my overpowered windows 98 setup
Posted by qpqpdbdbqpqp@reddit | retrobattlestations | View on Reddit | 38 comments
Posted by qpqpdbdbqpqp@reddit | retrobattlestations | View on Reddit | 38 comments
SchmidtCassegrain@reddit
Have you tried the Windows version of Need for Speed (the first one)? I haven't been lucky on any non period correct build.
qpqpdbdbqpqp@reddit (OP)
Never tried it, to be honest i dont usually install games that i wasnt personally playing as a kid.
SchmidtCassegrain@reddit
Fair enough. I did play it on a friend's P133 back in the day and loved it.
SchmidtCassegrain@reddit
Comanche 4 has very good joystick force feedback support, perhaps the best of all Novalogic simulators. I play it with a Wingman Force and it's an interesting experience.
BTW many Novalogic games were released free on their forums: http://www.novaworld2.com/index.php?idtag=66e84030563fb&do=/public/forums/display_topic/id_12127
Martli@reddit
Nice set up, similar to one I have. I think P4 is really underrated for win98 and that chipset is great and super stable I find. I disagree that this should be an XP rig as I think there are way better options. I love that you’ve got the two main sound APIs covered too! TBH I don’t think you’re really compromising much DOS compatibility with this set up, mostly the real early stuff that’s speed sensitive, but you’d want a way less powerful rig for that anyway…
In terms of GPU, if you want to run a voodoo, one option is to get an Nvidia 4200ti or similar, or Nvidia fx series and pair it with a voodoo 2 for glide support. Gives you the best of both worlds - a GPU to match your cpu and run some high spec win98 games with hi settings, plus support for glide. Just a thought.
qpqpdbdbqpqp@reddit (OP)
i like how snappy the p4 is with win98, and for early dos games like carmageddon i use a throttler. and i am very happy with the sound setup, i had already gotten the audigy when i came across an 8810A1, and just a few days later i found the 8830 for a very low price... had to snag them both as aureals are very rare here in tr :)
i'm still hoping a sub 100$ voodoo 5 will pop up one day... didn't really check anything else yet, but i think nvidia cards were more compatible overall, iirc. i am having some weird artifacts in driver (the game) with the current card, for example.
Martli@reddit
Yeah man they’re fast machines, I’ve got an SSD in mine and the thing boots in no time! Yeah the Nvidia cards are very good for compatibility, 4000series being seen as the sweet spot between performance and compatibility
qpqpdbdbqpqp@reddit (OP)
Asus P5PE-VM
P4 3.2GHz
1024mb Ram
Radeon 9250 128mb
Aureal Vortex AU8830 & Creative Sound Blaster Audigy 2 ZS
Seagate 80gb IDE for boot & Samsung 160gb Sata for all the disk images
mylegbig@reddit
Pretty similar to mine. I have a P4 3.4GHz, 512mb, GeForce FX 5900 SE, and the same sound cards.
OP for 98 games, but I like being able to max out the frame rates at high resolutions.
qpqpdbdbqpqp@reddit (OP)
I guess i will go for an fx too if i cant find a voodoo this year.
I somehow enjoy keeping the resolution low tbh :) half life on software renderer at 640x480 just hits different
green_boy@reddit
Can windows 98 even address that much ram?
ddrfraser1@reddit
Windows 98 can handle up to 512 MB of RAM without changes. Max is 1 GB with some system.ini edits or an auto patcher.
CursedSilicon@reddit
Max is 3.25GB (PAE limit) with patches
With Rloew's patches you can use the remaining difference as a RAM disk
(Source: I built a Win98 PC with 4GB, later 16GB RAM)
ddrfraser1@reddit
I knew there would be someone who'd come after me with saying exactly this XD
Terrh@reddit
Max is about 1.9GB with changes. Realistically you'll never need over 512 though.
green_boy@reddit
Huh 🤔 til
qpqpdbdbqpqp@reddit (OP)
apparently :)
1ayy4u@reddit
Why pair that CPU to a low-budget GPU? I mean, it's more than enough for Win98, but otherwise this is a decent XP build
qpqpdbdbqpqp@reddit (OP)
I am still looking for a (non-ridiculously priced) voodoo :)
1ayy4u@reddit
this would be an even bigger mismatch for your CPU
qpqpdbdbqpqp@reddit (OP)
i am not aiming for an xp pc mate, and for a w98 machine, the ultimate gpu would be a voodoo for me. and since i cant find one for a reasonable price, i just threw in the first one i came across.
He_Who_Browses_RDT@reddit
Nice W98, but that keyboard! I had one like many moons ago!! Cool!
qpqpdbdbqpqp@reddit (OP)
I like it so much i have 2 sets 😅 one wired and one wireless
He_Who_Browses_RDT@reddit
=D
retrodude26@reddit
Quite the games lineup! Nice collection
arcanawarrior66@reddit
Say, is Bejeweled 2 compatible with Windows 98?
ddrfraser1@reddit
While this is cool simply for the sake of being cool, I find that while systems from XP on that generally benefit from maxing out specs with the most powerful hardware available, (for example XP running on an i7 4790 and a GTX 970) 98 and earlier tend to benefit from having good era appropriate specs as you start to run into compatibility issues with lower end games. Still, there is a use case for everything and it just depends on what you're after. Rule of cool prevails and this is undeniably cool.
qpqpdbdbqpqp@reddit (OP)
i picked this mobo because it has a 865g chipset, which is the last chipset with win9x drivers, afaik. it also supports a fdd + ide and sata hdds all running at the same time which is a huge bonus as you could imagine. the aureal & audigy cover all dos compatability and i never had an issue with the graphics card.
but this pc also dual boots into xp for some stubborn games anyway 🤫
ddrfraser1@reddit
Yeah, that's a pretty awesome set up!
qpqpdbdbqpqp@reddit (OP)
Thank you, forgot to add, i definitely get what you are saying and would love to build a pentium 233 mmx at one point :)
TrannosaurusRegina@reddit
Wonderful to see an actually-used desktop with so many games!
Happily reminds me of the great PCs loaded with amazing games that used to be at my local library!
Truly the golden age of PC games IMO!
qpqpdbdbqpqp@reddit (OP)
Not just games! I love going on irc with it :)
TrannosaurusRegina@reddit
Oh wow I missed that!
I’ve never heard of Visual IRC!
I’ve only used mIRC on Windows but now I’m intrigued and will have to check it out!
qpqpdbdbqpqp@reddit (OP)
there were so many irc clients, i loved finding out ones with interesting integrations
MaxPayneTheFall@reddit
Max Payne and The Fall of Max Payne are masterpieces, nice setup
qpqpdbdbqpqp@reddit (OP)
thanks! max payne really is one of the best games ever made.
CrazyComputerist@reddit
Did you have issues with the high amount RAM? Whenever I installed 98/Me on my T23 with 1GB of RAM, I had to edit some file to get it to even boot up, and then it would only see 768MB (I think) of the RAM.
qpqpdbdbqpqp@reddit (OP)
strangely enough, no. i had more problems with the sound cards than the ram.