Best computer for old DOS games

[NayusDante]

I've been noticing some vertical sync/tearing issues with DOSBox, which I don't get on real hardware. Just something to take into account...

[ebenezer]

cool..yeah that was the main reason i wrote this post was because i remember some of my really old games going way to fast on newer computers, CPU dependent was the term I was looking for I see. Dosbox is convenient, but its not just the games I want...i want the whole experience of starting up the machine, the grinding of the disk drives, typing in CD\..., waiting forever, glitches, all that jazz. I don't know much about installing hardware on old machines though...I was hoping for a sort of "set" where the monitor and drives are all in one--or at least something with some character rather than the normal monitor, computer, keyboard and mouse...saw some cool pics in other posts. I'll check around. Thanks.

[Ze_ro]

i remember some of my really old games going way to fast on newer computers, CPU dependent was the term I was looking for I see.

You can usually compensate for this by running programs specifically designed to slow down your computer. Mo'Slo used to be pretty much the only choice here, but there are other options these days. I haven't tried many of them, so I can't really comment on which ones work best. I do remember having a very difficult time trying to slow down my Pentium 133 enough to play Montezuma's Revenge, which I think was meant to be played on an 4 MHz 8088, as even at 1% speed, it was still too fast.

There are also all kinds of other errors that can crop up on newer computers. Sometimes the errors are also caused by the speed difference, but give you misleading messages that confuse the actual problem. Home of the Underdogs has a FAQ that lists some of them.

I don't know much about installing hardware on old machines though...I was hoping for a sort of "set" where the monitor and drives are all in one--or at least something with some character rather than the normal monitor, computer, keyboard and mouse.

A laptop might be your best bet then... but you still have to know IRQ's and IO addresses and stuff, even with a laptop... so it might not help as much as you think it will. Laptops of the time were generally bad for playing games on though... but with a newer machine, you might have trouble getting features to work with DOS (sound and CD-ROM might give you a hard time)... so you might have some trouble finding just the right balance here.

I'd recommend either a 486 or Pentium, somewhere in the 66 MHz to 133 MHz range. Look for something with ISA ports on the motherboard, that way you can be confident of finding DOS and Win 3.1 drivers for pretty much all of the hardware you'd ever put in it. Finding graphics cards, hard drives, CD-ROM drives, and floppy drives should be very easy... but finding just the right sound card might prove tricky. I'd recommend a SoundBlaster-16 to get the best compatibility. It's not the best *sounding* card, but you'll have to jump through a lot less hoops than you would with something like a Roland MT-32, Gravis Ultrasound, or even newer SB cards like the AWE-32.

--Zero

[Soviet Conscript]

i think i know what your getting at with just a pre put together old PC. maybe something from the IBM line?

i'm picking up one of these tommarow
http://john.ccac.rwth-aachen.de:8000/alf/ps2_70121/

hope it meets some of my old gameing needs. only problem though is it doesn't use ISA, think they used there own thing for this model.

I'm not a fan of useing laptops for gameing. just feels wierd to me.

[Jorpho]

i think i know what your getting at with just a pre put together old PC. maybe something from the IBM line?

i'm picking up one of these tommarow
http://john.ccac.rwth-aachen.de:8000/alf/ps2_70121/

hope it meets some of my old gameing needs. only problem though is it doesn't use ISA, think they used there own thing for this model.

Good heavens, no! If you're going to bother with this at all (and I still think it's a lousy idea), at least get something halfway standardized! You might as well go for a Packard Bell for all the good this will do you!

[phreakindee]

I have to agree! As much as I have a soft spot for PS/2s, the hardware overall pretty much sucks! Second only to the PCjr... incompatibility, awkward hard configs, memory issues from what I've read. It can be a pain. A PB, NEC, Compaq... something else from the time would be MUCH more doable! You'll still have all the lovely "problems" with real DOS, but it's better than the hardware issues.

[Soviet Conscript]

I have to agree! As much as I have a soft spot for PS/2s, the hardware overall pretty much sucks! Second only to the PCjr... incompatibility, awkward hard configs, memory issues from what I've read. It can be a pain. A PB, NEC, Compaq... something else from the time would be MUCH more doable! You'll still have all the lovely "problems" with real DOS, but it's better than the hardware issues.

really? well mine is comeing with a mouse/keyboard and a color monitor for $20 so i may still pick it up for the novelty of it