Best solution for playing old games in the future

[RPatrick]

I've got a few games from the past I'd like to be able to play in the future. Some of these games (Star Wars Racer for example) will not run on newer operating systems like XP or Vista (even in compatibility mode).

I've heard about Microsoft's virtual PC program, but it does not support using a joystick which would hamper some great simulator games.

I'm toying with the idea of building a brand new PC dedicated to running Win98SE for gaming only. Hopefully it would last many years with occasional use. Would this be the best solution ?

Is it even possible to buy brand new hardware that will run with Win98, that is probably my biggest question.

Opinions or suggestions appreciated.

 

[irishScott]

DOSBox
http://www.dosbox.com/

The primary reason old games won't run effectively on newer OSs is that up to 98, Windows was effectively just a GUI for DOS. Then NT came along.

 

[RPatrick]

Dosbox sounds great, but I believe it is only for MS-DOS titles. The games I have in mind were written for Windows 98.

 

[CP5670]

Dosbox is perfect for DOS games, but there is no similar solution for early Windows games. I have a 98 VM set up in Virtual PC and it's fairly hit-or-miss in terms of game compatibility. Some work and others don't. VMWare may be a better choice as it supports Direct3D, but I couldn't get the free version to work with sound.

An old 98 machine would probably be the best option for now. I used to maintain an old 98 machine, put together from various spare parts I had lying around, but I didn't use it that often and I have moved since then anyway. Most current hardware will not have 98 drivers available though.

 

[RPatrick]

Thanks for the good information, and I agree that it seems nothing will be more reliable than a real Windows 98 system.

I'm sure it would not be too difficult to piece together a working system from used parts, but obviously longevity would be questionable. It would be nice to find some of those brand new parts that got thrown into a back storage room somewhere and forgotten about, but by now thats just not likely.

The lack of backwards compatibility in Windows is really frustrating, but we all know why it is not that important, just follow the money !

 

[Lazlo Panaflex]

My Athlon XP "MAME box" was scavenged from old parts, and runs Win98SE quite nicely. I recommend the FS/T forum (or perhaps even the freebies thread) & build one on the cheap!

Edit: That was my main system for almost 4 years running overclocked @ 2.2...but it's back to stock clock for longevity's sake...

 

[irishScott]

Quick search found these, you might be able to use some new(er) more easy to find hardware.
http://ati.amd.com/support/dri...me/radeonaiw-98me.html
http://www.nvidia.com/object/nforce_udp_win9x_4.27

Also found this for motherboards, looks like it's worth checking out:
http://forums.windowsitpro.com...id=48774&enterthread=y

DANXO1970

Posts: 1
Joined: 11/07/2007


HOW RIDICILOUS PEOPLE CAN BE.. THERE MANY MOTHERBOARDS
OUT THERE WITH WINDOWS 98 SUPPORT.

ESC K8M800-M2 SOCKET 754
FOXCONN 661GX7MJ-H LGA 775 SOCKET
ESC 755 SOCKET 754

AND THE LATEST ONES ARE: MSI K9MM-V
ASROCK 4CORE-DUAL-SATA2 QUAD

THE MSI K9 SUPPORTS AGP AND SO DOES THE ASROCK 4CORE ALONG
WITTH SOCKETS AM2 (MSI) AND SOCKET 775 (ASROCK)

PLEASE DO NOT LET ANY DUMB "TECHS" TELL YOU THERE ARE NO
MOTHERBOARD SUPPORTING WIN 98. AND STILL YOU FIND MANY
SOCKET 478 BOARDS WITH WINDOWS 98 SUPPORT.

DAVE.

If you want to use this comp exclusively for gaming, than you should be fine with LAN/Motherboard/CPU/Graphics. Looks like it's still doable. Finding an older (2003-4 era) graphics card for cheap should be a breeze for now.

 

[RPatrick]

Looks good,

Thanks !

 

[TheVrolok]

Honestly, I just keep an old computer with old copies of Windows installed for older gaming. I have one that dual boots 98se and XP for games I just can't seem to get working in Vista.

 

[Oyeve]

I keep an old P2 PC around that has an old pci card and 2 Voodoo2 (original SLI) cards and an ISA Soundblaster just for playing old dos games. It has MSDOS 6 and Windows 3.1.

 

[BurnItDwn]

You can probably pick up a whole pallet of P2 or P3 era machines for a couple hundred bucks, lifetime supply of parts for playing old games ...

 

[GundamSonicZeroX]

If the game can use software rendering (ie. UT), you can use a Virtual Machine.

 

[coloumb]

Originally posted by: RPatrick
I've got a few games from the past I'd like to be able to play in the future. Some of these games (Star Wars Racer for example) will not run on newer operating systems like XP or Vista (even in compatibility mode).

I've heard about Microsoft's virtual PC program, but it does not support using a joystick which would hamper some great simulator games.

I'm toying with the idea of building a brand new PC dedicated to running Win98SE for gaming only. Hopefully it would last many years with occasional use. Would this be the best solution ?

Is it even possible to buy brand new hardware that will run with Win98, that is probably my biggest question.

Opinions or suggestions appreciated.

I'd say build a pc specifically for playing the old games.

Which reminds me - I wanted to re-play and finish Anachronox now...

 

[Skunkwourk]

Originally posted by: oldhoss
My Athlon XP "MAME box" was scavenged from old parts, and runs Win98SE quite nicely. I recommend the FS/T forum (or perhaps even the freebies thread) & build one on the cheap!

