- Jul 22, 2014
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The goal: A computer that can run video games that require pathfinding under pressure.
I'm getting a bunch of old video games mostly of the FPS variety. Best example: Doom (any version). Sure, I can make modifications to a 64-bit Windows 8 computer, but I have a storage unit of cruft, so why not put something together from that?
My main question is which OS to put on, since most I've reformatted to run Ubuntu or something similar. MS-DOS or Windows? DOS 5 or 6, Windows 3.1 or 95? Or a non-Microsoft product?
(And do any/all of these require a key/code the way Genuine Windows today does?)
Or do you think I should just do the mods on something running XP or Vista?
This question is difficult to google. I'm asking for your opinions based on experience, mostly from those of you who have lived through the evolution of Microsoft, playing Doom I and Heretic on CLI systems. But I welcome opinions from historically-educated Gen Y+'s, of course.
Here is the information requested in the sticky about build questions. Further information on my hardware is below.
Approximate [strike]Purchase[/strike]Construction Date: ASAP
Budget Range: maybe $20 for the OS. If really necessary, <$100 for old parts.
System Usage from Most to Least Important: Gaming. That's it.
Are you buying a monitor: No (but I have old ones, albeit no CRT)
Parts to Upgrade: Mainly OS. Other recommendations welcome.
Do you need to buy OS: Yes. Please tell me if I also need a code/key.
Preferred Website(s) for Parts: eBay (on this project only)
(prefer NOT to give Microsoft more money)
Location: Tri-State Area, USA
Parts Preferences: Defaulting to Microsoft OS b/c that's what it appears the games are designed to run with. If this is inaccurate please enlighten me.
Overclocking: Do you recommend it? I've not yet done it on any computer.
SLI or Crossfire: Not unless you volunteer to teach me how to integrate 2004+ technology with <1996 technology. ;-D
Your Monitor Resolution: Multiple options, but I can go at least up to 1600x1200.
Additional Comments: Currently owned old games include Doom II & 3, Fallout 1 (won't be playing much), shareware for Doom/Quake/Heretic, Half-Life 1 Platinum Collection, Deus Ex GOTY, Fallout 3 GOTY. Getting more in the same style.** (note below)
And Most Importantly, Why Are You [strike]Up[/strike]Downgrading: I'm having trouble running Doom 3 and Doom II and will likely encounter similar problems with the original if I can ever find it for <$5. Doom II flat-out won't install. Doom 3 says it installs, but when I go to run the program the process blinks alive for a second in Task Manager and then vanishes again. (Yes, the proper disc is in the drive.)
A list of any parts I have already selected with descriptively labeled links for parts:
It's unhelpful to you, but I haven't inventoried my huge collection of cruft. (And I am sorry. It's unhelpful to me, too.) Since these parts aren't so much selected as defaulted to a vaguely defined collection, they don't have links. (Again, I apologize.) Here are a few relevant bits:
Most of these things aren't on PC Part Picker, since they aren't in production anymore, so aside from "Does it fit?" I don't know how to check compatibility. Can anyone point me in a direction to figure such things out?
(I've googled and googled, and just finished my first "gaming" build, which at least runs Deus Ex and Half-Life but not Fallout 3, and troubleshooting that has utterly given me googley eyes.) For this issue, I'm not even sure what better key words to use than things like "compatibility checker."
For this build, "Which OS is best for Doom?" gives me a lot of stuff about source ports, which might be useful down the line, but my Frankensteinian "new" "gaming" computer can barely handle what I'm asking of it now. Besides, system building is fun and highly educational, despite near-constant frustration.
I should admit that gaming is almost entirely new to me. I've learned a heck of a lot in the past month or so, but I didn't work with gaming systems while I was growing up, or at all until very recently. Hopefully I'm not overlooking some rudimentary item that I didn't even know to google for.
----------------The End-----------
Many thanks for reading. This is being posted as a question but I don't at all object to it turning into a discussion. I really appreciate responses.
I thank the entire forum for having so many threads that have answered dozens of the other questions I've had lately.
** I'm looking for games that will help me to keep track of where I am within a building. As a firefighter, I need to be able to maintain orientation by remembering turns and estimating distances, with little to no visibility and distractions aplenty when the stakes are highest. My abilities in this area need improvement, and I discovered (in Fallout 3) that video games can exercise that part of my brain in the necessary way.
If anyone has recommendations on games that have structures the player has to navigate more than once (not just escape, like Portal), I would really appreciate hearing your advice. Older is often better, since I have no real gaming computer and no real budget but lots and lots of cruft. All of my game purchases have been for this purpose only.
I'm getting a bunch of old video games mostly of the FPS variety. Best example: Doom (any version). Sure, I can make modifications to a 64-bit Windows 8 computer, but I have a storage unit of cruft, so why not put something together from that?
My main question is which OS to put on, since most I've reformatted to run Ubuntu or something similar. MS-DOS or Windows? DOS 5 or 6, Windows 3.1 or 95? Or a non-Microsoft product?
(And do any/all of these require a key/code the way Genuine Windows today does?)
Or do you think I should just do the mods on something running XP or Vista?
