# Most powerful Win98 Hardware



## MRCL (Mar 17, 2009)

Ok this might be an unusual request. But anyways. 

I was recently going trough my old cds, sorting out those that just collect dust and taking space away. And I found quite some amazing old skool games... for Win95/98. Now the thing is, I loved to play them and I still want to play them. BUT my oldest operating system running is Win2k, on the lappy. Some of the games won't run there. So I came across the idea of building a retro gaming rig, with Win98 on it.

Now, what would be the highest-end hardware suitable for win98? I need suggestions for a motherboard, GPU, RAM (please none of Rambus) and of course a CPU.

And no, virtual stuff is out of the question, I want a machine!

Suggestionsare greatly appreciated


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## BroBQ (Mar 17, 2009)

Find yourself an old P3. At least 1Ghz or even an 800Mhz would work


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## alexp999 (Mar 17, 2009)

Other than mobo and GPU chipset support, I dont think stuff would actually be that old. You could get a dual core running on it! 

IIRC, all the 9xx series Intel mobo chipsets supported 98, cant remember when graphics cards stopped being supported. You are probably safe with any DX9 card though.


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## ShogoXT (Mar 17, 2009)

Ok this is sorta side tracking your question, but ive actually been able to get alot of old games working just fine on xp and sometimes vista. Some older DOS games are tricky, but my sound card gives me good emulation still. 

Tell me what games you are trying to run, maybe I can help. (im at work atm though, might be a while before i respond).


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## ShogoXT (Mar 17, 2009)

Another note. For older DOS games you dont want TOO fast of a computer, otherwise the game is unplayably fast.


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## alexp999 (Mar 17, 2009)

I have got every Tomb Raider (still working on the first one), running on Vista 
As ShogoXT says, you'll be suprised what you can get working. Though my Dad still won't give up his old Win 98 Machine.


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## MRCL (Mar 17, 2009)

ShogoXT said:


> Ok this is sorta side tracking your question, but ive actually been able to get alot of old games working just fine on xp and sometimes vista. Some older DOS games are tricky, but my sound card gives me good emulation still.
> 
> Tell me what games you are trying to run, maybe I can help. (im at work atm though, might be a while before i respond).





ShogoXT said:


> Another note. For older DOS games you dont want TOO fast of a computer, otherwise the game is unplayably fast.



The games I want to play the most are Redline Racer and S.C.A.R.S. maybe some Motocross Madness.

Naw for the DOS games I like(d) to play (eg Monkey Island Series), theres ScummVM, for those I don't mind they run emulated.


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## kiriakost (Mar 17, 2009)

ShogoXT said:


> Another note. For older DOS games you dont want TOO fast of a computer, otherwise the game is unplayably fast.




       make a Google search about "MAME games"  .


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## ShogoXT (Mar 17, 2009)

Dude seriously... try playing Magic Carpet 2 unemulated. 
"lol i got this game working, used to be so fun even though i couldnt get the sound working".

*BAM all the way across the map and dead*

"but... i only tapped the up key...."


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## alexp999 (Mar 17, 2009)

My dad got A-train working on a PC emulator, funny thing was, everything was zooming around at lightning speed, cus the PC was too fast!


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## MRCL (Mar 17, 2009)

alexp999 said:


> My dad got A-train working on a PC emulator, funny thing was, everything was zooming around at lightning speed, cus the PC was too fast!



I remember GTA2 has such an issue under compability mode, if you don't adjust it, it runs at like 30000fps


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## paulm (Mar 17, 2009)

You should probably see if you can get uk2online to sell you his rig, he is running the exact hardware you're looking for, and I hear he just got a new PCI graphics card 

Sorry, I had to bring it up .


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## AlienIsGOD (Mar 17, 2009)

^^ Lol


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## DrPepper (Mar 17, 2009)

Try running it in microsoft virtual pc and see if you can play any games on it. I'd think it would install rather quick as well.


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## pro-infinity (Mar 17, 2009)

i have a nice intel 815 motherboard with 1ghz cpu u and a rage 128 pro 8 or 16 mb graphics card if you wana swap me it for something better haha


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## mrw1986 (Mar 17, 2009)

I loved Redline Racer!


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## MRCL (Mar 17, 2009)

DrPepper said:


> Try running it in microsoft virtual pc and see if you can play any games on it. I'd think it would install rather quick as well.



Virtual PC is out of the question



mrw1986 said:


> I loved Redline Racer!



Omg omg omg somebody who knows Redline Racer


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## DrPepper (Mar 17, 2009)

Why's that ?


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## pro-infinity (Mar 17, 2009)

+ 512sd ram might i add


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## Deleted member 3 (Mar 17, 2009)

alexp999 said:


> Other than mobo and GPU chipset support, I dont think stuff would actually be that old. You could get a dual core running on it!



Apart from the fact that Win98 won't do anything with the second core. Large amounts of memory are trouble as well (>512MB), besides that it has crap USB support and is an overal pos. 


My vote is VMware, like it or not. If you want an actual machine just get any P2/P3 you can find. It really won't matter that much. Games that run on nothing but win9x are far older than a P3.


