Putting together a rough price list now. I've come across these two ATX towers, too:

https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/135287181570
https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/326296476971

No such thing.

It's either mini itx or micro atx.

Sorry, I meant Micro.

On the Wikipedia page for the i440BX I couldn't help but notice that it says the boards don't support 256Mbit SDRAM. Just making sure I understand that correctly, is that different from 256MB (Megabytes) or is that the same thing?

It's a bit misleading.
It does support 256mbyte double sided sticks, but 256mbyte single sided chips will only detect as 128mb.

Technically, 256mbit =32mbyte chips. 8 to a side = 256mbyte =will detect as 128mbyte (or 256 for a 512mbyte stick)

Electrically double sided. Generally 16 chips = double sided,8 =single sided.

i440BX motherboard not seeing 256MB SDRAM

myne wrote on 2024-10-19, 12:09:

It's a bit misleading. It does support 256mbyte double sided sticks, but 256mbyte single sided chips will only detect as 128mb. […]
Show full quote

It's a bit misleading.
It does support 256mbyte double sided sticks, but 256mbyte single sided chips will only detect as 128mb.

Electrically double sided. Generally 16 chips = double sided,8 =single sided.

i440BX motherboard not seeing 256MB SDRAM

Huh. Weird. But good to know. Good to learn about things like this so I don't run into the issue later on. 😀 But worst case - I don't think 128MB would be a problem for the setup I'll be putting together anyway.

Regarding the sound card - are there any specific ones listed here that would be strongly recommended? Or would any be fine? The lowest price is around £20, but some also mention AWE-64.

https://www.ebay.co.uk/sch/i.html?_nkw=soundb … op=15&_svsrch=1

myne wrote on 2024-10-19, 11:45:

No such thing.

It's either mini itx or micro atx.

There was a mini ATX standard but I don't know if any boards using it were actually produced....

Someone's made an offer of £35 from £45 for this unbranded tower. It's tempting. Although this is a Mini ATX.

https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/135287181570

Or this one, which is more, but bigger and has the floppy and disc drives with it.

https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/326296476971?_trks … 7&ul_noapp=true

Since it sounds like you don't have any individual parts yet, I would look at a buying a pre-built system and then swapping out individual components as needed. This way you at least start with a baseline including floppy drive, CD-ROM, PSU, etc.

It will also typically be a lot cheaper than trying to buy everything individually. I also would look at getting a full-sized ATX case since it will give you more options for motherboards and general extensibility.

Shponglefan wrote on 2024-10-19, 20:17:

Since it sounds like you don't have any individual parts yet, I would look at a buying a pre-built system and then swapping out individual components as needed. This way you at least start with a baseline including floppy drive, CD-ROM, PSU, etc.

It will also typically be a lot cheaper than trying to buy everything individually. I also would look at getting a full-sized ATX case since it will give you more options for motherboards and general extensibility.

Full-sized, okay. I mean, I've essentially built a system from scratch, with my current system, so I don't mind doing that. I have written out the rough prices, but will need to add everything up and see what it all comes to. See if it works out cheaper or more that a pre-built system. I suspect the last thing I'll end up getting is the CRT monitor.

DustyShinigami wrote on 2024-10-19, 20:08:

Or this one, which is more, but bigger and has the floppy and disc drives with it.

https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/326296476971?_trks … 7&ul_noapp=true

Oh. Looks like this is a Micro ATX as well.

DustyShinigami wrote on 2024-10-19, 20:29:

Full-sized, okay. I mean, I've essentially built a system from scratch, with my current system, so I don't mind doing that. I have written out the rough prices, but will need to add everything up and see what it all comes to. See if it works out cheaper or more that a pre-built system. I suspect the last thing I'll end up getting is the CRT monitor.

The way I look at it is a pre-built system is like buying a collection of parts. It'll have all the misc things (internal cables, different screws, expansion slot covers, etc.) that you might not get when buying individual components.

Shponglefan wrote on 2024-10-19, 20:50:

The way I look at it is a pre-built system is like buying a collection of parts. It'll have all the misc things (internal cables, different screws, expansion slot covers, etc.) that you might not get when buying individual components.

That's actually a solid point. I didn't factor in any cables, ribbons etc.

DustyShinigami wrote on 2024-10-19, 20:29:

Full-sized, okay. I mean, I've essentially built a system from scratch, with my current system, so I don't mind doing that. I have written out the rough prices, but will need to add everything up and see what it all comes to. See if it works out cheaper or more that a pre-built system. I suspect the last thing I'll end up getting is the CRT monitor.

It will definitely work out to way more buying parts. You can find full systems of the same generation for less money than a similar motherboard alone on eBay.

Seen a few pre-builds on eBay that I have my eye on. There's this one, which isn't too far to get to. The case can be sent via courier but the monitor would need picking up. I could technically get everything in person. This doesn't have a tower, but is a base unit like the very first Windows 95 PC we used to have. Not sure how easy it would be to upgrade, particularly due to its size. Especially for a motherboard like the 440BX.

https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/176268844822?_skw= … ABk9SR_q9hp3VZA

There's also another system that I'm very interested in. It does have a Buy It Now option, but I'm not sure if I should try my luck with the auction. Maybe I shouldn't take the risk and just buy it. This one can be delivered. I don't know what motherboard it has, but from the screenshots I've been shown, it does have an AGP and ISA slot. It comes with a 19" flat panel CRT monitor, micro ATX tower, mouse, keyboard, speakers, joystick, some software, a Pentium III 450MHz, 13GB HDD, 128MB SDRAM, 3.5" 1.44MB floppy drive, a Riva TNT 16MB GPU, and a DVD drive.

So tempted...

DustyShinigami wrote on 2024-10-19, 11:42:

Putting together a rough price list now. I've come across these two ATX towers, too:

https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/135287181570
https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/326296476971

You need to be wary about sharing links to auction things, you will find they sell rather quickly once you announce to this community.
Not a lot of people look all the time, and once theyre aware they buy.

DustyShinigami wrote on 2024-10-20, 12:15:

Seen a few pre-builds on eBay that I have my eye on. There's this one, which isn't too far to get to. The case can be sent via courier but the monitor would need picking up. I could technically get everything in person. This doesn't have a tower, but is a base unit like the very first Windows 95 PC we used to have. Not sure how easy it would be to upgrade, particularly due to its size. Especially for a motherboard like the 440BX.

https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/176268844822?_skw= … ABk9SR_q9hp3VZA

I'm not sure I understand the objective here. It's an AT case, a super-duper-elcheapo CRT monitor, the internals of the systems are way too old for a 98SE project, etc. What useful parts would you get out of this?