Quote Originally Posted by ebenezer View Post
I want a Windows 3.1/DOS computer. What would be the best one to get that can play old DOS games the way they were meant to be played? I'm sure many different kinds would suffice, but there must be a brand that is better than others, plus what sort of specs and hardware would be ideal to get the most out of every game...
This is kind of a broad question. Almost like asking what Nintendo is the best to play old Nintendo games. "Old" could mean 80s or it could me 90s or anywhere in between. There are tons of versions of processors and this will largely decide what you can play. For instance, many games made before say 1991 could be CPU dependant, meaning they will too fast or too slow if you have the wrong processor for the game.

Since you mentioned Windows 3.1 I will assume you want to play games circa 1993. For that I recommend a 486 CPU with 8MB of RAM and DOS 5.x or perhaps 6.22. Go with 16MB if you want to play bigger CD games.

Brand doesn't matter so much, because by that time most machines were just as good as the IBMs they were cloning. Still, I am partial to Compaq, IBM and Packard-Bell computers of the time.
If you want a real "all-around" machine, I would say get something with a 100+Mhz Pentium and 32MB of RAM and a powerful 2D graphics card and even a Voodoo card. This will get you compatibility and speed needed for the last DOS games (Quake, Duke 3D, Doom II, Carmageddon, Mechwarrior 2 etc) as well as be more than quick enough for older 90s games. It will be way too fast for many really old games though, most anything after 1991 or so should be fine.

Also check out the "Post your DOS machine" thread here on DP for lots of great examples.