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## MRCL (Mar 17, 2009)

DrPepper said:


> Why's that ?



I don't know... its just not the same.



DanTheBanjoman said:


> Apart from the fact that Win98 won't do anything with the second core. Large amounts of memory are trouble as well (>512MB), besides that it has crap USB support and is an overal pos.
> 
> 
> My vote is VMware, like it or not. If you want an actual machine just get any P2/P3 you can find. It really won't matter that much. Games that run on nothing but win9x are far older than a P3.



So P3 it is then, alright... I see what I can find, thanks y'all


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## ste2425 (Mar 17, 2009)

dumb question but my VMware to youe mean emulators?


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## MRCL (Mar 17, 2009)

ste2425 said:


> dumb question but my VMware to youe mean emulators?



Well I generalize. I just dont want to use emulators/virtual computers/other programs. I want the real thing.


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## ste2425 (Mar 17, 2009)

right ok cheers id just never heard the term VMware


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## TroyForum (May 1, 2009)

*Use an old Dell for a Win98 Gaming Computer*

I recommend using an old Dell computer for an old Windows 98SE gaming computer.  I've done this myself on two computers.  My old Win98 computer died on me and I had to find a replacement last year.  You can go to the Dell website and look for models that still have Windows 98 drivers that you can download from the Dell website.  I think this is easier than trying to build a computer from scratch.  Sometimes you can find old office computers on the net or at local computer stores. First I put together an old Dell Optiplex GX50, but the PSU and configuration didn't allow me to get the video card I wanted.  Right now, I keep it as a backup for Win98 games that can run on integrated graphics.

I found the the most powerful Dell computer that still had Win98 drivers on their website is a Optiplex GX260.  If you by the MiniTower configuration, this give you more options in installing a video card.

Then you can search for the most powerful video card that also has Win98SE drivers available.  I found that Omega Drivers can work w/ older Radeon cards.  I found the most powerful Radeon card that could run on the PSU for the MiniTower GX260 was this:

128MB ATI Radeon 9600XT AGP 8x VGA DVI Tv DDR 9600 XT 100437100 100-437100 

So I put these two together w/ the Omega Drivers and it works fine.  I can run my Win98SE games just fine w/ the Radeon 9600XT.  I've got it loaded w/ a couple of dozen different games that all play w/ good framerated under the 9600XT.

I alot put alot of free software on it that runs in Win98SE, but I only use it for gaming.

I understand that alot of people just use emulation software, but not me.  I'm sorry, but some of my favorite computer games only run in Win98.  They all can't run properly in WinXP and some of the can't even get started in Vista.
I also find it very easy to do a clean install of Win98SE if it's needed.  I don't have to verify anything w/ Bill Gates to put together my Win98 gaming computers.

TroyForum


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## TroyForum (May 1, 2009)

MRCL said:


> I was recently going trough my old cds, sorting out those that just collect dust and taking space away. And I found quite some amazing old skool games... for Win95/98. Now the thing is, I loved to play them and I still want to play them. BUT my oldest operating system running is Win2k, on the lappy. Some of the games won't run there. So I came across the idea of building a retro gaming rig, with Win98 on it.
> 
> QUOTE]
> 
> ...


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## FordGT90Concept (May 1, 2009)

I'm using an old Compaq for Win98/games.  It has a 750 MHz Athlon and a 16 MiB TNT2 M64 card.  It works great for all games up to about 2000/2001.

Of course, Windows 98 can run on pretty much any computer as long as all the drivers are available.

NVIDIA GeForce 6 series has Win95/98 drivers and so does NVIDIA nForce 6.  If you want to make a Win98 gamer, maybe these would be good:

AM2 nForce 5 series

Athlon LE-1660 2.8 GHz (single core because a lot of older software doesn't like multi-cores--Win98 might not even support it)

EVGA 6800 PCIE (the fastest, currently available, 6 series graphics card)



The only thing that wouldn't work on there is if you have an old game (e.g. Earth 2140) that requires ISA audio.


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## DaMulta (May 1, 2009)

Install VMware and install windows 98


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## w2richwood (May 1, 2009)

i use a socket 2 2200+ 512 ram and a ati 9800pro works great with win 98 i have redline racer star wars racer and a few more the gkids like the older games from time to time
Rich


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## TroyForum (May 1, 2009)

w2richwood said:


> i use a socket 2 2200+ 512 ram and a ati 9800pro works great with win 98 i have redline racer star wars racer and a few more the gkids like the older games from time to time
> Rich



I was looking at the 9800pro also, but I went w/ the 9600xt instead because it can work w/ my Dell PSU.  I still see 9600XTs on the internet for less than $40.

The 9800pro would have been a better card to use though.

TroyForum


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## n-ster (May 1, 2009)

sorry for again going against your will and all, but why no VMs?

Anyways, something like u2ks comp is actually good for 98 games  (so he is only 11 years behind!)


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## MRCL (May 1, 2009)

n-ster said:


> sorry for again going against your will and all, but why no VMs?
> 
> Anyways, something like u2ks comp is actually good for 98 games  (so he is only 11 years behind!)



