I think around a pentium 200 is a good spot for the game, it balances out the slow parts with the fast parts and is playable, doesn't seem to work in 16-bit with my Voodoo3 which is a shame. Plays really well with the gravis gamepad.

If I use multiplier downclocking, the game runs perfectly with no issues, aside from the slow load times.

If I use ACPI throttling, the game starts glitching out. Videos pause for 10 seconds at a time, gamepad input has hitches and the game gets stuck on the automap screen. I didn't experience a crash but I wouldn't say the game is in a fully playable state.

NeoG_ wrote on 2026-01-03, 01:26:

I think around a pentium 200 is a good spot for the game, it balances out the slow parts with the fast parts and is playable, doesn't seem to work in 16-bit with my Voodoo3 which is a shame. Plays really well with the gravis gamepad.

If I use multiplier downclocking, the game runs perfectly with no issues, aside from the slow load times.

If I use ACPI throttling, the game starts glitching out. Videos pause for 10 seconds at a time, gamepad input has hitches and the game gets stuck on the automap screen. I didn't experience a crash but I wouldn't say the game is in a fully playable state.

Is there a good way of achieving a Pentium 200 using slow down tools? I have a Pentium 3 466 (roughly), but I don’t seem to have an option of downclocking below that in the BIOS, only up. Well, it gives me a list of various frequencies I can put it to, but I’m not sure I can manually adjust something to get it lower. I’ll have to take a pic of the options this evening.

I don’t seem to be able to play it at 16-bit either. The screen bugs out if I try and that’s with a GeForce 4 Ti.

I’ve also encountered the game taking forever to load if I set a CPU throttler too low. Though it seems to stop responding altogether that I’ve had to reset the PC.

Of all the throttlers I’ve tried, I don’t think there are any that allow you to specify the multiplier/core clock frequency, is there? The two I’ve tried just have numbered options between 0 and 8 that lower the CPU by a certain percentage. I could do with something that gives me more control so I can specify the exact frequency. Like 200MHz, 210, 220 etc.

DustyShinigami wrote on 2026-01-03, 07:26:

Is there a good way of achieving a Pentium 200 using slow down tools? I have a Pentium 3 466 (roughly), but I don’t seem to have […]
Show full quote

Is there a good way of achieving a Pentium 200 using slow down tools? I have a Pentium 3 466 (roughly), but I don’t seem to have an option of downclocking below that in the BIOS, only up. Well, it gives me a list of various frequencies I can put it to, but I’m not sure I can manually adjust something to get it lower. I’ll have to take a pic of the options this evening.

I don’t seem to be able to play it at 16-bit either. The screen bugs out if I try and that’s with a GeForce 4 Ti.

I’ve also encountered the game taking forever to load if I set a CPU throttler too low. Though it seems to stop responding altogether that I’ve had to reset the PC.

Of all the throttlers I’ve tried, I don’t think there are any that allow you to specify the multiplier/core clock frequency, is there? The two I’ve tried just have numbered options between 0 and 8 that lower the CPU by a certain percentage. I could do with something that gives me more control so I can specify the exact frequency. Like 200MHz, 210, 220 etc.

The issue you are running in to is the reason why K6 Plus and Via C3 builds became popular, they have a wide range of attainable speeds that can be switched in realtime without ACPI throttling - using multiplier and cache controls. It's pretty well known that ACPI throttling can cause side effects like glitches, crashes and stuttering in games. Some systems just don't have a stable option to target some performance levels unfortunately.

The 466 speed would have been achieved by setting the FSB to 66Mhz, 66*7=466 which halves the speed from the default 133*7=933. The pentium 3 is multiplier locked so can only operate at FSB*7, and the 440BX's lowest FSB speed is 66.

There is a DIY project called Throttle Blaster that could work but you have to find all the parts, order the PCBs and put it together yourself. I was thinking if I make a new system it would be a 440BX P3 1Ghz with a throttle blaster. The K6-2+/550 just runs out of steam for later Win98 games.

