DOS / WIn98 "do-all" build \ VOGONS

DOS / WIn98 "do-all" build

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First post, by plasticfactory

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Hello everyone, first post but I've been lurking for a while as I put together this spec list. The plan, like many others have shared here, is to build the "ultimate" catch all for DOS up to Windows 98. I haven't put together something like this since the 90's, so I am hoping for a bit of critique or guidance.

I look forward to any feedback, and if this isn't the right place for this, please let me know 😀

- MSI MS-6163 Pro v 2.0
- Voodoo 5 5500 (Win98)
- Voodoo 2 SLI (DOS)
- Aureal Vortex 2 SQ2500 (Win98)
- AWE64 Gold CT4390 (DOS
- Pentium III 1Ghz "Coppermine" SL4KL
- Crucial 256 CL2 / CT32M64S4D7E
- EVGA SuperNOVA G6
- Swissbit X60/X75 SSD + SATA150 TX2plus
- All the various bays and cables

I'm looking for any major pitfalls, "upgrades", or recommended sidesteps. I know the dual GPU/Sound card setup is probably not ideal, but is definitely what I want to do in the short term. Perhaps I can pull some of the parts for a dedicated DOS build down the road?

Reply 1 of 8, by RetroPCCupboard

Posted on Yesterday, 18:46

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Certainly that's a no expense spared kinda build. Will look forward to seeing it in action. What case are you using?

Reply 2 of 8, by Mike_

Posted on Yesterday, 19:11

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How about an Athlon XP build with Geforce 4 ti GPU, AWE64 in ISA slot and *maybe* a single Voodoo 2 if you want that for some DOS games? Yes, there are KT133/KT133A boards with an ISA slot. That should handle games further into 00s without losing much compatibility.

Reply 3 of 8, by Fish3r

Posted on Yesterday, 19:20

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plasticfactory wrote on Yesterday, 17:01:

I'm looking for any major pitfalls, "upgrades", or recommended sidesteps.

A Tualatin P3 would really complete the 'spared no expense' thing you've got going on here

Reply 4 of 8, by plasticfactory

Posted on Yesterday, 20:01

plasticfactory Offline

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RetroPCCupboard wrote on Yesterday, 18:46:

Certainly that's a no expense spared kinda build. Will look forward to seeing it in action. What case are you using?

I suppose that isn't bad feedback! I bought a NOS AOpen BG08

Mike_ wrote on Yesterday, 19:11:

How about an Athlon XP build with Geforce 4 ti GPU, AWE64 in ISA slot and *maybe* a single Voodoo 2 if you want that for some DOS games? Yes, there are KT133/KT133A boards with an ISA slot. That should handle games further into 00s without losing much compatibility.

The plan was to do an XP build next, but the main issue with this is that I happen to have the CPU and Voodoo 5 already 😀

Fish3r wrote on Yesterday, 19:20:

plasticfactory wrote on Yesterday, 17:01:

I'm looking for any major pitfalls, "upgrades", or recommended sidesteps.

A Tualatin P3 would really complete the 'spared no expense' thing you've got going on here

I strongly considered this and ultimately picked the Coppermine because I like the Slot 1.

Fish3r wrote on Yesterday, 19:20:

plasticfactory wrote on Yesterday, 17:01:

I'm looking for any major pitfalls, "upgrades", or recommended sidesteps.

A Tualatin P3 would really complete the 'spared no expense' thing you've got going on here

I was really close to the Tualatin and wound up going for the Coppermine because I like the Slot 1 form factor. Hopefully I don't regret this.

Reply 5 of 8, by wbahnassi

Posted on Yesterday, 20:05

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I would swap the AWE64 Gold for an AWE32 with real OPL3 for DOS. I don't think there is anything to gain from the AWE64 DOS-wise compared to AWE32. An AWE32 with real OPL3 would sound nicer for DOS games with FM music.

Turbo XT 12MHz, EGA, MFM HDD
Intel 386 DX-33, Speedstar 24X, SB 1.5, 1x CD
Intel 486 DX2-66, CL5428 VLB, SBPro 2, 2x CD
IBM BlueLightning 100MHz, CL5428, SB16, 4x CD
Intel Pentium 90, Matrox Millenium 2, SB16, 4x CD
HP Z400, Xeon 3.46GHz, YMF-744, RTX2060

Reply 6 of 8, by RetroPCCupboard

Posted on Today, 07:44

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Fish3r wrote on Yesterday, 19:20:

A Tualatin P3 would really complete the 'spared no expense' thing you've got going on here

Tualatin supporting motherboards with ISA and AGP are quite hard to come by though. I have one with AGP but no ISA and one with ISA but no AGP.

Reply 7 of 8, by NeoG_

Posted on Today, 08:17

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The voodoo2 SLI setup is probably wasted here as the voodoo5 will run anything in win98 better and DOS games won't take advantage of SLI - A voodoo5 and Voodoo1 would be a better combo IMO. If not a V1, a single V2 is more than enough for DOS era games once you apply compatibility patches.

98/DOS Rig: BabyAT AladdinV, K6-2+/550, V3 2000, 128MB PC100, 20GB HDD, 128GB SD2IDE, SB Live!, SB16-SCSI, PicoGUS, WP32 McCake, iNFRA CD, ZIP100
XP Rig: Lian Li PC-10 ATX, Gigabyte X38-DQ6, Core2Duo E6850, ATi HD5870, 2GB DDR2, 2TB HDD, X-Fi XtremeGamer

Reply 8 of 8, by such

Posted on Today, 12:39

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Mike_ wrote on Yesterday, 19:11:

How about an Athlon XP build with Geforce 4 ti GPU, AWE64 in ISA slot and *maybe* a single Voodoo 2 if you want that for some DOS games? Yes, there are KT133/KT133A boards with an ISA slot. That should handle games further into 00s without losing much compatibility.

I had issues trying to run Lithtech games on a similar setup. For some hot Shogo action I'd say not recommended?

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