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Best gaming rig for 1989?
- Thread starter ryoder
- Start date
ClassicHasClass
Veteran Member
Best info I have says retail availability of 486 systems wasn't until late 1989, and early ones were problematic. I'd say you're still looking at a high-end 386 system for that year.
krebizfan
Veteran Member
Sound Card: The original SoundBlaster was released in 1989 so that seems like a good candidate.
Video Card: The first 16-bit VGA cards with 512kB of RAM capable of 1024 x 768 were just being released. ATI VGA Wonder and the Video 7 VRAM were two of the better all around cards which remained useful for several years after release.
System: 386-25 was fairly common by then. A complete good gaming 386-25 would cost about $3000. A 286-16 would save about $1000.
Video Card: The first 16-bit VGA cards with 512kB of RAM capable of 1024 x 768 were just being released. ATI VGA Wonder and the Video 7 VRAM were two of the better all around cards which remained useful for several years after release.
System: 386-25 was fairly common by then. A complete good gaming 386-25 would cost about $3000. A 286-16 would save about $1000.
Games were still being developed for 8086 minimum specifications back then. A 386 DX 25 was top of the line.
The Roland LAPC-I or MPU-401 & MIF-IPC(-A) & CM-32L / MT32 / MT-100 were top of the line back then. Or an IBM Music Feature (very limited support in games) was top of the line.
486 DX was extremely rare and a novelty.
The Roland LAPC-I or MPU-401 & MIF-IPC(-A) & CM-32L / MT32 / MT-100 were top of the line back then. Or an IBM Music Feature (very limited support in games) was top of the line.
486 DX was extremely rare and a novelty.
From my perspective at the time, there just weren't good games for the PC platform.
I'd "upgraded" from a C64 to a 80386/25 machine, with a VGA-compatible card. I'd buy games and find out the hard way they used CGA graphics, in glorious pink and cyan. I very much remember being very irritated to look at the nice pictures on the box and read "Commodore 64 version shown" in fine print.
I'd "upgraded" from a C64 to a 80386/25 machine, with a VGA-compatible card. I'd buy games and find out the hard way they used CGA graphics, in glorious pink and cyan. I very much remember being very irritated to look at the nice pictures on the box and read "Commodore 64 version shown" in fine print.
Agent Orange
Veteran Member
The best gaming PC back in 1989 - the Tandy 1000SX.
I didn't have one then, and didn't think anything of them at the time. But, in retrospect, having seen what they were like now, I'd have to agree.
I have a Tandy 1000 TL on my desk and it does really well with dos games. Especially with the compact flash hard drive.
I think the LAPC card would be a great addon.
The TL has Tandy 3 voice sound and a DAC but isn't as great as a SB.
The reason I ask is that I am working in coding up a game that will play well on the TL. I wrote a Tandy graphics compatible library that includes high speed compiled sprites and a scrollable background. Even with my optimizations I can't get much more than 17fps due to limitations with the memory bus. This is a 640k dos machine.
I built a 286 16 with VGA in 1991 and the hardware was commodity by then.
I think for practical purposes a 386DX 33 was top dog in 1989 and a single speed CD ROM and SCSI hard drive with a Roland and SB mix would net the best sounds. I don't know how many games allow that. Using the DAC on the SB and Roland for midi. I know anything using Miles Sound System would as those are two separate settings and drivers.
I think the LAPC card would be a great addon.
The TL has Tandy 3 voice sound and a DAC but isn't as great as a SB.
The reason I ask is that I am working in coding up a game that will play well on the TL. I wrote a Tandy graphics compatible library that includes high speed compiled sprites and a scrollable background. Even with my optimizations I can't get much more than 17fps due to limitations with the memory bus. This is a 640k dos machine.
I built a 286 16 with VGA in 1991 and the hardware was commodity by then.
I think for practical purposes a 386DX 33 was top dog in 1989 and a single speed CD ROM and SCSI hard drive with a Roland and SB mix would net the best sounds. I don't know how many games allow that. Using the DAC on the SB and Roland for midi. I know anything using Miles Sound System would as those are two separate settings and drivers.
krebizfan
Veteran Member
The last page of Sep. 25, 1989 issue of InfoWorld had an ad for a 486-25 system. ALR's version cost about $10,000. IBM had a 486 variant of the Model 70 at about the same time which was slightly more expensive. Won't be until about 1992 that games would notice the benefits of the 486 so it would generally have been more affordable to buy a good 386 in 1990 (whenever the price increase relative to the 286 finally broke*) and a 486-DX2 in 1993.
* I don't remember exactly when it happened but 286s went from saving $1,000 to saving only about $100 compared to a 386. A memory card for the 286 would use up all the savings.
* I don't remember exactly when it happened but 286s went from saving $1,000 to saving only about $100 compared to a 386. A memory card for the 286 would use up all the savings.
Agent Orange
Veteran Member
It was late 1990 or early 1991 when I bought a bare bones mini-tower from some outfit behind O'Hare Airport in Chicago. The case, PS, motherboard, and 386/25 were $700.00. And I still had to get the CDROM, HD IDE, controller, memory, floppy, VGA video card, monitor, modem, and what-not. I know I had at least $1500.00 or more into it by the time you could finally see the C:>. The 1st game that I bought for it was the boxed version of the original Tetris (still have it).
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rittwage
Veteran Member
I know it's not the answer you are asking for, but in 1989 the best gaming computer rig was by far the Amiga. 
I know it's not the answer you are asking for, but in 1989 the best gaming computer rig was by far the Amiga.
No contest.
But, anyone who didn't have one back then would disagree with you vehemently. So to be period correct, Amiga has to be ignored again.
