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Don't overlook pro audio computer speakers. They are built for flat frequency response rather than the pizzaz of consumer versions but eq-ing can overcome that. If you shop around there are pro versions that are cheaper than high end retail consumer versions. And most are made so the speakers can be reconed so used ones can be a good bargan. The speakers in my studio can run at 96db, 24 hours a day. I've always had trouble trying to push non pro speakers to this level.

Normally I would have just chucked it in the trash. Used gaming cards have usually been overclocked to death. But this time I cleaned it, reapplied thermal paste, underclocked it, moved it to another machine and used older drivers. It worked for almost 3 hours. So I’m out $30.00 for a new video card and I’ve sworn off fixing relatives computers.

I haven’t purchased a new computer in years. I didn’t upgrade to a Pentium 4. I’m running a PIII recycled computer with a 250 watt power supply. I can turn on my computer only when I need it because Windows ME does this in a blink of the eye. I’m more environmentally friendly than I thought.

I just installed new drivers on a relative’s computer. The Radeon 9800 pro was working fine before but now the screen scrambles and freezes in 3D games. I swaped it with another card and it works. I’m thinking it’s just a coincidence and the card was about to die. But I was wondering if anyone here might know of something else I might try. I’d rather not have to buy another card. I did the usual, uninstalled the previous drivers and software and used Driver Cleaner.

I still use these apps that do not work very well with 98se. They are ok with 98 if I patch few files from 95 into it. Digital Editor Plus, Cakewalk Pro 3.0 Samplitude Master 3.21, Micrographics Picture Publisher 4.0 (faster than any version of Photoshop), Aldus Photostyler (best digital airbrush ever made) These are all simple fast tools that get the job done when I’m in a hurry.

I’m jealous. The first computer I used didn’t have video. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Burroughs_large_systems QUOTE (bearsowner @ Jul 21 2008, 05:57 PM) So what you guys are saying is bring the computer to the junk yard and get a new system, that sounds good too, but there are drawbacks to that also, I am used to what I am using.. I‘m typing this on my IBM Model M clicky keyboard so I understand keeping something because you’re used to it. I’ve serviced 2 computers like yours recently and moving up from the TNT2 makes a big difference. The specs say you can use up to a 4x agp and these cards are everywhere. The only thing to be concerned about is the rather small power supply on these machines. I used this site to choose a card for the two HP’s. http://carpc.kyferez.com/Tools/PSUWattageCalculator.php

This forums fearless leader has a an excellent site for all things 9x. I couldn't compute without it. http://www.mdgx.com/

All else being equal, 9x video speed is faster than 2000/XP so older card work well. I’ve refurbished several older machines recently and I’ve been recommending Radeon 9500 through 9800 pro. (unless the customer specifies Nvidia) These cards are agp 2x and Dx9 compatible. And the 9500/9600* series will usually run on a 200 watt power supply. But thydreamwalker is right I’ve put R7000/7500 in 9x and XP systems and they work very well. If you’re running the latest games then these cards, as well as Windows 9x, won’t do. But if you run the most popular games (Sims 1, Bejeweled Deluxe 2) then 9x outshines all the other OS’s. * just so I’m accurate; the pro and xt versions draw more power and the 9600 won’t do 2x agp.

So to sum up all the comments; “If you don’t spend $10,000 a year on new computers all your techie friends will laugh at you.” ….wow. When I get the time I’m going to dig through all my old computer parts and build a Windows 95 machine. I miss using some of the lean software I still have for shopping and music mastering.

IMHO Windows 98 was a rockstar. It was the Beatles of the information age. Masses of people lined up in the middle of the night on the day it was released. All the major news outlets covered the event. 98se was a service pack. Then came the newcomer trying to de-throne the champion and everyone booed. By the time ME was fixed and became stable the real succesor to the throne had appeared. ******************** I’ve read through online archives from the turn of the century and the ME bashing is everywhere. Suprisingly some of the writers back then complained that ME was too difficult to learn.

I’ve noticed on this subject that the general wisdom is XP doesn’t run well on PIII era machines. I have two Celeron-S 1.4 ghz machines, one with XP and one with ME and both run well. ME is noticeably faster but SP3 and the latest Catalyst drivers have closed the gap. I have some apps that won’t run on 9x and some that won’t run on XP so right now I need both. XP is very slow to start, slower than even 2000, but once it’s up and running it moves right along. I was given these two computers because they “won’t run XP” and this was from the IT department of a Fortune 500 company. I have a 3ghz P4 laptop and from a real world user perspective the Celeron desktops are faster (benchmarks would say something different though.) Either I’ve Forrest Gumped my way into the perfect hardware/software combination or there is a lot of misinformation in this area.

