Almoststew1990 wrote:TD3 was just an example, if this game is a bit picky then I am not fussed if it can't play well if it affects the rest of the machines / my other games! At first glance a 386 seems to cover the time periods I would like to play, although Sim City 2000 suggests a 486 33MHz is recommended? Is it better to go with a slow 486 or fast 386 (in terms of cost, system reliability etc) I am usually the sort of person who would say go slightly newer and slower than older and faster. So I am leaning towards something like 50MHz 486
I am quite happy to wait and find hardware at good prices. Also, prices don't seem as inflated in the UK compared to other places.
That's a nice board you found there for the 386. I haven't tried Sim City 2000 on a 386, but I believe the floppy version was rated to run no a 386 25mhz (minimum). Either way on my 486DX2 66 playback can get a bit sluggish when you have a very dense city built up, but it runs nicely overall. I'd probably build a 486 for Sim2k myself, but opinions may vary.
Sim City 2000 is later than Wolf3D, so that was kind of what I was trying to push out of you with my first post. You sound like you would fit well into the 486DX 33mhz to DX2 66mhz crowd. Since I like to play DOOM and push the system a bit, I definitely prefer 33mhz bus systems over 25 but either will do well with Sim City 2000. If you want to play DOOM though, there will be room to grow for a very smooth experience.
Also with the 486, if you want, you can look for later boards that have a PCI bus and save yourself a bit of hassle and money on choosing your video cards.
I think what you should ask yourself is "DOOM engine games, or no DOOM". If it doesn't matter, you can get a straight 16-bit ISA board with a 486DX-33 . If you want to play DOOM, I'd suggest a VLB board with a Cirrus Logic GD-5428 VLB video or better. Or a PCI card maybe an S3 Trio or ATi mach series card, up to you there.
Again though, my previous post with the phils computer lab build or what the user above recommended will give you the biggest "bang for the buck" system, though it will kind of blur the line between your DOS and existing win9x machine.
Sup. I like computers. Are you a computer?