VOGONS


First post, by Sago7

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Now it's time.
I want a Win98 Build. Mostly to play games from that era (never enjoyed glide graphics).
This is what I have. I know that I will need another VGA.

A. PIII 750mhz, Soyo SY-7VEM (no agp), 512MB.
B. Dell Optiplex GX150 SFF. PIII 1Ghz, 512MB with AGP. It's a low profile case.
C. Athlon XP 2000+, MB ASUS A7V333, I have a lot of RAM for this, but 512 will be fine for Win98.

The "best" AGP I own is an Asus FX5200 128MB.
What are my options?. Voodoo cards are too expensive today.
Some people told me a FX5500 PCI is a good option for build A. I like this option, it came with a classic retro case mini atx.
B option is a small form factor case. Is there any good low profile AGP?. After some reading, this MB should support a Tualatin PIII.
C option will me the most powerful, but is really necessary?

And, the screen: Viewsonic G90fb de 19"

Edit: I own an EVGA 6200 512MB too.

Last edited by Sago7 on 2020-07-27, 23:10. Edited 1 time in total.

Reply 1 of 12, by Jorpho

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Decide what games you want to play, and then select the parts accordingly.

If there is nothing in particular you want to play, then just select whatever parts you have handy and be happy.

If you believe Glide graphics provide some kind of intangible "feel" that you absolutely need to experience for yourself, then clearly you should spare no expense and get a Voodoo card, because you will not be satisfied otherwise.

Reply 2 of 12, by waterbeesje

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The Athlon will certainly be overpowered for win 98 gaming. That's a good thing, as it will run everything you'll throw at it.
At least if you can find the needed drivers for the chipset.
Pair that with a high end AGP card like the ATI 9800 (or 9600/9700) and you'll be ok.

Otherwise I'd stick with the Dell. For gaming on everything above 400MHz AGP is not just a luxury. I tested some TNT2 M64 on my K6-3+ build, 3 AGP and 1 PCI. Performance differed about 40% between AGP and PCI.

Low profile versions of the Gforce 4/5/6 do exist (as a matter of fact I have a few). Mostly the lower end cards like 5200 and 6200. Also ATI 9200 low profile will be ok for a P3.

Stuck at 10MHz...

Reply 3 of 12, by Sago7

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What games?. Unreal will be the first.

I will go for the Athlon. Now I need to choose a nice VGA for that build.

Reply 4 of 12, by Grumgi

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I wish had some old magazines from the era lying around, that'd probably help. That being said, if you want to cheap out I'd recommend a Geforce 2, specifically the 64mb version. They float around from $10-20. It should work fine for games of that era, but I wouldn't recommend going past '04 with it. Not sure what to do about Drivers, but it should be pretty easy to track down and install.

Reply 5 of 12, by chinny22

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Sago7 wrote on 2020-07-28, 23:05:

I will go for the Athlon. Now I need to choose a nice VGA for that build.

To begin with I'd just use your existing 6200, I'd argue its a good match for the already overpowered Athlon XP. Plus it's free 😀
It may have compatibility issues with a few games, on the otherhand it along with the CPU will be powerful enough to run a glide wrapper. Haven't used one myself but maybe enough to get that 3dfx fix for free.

Reply 6 of 12, by Sago7

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chinny22 wrote on 2020-07-29, 08:54:

To begin with I'd just use your existing 6200, I'd argue its a good match for the already overpowered Athlon XP. Plus it's free 😀
It may have compatibility issues with a few games, on the otherhand it along with the CPU will be powerful enough to run a glide wrapper. Haven't used one myself but maybe enough to get that 3dfx fix for free.

jajaja, it's a good idea. I'll try the 6200 with a couple of games and some benchmark.
I will update the post with the results.

In the other hand, a Geforce 4 ti (4200~4400) is the best choice from that era?. FXs seems to have a lot of trouble with Win98 and games from that period?

Reply 7 of 12, by chinny22

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FX's are great cards for Win98 /DX8 The negative press comes from the fact they are WinXP/DX9 era cards where they do struggle
The GF4 Ti cards are also great cards both speed and comparability wise but its their 4x AGP slot compatibility is more garanteed that make them more sort after.

I'd be happy with either for this build

Reply 8 of 12, by Sago7

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Nobody says that this will be a happy road...

1. I'm trying to install the VGA drivers (AGP GF6100 512MB). tried the 66.94 and 71.64. Both says that there's no Nvidia GPU on the system.
😮

Edit: Fixed using this: http://download.nvidia.com/Windows/77.72/77.7 … ternational.exe

2. Win98SE don't recognize the DVDRW. It's missing, lost. That's weird.

Reply 9 of 12, by Sago7

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DVDRW issue is still there. But is not a major problem since I can use a pendrive.

Here are the results from my GPU cards. Sadly, all of them are 64bits.
GF6200 512MB
7440 3DMark99
8847 3DMark2000

MX4000 64MB
6370 3DMark99
4316 3DMark2000

MX420 64MB
7216 3DMark99
6309 3DMark2000

FX5200 128MB
7385 3DMark99
6854 3DMark2000

Reply 10 of 12, by jakethompson1

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Sago7 wrote on 2020-07-31, 02:06:

2. Win98SE don't recognize the DVDRW. It's missing, lost. That's weird.

Are you using an IDE one or SATA through a converter?

Reply 12 of 12, by jakethompson1

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Sago7 wrote on 2020-07-31, 22:45:
jakethompson1 wrote on 2020-07-31, 20:23:
Sago7 wrote on 2020-07-31, 02:06:

2. Win98SE don't recognize the DVDRW. It's missing, lost. That's weird.

Are you using an IDE one or SATA through a converter?

Both (hdd and dvd) are IDE.

Maybe try jumpering the DVD drive explicitly rather than using Cable Select?