Are you facing difficulties finding a used Windows 95 laptop without a small screen?
Are you facing difficulties finding a used Windows 95 laptop without a small screen?
Modern laptops do not necessarily have a different screen ratio compared to the 95 era. The question is about playing games from that time without extra complications. In theory, older devices should be affordable, but you might still face limitations like a small screen or weak processor. You're looking to run old games at high settings, so be prepared for those trade-offs.
It's still challenging to enjoy modern games on modern laptops, as they often overheat significantly. Therefore, playing old games seems like a reasonable approach.
But keep in mind your expert advice...
A laptop from that era will be a much bigger problem than using dosbox.
Just getting games installed on a very slow machine today will be difficult, then the HDD will be too small for a full setup so you’ll have to switch CDs each time you want to play a different title, and finally you’ll be stuck with a very limited resolution.
Back then they were mostly 4:3 square, like old TVs, now it’s mostly 16:9 wide screens.
The cheaper models will be the weakest, only able to run dos games and not Windows 95-98, and probably won’t support soundblaster for dos, meaning no audio.
I use dosbox with dosshell installed on top. With dosshell you simply direct it to the games and it provides an icon to click, eliminating the need to type commands in dosbox to launch a game. The alternative would be to run a Windows 95 VM, which is a bit more challenging if you plan to add a joystick or similar features, but it still functions properly.
PC EM is a solid option too. It can mimic older hardware for tougher DOS titles.
PCem
16:10 and 3:2 displays are more similar to 4:3 if you're aiming for a modern feel.
Back then, in the "4:3" LCD period, screens often shifted to 5:4, which would have been typical for many mid-2000s systems—starting there would be a good approach if you're looking for dedicated DOS hardware.
In my stack of junk in the garage, I have a few laptops from mid to late 90s.
PII and PIII.
1 or 2GB hard drives.
Boot time measured in "Go get a cup of coffee"
Small screens
I don't think there is a force on the planet that could compel me to use those today.
I have a system I start with a USB stick on freedos, it launches quickly and runs DOS games smoothly, with soundblaster working well.
The Windows 95 setup on the old 4GB hard drive is quite slow.
I still rely mainly on DosBox and Steam.
Also, since that reminded me, soundblaster emulation exists—here’s a ready-made image for USB or SD cards that attempt to run it, though it only supports certain sound cards.
https://github.com/crazii/SBEMU