Computer 1: definitely MS-DOS (or another flavor of DOS) + Win 3.1
Computer 2: Windows 98/2000 (depending on what you want to use it for)
Computer 3: same as computer 2
Computer 4: this one screams XP
Computer 5: should work well for late XP build, maybe early 7?
Computer 6: Windows 95 perhaps? If not 98 is a good option too. Also worth to set up DOS mode properly for late DOS games.

I kept it purely Microsoft because of compatibility with the software you may want to run, but some of these PCs could use Linux if you want some variety.

Let me throw in some examples: I do have a P1 MMX PX only with DOS + 3dfx, just because I wanted a PC excelling in late dos games. But I also have a 486 with Win95, just because I wanted an "original"/time correct build, so I put DOS in the most recent one and Win95 on the least powerful. Then many of us have some fast machine running Win98, a PC which was around at WinXP time and probably even later.

So to conclude, it's more of what you want to do with each PC. There's no perfect OS and no perfect PC, as I see it (which doesn't need to be correct/apply for everyone). See for example #6 of previous post: most would indeed install some Win9x. I use it with plain DOS 😉

TheMobRules wrote:

Computer 1: definitely MS-DOS (or another flavor of DOS) + Win 3.1 Computer 2: Windows 98/2000 (depending on what you want to us […]
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Computer 1: definitely MS-DOS (or another flavor of DOS) + Win 3.1
Computer 2: Windows 98/2000 (depending on what you want to use it for)
Computer 3: same as computer 2
Computer 4: this one screams XP
Computer 5: should work well for late XP build, maybe early 7?
Computer 6: Windows 95 perhaps? If not 98 is a good option too. Also worth to set up DOS mode properly for late DOS games.

I kept it purely Microsoft because of compatibility with the software you may want to run, but some of these PCs could use Linux if you want some variety.

I pretty much agree with this. And I would go DOS for both 1 and 6. The 486 for older games and the 233MMX for newer SVGA titles.

1. DOS
2. Haiku
3. Aros/IcarOS
4. Linux
5. Linux
6. DOS

konc wrote:

Let me throw in some examples: I do have a P1 MMX PX only with DOS + 3dfx, just because I wanted a PC excelling in late dos games. But I also have a 486 with Win95, just because I wanted an "original"/time correct build, so I put DOS in the most recent one and Win95 on the least powerful. Then many of us have some fast machine running Win98, a PC which was around at WinXP time and probably even later.

So to conclude, it's more of what you want to do with each PC. There's no perfect OS and no perfect PC, as I see it (which doesn't need to be correct/apply for everyone). See for example #6 of previous post: most would indeed install some Win9x. I use it with plain DOS 😉

Oh I'll go my way, but wanted to see what the rest of yall would do as well, for an idea.

My thoughts where

1. DOS 6.22/Windows 3.11 WFW
2. Windows 98SE
3. Windows ME
4. Windows 2000
5. Windows XP Pro SP3
6. DOS 7.1/Windows 95 OSR 2.1

But wanted to see other idea's as well

Install Windows 8.1 on all of them 😉

squareguy wrote:

Install Windows 8.1 on all of them 😉

Why for what purpose?

Windows builds I don't use anymore

Vista
7
8
8.1

They arn't old yet, and I prefer 10.

candle_86 wrote:

1. DOS 6.22/Windows 3.11 WFW 2. Windows 98SE 3. Windows ME 4. Windows 2000 5. Windows XP Pro SP3 6. DOS 7.1/Windows 95 OSR 2.1 […]
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1. DOS 6.22/Windows 3.11 WFW
2. Windows 98SE
3. Windows ME
4. Windows 2000
5. Windows XP Pro SP3
6. DOS 7.1/Windows 95 OSR 2.1

candle_86 wrote:

Why for what purpose?

Indeed.

I guess it wast an obvious joke?

candle_86 wrote:

So I'm going to list all builds and want input on what yall think is the best OS for each one […]
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So I'm going to list all builds and want input on what yall think is the best OS for each one

Computer 1
486 DX33
8mb Ram
2gb IDE SSD
Paradise 88 ISA Card
AWE 64 Value

MS-DOS 6.22, Windows 3.11/WfW3.11

Computer 2 Pentium III 800 512mb PC100 80gb Western Digital IDE FX 5200/Quadro 2 MXR (can't decide which to use) Soundblaster Li […]
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Computer 2
Pentium III 800
512mb PC100
80gb Western Digital IDE
FX 5200/Quadro 2 MXR (can't decide which to use)
Soundblaster Live

