Tempest Posted February 3, 2011 Share Posted February 3, 2011 My lab here at work is finally getting rid of all their old PCs. Since I'm on the disposal team I have a once in a life time opportunity to grab some great systems for classic gaming, but which ones should I take? I want to cover all of the classic PC gaming eras: Early DOS Windows 3.1.1 Late DOS Windows 95/98 Windows XP I already own an IBM PCjr which can do very early DOS stuff (CGA graphics) and a P4 which can do Windows XP so those are covered. That leaves Windows 3.1.1, Late DOS, and Windows 95/98. Here's what's available to me: Dell Optiplex GX110 - Pentium III 733Mhz Dell Optiplex GXMT 5166 - Pentium 166 MMX IBM AT 5170 IBM PS/2 70 - 386 IBM PS/2 77 - 486 DX2 IBM Intellistation M Pro - Intel Pentium III (1000/133) I know I want the AT for Early DOS/Windows 3.1.1. Not only is it in amazing shape, but it has dual 5.25 floppy drives and looks cool. The PS/2 77 (486/DX2) might be good for Late DOS stuff. I don't know if the Pentium 166 might be better for that or not. The GX110 (PIII) would be good for Windows 95/98 stuff. Not too fast, not too slow. Any ideas? Suggestions? Tempest Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Seob Posted February 3, 2011 Share Posted February 3, 2011 The discussion is already hold in this thread: What is an idea setup for playing classic DOS games? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Blackbag Posted February 3, 2011 Share Posted February 3, 2011 My lab here at work is finally getting rid of all their old PCs. Since I'm on the disposal team I have a once in a life time opportunity to grab some great systems for classic gaming, but which ones should I take? I want to cover all of the classic PC gaming eras: Early DOS Windows 3.1.1 Late DOS Windows 95/98 Windows XP I already own an IBM PCjr which can do very early DOS stuff (CGA graphics) and a P4 which can do Windows XP so those are covered. That leaves Windows 3.1.1, Late DOS, and Windows 95/98. Here's what's available to me: Dell Optiplex GX110 - Pentium III 733Mhz Dell Optiplex GXMT 5166 - Pentium 166 MMX IBM AT 5170 IBM PS/2 70 - 386 IBM PS/2 77 - 486 DX2 IBM Intellistation M Pro - Dual Intel Pentium III (unknown speed) I know I want the AT for Early DOS/Windows 3.1.1. Not only is it in amazing shape, but it has dual 5.25 floppy drives and looks cool. The PS/2 77 (486/DX2) might be good for Late DOS stuff. I don't know if the Pentium 166 might be better for that or not. The GX110 (PIII) would be good for Windows 95/98 stuff. Not too fast, not too slow. Any ideas? Suggestions? Tempest I'd pick up the P166MMX machine. I think that would give you plenty of horsepower for any DOS/Win 3.1 late era game, but not too much that you'd have to run some slowdown TSR program because the CPU was too fast. Also, the Pentium probably has PCI slots, making it easier to find video card upgrades. The 486 most likely has VESA Local Bus, which will be harder to find and have less of a selection of different cards available. Rich Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tempest Posted February 3, 2011 Author Share Posted February 3, 2011 The discussion is already hold in this thread: What is an idea setup for playing classic DOS games? Yeah but I'm talking about more than DOS and I'm talking about specific machines. I don't want to hijack that thread. I'd pick up the P166MMX machine. I think that would give you plenty of horsepower for any DOS/Win 3.1 late era game, but not too much that you'd have to run some slowdown TSR program because the CPU was too fast. Also, the Pentium probably has PCI slots, making it easier to find video card upgrades. The 486 most likely has VESA Local Bus, which will be harder to find and have less of a selection of different cards available. Oh good point, I didn't think about the card slots. Tempest Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tempest Posted February 3, 2011 Author Share Posted February 3, 2011 Just found these: Dell Optiplex GX1 - Pentium II 266 MHz? Dell Optiplex GXPro - Pentium Pro (speed?) No clue if they're useful or not. I'm really familiar with the Pentium II or Pro. Tempest Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jaybird3rd Posted February 3, 2011 Share Posted February 3, 2011 I'd say the 486 or the P166. Either of them would be fast enough for most later DOS games, but I also agree with Blackbag: if the 486 doesn't have PCI card slots, definitely go with the P166. If you set it up in a dual-boot configuration, you can run both DOS and Windows 95/98 on the same machine, as long as it uses peripherals (especially the video and sound cards) that are well supported by both DOS and Win9x. If I could choose these peripherals, I'd probably go with an S3-based or ATI PCI video card (something along the lines of an S3 Virge or an ATI 3D Rage Pro), since these video chipsets are well supported by Display Doctor, and also an ISA Sound Blaster sound card (which would be compatible with Creative's DOS Plug-and-Play utility if needed). The Pentium Pro would probably work well, too, although anything higher than a Pentium MMX is overkill for DOS games, in my opinion. I don't know of any of them that were optimized for the i686, since most games were being published for Windows by the time that became an issue. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tempest Posted February 3, 2011 Author Share Posted February 3, 2011 The guys over on Vogons were saying that the Pro is good all around game box, so I might grab that one. I'd take the 486, but I can't think of anything that would require a 386/486 only and won't play on the Pentium Pro. I suppose there might be stuff that runs too fast, but I think most those kind of games were in the 8086/8286 era and would run just fine on the AT. Just did some research and it appears that Windows 3.1.1 needs at least a 386. Really? I could have sworn I saw it running on an AT. So it's looking like: Early DOS - AT Windows 3.1.1 - Pentium Pro Late DOS - Pentium Pro Windows 95/98 - Pentium III Windows XP - Pentium III or 4 (depending) The question is, which Pentium III do I grab? The Optiplex or the Intellistation. The Intellistation is a cool black tower so I'm inclined to go with it, but I need to see what the specs are vs. the Optiplex. Tempest Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
