UNDER CONSTRUCTION UNDER CONSTRUCTION
This is what I consider to be my "ultimate" Windows 98 machine. Though based on the specs, it can also do DOS games pretty well too despite being limited to later titles. But yes, this machine serves the purpose of bringing the best of PC games from 1997 to around 2001 or so. This particular era is probably what I treasure the most. I had a Gateway Performance 933mhz computer from Make a Wish when I was going through cancer at the time, and after it died, I then went on to a Dell Dimension 4100, the latter of which I still have to this day.
This machine is meant to bring back those days when I was a teenager. I played a bunch of Microsoft titles from back then, including Flight Simulator 2000, which I spent the most hours on. Although I wasn't able to afford an upgrade to something more substantial like a Pentium IV when it was hot back then, I was honestly happy enough with what I had. That was until I was finally able to upgrade to a Dell Dimension E521 at around 2006 or so.
The back of the Pentium III build
As for this particular build, I wanted something within the era of Windows 9x games where I can push it high enough without breaking the compatiblility layer. Reason being, I actually have a Windows XP build that I was gonna try to use for those late Win9x games, but even at least a few of them don't work at their full potential. That's where this machine comes in to fill in the gaps. I also like the fact that despite having the standard IDE, which is probably limited to 128GB or less as far as I know (was able to get away with a 32GB SD card which it's connected to), it also has a Promise IDE controller built in which breaks that barrier and allows me to put in drives as large as 2TB, which is exactly what I did. One minor issue though is that the memory check on startup can be a bit flaky when resetting the computer at times. Not sure what it is, but based on certain tweaks, I think it might be the capacitors, given the time the motherboard was produced.
The inside of the Pentium III build
Regardless though, this machine is perfect for that late 90s and early 00s fare that I grew up on, and I think it's doing a good job at it so far. I'm hoping to improve it as time goes on, most importantly fixing that weird minor memory issue. I'm also thinking about experimenting with different OSes because of its specs, most likely Windows ME and perhaps even Windows 2000.