Ultimate Windows PC

[Rjecina]

Like many others I want still to use old DOS and Windows 98 programs and games.

Good example of that is 1 small DOS program which I still use. Because I do not see reason to pay new program 10K or more I will not give up of this old operating systems.

Because of that I now buying hardware for Ultimate Windows PC on which will work all programs from 1980 (if needed) until 2010 (possible to start even Vista). Buying of components I must end before june because I am afraid that after that there will not be MBO to find.

Ultimate PC:

MBO: ASRock 775I65G

CPU: CORE2DUO E4300

GPU: ATI 9600/256MB/DDR/128BIT/AGP

HD: SEAGATE 320GB/16MB/UATA

Memory : 512 DDRI x 2

Mouse in port PS2

Operating systems:

drive c: MS DOS 7.1

drive d: Windows 98 SE

drive e: Windows XP

I will very much like to hear your comments and questions

[Andromeda43]

Sounds like your mind is already made up.

So what's your question?

Even for XP the dual core processor is overkill.

A single core AMD processor would be much cheaper and do as well.

DOS programs run just fine on a SATA II/300 hard drive and the

performance is far superior to just using an old ATA-133, IDE drive.

The cost of the SATA drive is about the same as the IDE.

Good Luck,

Andromeda43 B)

[BenoitRen]

Windows 98 doesn't work on multi-core CPUs.

SATA HDDs are more trouble than they're worth.

[Rjecina]

I have not know if DOS is working on SATA drive, so thanks for information Andromeda43.

To stay in topic I have not find any MBO which support SATA II, DDR II and Windows 98. To tell truth I have been thinking about SATA II drive on SATA I MBO which is working on speed of 150 which is better of ATA 100 (intel chipset).

After looking 1 Seagate HD on Seagate site for me has been surpise to learn that SATA and ATA version is working on 78MB/S speed, so in the end is there any real difference ?

Answer to question why Core 2 Duo is simple. I want cold system what is more possible (I expect that in this way it will last longer). Pentium 4 is simple too hot and in my region is possible to buy only AM2 socket AMD processor (for that there is no MBO which can start Win 98). Only other solution is socket 754 sempron but this will become too slow to fast.

Until I have come on this site few days ago I have not know that there is possible problem between mutli core and Windows 98. If there is not problem I want clear answer will windows 98 work or not on multi-core CPU (this is real important question) ?

If he is working using only 1 core of multi-core CPU for me is OK.

[Andromeda43]

I have not know if DOS is working on SATA drive, so thanks for information Andromeda43.

To stay in topic I have not find any MBO which support SATA II, DDR II and Windows 98. To tell truth I have been thinking about SATA II drive on SATA I MBO which is working on speed of 150 which is better of ATA 100 (intel chipset).

After looking 1 Seagate HD on Seagate site for me has been surpise to learn that SATA and ATA version is working on 78MB/S speed, so in the end is there any real difference ?

Answer to question why Core 2 Duo is simple. I want cold system what is more possible (I expect that in this way it will last longer). Pentium 4 is simple too hot and in my region is possible to buy only AM2 socket AMD processor (for that there is no MBO which can start Win 98). Only other solution is socket 754 sempron but this will become too slow to fast.

Until I have come on this site few days ago I have not know that there is possible problem between mutli core and Windows 98. If there is not problem I want clear answer will windows 98 work or not on multi-core CPU (this is real important question) ?

If he is working using only 1 core of multi-core CPU for me is OK.

I'm sometimes confused whether some people post out of ignorance or malice.

Almost every new motherboard today is SATA compatible. Almost every new computer maker is going to the SATA drives for their greatly increased speed, while holding the prices down. SATA drives are even showing up in laptops.

The drive hardware is virtually the same as in IDE drives, only the interface logic is different.

IDE to SATA converters (dongles) are flying off of the computer store shelves as people get the SATA mobo's and want to still use their old IDE drives. I have two 80 gig Maxtor IDE/133 drives working off of SATA mobo ports, with the IDE to SATA dongles mounted on the drives. They can exchange data up to 1500mbps.

Why won't an AM2 mobo run 98? Apparently, it will !

I just built a new system with the AMD 3800+ dual core, 64bit CPU, on an MSI AM2 mobo.

I can boot up that system with my 98/SE boot disk and run dos programs, like Ghost 2003 and many batch files and everything works just fine.

As a test, I just set up an old WD 8.5gig HD on this new system. I used the IDE to SATA dongle so I could run the old IDE drive off of a SATA port on the mobo.

I installed Windows 98 and then upgraded to Windows 98/SE. There were a few glitches, mainly the lack of 98/SE drivers for my vid card, etc. But 98/SE runs!

If I used an older vid card for which I have the 98 drivers, then that would be OK too.

I'll grant that 98/SE doesn't run perfect on this AM2 mobo, but it does install and run.

The lack of hardware drivers will be the big stumbling block.

WELL, after all that, I'm ready for a good nights sleep.

NI'tol !

Andromeda43 B)

[eidenk]

I'm sometimes confused whether some people post out of ignorance or malice.

Lol, believe it or not I had sometimes asked myself the same question about you.

Almost every new motherboard today is SATA compatible. Almost every new computer maker is going to the SATA drives for their greatly increased speed, while holding the prices down. SATA drives are even showing up in laptops.

The drive hardware is virtually the same as in IDE drives, only the interface logic is different.

IDE to SATA converters (dongles) are flying off of the computer store shelves as people get the SATA mobo's and want to still use their old IDE drives. I have two 80 gig Maxtor IDE/133 drives working off of SATA mobo ports, with the IDE to SATA dongles mounted on the drives. They can exchange data up to 1500mbps.

You are saying it, SATA or IDE HDDs are the same internally. Their read/write speed is limited by their internal mechanical characteristics. That's where the speed bottleneck currently is.

Today the only interest of SATA lies in the capability it offers to configure drives in various types of RAID arrays.

It allows you to use several drives as if it was one drive only.

In one type of config you can write the same data to several drive. That's used by corps or peeps that fear data loss.

In another type of config you can use several drives as it was one, data being equally splitted between the disks by the controller. This offers evidently read/write speed benefits. But that's just because you make one logical drive from several physical ones.

You can't transfer data at 1.5GB/s between your two Maxtors because you plug them on a SATA adapter card. You'll get 40MB/s at most which is what current 7200 rpm drives can deliver in the best conditions to my observation.

Anyway there is no ultimate system without at least 4 fat HHDs.

[Rjecina]

In your first comment you Andromeda43 you have ask me what is my question ?

Real answer has been to learn many new things on hardware level about Windows 98 possibility in future.

I have not known that Windows 98 can work on AM2 socket MBO so this is new for me. All in all this is interesting but greatest problem is PCI Express which Windows 98 do not support. If there is no solution for that problem then .....

Can you tell me if it is possible to put new AGP GPU cards (example x1300) on Windows 98 (drivers do not exist) ?

I will not put it inside my configuration because they are too hot but it is interesting to know.

In my thinking SATA - ATA discussion will really not become important until time when there will not be anymore MBO with ATA connector. Maybe I making mistake but 90 % of people which use Windows 98 do not worry about SATA drives ?

Edited April 19, 2007 by Rjecina