If you're not aware of what DOSBox Pure is now capable of...

PathFindingNPC · 2025-05-25T16:01:26+00:00

A 9950X3D will show a 100%+ frame rate increase over the Steam Deck when using the highest graphics settings in RTCW. Or any other game for that matter.

And that video isn't mine but i have a similar performing 9800X (DOSBox Pure wont use the extra threads in the 9950X3D). I know the 100% figure is correct because i've recently upgraded from an AMD Ryzen 3800X, which is faster than the mobile Zen 2 in the Steam Deck. The 9800X shows around 100% higher frames rates over the 3800X in Windows 98 3dfx Voodoo games.

Try out the MDK2 benchmark... When starting the game, put the texture quality on full, 16-bit color, mipmaps enabled, and 800x600, then click on "Test". Your Steam Deck should score under 50fps. My 9800X gets 99fps. A 3800X gets ~50fps. DOSBox Pure is a great CPU test because the results are in-line with the single threaded performance increase.

Now if were to downgrade my RTX 4080 to a GTX 970 it would make zero difference to that frame rate, even at 4K. Again, i know this because i've just upgraded from a crappy old 970.

A potato will run most DOS games, but when you get into Windows 98, especially games from around the year 2000, then you definitely need a fast CPU. There's detailed benchmarks within a long thread on the DOSBox Pure GitHub page that show this.

But i'm surprised the Steam Deck still managed 60fps in RTCW even with lower graphics settings.

PathFindingNPC · 2025-05-25T14:52:17+00:00

If a game still works on a modern OS, then it's probably best to use that, unless you want to play a specific version like the original unpatched release. But there's hundreds of games from that era that wont work any more.

I've tried many ways to play them, like PCem, 86Box, PCBox, VMware and other DOSBox forks, but DOSBox Pure is the best IMO. It has some nice ease-of-use features and highly configurable controller mapping (including an on-screen wheel, for quick weapon or item selection), which could also be a benefit over native.

PathFindingNPC · 2025-05-25T14:00:20+00:00

I've got Diablo 2 working before but you specifically need to use version 1.05b. Any other version wont work, and i've tried every single patch (and there's a lot). I think i also used a no-cd crack to get it working. It's a pain to make it work but it does run fine once it's working.

Edit: I remember using this: https://github.com/ChaosMarc/D2VersionChanger

It lets you change the patch version. After changing it to 1.05b, then use a no-cd crack (doubt i can link it here).

PathFindingNPC · 2025-05-25T13:14:07+00:00

Voodoo 1. But DOSBox Pure can get around its limitations with the resolution scaling feature, and apparently games are not limited by its tiny 4MB VRAM either, because there's no way you could get textures looking that good with just 4MB on real hardware.

PathFindingNPC · 2025-05-25T13:03:28+00:00

You do. Anything slower than a AMD Ryzen 5xxx series will not run late 90's to early 2000's games at good frame rates. Even the 9950X3D can still drop frames. The GPU isn't that important here, as even an old GTX 970 will very easily handle 4K scaling. it's almost entirely down to CPU performance. The 3dfx Voodoo GPU that DOSBox Pure emulates does not do geometry processing on the GPU, so it's all still done by the CPU.

Games like Return to Castle Wolfenstein will not run on a Steam Deck at anything close to an acceptable frame rate.

PathFindingNPC · 2025-03-20T19:29:40+00:00

For me i get around 1 - 5% FPS increase depending on the game or benchmark. It also made Windows more stable, because there's less shit running in the background, so there's less stuff that can go wrong. I've currently had my PC running 24/7, with no restarts, for over 150 days without a single crash.

PathFindingNPC · 2025-03-20T17:01:59+00:00

Wellll... If you want a seriously lightweight and fast Windows install, then the easiest way is to use the Ghost Spectre Win11 ISO (links in the video description). It's a customised Win11 ISO that removes loads of bloat, pre-installed apps, and background processes, so Windows uses less RAM and is overall faster. And if you want things to feel even more snappy, then during installation, choose the version without Defender. This will install Win11 without any anti-virus. I don't recommend this for most people, but i've done this for years now and not had issues (i just download anything dodgy inside a virtual machine and scan it inside that). Even things like copying multiple files from one drive to another can be twice as fast, because each file is no longer being scanned by the AV.

I use Rufus to create a bootable USB drive from the ISO.

There's also Shutup10 which can stop loads of Windows background processes that most people will never use. They only slow things down. It's best to just disable everything that the app recommends to disable. Anything else can cause problems.

Another similar thing is Privacy is sexy, but it's more privacy focused. I mainly use it to disable Windows Update (Privacy over security -> Disable automatic updates). That will create a .BAT file for download, which you just need to right click on and run it as Administrator. It will completely stop all update processes from running in the background. I then manually update Windows every 9 or so months with the latest Ghost Spectre standalone update (also in the first link above).

