Description: This listing is for a BRAND-NEW, 1999-2001 Period-correct custom-built, Beige Tower PC with Windows 98 and DOS selectable on startup. Every single component in this build is brand-new, with the lone exception being the processor as those are literally impossible to find new (but the heatsink/fan are new). Included:-Computer-Power Cord-USB-based ethernet adapter Specs:-Compaq uWave Socket 462 motherboard-AMD Duron 900 MHZ processor-80GB Maxtor IDE drive-Teac or Sony 3.5" Floppy Drive-512MB PC100 ram (2x 256MB)-Quadro2 MXR AGP video card (configured and clocked as a GeForce2 Pro)-ALS 4000 PCI sound card w/Soundblaster and FM support-15-pin gameport-CD/DVD drive w/analog audio cable connected-4x USB 2.0 ports (2 rear, 2 front)-Serial port-Parallel port-PS/2 Keyboard and PS/2 Mouse port (kb/mouse NOT included)-Super heavy-duty UK-imported Micro-ATX beige case-350-watt OEM Powerman Power Supply-Ethernet (available w/included USB adapter) About this Computer:This is a period-correct Windows 98-era computer built with all new parts (except the CPU as those are impossible to find new). I added a lot of little extra touches to this including connecting and configuring the CD player's analog audio, CD audio in DOS, modding the Quadro2 video card BIOS to update the clock speeds to be in line with a GeForce2 Pro, adding a heatsink to the video card, testing and finding the best-performing video driver version, and re-wiring the front USB pinout to work with the proprietary connector on the motherboard. I've done a ton of testing and this is a rock-stable build with great compatibility with the vast majority of Windows 95/98 titles as well as a lot of later generation DOS games. Setup:Upon startup, you will be greeted with a startup menu whereby you can choose from either Windows 98 or various DOS configurations (such as with or without drivers for a mouse and the CD drive). DOS will boot with the ALS4000 drivers initialized on IRQ 5. The CD drive, if initialized, will be assigned letter D. Sound Card:Installed is a PCI ALS4000 sound card with SoundBlaster and FM support. The good news is that this card has pretty good DOS compatibility for a PCI card and also has actual hardware-based OPL3 as opposed to emulation or a clone. Do be warned, however, that this particular sound chip has a subpar signal-to-noise ratio. Meaning, you might hear some background hiss. I've done as much as I can to mitigate this through settings, such as muting the line in and microphone in and disabling amplification and balancing the other sound channels properly. Optical Drive:Installed is a CD/DVD rom drive with analog audio support. The sound card has a CD connector so I have connected that as well. Fully tested and working in both 98 and DOS, both through the front headphone port on the drive itself as well as through the CD audio channel on the sound card (mixed with main audio). I installed a drive-letter assigner program to ensure that the drive always gets letter D in both 98 and DOS. Also tested CD audio in native DOS mode on Quake and it works great. Video Card:The Quadro2 MXR video card uses the same chip as the GeForce2 line of cards. I have modded the BIOS to bring the clock speeds up to 218 GPU/204 Memory. I also added a heatsink. Windows driver version is GeForce 30.89. Below are some benchmarks: 3dMark995,547 - Overall Score65 FPS - Race49 FPS - First Person 3dMark 20004,287 - Overall Score87 FPS - Helicopter (Low Detail60 FPS - Helicopter (Med Detail)99 FPS - Adventure (Low Detail)56 FPS - Adventure (Med Detail) DOS Bench483 FPS - 3dBench 1.0c92 FPS - Chris's 3d Benchmark 640x48048 FPS - PC Player Benchmark 640x48093 FPS - Doom (Max details)67 FPS - Quake 640x480 (FastVid enabled) Ethernet:If you wish to connect this to your network or to the internet, I have included a USB to ethernet adapter, configured and ready to go. Download speeds are around 5.5 MBPS (slow by today's standards but blazing fast in 1999). Hard Drive:Opted for an 80 GB Maxtor IDE drive. This is one of the faster drives from the era. CPU:I ended up going with the fastest Duron CPU this motherboard supports - the 900mhz AMD Duron Spitfire. Performance-wise, this CPU is very slightly faster than a similarly clocked Pentium III. RAM:512 MB (2x256) of PC100 (100mhz) ram installed. Software (Windows 98): All drivers are installed. DirectX was upgraded to v7. Sea Monkey Web browser, an unzip utility, and the universal external drive driver (for flash drives) are also installed. Game Compatibility: Overall, this system should play a large percentage of games released roughly between 1995 and 2001. If you have any specific games you would like tested on this system, please message me and if I can track the game down, I'll do my best to test it. DOS games I test that worked perfectly fine with both FM and sound effects are: Jazz Jackrabbit and Tyrian (each with Error 200 patch applied to work on faster processors), Duke Nukem 3d (all the way up to 800x600 resolution), Doom II, Quake, Commander Keen 4, Kings Quest 1, Epic Pinball, Wolfenstein 3D, and Realms of Chaos. Games that failed were Alien Breed (crashed) and Hocus Pocus (wouldn't load). ALSO NOTE that this motherboard does not support PC speaker sound, so games that don't work with the ALS4000 sound card will have no sound at all. There's a speaker header on the board but I'll be darned if I can figure out how to get PC sound out of it.
Price: 459.99 USD
Location: Tawas City, Michigan
End Time: 2024-11-19T18:40:11.000Z
Shipping Cost: N/A USD
Product Images
Item Specifics
Restocking Fee: No
Return shipping will be paid by: Buyer
All returns accepted: Returns Accepted
Item must be returned within: 14 Days
Refund will be given as: Money Back
Processor: AMD Duron 900mhz
Graphics Processing Type: Dedicated Graphics
Color: Beige
RAM Size: 512 MB
MPN: Does Not Apply
Most Suitable For: Retro Gaming
GPU: GeForce2 Pro
Processor Speed: 900 MHz
Brand: Compaq
Form Factor: Desktop
Type: Desktop
Model: uWave
Connectivity: USB 2.0, Ethernet, Serial, Parallel, PS/2 Keyboard Port, PS/2 Mouse Port
Operating System: Windows 98
Hard Drive Capacity: 80 GB
Storage Type: HDD (Hard Disk Drive)