Ozzuneoj wrote on Today, 03:53:

Yeah, I have been collecting for many years and it wasn't until 2023 that I stumbled across my first K6-III (had also never had a 2+ or a III+). They are pretty uncommon unless you're diligently looking and willing to spend some money.

I have found tons of K6-2 500s though. Seems like they made an awful lot of that particular model. And they are great processors for retro PCs, for sure. I have had one in a dedicated DOS\98SE system for close to 20 years. I only ever used it for games made before 1999 and it worked great for that.

Yes, it's uncommon to see a K6-III on an old PC, but there used to be tons of cheap embedded K6-IIIs on eBay, so there was no reason to run a K6-2 in a retro PC. But apparently that is not the case anymore.

Ozzuneoj wrote on Today, 03:53:

To be honest, getting a Windows XP system to run everything from 1999 and up is a great next step up from a K6-2 system. The cut-off for the year would depend mostly on whatever GPU you can get your hands on, though running the oldest games may get a little more complicated if you go with a newer card. To save costs you could get a PCI-E based system. You can get some dirt cheap but really nice GPUs that will run the vast majority of games back to 1999 with absolutely no concerns about performance or graphics settings.

I think what a lot of people do these days is just grab some old outdated Optiplex from the Core 2 through 3rd Gen i5 era, throw in some old card from 2009-2014 that has XP drivers and you've got a system that will fly for games of that time period.

Getting a Windows XP retro PC may be cheap, but having the space to keep multiple retro PCs *and* a modern PC as well is not. Sure, if you happen to have the empty space you don't need for anything else, then there's no reason to not have multiple builds, but that's not the case for everybody.

Mike_ wrote on Today, 05:32:

Getting a Windows XP retro PC may be cheap, but having the space to keep multiple retro PCs *and* a modern PC as well is not. Sure, if you happen to have the empty space you don't need for anything else, then there's no reason to not have multiple builds, but that's not the case for everybody.

One good solution for those with limited space is using an SFF system and hooking it up to another input (or a switch box) on a monitor you're already using. Even Micro\Tiny sized systems from the early 2010s are very fast for games from the early 2000s. I think an HD4000 (Ivy Bridge integrated graphics) easily scores over 20,000 in 3dmark2001SE. You can get a Lenovo M92P Tiny, all ready to use for under $100 US, and you'll have a very capable XP-compatible system that's about the size of a Wii.

Of course, that feels a little like cheating if you enjoy building and working with a full size desktop from the time period. Still, it is an option for those that may need it. 🙂

Lylat1an wrote on Today, 05:27:

Thank you for your replies, everyone. […]
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Thank you for your replies, everyone.

I have a GeForce 2 MX on order for now.

Would it be possible to upgrade the motherboard to safely handle a more power-hungry GPU in the AGP slot, and possibly other motherboard power components for more demanding games?

I'm using a modern 600w ATX PSU.

Sorry, I missed this post earlier.

The Geforce 2MX is a good choice! You will gain very very little from upgrading the video card past that with a K6-2 processor. If there are any AGP power mods that exist for this particular PC-Partner board, it wouldn't really be worth it.

Just going by this chart, a Geforce 2MX will likely give you 80-90% of the frame rate that your CPU is capable of pushing in most games from 1999 and earlier. With that last 20% only equating to maybe 5-10fps difference at most, it won't really change which games you can or cannot play. The processor won't be able to handle most 3D games newer than that, so there isn't much to be gained from upgrading the video card.

Lylat1an wrote on Today, 05:27:

I'm using a modern 600w ATX PSU.

Any sense buying modern PSU for old hardware?

Ozzuneoj wrote on Today, 06:22:

The Geforce 2MX is a good choice! You will gain very very little from upgrading the video card past that with a K6-2 processor. If there are any AGP power mods that exist for this particular PC-Partner board, it wouldn't really be worth it.

Just going by this chart, a Geforce 2MX will likely give you 80-90% of the frame rate that your CPU is capable of pushing in most games from 1999 and earlier. With that last 20% only equating to maybe 5-10fps difference at most, it won't really change which games you can or cannot play. The processor won't be able to handle most 3D games newer than that, so there isn't much to be gained from upgrading the video card.

I could get a 550MHz K6-III+, but I don't feel like spending $350 on one at the moment. :P

shevalier wrote on Today, 08:10:

Lylat1an wrote on Today, 05:27:

I'm using a modern 600w ATX PSU.

Any sense buying modern PSU for old hardware?

https://seasonic.com/core-gx/#specifications

I have the 650w version, actually.

20 watts for the 3.3 and 5 volt outputs, 100w combined.

I'm guessing that isn't bad considering it's "modern".

Too bad reliable AT PSUs don't seem to be made anymore.

Lylat1an wrote on Today, 10:40:

I could get a 550MHz K6-III+, but I don't feel like spending $350 on one at the moment. 😜

And you really shouldn't, to be honest. 😁 For starters, getting an industrial Pentium 4 motherboard with an ISA slot would cost less than half of that, and a Socket A motherboard with ISA slot for an Athlon XP would be even less. Both of these options would be far more powerful than a K6-III, and CPUs for them are cheap.

Also, 400MHz K6-III+s that were meant for embedded systems have stock voltage of just 1.6V. They should almost always overclock to 500MHz if run at 2.0V, which is often the lowest voltage setting many super socket 7 boards have. If the board doesn't go lower than 2.2V, then you shouldn't use K6-III+.

Ozzuneoj wrote on Today, 05:47:

One good solution for those with limited space is using an SFF system and hooking it up to another input (or a switch box) on a monitor you're already using. Even Micro\Tiny sized systems from the early 2010s are very fast for games from the early 2000s. I think an HD4000 (Ivy Bridge integrated graphics) easily scores over 20,000 in 3dmark2001SE. You can get a Lenovo M92P Tiny, all ready to use for under $100 US, and you'll have a very capable XP-compatible system that's about the size of a Wii.

Of course, that feels a little like cheating if you enjoy building and working with a full size desktop from the time period. Still, it is an option for those that may need it. 🙂

I guess that will also work. Or you can get a more powerful retro PC if you want an all-in-one solution.