I went through the same thing about six weeks ago building a new
system to replace my three year old DX2/66. Here's what I came up
with (prices are what I paid then):
* Supermicro P5STE MB w/512k cache ($209)
* Pentium 133 ($229 + $13 fan/heatsink)
* 32 meg EDO ($200)
* Intergraph Reactor ($150)
These components meet the performance criteria you listed. With
*everything* turned on (39 cars, 39 forward, 39 behind, all details
on, pace lap at the back of the pack at Talladega) I bottom out around
13-14 fps with the Rendition version of NASCAR2 (10-11 with stock
SVGA), but easily over 20 fps once the traffic clears a bit.
The motherboard gives good performance. Make sure to get ver. 3
(or later?) of the hardware. I got mine from Megatrends and had mixed
service. You'll find good info on Megatrends WWW site:
"http://www.megacom.com" and in the "alt.comp.periphs.mainboard.
supermicro" newsgroup. They will suggest a minimum 250 watt power
supply and I followed that advice (with a new case & PS).
As far as a CPU, the Pentium 133 gives the best bang for the buck
right now (or a few weeks ago, at least ;) -- faster chips were too
pricy for the small performance gain (P166 was ~$170 more for ~15%
more speed). The new MMX Pentiums due out soon will drive prices
lower (and the P5STE will work with MMX chips, I'm considering one in
a year or so once the prices drop). Remember to stick with
33MHz-multiple Pentiums (100, 133, 166, 200) to get the fast 33MHz
video bus. A P100 might be worth considering if money is tight (P120
won't give you much more speed with its 30MHz video bus). I looked at
Cyrix but the incompatabilities (particularly with Papyrus software
and the Reactor) ruled it out. The recent AMD PR133 looks attractive,
but the NASCAR2 README says it isn't supported, so I don't know if it
would work.
If you have 72-pin memory, you can probably use it in this
motherboard. However, its so cheap nowadays, I decided to go with new
faster EDO in a decent quantity. NASCAR2 requires 16meg (I think) and
the Rendition version requires 24meg for full textures (boy, I didn't
think I'd *need* it this soon ;). 32 meg is a nice size and the price
is even lower now.
Finally, the Intergraph Reactor (or Sierra Screamin' 3D or Creative
Labs 3D Blaster PCI) are Rendition Verite-based 3D-accelerated video
card. It's an all-in-one 2D/3D solution. VGA is slow, VESA VGA/SVGA
is fast, Win95 (no Win 3.1 drivers!) 2D is good, and accelerated 3D is
good. ICR2-3D is bundled with the Reactor and Screamin' 3D and
NASCAR2 is "Rendition ready" (works out of the box with any of these
accelerators). I found the Rendition version of NASCAR2 gave me ~30%
better frame rates under heavy load vs. the stock SVGA version. The
difference between the stock and 3D versions of ICR2 is even more
stunning. I'd suggest the Reactor card to get ICR2-3D, for better
tech support, and its discounted to $150 until December 31 (vs. $200
for Screamin' 3D). See "http://www.intergraph.com/ics/reactor/".
In conclusion, for under $600 (using your own memory, even less if
you go for a cheaper brand motherboard) you can have a real nice
sim-racing machine. I finished mine off with a 2.5 meg WD HD, Sony 8x
CD, Thrustmaster T2... Will it ever end? ;)
Good luck with your upgrade!
Pick one or more: Model Rockets (competition-NERCB) / PCs (even Atari!) /
Papyrus ICR-ICR2-NCR / Who needs a life when you have multiple non-lives?