Meh, beacuse of the feeling Its just not the same. I remember playing NFSHP on medium settings on a CRT. Now even my crappy laptop can handle it without any problems. But its not the same...

Lol yeah


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## n-ster (May 1, 2009)

Why don't you just buy a crappy CRT and connect your PC to that?  and there are even things that you can make it limited to 19fps


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## MRCL (May 1, 2009)

n-ster said:


> Why don't you just buy a crappy CRT and connect your PC to that?  and there are even things that you can make it limited to 19fps



 Yeah well I'll see. There ain't much progress in this project anyway, somehow the present is more important than the past right now


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## ShogoXT (May 1, 2009)

I have some old hardware laying around. Like a voodoo 2. Good for those glide games, and you can still use your better graphics card for other stuff.


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## slayer7912 (Mar 18, 2011)

*Hot windows 98 Pc*

Hay I just built a supper desktop for win98.}

My specks:
Mother board: ASUS M2N68-AM PLUS{disable on board sound and net
CPU:  AMD3 2.7ghz Sempron single core
RAM:  512mb{if you put in 1gig just set emm386.exe no ram or nomes switch but some games may not run}
Video:  Nvidia 5500 256mb {Download drivers to work with 98}
PS:  350w generic brand
HDD:  80gig {partion to 40gig max x2}note:also have another pc using a sata add on card running win98 with 160gig hdd partion to 40gig x4 No problems.{been using a cd from Hitachi
deskstar setup telling it you have win200 with service pack,set psrtions,set to fat32. and good to go.
NET:  Trendnet 54mbps wireless g USB adapter{when i installed it ask aftere reboot click on eject cd then windows disk.  needed to type in cd leter  and win98 worked aok{need to hit connet button evertime pc is restarte}
ALL ABOVE BRAND NEW
sound:  sound blaster audigy so good for 98
DVD: ASUS 


Best windows 98 PC I ever built and old games are not running to fast have an old game that has a cpu speed limmiter in case i need it.
my motherboard wa an open box so no cd was included but downloaded the setup manual from ASUS. Don't think the drivers would have worked anyway.
only 3 things not setup on mb:
1.system board extension for ACPI BIOS (code15)
2.motherboard resorce (code15)
3.motherboard resorce (code10)
all i now is the pc runs great and everything is working for all my old games and i am happy.


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## johnspack (Mar 18, 2011)

Been running computers since dos 3.2 on a ibm pc...  for win98,  a super computer would be a p4 or athlon single core with 512mbs ram(don't bother with more,  it'll just cause probs),  fastest agp card you can find,  and biggest crt you can find.  Use win98se.  Done!  I probably should have read the whole thread,  but I'm old and impatient....


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## Zyon (Mar 19, 2011)

Couldn't you just run the games in compatibility mode for win98? And you could get a copy of windows 2000 (make a cheap pc using Celeron or Athlon X2) which still supports 16bit nicely, windows 98 was a pain for me since virus attack and I lost my internet access 

Using the technologies nowadays is overkill for win98.


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## xBruce88x (Mar 19, 2011)

i know for a fact the abit nf7-s motherboard works fine with windows98se. that's the build i had with win98 for a while. had an athlon xp 2500 and 1gb of ddr ram. a 9600xt was in the rig too. that thing was insanely fast with win98 lol.

i just built another 98 rig. its not quite as powerful as i was hoping for but it'll do till i get a little extra spending money. its in my specs.

i'm curious... what games are you intending to play? you may have a few 3DFX capable games (i've got 3 voodooII cards and one voodooIII)


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## MRCL (Mar 19, 2011)

Lol thread resurrection ftw.
I do have aquired a Win98 rig in the meantime (of...almost exactly two years since this thread was made )
PII, old DFI board, and a Voodo2 card. Eh, it won't be the most powerful to mess with, for sure.
But for that I have an old P4 rig I rescued from being thrown away. Only drawback of that thing is the mobo uses RDRAM, and that shit is too expensive even today.

Again, its creepy that almost exactly two years after that thread, it gets resurrected.
Have I angered the spirits of old hardware? Have I sinned because I currently play more with my consoles than my PC? Am I unworthy because I somehow lost my Win7 DVD?



xBruce88x said:


> i'm curious... what games are you intending to play? you may have a few 3DFX capable games (i've got 3 voodooII cards and one voodooIII)



Need for Speed 3: Hot Pursuit (Best damn racing game there is)
S.C.A.R.S. (Does anybody even know that?)
Redline Racer (Or that? Criterion Studios rocked even in the 90s)
O-Zone (Ok this game, nobody knows)

Man I sound like a hipster.


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## xBruce88x (Mar 19, 2011)

wow i just realized how old the thread was haha. the only game i've heard of from ur list was the first lol. some youtube-ing will fix that


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## MRCL (Mar 19, 2011)

S.C.A.R.S.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2WVqpU3DnpE&feature=related

Its really a cool game. Music rocks, too. Best of all? Pop the CD into a CD player and rock out

Redline Racer
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NyI65r5sfQg

You could literally have a bike too fast for a track.

For O-Zone there seems to be nothing. I don't know where that game even came from. I think it came with my first computer but I'm not sure.


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