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[dipo]

Originally Posted by Japofran

So yes a Pentium III is a perfectly fine DOS platform.

Eh? Really? Thought 486 DX with ISA soundcard is best.

Originally Posted by Japofran

However you surely realize that a Pentium III is not "contemporary" hardware any longer

Well, it's 3 GHZ. Enough for any purpose as a private user (ok, except vista dx10 games).

It's not the hottest with 64 bit and dual/quad/whatever core. But "contemporary" in sense of "made long time after producers cared about dos compatibility".

Originally Posted by Japofran

nor a sound card with SB16 support.

I have a SoundBlaster Live Digital. Some time ago it was really expensive and it was the card professionals made games, music and films. I don't think it's worse now, it has a great 5.1 sound.

Imho soundcards haven't developed much since. (compared with harddisks, cpu and ram) Maybe it's old now and no longer produced but I see no point in a new one.

Originally Posted by Japofran

If you tried this with a slightly newer machine you may have got less satisfactory results.

Don't hold me on this, but the Pentium III may be the latest architecture with good DOS backwards compatibility.

You sure? Only because of 4 GHZ, 64 bit and quad core? Is it really a difference?

The real mode must be still supported because the producers are forced by XP which is still supported and which still needs BIOS / real mode bootstrapping for booting.

Originally Posted by Japofran

I haven't tried on a real setup, but VPC 2007 is appalling at running DOS games, and it appears to emulate a Pentium IV. I've heard that VPC 2004 was better for emulating DOS, and maybe it was because it emulated a previous processor architecture; but I don't really know since I've never installed it.

Well, an virtualizer as reference for pentium 4? I don't think this is a good reference.

Originally Posted by Japofran

Anyway I don't really see the point in a real setup if a virtual one does the job.

In this case I also wouldn't see the point.

Originally Posted by Japofran

Right now I simply know of no DOS game that DOSBox 0.72 can't run perfectly--granted I don't have so many.

I have some where I've already searched a lot and where sound is still flickering.

Originally Posted by Japofran

It seems to me that DOSBox is *way* more compatible than a real DOS machine, at least if that's not a very standarized Compaq or HP or etc.

Yes, I think this is because of support for disney soundsource and gravis ultrasound and ega.

Originally Posted by Japofran

But if you think, as apparently many other people, that a real setup will be 100 per cent compatible, or more compatible than DOSBox, just because it's "real", you may be in for surprises.

No I don't think buying 1 legacy computer for retro gaming would solve all problems at all. Perhaps if you would want to play everything perfect you would need 4-6 different real computers. For each game fulfilling the on the box recommend requirements.

Well, for some games the sound is better. Maybe because it's "nearly real" soundblaster by creative and not emulated soundblaster. Also the speed and look/feel is better.

[Japo]

I can't help the impression that you felt my post tried to contradict something you said and then wrote such a long post to disprove what I didn't say. I didn't say a P3 is "best", I said it's "perfectly fine"--in my experience. And "contemporary" does not mean "made long time after producers cared about dos compatibility".

When I talked about compatibility I didn't mean Disney nor Gravis nor any other device I haven't used in my life. I mean that DOSBox runs games that I didn't manage to run neither in my P3 nor in my previous DOS machines of yore, for whatever reason that I don't know.

[dipo]

Originally Posted by Japofran

I can't help the impression that you felt my post tried to contradict something you said and then wrote such a long post to disprove what I didn't say. I didn't say a P3 is "best", I said it's "perfectly fine"--in my experience. And "contemporary" does not mean "made long time after producers cared about dos compatibility".

I see, misunderstanding on my side.

Originally Posted by Japofran

When I talked about compatibility I didn't mean Disney nor Gravis nor any other device I haven't used in my life. I mean that DOSBox runs games that I didn't manage to run neither in my P3 nor in my previous DOS machines of yore, for whatever reason that I don't know.

Ok, got it. And agreed, DosBox is more easy without much configuration and driver fiddling.

[The Fifth Horseman]

You sure? Only because of 4 GHZ, 64 bit and quad core? Is it really a difference?

Multicore and x64 architecture are both quite major changes IMO.

[dipo]

Originally Posted by The Fifth Horseman

Multicore and x64 architecture are both quite major changes IMO.

Yes, but it has still all old features. So it shouldn't matter?