Those are two very well thought out systems with some great hardware choices. Both will excel at their intended use cases.

Possibly consider using an 120 GB SSD via SATA to IDE adapter on the Win9x rig instead of the VF card. Otherwise, everything looks awesome.

Thank you! They are pretty mix and match systems, certainly not period correct (well maybe the Pentium is) but they suit my needs. I love the 90's era of PC gaming. so many great unique games.

Crinale0 wrote on 2024-08-31, 16:32:

They are pretty mix and match systems, certainly not period correct (well maybe the Pentium is) but they suit my needs.

That's the beauty of PC!!! (You can mix and match with anything that's compatible!)

Nice Systems! 😀

Nice rigs!!! Like others have said, they look like they will perform quite well for their time periods, good hardware choices. 😀

I often see all these classic systems being posted and every time I see them it makes me wish I had to room to do a dedicated setup, and even use a CRT. Sadly, we live in a pretty small apartment so space it at a premium. While I do have 2 "retro" systems I use (I'll link them below), they are both sharing space with my modern hardware. My DOS machine has it's own 4:3 Dell LCD now, but my Windows 95 Mini-PC has to share my primary display with my modern rig. Thankfully, All of my modern displays still accept VGA inputs, but even they go "out of range" on some really old software, like Commander Keen for example, hence the need for the older 4:3 LCD from the early 2000's. Bah, I'll be able to set them up proper one of these days, in the meantime, this works for me.

Enjoy those builds! 😀

DOS 6.22 Build: h[url]ttps://theclassicgeek.blogspot.com/2024/02/a-reasonable-dos-622-windows-3x-retro.html[/url]
Win95 Mini Build: https://theclassicgeek.blogspot.com/2023/03/m … -with-epia.html

Hell yeah, this is a great combination . Nice job on these systems and happy gaming!

Thank you all! 😀

Rounded flat cables is a sign of an truly über computer powah. The superior airflow will cool those awesome components to the MaX!

Just kidding ofc, I like your systems. 😀

Joakim wrote on 2024-09-01, 19:25:

Rounded flat cables is a sign of an truly über computer powah. The superior airflow will cool those awesome components to the MaX!

Just kidding ofc, I like your systems. 😀

I got so good at "folding" ribbon cables to get them just how I wanted them, when I first saw the rounded ones, I remember thinking to myself "Bah, it's a gimmick, it won't last. Ribbon cables are easy to route."

At that time I was already doing builds and working on systems for people in my hometown, and moonlighting at my local ISP/PC Shop/Internet Cafe . I use the term "cafe" loosely, they had several PC's setup that people could come in and use for a small fee, pay by the hour or all day, and vending machines for snacks. Anyway, I did house-call style repair work for their customers. We got a lot of people asking about and wanting those rounded cables. Turns out, most people just liked how they looked, but hey, we all have different tastes and that's a good thing! 😀

That pentium build is really asking for a Voodoo

I know! I wish i could get one but prices are just insane for them now.

Crinale0 wrote on 2024-09-10, 22:18:

I know! I wish i could get one but prices are just insane for them now.

This fact alone is holding me back more than any other in terms of my "retro ideas".

I put out a local Craigslist posting looking for old parts, so far only got one bite and it seems to have fallen through. The area I live in has very little in terms of anything "retro", modern computing is barely a thing here.

I also recently found out I can go talk to my city electronics recycle center and they may be able to call me when items similar to what I'm looking for come through. I guess we will see how that goes.

Anything's better than the crazy prices right now, and if I can save something from going to the landfill, all the better!

I live near one of our contries biggest retro PC parts sellers but even he never see's anything 3DFX or cool like that. ISA sound cards sure and mainboards but nothing much else. You can get that stuff here but the prices are just dumb especially when Nglide and such other tools are around for my modern system.