I had ME running on a PIII 500 with all the updates as the above posters said. I would recommend at least 256 or even better 384 mb of ram with ME. 384 mb with the system.ini tweaks found on this site made it very smooth.

I’ve had a similar problem with a Sapphire Radeon. Even with the drivers from the Sapphire site it was glitchy. I ended up using just the 6.2 driver without control center and it works just fine. If you have a built by ATI rather than an ATI brand this might be the case for your 9800 pro

Classic until Royale was released. If Luna was an art 101 assignment it would get an F.

This would be my dream come true. As for the need to constantly upgrade to a faster computer; according to this site in 10 to 15 years this could be over. http://blog.wired.com/business/2007/09/idf-gordon-mo-1.html

Now I know the cause of death. I’m shopping for an LCD and in the meantime I picked a free monitor on Craigslist that will work for now.

I recently replaced a GeForce MX 400 with a Radeon 9700 pro. The Catalyst 6.2 drivers are stable with Windows ME so they should be fine with 98 and 98se as well. There is a very noticeable difference in image quality with the Radeon.

Thanks for the reply. It’s definitely time for a new monitor.

The GeForce 4 series draws about 35 watts. The lowest wattage cards are ATI Radeon 9500 and 9600 at 17 watts.

My 10 year old Sony GDM 400PS wouldn’t come on this morning. The usually green power light now blinks yellow. Before I send it to its final resting place I was wondering if anyone here knows of a way to resurrect it? This monitor has been great for Photoshop and I’d like to keep it if I can.

No, not based on the Tualatin core but the Coppermine core .Actually you’re both right. Coppermine Celerons went up to 1.1 ghz and had a 128 cache. Tualatin Celerons went up to 1.4 ghz with a 256 cache.

I should have been clearer. I didn’t mean ask anyone, I meant surf around their website. Somewhere on the Gateway site is a link to the company that does their legacy support. Also there are archive websites that feature information on how to upgrade older computers. Sometimes I think if you call tech support for any computer manufacture and ask them what to do about fingerprints on a CRT they’ll tell you to buy a new computer with a more modern OS.

First check with Gateway support or Wims Bios page to see if there is a newer bios available for your computer. You should be able to go as high as a 1ghz cpu. I say should because I’ve found Gateways to be a little quirky when it comes to upgradeing. You can pick up socket 370 133FSB chips for a couple of bucks on the web so you don’t have much to loose by trying. You probably already know this but make sure a heatsink and fan are attached with thermal paste before you install the new cpu. Good Luck

Wow, Philosophy and Computers all in one thread. I have to jump in on this one. It seems to me that when someone “invents” a widget and the profits from this widget make this someone the richest person in the entire history of the human race. Then perhaps this person is overcharging for this widget. That said, when 98 came out I finally achieved my first fast, stable machines. And 98se was even better. I became much more productive in my work with this OS. I used Photoshop 4.0 until 7.0 came out because nothing in the intermediate versions could make my photos any better. I doubt that Word 2007 will make me a better writer than Word 97 has. Will a Vista Quad Core give me a better chance of recording a hit record than my 98se PIII? I don’t think so. This was the dilemma of the big computer companies. If everything is working fine what will make people buy new machines and software. And so the endless upgrade path with the fast end of service was invented to keep people buying and buying and buying. I never have been a good little consumer. I don’t buy something because everyone says I should. If my 98SE/BX motherboards ever blow out maybe then I’ll get something more modern. But so far they haven’t so much as hiccupped so it could be awhile. The International Space Station uses a 386 SX because it’s time tested proven technology. If it’s good enough for NASA then it’s good enough for me. But I am open minded enough to realize XP sp3 is a fine OS and I have it on one of my computers.

If you post your system information I’m sure someone here will sugest a card for you. I checked the link by Chozo4 and for an agp 2x motherboard your best choices are ATI Radeon 7x00/8500/9000/9100/9200/9500/9700/9800 cards (Built by ATI as well as Powered by ATI), all Nvidia GeForce1-4 cards, GeForce FX 5200/5600/5800/5900 cards.