This question is difficult to google. I'm asking for your opinions based on experience, mostly from those of you who have lived through the evolution of Microsoft, playing Doom I and Heretic on CLI systems. But I welcome opinions from historically-educated Gen Y+'s, of course.
Here is the information requested in the sticky about build questions. Further information on my hardware is below.
Approximate [strike]Purchase[/strike]Construction Date: ASAP
Budget Range: maybe $20 for the OS. If really necessary, <$100 for old parts.
System Usage from Most to Least Important: Gaming. That's it.
Are you buying a monitor: No (but I have old ones, albeit no CRT)
Parts to Upgrade: Mainly OS. Other recommendations welcome.
Do you need to buy OS: Yes. Please tell me if I also need a code/key.
Preferred Website(s) for Parts: eBay (on this project only)
(prefer NOT to give Microsoft more money)
Location: Tri-State Area, USA
Parts Preferences: Defaulting to Microsoft OS b/c that's what it appears the games are designed to run with. If this is inaccurate please enlighten me.
Overclocking: Do you recommend it? I've not yet done it on any computer.
SLI or Crossfire: Not unless you volunteer to teach me how to integrate 2004+ technology with <1996 technology. ;-D
Your Monitor Resolution: Multiple options, but I can go at least up to 1600x1200.
Additional Comments: Currently owned old games include Doom II & 3, Fallout 1 (won't be playing much), shareware for Doom/Quake/Heretic, Half-Life 1 Platinum Collection, Deus Ex GOTY, Fallout 3 GOTY. Getting more in the same style.** (note below)
And Most Importantly, Why Are You [strike]Up[/strike]Downgrading: I'm having trouble running Doom 3 and Doom II and will likely encounter similar problems with the original if I can ever find it for <$5. Doom II flat-out won't install. Doom 3 says it installs, but when I go to run the program the process blinks alive for a second in Task Manager and then vanishes again. (Yes, the proper disc is in the drive.)
A list of any parts I have already selected with descriptively labeled links for parts:
It's unhelpful to you, but I haven't inventoried my huge collection of cruft. (And I am sorry. It's unhelpful to me, too.) Since these parts aren't so much selected as defaulted to a vaguely defined collection, they don't have links. (Again, I apologize.) Here are a few relevant bits:
Types of non-HDD/SSD drives:- 3.5" floppy (internal & USB)
CD (ROM, write, whatever; all internal with both SATA & SCSI)
DVD (ROM, write, maybe not quite every kind of +/-; all internal probably both SATA & SCSI)
Most of the motherboard/CPU's I've scavenged seem to be Intel, but most of the motherboards are from XP/Vista computers. At least one has an AMD 3 socket, though. Of course as the computers get older, so does the technology.
Definitely have: functional Gateway tower that ran Win 95.
I also have two untested computers of the Commodore style. Not sure if they're actually Commodores, or if so which iteration. I don't even know if they turn on, but at least I have the parts.
Four functional, unattached PSU's of the <351W variety, some 20-pin only. One extra PSU >1000W. (Also got broken PSU's that can provide adapters via cutting & twisting wires. That method is also the only way any can be made modular.)
Plenty of keyboards/mouses that hook up via PS2. (Some for USB too.)
Multiple graphics cards, all PCI-e x16. Wide range of quality, up to pretty high-end. None appear to require auxiliary power.
HDD/SSD:- One brand-new SSD.
Several HDD's of both SATA and SCSI connections, most running an Ubuntu variant.
Several laptops that don't work so well (if at all) as laptops, but have functional parts like HDD's. Some date back to the '90's.
- 3.5" floppy (internal & USB)
Most of these things aren't on PC Part Picker, since they aren't in production anymore, so aside from "Does it fit?" I don't know how to check compatibility. Can anyone point me in a direction to figure such things out?
(I've googled and googled, and just finished my first "gaming" build, which at least runs Deus Ex and Half-Life but not Fallout 3, and troubleshooting that has utterly given me googley eyes.) For this issue, I'm not even sure what better key words to use than things like "compatibility checker."
For this build, "Which OS is best for Doom?" gives me a lot of stuff about source ports, which might be useful down the line, but my Frankensteinian "new" "gaming" computer can barely handle what I'm asking of it now. Besides, system building is fun and highly educational, despite near-constant frustration.
I should admit that gaming is almost entirely new to me. I've learned a heck of a lot in the past month or so, but I didn't work with gaming systems while I was growing up, or at all until very recently. Hopefully I'm not overlooking some rudimentary item that I didn't even know to google for.
----------------The End-----------
Many thanks for reading. This is being posted as a question but I don't at all object to it turning into a discussion. I really appreciate responses.
I thank the entire forum for having so many threads that have answered dozens of the other questions I've had lately.
** I'm looking for games that will help me to keep track of where I am within a building. As a firefighter, I need to be able to maintain orientation by remembering turns and estimating distances, with little to no visibility and distractions aplenty when the stakes are highest. My abilities in this area need improvement, and I discovered (in Fallout 3) that video games can exercise that part of my brain in the necessary way.
If anyone has recommendations on games that have structures the player has to navigate more than once (not just escape, like Portal), I would really appreciate hearing your advice. Older is often better, since I have no real gaming computer and no real budget but lots and lots of cruft. All of my game purchases have been for this purpose only.
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