NeoG_ wrote on 2026-01-03, 09:13:

There is a DIY project called Throttle Blaster that could work but you have to find all the parts, order the PCBs and put it together yourself. I was thinking if I make a new system it would be a 440BX P3 1Ghz with a throttle blaster. The K6-2+/550 just runs out of steam for later Win98 games.

I have also been thinking of making a throttle blaster. I am a little concerned that it may cause stability and stuttering issues though. Not that I trust ChatGPT, but it gives some warnings about using the stopclk pin

It says there are risks:

Some chips or motherboards may behave unpredictably if STPCLK# is toggled too slowly/irregularly.
Cache, PCI, and ISA bus timings might misbehave.
Any peripherals expecting real-time responses (like MIDI or joystick timers) could glitch.

It says it can break DMA transfers:

1. How ISA DMA works ISA devices (like Sound Blaster) do use DMA, which transfers data directly between memory and the device, b […]
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1. How ISA DMA works
ISA devices (like Sound Blaster) do use DMA, which transfers data directly between memory and the device, bypassing the CPU.
However, the DMA controller itself is clocked by the system (PC/ISA bus clock) and synchronizes transfers with the CPU bus cycles.
Many early games mix CPU-driven I/O (writing registers, starting DMA, acknowledging interrupts) with actual DMA transfers.

2. Why stopping the CPU can interfere
Even though DMA is “CPU-independent,” the CPU still has to:
Set up the transfer: writing start addresses, count, and control registers to the DMA controller or the sound card.
Acknowledge interrupts: after the DMA is complete, the CPU typically reads status registers or handles the IRQ.
If you freeze the CPU via STPCLK#:
DMA may still run, but the CPU won’t acknowledge the IRQ in time.
Some DMA transfers rely on precise timing because early sound cards expect the CPU to refill buffers or write new data quickly.
Digital PCM playback is especially sensitive — if the CPU is paused mid-transfer, the card might miss the next byte, causing clicks, pops, or distorted speech.

3. SETMUL vs hardware stop clock
SETMUL-style slowdown: reduces CPU instruction throughput but doesn’t pause the bus. The CPU “runs slower” but the ISA bus and DMA timing remain consistent.
STPCLK# pause: literally stops the CPU, which can desynchronize DMA timing, especially for sound cards that rely on tight loops or fast buffer updates.

💡 Rule of thumb:
ISA DMA itself doesn’t need the CPU, but timing-sensitive software often assumes the CPU will service the device regularly. Stopping the CPU mid-transfer can break audio playback.
That’s why for early DOS games with digital speech (like Metropolis), software slowdown is safer than toggling STPCLK#.

NeoG_ wrote on 2026-01-03, 09:13:

The issue you are running in to is the reason why K6 Plus and Via C3 builds became popular, they have a wide range of attainable […]
Show full quote

DustyShinigami wrote on 2026-01-03, 07:26:

Is there a good way of achieving a Pentium 200 using slow down tools? I have a Pentium 3 466 (roughly), but I don’t seem to have […]
Show full quote

Is there a good way of achieving a Pentium 200 using slow down tools? I have a Pentium 3 466 (roughly), but I don’t seem to have an option of downclocking below that in the BIOS, only up. Well, it gives me a list of various frequencies I can put it to, but I’m not sure I can manually adjust something to get it lower. I’ll have to take a pic of the options this evening.

I don’t seem to be able to play it at 16-bit either. The screen bugs out if I try and that’s with a GeForce 4 Ti.

I’ve also encountered the game taking forever to load if I set a CPU throttler too low. Though it seems to stop responding altogether that I’ve had to reset the PC.

Of all the throttlers I’ve tried, I don’t think there are any that allow you to specify the multiplier/core clock frequency, is there? The two I’ve tried just have numbered options between 0 and 8 that lower the CPU by a certain percentage. I could do with something that gives me more control so I can specify the exact frequency. Like 200MHz, 210, 220 etc.

