I've managed to scratch together some old parts and intend to build myself a VooDoo rig in a small case just for playing GlQuake, 3dfx patched Carmageddon, and 3dfx patched Mechwarrior 2, basically :) It's a P4 1.7GHz, 768MB RAM (most Win 98b will support), and, the bit I'm really concerned about, on-board Intel graphics courtesy of an i845g chipset. This is to be paired with either my original Orchid Righteous, or the 2xVooDoo2 12MBs I have in a box under my desk. Can anyone see any obvious issues with this plan, especially any issues I might see using an integrated gfx 2D chipset rather than a discreet one? Ta all in advance.

I think win9x supports max 512MB of ram.the rest of the memory will not be used.

ps47 wrote on 15.02.11 at 20:01:40:

I think win9x supports max 512MB of ram.the rest of the memory will not be used.

It can use up to 1 GB. Only 98/98se. But it needs some tweaking : http://support.microsoft.com/default.aspx?scid=kb%3ben-us%3b253912

Remember : only 1 GB, not more. I know for sure because I had 1.5 GB of ram in 2000. First I had 512 ram, Windows 98 SE was happy, I upgraded to 1 GB...problems. I applied the tweak - everything was fine. Upgraded to 1.5 GB - problems again. So I had to upgrade to Windows 2000.

RaverX wrote on 16.02.11 at 00:34:24:

ps47 wrote on 15.02.11 at 20:01:40: I think win9x supports max 512MB of ram.the rest of the memory will not be used. It can use up to 1 GB. Only 98/98se. But it needs some tweaking : http://support.microsoft.com/default.aspx?scid=kb%3ben-us%3b253912 Remember : only 1 GB, not more. I know for sure because I had 1.5 GB of ram in 2000. First I had 512 ram, Windows 98 SE was happy, I upgraded to 1 GB...problems. I applied the tweak - everything was fine. Upgraded to 1.5 GB - problems again. So I had to upgrade to Windows 2000.

Sorry but both answers are wrong. Believe me, I've tested it all for years. If windows 98 is equipped up to 768Mb of RAM, everything works fine. If you add a single mb of ram more, DOS window stops working (not enough memory problem). This problem raises a general system instability the more RAM you add untill the magic border of 999mb is reached. After that, Win98 will not even boot (>999mb), not even in safe mode (well, especially not in safe mode :P ).

Now, what you could do is to plug out the excess RAM, boot Win98, go into 'msconfig' and limit the system RAM in a software way to 999mb (you cannot enter more, only 3 digits allowed). Then turn off the computer, plug in as much RAM as you want (I plugged in and tested 2GB) and win98 will still boot (but it will 'think' it has only 999mb).

If you encounter a BSOD or win98 fails in such a way that the settings of msconfig get back to default, win98 will stop booting and the same procedure explained above is needed (forget about safe mode, it fails too).

In the end, to completely answer your question, 768mb is the last and highest, error-free boundary of windows 98. 8-)

Thanks all, but I know 768MB is my hard and fast limit (remembering days of frustration with a new build nearly a decade ago trying to persuade 98, then ME to work on 1GB!). Besides, I'm pretty sure no gaming VooDoo rig of any spec will really need more RAM than that anyway; my Righteous used to be awesome on 32MB. Feeding it 24x that should be overkill in anyone's book!
It's more the integrated graphics chipset I was wondering about being a problem, as in compatibility with the voodoo cards, and any issues with voltage? Neither of the VooDoo2 cards I have are AGP, and obviously my Orchid Righteous isn't, but are there any clock or voltage issues with using these cards on boards of the type I'm talking about (i845G chipsets and similar)?

Has anyone had any issues running any VooDoo 1 or 2 cards on any integrated graphics chipset?

enigmo wrote on 21.02.11 at 17:36:17:

Has anyone had any issues running any VooDoo 1 or 2 cards on any integrated graphics chipset?

I tried it on SiS 735s and it worked. Havent tried it on Intel, but I really dont see why it wouldn't work. Voodoos 1 and 2 arent really that risky like V5 6000. Try it, you wont fry it ;)

I've got two voodoo 2s currently stuck into a HP d530. Turns out they'll squeeze in next to the floppy drive with maybe 1mm clearance! As soon as 98se finishes installing I'll let you guys know if I've come across anything particularly good or bad. If things go really well, maybe even some glQuake framerates! ;D

With that in mind... Anyone seen a timedemo demo2 not work? :) Proper retail version of Q1, drop to console and type 'timedemo demo2' and demo2 does indeed start, but no framerate, and it doesn't look faster than usual in any way. I seem to remember this should go like the clappers and then give me an average fps. Weird...