Dual p3 setup
Posted by cndctrdj@reddit | vintagecomputing | View on Reddit | 8 comments
Just got my first dual p3 motherboard. So excited. Ive always wanted one. I used to daydream about them reading computer shopper back in the day. Now I have one. I want to make an ultimate build with it. So im looking for suggestions. Whats the right os for it? Whats the best viseo card? Best sound card? Its going to be a fun build
refuge9@reddit
Congrats! Did you go Slot 1 or Socket 370? What GPU you’ll use is dependent on how old/new the motherboard is. Something in the ATI 9800 range should be capable of running in most AGP slots.
Sound card wise, that’s tough. Again how faithful do you want to be to the era vs what’s best or that you can get? The old Creative Ensoniq AudioPCI/Sound Blaster 128 was a good cheap card. There’s also your SB Live! And SB Audigy lines as well. Anything Aureal may do you alright, as well as there were some high end Hercules/Guillemot cards as well.
cndctrdj@reddit (OP)
Its a slot 1 Ya sound cards are always an unknown to me. I had so many different ones growing up. The surround sound stuff was always fun
refuge9@reddit
So, since it’s a dual PIII, you’ll wanna run something NT based. Probably windows 2000. Windows XP is more compatible with games, but 2000 always did okay for me, and it’s lighter weight than XP. (XP came out after the PIII debuted and by then socket 370 PIIIs were out and in the GHz range). Which sound card will likely depend on if you want more gaming focused or music focused. (Gonna play around with MIDI/MODs, or music production?). If you’re looking for gaming compatibility, probably something creative labs is your best bet.
AustriaModerator@reddit
for dual p3 beyond 1000mhz windows xp pro will be the best choice.
boluserectus@reddit
Why not Win2k?
AustriaModerator@reddit
limits the webbrowser support. mypal74, serpent will work on xp.
LXC37@reddit
OS... well, win2000 will probably feel the most appropriate. XP will be the most practical.
Videocard? This really, really depends on what you want to do and how period correct you want to stay. Also AGP compatibility may be a factor.
To stay within \~99-01 you'd have to limit yourself to GF2-GF3 or radeon 7000-8000. But performance will be kind of limited and higher end cards are rare and expensive.
You could get something dirt cheap and common from later series like FX5200 instead, if period correctness is not very important.
Or radeon 9000 series, may be higher end ones, if you want the best performance you can get. Though CPU will become a significant bottleneck here.
Sound? Again - depends on what you want. My pick would probably be something from audigy series, probably 2zs if period correct is not critical, 1 if it is...
Lonely-Artist5371@reddit
Pci to pcie adapter and then you can put a modernish GPU in it.