First post, by NamelessPlayer
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All right, I need to know if I'm on the right track here. What I mostly need are an ideal CPU and motherboard to pick for this setup. I'm not as concerned about expansion cards since I have a few good ones for that, but I'm not averse to getting a specific model I don't have if necessary.
I was thinking about going Pentium III-S, but Tualatin-compatible boards tend to be meager in the ISA slot department, by which I mean "none at all unless it's a VIA Pro133 deriative". You also might think that 1.4 GHz would be way too fast for older games, but I could underclock if that's the case, and certain 1999 releases like Unreal Tournament want all the CPU they can get. (Note that I tend to be insistent on a constant 60 FPS whenever possible.) A3D wavetracing also takes a toll on the CPU...
Graphics cards:
-3dfx Voodoo2 12 MB (STB-built)
-3dfx Voodoo5 5500 AGP
-ATI All-in-Wonder Radeon 8500 128 MB
Sound cards:
-Sound Blaster AWE64 Gold CT4390
-Sound Blaster Live! Value CT4670
-Turtle Beach Montego II (Aureal Vortex2)
In addition to all of those, I've got a PCI Ethernet card that Win98SE supports right off the disc, so that's going to take a slot.
I'm most likely going to use the V5 5500 and the Montego II at the minimum, but if there's any reason to do otherwise (like TRUFORM on the Radeon 8500, maybe with the V2 in tandem for Glide if not using a Glide wrapper), I'll consider it.
What really worries me are the sound card options and possible conflicts. Some games may be better off having that AWE64 Gold to use directly instead of relying on the Vortex2 SB emulation, and if I get the urge to play TFX, I'll need something with the ASP/CSP for those QSound effects. (Preferably an AWE32 not subject to the hanging note bug.) Then there's the Gravis Ultrasound and the Roland LA synths...at least a CM-32L won't need an ISA slot, but then I'll need a hardware mixer.
So what's your advice as far as potential configurations for a single system that covers everything from 1990 to 1999 (and perhaps more)?