SpidersWeb
Veteran Member
The biggest challenge with building the "ultimate" rig from 1989 is that you'll just end up building a computer from 1992 or 1993.
If 1989 is the target, and you want it to FEEL 1980's, you kind of want to avoid the best and just go for the rather excessive.
EGA graphics and monitor.
Some enourmous ESDI monster - MFM era technology but with twice the sectors and a splash of digital. All my ESDI drives are 1988 and 1989 and came with whopping price tags.
Full size AT case with black front plates, your hard drive will need an entire section of this.
5.25" 1.2MB black A drive, with a fancy pants 3.5" drive awkwardly mounted as "B" drive just in case your new game came on one of those silly things
SoundBlaster 2.0 or Adlib sound board (or whatever you fancy really)
Big 386DX motherboard, bonus points if the first 1MB is chip RAM.
Enourmous ISA memory upgrade board - filled with 41256 chips.
It's silly, but I'd find a system like that more fun Just my view on machine builds though, do as you please!
I remember when I was younger being handed down an old 386 - EGA, twin MFM hard drives (40 and 20), 386SX/16, it was horrible at the time (1994?) but I loved it.
If 1989 is the target, and you want it to FEEL 1980's, you kind of want to avoid the best and just go for the rather excessive.
EGA graphics and monitor.
Some enourmous ESDI monster - MFM era technology but with twice the sectors and a splash of digital. All my ESDI drives are 1988 and 1989 and came with whopping price tags.
Full size AT case with black front plates, your hard drive will need an entire section of this.
5.25" 1.2MB black A drive, with a fancy pants 3.5" drive awkwardly mounted as "B" drive just in case your new game came on one of those silly things
SoundBlaster 2.0 or Adlib sound board (or whatever you fancy really)
Big 386DX motherboard, bonus points if the first 1MB is chip RAM.
Enourmous ISA memory upgrade board - filled with 41256 chips.
It's silly, but I'd find a system like that more fun
Just my view on machine builds though, do as you please!I remember when I was younger being handed down an old 386 - EGA, twin MFM hard drives (40 and 20), 386SX/16, it was horrible at the time (1994?) but I loved it.
Ultimate would be an Amiga 500, usable would be a CGA based 286-12 if you were a gamer. For real work a 386/25 with early VGA would be nice. I made do with a new Packard Bell 286 with shitty VGA (.39DP) back then, graduation to a custom built 386/40 around 1992.
Agent Orange
Veteran Member
The biggest challenge with building the "ultimate" rig from 1989 is that you'll just end up building a computer from 1992 or 1993.
If 1989 is the target, and you want it to FEEL 1980's, you kind of want to avoid the best and just go for the rather excessive.
EGA graphics and monitor.
Some enourmous ESDI monster - MFM era technology but with twice the sectors and a splash of digital. All my ESDI drives are 1988 and 1989 and came with whopping price tags.
Full size AT case with black front plates, your hard drive will need an entire section of this.
5.25" 1.2MB black A drive, with a fancy pants 3.5" drive awkwardly mounted as "B" drive just in case your new game came on one of those silly things
SoundBlaster 2.0 or Adlib sound board (or whatever you fancy really)
Big 386DX motherboard, bonus points if the first 1MB is chip RAM.
Enourmous ISA memory upgrade board - filled with 41256 chips.
It's silly, but I'd find a system like that more fun
I remember when I was younger being handed down an old 386 - EGA, twin MFM hard drives (40 and 20), 386SX/16, it was horrible at the time (1994?) but I loved it.
Spider's spot on about the monitor. I was working inside the beltway in those days and PC's were coming into their own. This was 1987 and I had my 1000SX with it's CGA display. I hated that CGA and knew I had to go for something better. VGA was on the horizon but out of sight price-wise. I located a dealer/warehouse over in Glen Bernie, MD and bought a no-name 15" EGA monitor for around $350.00. I had already purchased the EGA video card from Boca, and it too, was about $350.00. The two worked together without a hitch on my 1000SX. Around the same time I was taking an assembly course at Montgomery Community College in Germantown, MD. One of my first class projects was to write a set of 16 color 'borders' for the EGA monitor. I always thought that EGA display looked just as good at 640 x 350 as the VGA's of the time. At least Leisure Suit Larry looked pretty good. BTW, that Boca EGA card came with a disk which allowed you to select different fonts. Still have the card, but the disk is long gone.
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vwestlife
Veteran Member
Remember that things were advancing so quickly that the best gaming PC of 1989 was obsolete by 1992, just as the best gaming PC of 1992 was obsolete by 1995. So you really have to choose your hardware carefully based on the era of games you have the most interest in.
Also remember that these days, picking and choosing specific vintage PC hardware can get very expensive very quickly, so unless you have deep pockets to fulfill your dream, you're better off going with whatever hardware fits your budget, and then assembling an era-appropriate collection of games for it.
Also remember that these days, picking and choosing specific vintage PC hardware can get very expensive very quickly, so unless you have deep pockets to fulfill your dream, you're better off going with whatever hardware fits your budget, and then assembling an era-appropriate collection of games for it.
dr.zeissler
Experienced Member
krebizfan
Veteran Member
In the US, buying EGA made little sense in 1989. EGA cards cost about the same as bottom rung VGA cards; cheapest EGA monitor would save about $30 from the cheapest VGA monitor. $30 more on a $500 display system provides a much better experience.
A year earlier, before VGA monitors and cards became affordable, EGA was the way to go for color. I purchased a complete AT clone with EGA for less than any VGA card and display.
A year earlier, before VGA monitors and cards became affordable, EGA was the way to go for color. I purchased a complete AT clone with EGA for less than any VGA card and display.