The issue you are running in to is the reason why K6 Plus and Via C3 builds became popular, they have a wide range of attainable speeds that can be switched in realtime without ACPI throttling - using multiplier and cache controls. It's pretty well known that ACPI throttling can cause side effects like glitches, crashes and stuttering in games. Some systems just don't have a stable option to target some performance levels unfortunately.

The 466 speed would have been achieved by setting the FSB to 66Mhz, 66*7=466 which halves the speed from the default 133*7=933. The pentium 3 is multiplier locked so can only operate at FSB*7, and the 440BX's lowest FSB speed is 66.

There is a DIY project called Throttle Blaster that could work but you have to find all the parts, order the PCBs and put it together yourself. I was thinking if I make a new system it would be a 440BX P3 1Ghz with a throttle blaster. The K6-2+/550 just runs out of steam for later Win98 games.

Ahh, I see. Interesting. Are there any particular K6 Plus boards that are recommended here? Can't say I've heard of Via C3. I take it they were another competitor who were more budget friendly compared to Intel and AMD? I mean, I can always be on the look out for one of those boards for in the future, but I can't say I'm ready to switch boards anytime soon.

But yeah, I believe 66Mhz is the lowest FSB I can use. It's great I have a range of speeds to go up to, but it sucks I can't go any lower than 466.

That Throttle Blaster sure sounds promising though. But what, and how many, parts are we talking about? How simple/hard is it to put together? ^^;

Would fully loading the CPU help for games like Alien?

Okay, so far, Mo'Slo appears to have helped with the game. I've set it to around 45-50 with /m2 enabled and that appears to have slowed it to a more suitable speed. So far from what I've tested, it hasn't crashed. 😀

NeoG_ wrote on 2026-01-03, 01:26:

I think around a pentium 200 is a good spot for the game, it balances out the slow parts with the fast parts and is playable, doesn't seem to work in 16-bit with my Voodoo3 which is a shame. Plays really well with the gravis gamepad.

If I use multiplier downclocking, the game runs perfectly with no issues, aside from the slow load times.

If I use ACPI throttling, the game starts glitching out. Videos pause for 10 seconds at a time, gamepad input has hitches and the game gets stuck on the automap screen. I didn't experience a crash but I wouldn't say the game is in a fully playable state.

With yours, do you ever have that issue where it'll play the first level's music track, and then it'll start playing the beginning of Xenomorph's Aren't the Only Threat before stopping and relooping the first level's track again?

DustyShinigami wrote on 2026-01-04, 11:53:

With yours, do you ever have that issue where it'll play the first level's music track, and then it'll start playing the beginning of Xenomorph's Aren't the Only Threat before stopping and relooping the first level's track again?

Yep it does that exactly, and I'm using a virtual matsushita drive via the PicoGUS so I figured it was just a thing with the game

NeoG_ wrote on 2026-01-04, 12:13:

DustyShinigami wrote on 2026-01-04, 11:53:

With yours, do you ever have that issue where it'll play the first level's music track, and then it'll start playing the beginning of Xenomorph's Aren't the Only Threat before stopping and relooping the first level's track again?

Yep it does that exactly, and I'm using a virtual matsushita drive via the PicoGUS so I figured it was just a thing with the game

Ah, okay. Glad I'm not the only one then. ^^

I did a bit of testing with 86Box set to a Pentium II 200Mhz and it's a shame that isn't slow enough for the game. There are plenty of Pentium II 200-300Mhz CPUs knocking around on eBay. I wouldn't have minded getting something slower for some games, especially with how those CPUs are on a board you can easily take out and put in. Like a GPU or sound card. With 86Box, you can lower them further from a drop-down list, and put it to 66-100Mhz, but I don't imagine a physical Pentium II would allow me to lower it.

DustyShinigami wrote on 2026-01-05, 15:50:

I did a bit of testing with 86Box set to a Pentium II 200Mhz and it's a shame that isn't slow enough for the game.

Maybe I'm just OK with the game being a bit faster, it still is a bit frantic at 200Mhz but I think that adds to the excitement