The Usotsuki Posted February 4, 2011 Share Posted February 4, 2011 3.10 works on a 286. Windows for Workgroups 3.11 requires a 386. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
nathanallan Posted February 4, 2011 Share Posted February 4, 2011 (edited) The question is, which Pentium III do I grab? The Optiplex or the Intellistation. The Intellistation is a cool black tower so I'm inclined to go with it, but I need to see what the specs are vs. the Optiplex. Tempest Look at the inside, see about future expansion and upgrading. The more slots the better, the more flexible the motherboard the better. Sounds liek a fun project you have going I generally stay away from older Dells, they have strange parts inside (a lot of proprietary hardware, sucks when things need replacing like a power supply). Edited February 4, 2011 by nathanallan Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tempest Posted February 4, 2011 Author Share Posted February 4, 2011 I did a little checking today. It turns out the Intellistation is a PIII 1000/133 (not dual). What amazes me is that the CMOS battery is still good and it boots right up into (get this) OS/2 Warp! The other Intellistations here are all in various states of disrepair and deadness so I'll probably snag this one. The only thing that bothers me is that there's no ISA ports on it, only PCI. Not sure if that's going to be an issue or not. I don't think any computers by the PIII era used ISA anymore. Tempest Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Hatta Posted February 4, 2011 Share Posted February 4, 2011 I have a similar Intellistation. I haven't used it much for gaming, but it was a music/web kiosk in my living room for a while. Those cases are nice and quiet. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tempest Posted February 4, 2011 Author Share Posted February 4, 2011 I think I'm going to grab the Intellistation, the Pentium Pro, and the AT. That should be a good spread for gaming. The only problem I may run into are 386/486 games that run too fast on the Pentium. Tempest Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
madmax2069 Posted February 4, 2011 Share Posted February 4, 2011 (edited) I would grab either the Pentium MMX or Pentium Pro machine or the PIII Intellistation, that way you know you would have enough power to push high end dos games. the S3 virge is a ok video card it is also very limited (GFX acceleration wise) with what it can do in windows, some of the basic 3d accelerated games looked bad and had performance issues. i had a S3-virge DX in my Pentium 200mhz mmx machine (i still have it somewhere), it was good for DOS games and some other games in windows that does not use acceleration but its a rather slow card even with many software rendered games. i replaced it with a 3Dfx voodoo 3 2000 PCI and everything was much faster, the only bad thing with the 3 series is it was not capable of playing voodoo 2 patched games in dos, shadow warrior and others (that i am aware of). but with old dos games it can run them at warp speed, that is where a slowdown program or dosbox comes into play to slow it down and properly play those old dos games. Edited February 4, 2011 by madmax2069 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Seob Posted February 4, 2011 Share Posted February 4, 2011 The more cards the more trouble, if you are dealing with Dos. Because of IRQ conflicts. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Austin Posted February 4, 2011 Share Posted February 4, 2011 The PIII would be a great all-rounder. Windows '95 and '98 will run fine on them and those OSes generally have good DOS compatibility. With the PIII you're looking at being able to run virtually anything from the '90s pretty well--anything from the old Apogee releases to Quake III and Unreal Tournament (Just be sure to stick a late '90s Voodoo in there, or something comparable). Maybe keep one of the other slower machines around (P166 or a 486) for the few DOS games that won't work in Windows? Also, regarding XP gaming from your first post, you're best off using modern machines to run those titles. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
nathanallan Posted February 5, 2011 Share Posted February 5, 2011 Cool, you got a drive with OS/2 Warp! If it were me, I would stash that hdd and use another one, never know when you would want to use that as your OS. It's still for sale new, and you have it installed already, great find! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tempest Posted February 5, 2011 Author Share Posted February 5, 2011 Cool, you got a drive with OS/2 Warp! If it were me, I would stash that hdd and use another one, never know when you would want to use that as your OS. It's still for sale new, and you have it installed already, great find! Yeah we used OS/2 Warp for one of our major systems up until 2 years ago. Sad but true. Tempest Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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