First post, by mattrock1988
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Hello fellow VOGONS fans,
So I finally took the plunge and built a Windows 98 SE based gaming PC, using mostly new-old stock quality parts.
Build Specifications:
BIOSTAR M6VLR Socket 370 Motherboard
Pentium III-S Tualatin @ 1.26 GHz
A-TECH 256 MB PC-133 memory
LeiDisk 8 GB Flash on IDE module
Nvidia GeForce FX 5200 PCI (don't laugh - it works just fine)
Rosewill RC-100 USB 2.0 PCI card (with front-port header!!)
Creative Sound Blaster AWE64 Value CT4520 ISA
DreamBlaster S1 WaveTable module connected via MPU-401 gameport
Sony DVD-ROM / CD-RW combo drive
Sony 1.44 MB floppy
GoTek floppy emulator
Windows 98 SE /w Unofficial SP3
APEX Black mATX case w/ carry handle
So for some background, my goal with this machine was to build the best "all-rounder" Windows 9x machine that would also be solid for DOS gaming from the mid 90s on. After finding the BIOSTAR motherboard from an estate sale on eBay in new condition, I decided to give it a shot, and I'd say I've done rather well for myself.
Although the ISA slot on this build is bridged over PCI (like most motherboards of the era were), it evidently supports DMA without issues. The VIA chipset on the mobo has been surprisingly stable after installing the 4in1 driver pack, with very few hiccups along the way, aside from managing IRQs, which turned out to be easy once I disabled all IRQ hooks from the BIOS and left that rodeo to Win9x PnP capabilities.
Yeah, the case is black and un-90s like... but I am more of a function-over-form type of guy, and this case has a handy carry handle on it, making it easy to lug around at will.
A big shout out and special thanks to HighTreason and Phil at Phil's Computer Lab for all their awesome YouTube videos and inspiration to get back into this game. 😎
If you guys have any questions or comments, please feel free to indulge me. 😀
..............
Retro PC: Intel Pentium III @ 1 GHz, Intel SE440BX-2, 32 GB IDE DOM, 384 MB SDRAM, DVD-ROM, 1.44 MB floppy, Nvidia GeForce 4 Ti 4600 AGP, Creative SoundBlaster AWE64 Gold, Aureal Vortex 2
I only rely on 86box these days. My Pentium 3 PC died. 🙁