IMO it is the KING of retro OSes for the purposes of gaming for the following reasons:>modern enough with sufficient features and polish to make using and navigating it easy and pleasing>has relatively low system requirements with little in the way of bloat>has compatibility with DOS games and applications, either within Windows itself, or by exiting the session into a full DOS mode for software that requires it>supports a very wide range of hardware and peripherals, and was widely supported all the way up until the mid 2000's>can natively play games as early as 80's DOS games and as late as mid-2000's DX9 gamesIt isn't perfect, of course, so I'm willing to be proved wrong.
>>12436145It can play some surprisingly late games too. For example the original version of Half-Life 2 is actually Windows 98 compatible
>has compatibility with DOS games and applicationsI’d never install Windows 95/98 on anything slower than Pentium anyway (and that would be Windows 95 if we talk about early Pentiums, not Windows 98).Windows 98 is sure versatile, but if you mind authenticity, Windows 98 is truly suitable only for Pentium II-Pentium III.
>>12436191Some DOS games can benefit from a P3. For example the original software rendered version of Quake
>>12436191Indeed, though if you do want to install it on a Pentium, there's 98lite, which switches the IE-integrated Explorer for 95's more basic Explorer, which is quite a bit faster and uses less resources (some also claim it helps with system stability, but I can't personally corroborate that with confidence). Of course, it also means doing away with some of Windows 98's QoL improvements, such as easier folder navigation, image preview, and some desktop improvements.
>be me, 16 in 2004>Windows 2000 Pro>runs most games great but no DOS>get a hankering for some DOS nostalgia>reformat hard drive to 98SE>install a bunch of classic games>try playing one>crashes>restart>partition error>reformat again>same issue>go back to 2000 Pro>just use DOSBox>werksFelt like a total retard
>>12436214Guess you got unlucky and installed it on hardware that just doesn't like Windows 98. Windows 2000 is really nice, though. Almost as lightweight as 98 while having rock solid stability. It's probably third on my list of best old Windows below 98SE and XP SP2.
It's the most comfy OS for sure.
>>12436232It was probably my ATi 9200 Pro, one of the worst computer purchases I ever made
>>12436271I went from a Radeon 7000 to a Radeon 9600 Pro. Neither were high-end cards by any means, but the difference was still insane. I went from barely being able to play something like Medal of Honor to being able to max out UT2004 at good framerates. Only the later jump to an 8800GT was even more impressive.
>>12436249How does UT2K4 perform on that?
>>12437035Averages around 40FPS. Unreal Engine 2 was the only one they made that was extremely scalable. They really went backwards from there.
>>12436271What is it with 95-2005 and shitty hardware? I had a GeForce 4 MX, worst piece of shit I've ever used. It was like a GeForce 2 with a faster clock. I would have been better off with a GeForce 3.
>>12436145>>can natively play games as early as 80's DOS games and as late as mid-2000's DX9 gamesInstalling DX9 breaks a lot of earlier games. Even installing DX8 breaks some things. I've never understood going past DX7 on Windows 98. If you just want to play stuff like Far Cry on it purely for the novelty then fine, but all DX8 and DX9 games are better played on XP with a much more powerful GPU. Windows 98's real USP is its wide compatibility with DOS and early Windows games. Anything else is just a gimmick, like installing a bunch of patches and kernel extensions and trying to use it as a day to OS or something.>>12437056The GF4 MX is the most powerful DX7 card ever made. There are shitty, cut down versions of it, so maybe you had one of those, but the higher-end ones are perfect for a Windows 98 build and still extremely affordable. A GF2 might be "sexier" in terms of historical value, but it's a worse card in every way. Not least power consumption and having to worry about a 25 year old dying fan or finding a replacement, whereas a GF4 MX can be passively cooled.
>>12437056Is that era really particularly egregious? I recall there always being subpar hardware that preyed upon people who knew no better, like shitty Sound Blaster clone cards, SVGA cards that weren't fully VESA compliant, or even Intel's cut-down 386/486 SX CPUs.
>>12437090>Installing DX9 breaks a lot of earlier games. Even installing DX8 breaks some things.Interesting. I did know it was pointless to go beyond DX7 on Windows 98 since anything made for the DX8/9 era wants XP-era hardware for best results anyway, but I didn't know they broke things. Do you have some concrete examples of what installing them messes up?
98SE is the last white men OS
>>12437117>web slop everywherewhite men can't die soon enough
>>12437136>seething indian
What's the verdict on softgpu, anyone here ever used it, how is it? I've been looking at alternatives for PCem since it's slow as hell, and even with a fast cpu, you're always going to be limited with which games are going to run well, especially non-glide 3D games.
