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Thread: help me decide a DOS pc motherboard

  1. #41
    Pear (Level 6) Soviet Conscript's Avatar
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    Quote Originally Posted by Arkhan View Post
    daggerfall requires pentium powa!
    my box for tha game says 486DX2/50 MHz

    Quote Originally Posted by Jorpho View Post
    Yes, I'm sure you'll be able to get them running on an older machine just perfectly and without any effort at all!
    acually after getting this machine setup i am finding it easier and more reliable then dosbox and requireing less effort.

    the initial learning curve on setting everything up and getting the drivers (mouse, cd drive, sound card) is a little bit of work i didn't find it any more taxing then learning how to configure the dosbox emulator.

    so far every game i couldn't get working at all or not correctly work perfect on this dos computer.

    stonekeep gave me problems for years trying to run it under the various windows os's and through dosbox but i was able to get it running smooth first time in dos. menzoberranzan i never got running before but now it plays like a dream

    i did run into the dreaded memory issues i heard so much about when i tried to get elder scrolls arena to run (anouther game that took some effort to run under dosbox and even then the sound/speed was off even after tweaking the cpu cycles) but even for someone like me who virtually had no experence with DOS i was able to use memmanager a quick refrence to the internet and i had the memory optimized and the game running in no time.

    i havn't tried anything really old so i can't say how those games would function and i do intend to piece together a 486 pc eventually but so far i have to say that even at 210mhz later dos games seem to run great on this setup and dispit the initial setup hassels i'm haveing a easier time and getting better performance overall then useing dosbox.

  2. #42
    Pear (Level 6) Soviet Conscript's Avatar
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    i didn't want to start a new topic on this so i'll continue it here

    recently got 2 items for starting my 486 based PC

    got this MB http://www.lejabeach.com/Biostar/MB-...-1425AEA-V.htm
    its the MB-1433AEA-V with a 33mhz intel 486DX

    since this MB also supports a turbo button feature i also got a case with a turbo button.

    what i didn't realise is these old MB come with absolutly nothing. you get the ram slots the keyport port the cpu socket and thats it. so i have a question

    there is no floppy/IDE/SCSI/mouse controller on this board. i'm assumeing what i need is one of those ISA multi I/O cards that have the internal ide or scsi connections and the serial port (for a mouse connection since i can find no ISA mouse cards for PS/2) can anyone reccommend one? should i go for an IDE or SCSI controller?
    Last edited by Soviet Conscript; 01-07-2010 at 04:46 PM.

  3. #43
    Red (Level 21) Jorpho's Avatar
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    You write as if you have options. I suggest you go with whatever you manage to find and subsequently get working.
    "There is much pleasure to be gained from useless knowledge." --Bertrand Russel (attributed)

  4. #44
    Pear (Level 6) Soviet Conscript's Avatar
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    Quote Originally Posted by Jorpho View Post
    You write as if you have options. I suggest you go with whatever you manage to find and subsequently get working.
    ?

    *sigh* i have no idea why your so difficult with me sometimes. don't get me wrong i appriciate all your help....i just can't help the feeling..

    i don't have an opinion, i honestly don't know. is scsi better then ids? i have no idea. i looked it up on wiki and i see some + and - to both but i always find the experence of people here more helpful, thats why i ask.

    i am pretty sure what i need is one of those multi I/O cards but i'm not completely sure so before i throw down money on one i just though i would ask if thats what i need or if anyone had a suggestion on one that works very well or something i havn't thought of.

    BTW thank you for the lead on the TW2K add on. really all i need to confirm now was if it had a stand alone release with its own packageing

  5. #45
    Flawless Rawkality Flack's Avatar
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    SCSI was always faster than IDE, but it comes with its own issues (drivers, for one). I will look out in my garage and see if I still have some old IDE ISA cards. At one time I had dozens of them but I think I tossed most of them. The ones I have had IDE, floppy, parallel and serial connections on them.

  6. #46
    Pear (Level 6) Soviet Conscript's Avatar
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    Quote Originally Posted by Flack View Post
    SCSI was always faster than IDE, but it comes with its own issues (drivers, for one). I will look out in my garage and see if I still have some old IDE ISA cards. At one time I had dozens of them but I think I tossed most of them. The ones I have had IDE, floppy, parallel and serial connections on them.
    thanks flack, LMK if you find anything. acually this is a shot in the dark but if you have an AT PSU (with a switch, i think they all have switches) and a 3.5 inch internal floppy drive with a white face i'll buy them off you.

    has anyone ever seen a ISA PS/2 mouse card or am i stuck with getting a serial mouse? its no biggy just curiouse.
    Last edited by Soviet Conscript; 01-07-2010 at 09:40 PM. Reason: fixed typos

  7. #47
    Apple (Level 5) Arkhan's Avatar
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    Quote Originally Posted by Soviet Conscript View Post
    i didn't want to start a new topic on this so i'll continue it here

    recently got 2 items for starting my 486 based PC

    got this MB http://www.lejabeach.com/Biostar/MB-...-1425AEA-V.htm
    its the MB-1433AEA-V with a 33mhz intel 486DX

    since this MB also supports a turbo button feature i also got a case with a turbo button.

    what i didn't realise is these old MB come with absolutly nothing. you get the ram slots the keyport port the cpu socket and thats it. so i have a question

    there is no floppy/IDE/SCSI/mouse controller on this board. i'm assumeing what i need is one of those ISA multi I/O cards that have the internal ide or scsi connections and the serial port (for a mouse connection since i can find no ISA mouse cards for PS/2) can anyone reccommend one? should i go for an IDE or SCSI controller?

