Tips for Constructing a DOS PC
Tips for Constructing a DOS PC
Hey there! I'm still getting familiar with this forum, but I figured I’d share my thoughts. Since it’s about non-Windows topics and I’m new to PC building, I hope you can guide me through setting up a DOS gaming PC. I want to play classics like Doom, Fallout, and Daggerfall, so I’m curious about the best way to get started. Any advice on where to look first?
Supported by older DOS versions, such as a 486DX or Pentium 1 with a compatible sound card. Around 64MB of RAM should suffice for running DOS applications, a floppy disk, and an IDE CD-ROM drive. That should cover all your needs. Alternatively, you could opt for a Pentium 2/3 system running Windows 98, which offers a GUI version of DOS.
I don't mean to sound disencouraging, but if you need to ask this, it is worth to ask are you willing to invest the time to study what components to buy and how to configure the computer. Have you used and configured DOS? Are config.sys, autoexec.bat and configuring sound, mouse and CDROM drivers an easy task for you? If you are not familiar with those, expect some frustration hunting down the right drivers and getting things to work! Which era of games do you have in mind? ( EDIT: I'm braindead, you mentioned Doom and Daggerfall etc.; so it is quite later era computer you ahve in mind, with VGA/SVGA components; I'll leave this chapter here since it is still correct in principle). It is a whole different matter to run EGA (or even CGA on composite) games than VGA or later SVGA games (and I'm not even going to 3dfx here),. For less hassle, the components should be roughly from the same era. Best bet is to buy a whole used computer, instead of gathering components (unless you are familiar with the HW of the era and know what you are doing, but then you would not probably be asking this question). Other than that, one certain way of running into problems is to buy a computer with an PCI sound card. Those can work (if the manufacturer provided DOS drivers), but usually use some kind of TSR and/or emulation for some features. Although PCM and MIDI might be acceptable (when they work with a particular game), FM sound can be abysmally bad. And I'm not talking about the niceties / preferences of real Yamaha chip vs. Creative CQM, but really really bad emulation (as these cards are lacking a FM chip altogether). So, do buy an ISA sound card (or a computer with one). There is one exception for PCI cound cards: some use SBLink, and also require a MB which also supports it. It should be more compatible with DOS games, but I have no experience with it (in my experience MBs with SB-Link support were quite rare, or more likely the feature appered only in a very short time period). Another good pointer https://www.philscomputerlab.com/ . Check out his youtube videos on this subject - there's quite some to watch and will give you some idea how involved the whole process is (including the difference on running games from different time periods).
Absolutely not. I’m ready to put in the effort and learn, thank you for the detailed explanation. I’ll remember everything. I initially considered purchasing a used model and sourcing missing components, but now I see the value in this approach. Appreciate your help!