped.
The Creative Live Drive IR is not period correct, its from 2000 but i could not find one from 1999. Added bonus are the extra useless things on it that i like seeing... dont judge!
It is currently not connected to the sound card because:
1. I cant seem to get it to work, i has power from the PSU, I connected it to the sound card via a tested HDD cable, but it just wont work. Anyone had a similar problem?
2. I cant find a nice cable management solution for it
The light looks really crappy on the pics, its much better live.
Things I want to add or change:
A period correct beige DVD drive, perhaps some slot in Pioneer but those are not easy or cheap to find anymore.
A more powerful CPU, PIII Coppermine 800mhz to be period correct but Im unsure if the motherboard is compatible? Anyone know if a Coppermine will run with my mobo?
An ISA sound card. I have the free slot. Im currently thinking to go for AWE64 gold. I dont really play really old DOS games. DOS games that I play are some 96, 97 games like Heroes II or GTA. Any suggestions for what ISA sound card to go?
Thanks for reading and for the great posts on this forum!