    I have a 33mhz 486 motherboard sitting in a box here with RAM in it... >_>. Forgot I had it (was using it for something semi idiotic)

    I dont really need it and dont have the rest of the computer anymore. moved all the cards/controllers elsewhere....

    but yes, you essentially do not get jack-shit when you buy a mobo. Really sucks.
    Aetherbyte: PC-Engine and more homebrew

  8. #48
    Red (Level 21) Jorpho's Avatar
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    Quote Originally Posted by Soviet Conscript View Post
    i don't have an opinion, i honestly don't know. is scsi better then ids? i have no idea. i looked it up on wiki and i see some + and - to both but i always find the experence of people here more helpful, thats why i ask.
    Well, what if it is better? These are ancient components you're talking about. It's not like you can just walk down to your local hardware store and make your selection. And even if it is better, there's no guarantee that whatever card you will find will work with this particular motherboard you've got, assuming you can track down the documentation you need to get it to work at all. And even then there might be some wacky compatibility problem with the software you might want to run.

    Hence my statement: stick with whatever you can find that you can get working. If there is something specific in mind that you want to do that requires specific hardware, then that will influence your decision. If there is nothing specific you want to do, then pretty much anything will do. If you end up with something that doesn't work, then you'll learn something and have some spare parts that you can throw in a box.

    Quote Originally Posted by Soviet Conscript View Post
    and a 3.2 inch internal floppy drive
    You will have much better luck looking for 3.5 inch internal floppy drives.

    has anyone ever seen a ISA PS/2 mouse card or am i stuck with getting a serial mouse? its no biggy just curiouse.
    There's probably a card like that out there somewhere, but I never managed to find one. I had a hard enough time just trying to find a PS/2 connector that I could plug into a motherboard.

    Don't forget that not all PS/2 mice can be used with a PS/2 to serial adapter. (And no, there's no way you can tell just from looking at the mouse whether you can use it with an adapter, unless the manufacturer actually wrote that information on the plastic somehow.)
    Last edited by J'orfeaux; 01-07-2010 at 09:42 PM.
    "There is much pleasure to be gained from useless knowledge." --Bertrand Russel (attributed)

  9. #49
    Key (Level 9) esquire's Avatar
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    Quote Originally Posted by Jorpho View Post
    I likewise disagree that a 486 is absolutely the way to go. The ideal would actually be a fast 486 or Pentium with a turbo button, but you should easily be able to use a slowdown program (or BIOS trickery) to run programs for which a 200 MHz Pentium is too fast. It is good to have that speed available to you when you need it.
    My latest project is a Gateway Pentium 120 my brother gave me. I noticed the Technical Reference Manual (yes, he kept all the manuals, cds and driver disks!) indicates that the CMOS Setup has a "Boot Speed" field which controls the system speed, with 2 selections, Turbo and Deturbo. Is this similar in functionality to the Turbo Button, but done internally in the CMOS? If that is the case, I would simply leave it at "Deturbo" all the time as this system is strictly for DOS and some Win 3.11 games. No Windows 95/98. I have a seperate setup for that.

    There is not Turbo Button on the case, and the mobo has a front panel i/o connector for a Turbo Light, but no Turbo Switch, only Reset. I assume the Turbo Light just lets me know whether its running at Turbo or Deturbo in the CMOS settings.

    Also, there is a System Cache field which controls the CPU's cache, which is set to Enabled, but can be set to Disabled. Should I try that too, or just leave it alone?

    I guess I could drop a 75mhz in there instead, but I think that may be still too fast.
    Last edited by esquire; 02-24-2010 at 12:39 AM.

  10. #50
    Pear (Level 6) Soviet Conscript's Avatar
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    Quote Originally Posted by esquire View Post
    My latest project is a Gateway Pentium 120 my brother gave me. I noticed the Technical Reference Manual (yes, he kept all the manuals, cds and driver disks!) indicates that the CMOS Setup has a "Boot Speed" field which controls the system speed, with 2 selections, Turbo and Deturbo. Is this similar in functionality to the Turbo Button, but done internally in the CMOS? If that is the case, I would simply leave it at "Deturbo" all the time as this system is strictly for DOS and some Win 3.11 games. No Windows 95/98. I have a seperate setup for that.

    There is not Turbo Button on the case, and the mobo has a front panel i/o connector for a Turbo Light, but no Turbo Switch, only Reset. I assume the Turbo Light just lets me know whether its running at Turbo or Deturbo in the CMOS settings.

    Also, there is a System Cache field which controls the CPU's cache, which is set to Enabled, but can be set to Disabled. Should I try that too, or just leave it alone?

    I guess I could drop a 75mhz in there instead, but I think that may be still too fast.
    i've never seen that before but i would assume the same thing about the light and turbo setting. odd thing is, didn't pressing the turbo button acually slow down the cpu? would "deturboing" be the regular speed setting then?

    my 486 that i have now has a turbo button and the MB supports a turbo button, i have it all wired up but for some reason it just will not work. oh well, its a 33mhz anyways so i suppose that plenty slow and now that i got a 8mhtz ibm clone last weekend i can always use that for the super early stuff.

  11. #51
    Red (Level 21) Jorpho's Avatar
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    Apparently some computers use a particular keyboard command instead of a Turbo button.

    As it happens, the page where I read about that, http://www.oldskool.org/guides/oldonnew/friendlyboxes , suggests that the Gateway Pentium 120 BIOS Turbo option is indeed much like the Turbo button. However, I really doubt you're going to be wanting to run at 8 MHz all the time!
    "There is much pleasure to be gained from useless knowledge." --Bertrand Russel (attributed)

  12. #52
    Cherry (Level 1) phreakindee's Avatar
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    Certain Tandy 1000 models did this, with Tandy DOS. You typed in MODE SLOW (for half speed, 4Mhz) and MODE FAST (for normal speed, 8Mhz)
    PC Game Collector - DOS and beyond

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