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Dell XPS M166s socket 7 build

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First post, by Bj0rn83

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I recently bought a complete Dell XPS M166s system in a local thrift store and once I got home I opened it I discovered it came with the Creative CT1920 Goldfinch card but unfortunately the ram slots aren't occupied.

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System specs so far.

CPU: Intel Pentium 166 MMX
Ram: 32mb sdram
Sound card: onboard Vibra 16c + CT1920 Goldfinch card
Video card: S3 Virge

My plans with the system is upgrading the ram to 64mb sdram not sure yet if I want to upgrade the cpu I'm only going to use it for Dos and Windows 95 games.

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I only wonder if I will use the onboard Vibra 16c or change it to a SoundBlaster Pro 2.0 CT1600 or a Yamaha Audician 32 which also have in my possession, the Roland MPU-401at I'm going to add anyways because I still have some midi modules.

Asus p3v133 | P533mhz | AWE64 | MT-32 | SC-55 | MU80 | Roland MPU401at |

Reply 1 of 3, by chinny22

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Pretty much a perfect Dos build as is.
You probably don't need to upgrade the CPU, but I'd not be able to control myself and upgrade anyway. Only Issue I could see is the Turbo Pascal error but that's easily fixed.
Fix "Error 200" (Divide by zero) - by Snover and Stiletto (updated!)

Also don't see a need not to use the onboard sound but that comes down to personal choice.
Your probably aware but this era Dell don't use generic ATX PSU's.
Bad news is a standard PSU will plug in and fry the motherboard if your not paying attention.
Good news is the Dell PSU's are good quality.

Reply 2 of 3, by Bj0rn83

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chinny22 wrote on 2025-10-29, 00:43:
Pretty much a perfect Dos build as is. You probably don't need to upgrade the CPU, but I'd not be able to control myself and upg […]
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Pretty much a perfect Dos build as is.
You probably don't need to upgrade the CPU, but I'd not be able to control myself and upgrade anyway. Only Issue I could see is the Turbo Pascal error but that's easily fixed.
Fix "Error 200" (Divide by zero) - by Snover and Stiletto (updated!)

Also don't see a need not to use the onboard sound but that comes down to personal choice.
Your probably aware but this era Dell don't use generic ATX PSU's.
Bad news is a standard PSU will plug in and fry the motherboard if your not paying attention.
Good news is the Dell PSU's are good quality.

That was actualy my next question shall I change the PSU because I thought it was a standard ATX connector.

Asus p3v133 | P533mhz | AWE64 | MT-32 | SC-55 | MU80 | Roland MPU401at |

Reply 3 of 3, by chinny22

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This post is well worth a read
A Permanent Solution to the Dell 'Fake ATX' Power Supply Problem?

I've 2 Dell's myself. One is still using the original PSU, The other's PSU died so got an adapter cable but that was before the above post was created.

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