Windows 98SE/WinME with the recommended fixes

Computer 3 Athlon 1200 512mb PC100 120gb Western Digital FX 5200/Quadro 2 MXR (can't decide which to use) Soundblaster Live 5.1 […]
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Computer 3
Athlon 1200
512mb PC100
120gb Western Digital
FX 5200/Quadro 2 MXR (can't decide which to use)
Soundblaster Live 5.1

Windows 98SE/ ME with reccommended fixes

Computer 4 Athlon XP 3200+ 2gb DDR400 500GB Western Digital SATA Radeon X800 XT PE Soundblaster Audigy […]
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Computer 4
Athlon XP 3200+
2gb DDR400
500GB Western Digital SATA
Radeon X800 XT PE
Soundblaster Audigy

XP Pro SP2/SP3

Computer 5 Athlon 64 X2 3800+ 2gb DDR400 1tb Seagate Geforce 8800GTS 512 Soundblaster Audigy […]
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Computer 5
Athlon 64 X2 3800+
2gb DDR400
1tb Seagate
Geforce 8800GTS 512
Soundblaster Audigy

Windows XP Pro SP3

Computer 6 Pentium 233MMX 128mb PC66 20gb Maxtor 3dfx Voodoo Banshee Soundblaster AWE64 Value […]
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Computer 6
Pentium 233MMX
128mb PC66
20gb Maxtor
3dfx Voodoo Banshee
Soundblaster AWE64 Value

Really this one comes down to preference between DOS, 95, and 98SE, though I personally would recommend 95 OSR2.

DOS
W98se
W98se
XP
XP
W95c

I would definately use win98 for system 4.
I played all the games that I bought in 2004/5 on a similiar machine (Athlon 64 3000+ / 512MB DDR1 RAM / X800 Pro 256MB / Win98SE)
It could even be faster than WinXP in certain games. I think there were some benchmarks when XP was released...

If you go for WinXP then I would not connect it to the internet and only install SP1 😀

Oh and I also recommend to look for a SMARTSHADER compatible driver.
The post processing effects are fun 😁

Alright, and for the 486 I don't have one yet, what is a good 10/100 ISA nic if one exists, all I currently have is a coaxial network card which is useless, as my home network is setup with CAT6 Shielded all the way.

What you probably want out of an ISA network card is full-duplex 10Base-T. Intel and 3Com are always good choices; 3Com's ISA offerings default to half-duplex while Intel is easier to get to full, if I recall correctly.

I see 100 meg options too. They'll max out the bus at less than half speed, but should be quite a bit faster than 10 Mbps.

For the MMX system I would dual boot with DOS and Windows 98SE.

1. MS-DOS 6.22 + WFW 3.11
2. Windows 98SE / Windows 2000 multiboot
3. Windows 98SE / Windows XP (SP2?) multiboot
4. Windows XP SP3 (plus maybe a linux distro, for the sake of multibootedness 🤣)
5. Windows XP SP3 (or maybe Vista, if you have some strange taste)
6. MS-DOS 6.22 + WFW 3.11 / Windows 95 OSR 2.1+ multiboot

Here is my current "real life" configuration:
P233MMX: MS-DOS 6.22 WFW3.11 / Windows 95 OSR 2.1 / Windows 98 SE
PIII 1400: MS-DOS 6.22 WFW3.11 / Windows 95 OSR 2.1 / Windows 98 SE / Windows ME / Windows 2000
Opteron 180 (equivalent of A64 X2 4800+): Windows XP SP3 / Fedora / Mint
C2Q Q9550: Windows 7 (daily "modern" rig)

Yes, I have an uncontrollable fetish for multiboot systems. 🤣

Instead of multi boot, you can also use converters and SATA bays. I don't like having DOS and Win95/98 share drives. I know it can be made to work, but it's too much of a hassle for me.

Well I have one Multi boot system, my main rig

E5450, 8gb Ram, GTX 480

Windows 10 Pro/Windows XP Pro SP3/Ubuntu/SteamOS

gdjacobs wrote:

Instead of multi boot, you can also use converters and SATA bays. I don't like having DOS and Win95/98 share drives. I know it can be made to work, but it's too much of a hassle for me.

Actually what I do is generally using separate HDDs if possible, and at least definitely separate partitions. I actually never thought about them as being a nuisance. With the right tools (masterbooter package for example, it has a very simple and nice partitioning utility, besides being a very good multibooting software) it's very easy and hassle free.