Let me give you a couple of real world examples:

- My Pentium MMX (Mainly MS-DOS + Windows 3.11 but also Windows 9x):

Asus ATX TXP4-X 430TX mobo
Intel Pentium 233 MMX CPU
64MB PC 100 RAM (single stick)
Voodoo3 16MB PCI GPU
Sound Blaster 16 CT2230 ISA sound card + NEC XR895 Wavetable
Adaptec AHA-2940UW SCSI controller
3Com 3C905B Combo PCI NIC
Seagate Barracuda 7200.7 80GB ATA HDD
Compaq BD07288277 73GB SCSI HDD
Compaq BF03685A35 36GB SCSI HDD
3.5" NEC 1.44MB
5.25" Epson 1.2MB
Pioneer DVR-A18LBK DVD-RW IDE
3.5" CF to IDE Adapter
3.5" Iomega ZIP 250MB IDE
Thermaltake TR2-500 PSU
Everest 706B Case (Black, lean but modern)
SideWinder Precision Pro
Dazzle Multi Card Reader

- My Pentium III (Mainly Windows 9x but also MS-DOS + Windows 3.11):

Gigabyte GA-6VTXE Apollo Pro 133T Mobo
Intel Pentium III 1400
512MB PC133 Kingston SDRAM (single stick)
Leadtek Winfast Geforce2 Ultra 64MB AGP GPU
3Dfx Voodoo 2 12MB PCI in SLI
Sound Blaster AWE64 Gold CT4540 Sound Card + SIMMCONN + 32MB 72 pin SIMM
Adaptec AHA-29160 PCI-X SCSI Controller
3Com 3C905B-TX PCI NIC
Samsung SP1213N 120GB ATA HDD
Seagate Barracuda 7200.7 80GB ATA HDD
Compaq BD14688278 146GB SCSI HDD
IBM Eserver 8D073J0 73GB SCSI HDD
3.5" Mitsumi 1.44MB Floppy
3.5" Gotek Floppy Emulator
LG GSAH44N IDE DVD-RW
3.5" CF to IDE Adapter
Thermaltake TR2-500 PSU
Everest 706B Case (Black, lean but modern)
Sidewinder 3D Pro Plus Gameport Joystick
Digitus Card Reader
External SCSI DVD-RW

So basically, whatever it goes. 🤣

The Socket 7 machine I've been working on is all 1998/2000 parts except for a IDE SDXC Card adapter for my primary OS drive (for speed and ease of backups) and a X2 Dreamblaster wavetable header.
This has worked out mostly, but I am having issues with older CD-ROM drives recognising burnt CD-R's.

TLDR: Vanilla is OK. Except for when modern alternatives will save you lots of time.

W.

Whiskey wrote:

The Socket 7 machine I've been working on is all 1998/2000 parts except for a IDE SDXC Card adapter for my primary OS drive (for […]
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The Socket 7 machine I've been working on is all 1998/2000 parts except for a IDE SDXC Card adapter for my primary OS drive (for speed and ease of backups) and a X2 Dreamblaster wavetable header.
This has worked out mostly, but I am having issues with older CD-ROM drives recognising burnt CD-R's.

TLDR: Vanilla is OK. Except for when modern alternatives will save you lots of time.

W.

Depends on how much time. A USB floppy system would same me TONS of time, but that's not something I want to use.

For the systems I currently have, I set a goal for the hardware and only compromised with coolers, psu and hdd. PSU and Coolers are for obvious reasons, HDD simply for availability. Hds tend to be rare in good condition so I compromised there with new ones. The other hardware have strict conditions when using them (my P1 currently has all hardware from 1996-1997, going as far as ODD, floppy and tower). My pentium 2 is similar when I finish it which will have all components from 1998-1999 (even found a new sealed 1999 HDD last week).
Software on my P1 will likely be ms-DOS with Win95OSR2 and P2 dual boot 98 SE and ME.
So yeah I tend to go vanilla but am willing to compromise on certain replacement parts like cooling, power and storage.