Edit: That was my main system for almost 4 years running overclocked @ 2.2...but it's back to stock clock for longevity's sake...

I'd go with this. I remember running 98SE with an Athlon 1700. Im sure you could put together a cheap 98SE rig and any Athlon XP processor should be more than enough for pre XP games (I remember playing Star Wars Racer with a P3 700MHZ and a Geforce 256 or Voodoo 3 3000). Slap in a Geforce 4 or something and you're good to go.

 

[Marty502]

I've got a Celeron 633@950 Mhz with 128 Mb of RAM, Windows 98SE and a Voodoo Banshee just for that!

A fast TNT2 or an early Geforce 2 would be even better though.

 

[Frodolives]

I've pondered this many times myself. It would be great if some future generation hardware could include a chipset dedicated to this purpose. In relative terms the resources of such a chipset would be quite low, and (in my dreams) it could include a legacy OS. Even better, maybe it could be offered as a usb plug-in, just as some sound cards are now available.

 

[Piuc2020]

Originally posted by: RPatrick
Thanks for the good information, and I agree that it seems nothing will be more reliable than a real Windows 98 system.

I'm sure it would not be too difficult to piece together a working system from used parts, but obviously longevity would be questionable. It would be nice to find some of those brand new parts that got thrown into a back storage room somewhere and forgotten about, but by now thats just not likely.

The lack of backwards compatibility in Windows is really frustrating, but we all know why it is not that important, just follow the money !

That's what you get, it's not as bad as Apple though, OSX (the first version) was a mess running OS9 apps (I remember I really couldn't play Quake 3 properly, it stuttered a lot) and recently they have broken support for games like Starcraft and Diablo II, not to mention the complete cutoff for OS9 apps for Intel macs.

 

[bunnyfubbles]

Don't build a new computer, but piece something together from older parts (new/used/your own)

Anything that would require an OS older than XP isn't going to require any major horsepower whatsoever.

Sorting out most of the components might not be so easy, but I think my video card would most likely be a Voodoo 5.

 

[NoWhereM]

I just don't have the space to set up another computer for older games. That's why I bought an older laptop that I use to play my old DOS games.

Edit to add that a P2 233mmx with floppy, CD, and built in sound only cost me $65.

 

[shortylickens]

Originally posted by: RPatrick
Dosbox sounds great, but I believe it is only for MS-DOS titles. The games I have in mind were written for Windows 98.

I understand, I have a buttload of older games I still like to play. The only good version of Magic was made by Microprose for Win98. Any other OS and it wont work right.

The handful of Win98/95 emulators we have seen are shit. They dont work properly (at least not for gaming) and they require a very fast system & still get poor performance (also a hinderance in gaming).

The compatibility mode in XP is darn near useless.

If you are serious about old games I recommend an old computer with Windows 98.
It actually wouldnt be too expensive. Get yourself a GeForce 2 or 3 or perhaps a Radeon 64 MB DDR or Radeon 8500. A GeForce 4 is too much and wont be fully compatible with older games. Really old titles may even have issues with a GeForce 3.

I recommend a Socket A motherboard with a high-end Athon XP. Do NOT try to take it up a notch to a multi-core or 64 bit CPU. Despite the fact they support all the 32 bit instructions, a lot of games just plain dont like them.

Make sure your motherboard bus and CPU bus match, otherwise you will be wasting performance. If you have to take it down a notch to an Athlon Thunderbird (Athlon C) you wont be disappointed. And it may save you a couple bucks.

512MB or 1GB of regular DDR memory, dual channel wont matter so try for a single stick.

An Audigy 1 soundcard or Live!. Heck, my SoundBlaster PCI 512 lasted me for a long time.

A PATA hard drive, shouldnt need more than 100GB. A basic DVD drive, maybe a burner since they are so darn cheap.

A dirt cheap case and power supply between 250 and 450 watts. Provided you use one hard drive and one optical drive, keep the CPU low-end for a socket A, you should be able to get by on about 300 watts.

Full retail version of Win98 Second Edition. This may be the most expensive item you get.

I recommend using a switch to take advantage of the keyboard, mouse, monitor and speakers you already have. Just set your little nostalgia computer next to your main system.

If both systems could be Small Form Factor that would be totally awesome.

EDIT:
If you get a 1x AGP motherboard dont get an 8x AGP video card!!!!!
The difference between DDR and SDR in a Win98 gaming system wont be phenominal, but FOR GOSH SAKES MAKE SURE YOU GET RAM THAT WORKS WITH YOUR BOARD!!!

Check out price watch for older parts.
http://www.pricewatch.com/

You will probably have to perform manual searches to get the stuff you want. The older parts are there but they dont popup.

Keep in mind almost all of the stuff you purchase will have a 30 day warranty with no option to extend.

 

[PingSpike]

Its certainly cheap to setup an old computer...my problem is its not very convient and it takes up desk space for what is a pretty non-essential item!

My PC has a x1800xl that I use for older games, since thats the only video card that doesn't suffer dithering problems in older titles and actually has fixed aspect ratio scaling that works in the drivers. (Well, any x1x00 card would work here)

 

[RPatrick]

shortylickens,

I've already got Win98SE, so this should not cost very much to do. Sounds fun too. Thanks for the excellent post and useful tips !