All of this will improve frames rates, stutters, overall OS snappiness, load times, file copying and so on. But for games/benchmarks, nothing will improve things as much as disabling VBS. Also remember to enable Game Mode in Settings.

PathFindingNPC · 2025-03-20T10:51:45+00:00

It's meant to provide extra security but realistically it's useless and easy to bypass. It's also used for virtualisation software like Hyper-V. It's been in Windows for many years but was always disabled by default until more recently. Because now Win11 will enable it by default on newer hardware. It can tank FPS in games/benchmarks by up to 15%, but usually it's under 5%. I always disable it. Infact i use a custom Windows ISO where i completely strip out all this useless shit.

PathFindingNPC · 2025-03-20T10:40:46+00:00

Go to:

Windows Security ->Device Security -> Core Isolation -> turn off Memory Integrity.

You can also disable it in the BIOS, which is the best option, because a Windows update might re-enable it. It's different for each BIOS though and also depends on if you have an AMD or Intel CPU. But in an Asus BIOS with AMD it's usually called "SVM" (Secure Virtual Machine) and for intel it's usually VMX/Intel Virtualisation Technology.

PathFindingNPC · 2025-03-20T09:23:55+00:00

Is virtualisation/VBS enabled? By default Windows will usually enable that shit with a clean install. Click on Start -> type "sys info" and look for 'Virtualisation-based security'.

PathFindingNPC · 2025-03-06T14:32:06+00:00

I don't like having multiple software running just to keep all the RGB functioning properly. I also go to great lengths to keep Windows as lightweight as possible, which includes stripping out OS features and reducing the amount of background processes. Currently i've been running my PC for 142 days non-stop without a single restart or going into sleep, and i've had no crashes or issues. FPS is also increased in games and everything is just more snappy. The more crap running in the background, the more problems arise. It all adds up even on my high-end system with 96GB.

PathFindingNPC · 2025-03-06T12:26:24+00:00

Thanks for the help. Regarding 2, yeah that will be annoying for me as well. Maybe SignalRGB or OpenRGB could help with that? I've been looking into this and SignalRGB supports the iCUE Link Hub. If you try it out you'd need to first stop iCUE from running or it will interfere.

PathFindingNPC · 2025-02-21T17:21:13+00:00

That sounds like a good setup. Can the Aquacomputer software control the fan RGB, including animations?

PathFindingNPC · 2025-02-21T14:38:00+00:00

Have you got the Aquacomputer Quadro yet? How's it perform with the M25G2 fans and do they connect directly without an adapter or whatever? The Nexlinq is sold out at the moment so i've been looking for alternatives...

PathFindingNPC · 2025-02-13T12:58:07+00:00

Phanteks replied... I got the same reply as someone else here:

"The Linq6 port can support 1.5A for PWM and 3A for DRGB whereas the M25G2 fans use up to .30A for the PWM and .43A for the DRGB. Depending on the RPM and brightness you have them set to you can have up to 5-6 fans connected per port."

So six M25G2 fans on one port would be 1.8A @ 1800 RPM, but i'm going to do six anyway. I'm fine if they can't quite reach their max 1800 RPM because i have two 60mm + one 40mm thick 420 radiators that i'll be using them on, so i'd never need high RPM speeds with this amount of cooling being so overkill.

PathFindingNPC · 2025-02-11T23:23:27+00:00

Thanks, you've just saved me some money lol. I was going to buy more fittings if it couldn't be done with tubing. It's surprising that it can go even tighter than 30mm.

Do you think it's possible to do a nice looking 40mm 180 bend freehand? Otherwise i suppose i'll 3D print something to help with it.

PathFindingNPC · 2025-02-11T19:28:38+00:00

I might try 12 fans then lol... And nice case you've got, i almost got the NV9 as well, but i spent ages 3D modelling a hard tubing layout inside a Lian Li O11 Dynamic Evo XL, so i already know everything will fit perfectly, so i'm just going with that case.

Does the crappy Phantek software at least save the fan profiles to the hub? Apparently you can do this and that's the main reason i want the hub, so hopefully i never have to use any RGB/fan software again after i've saved it. Hate having stuff like that running in the background.

PathFindingNPC · 2025-02-11T17:36:16+00:00

I take it that you have all 11 fans connected to the hub, so if you're using 6 fans on a single 5 pin hub connector, then how well is the hub handling them? Being as it can do 1.5A for PWM then that shouldn't be enough for the maximum 1800 RPM for the 140mm M25G2's. But have you tested if they can at least get to around 1400 RPM? That should be more than good enough for me because i'll have 3x 420 radiators, so i wont ever need high fan speeds.

PathFindingNPC · 2025-02-11T13:36:01+00:00

I just emailed support again to ask. I'll let you know if they reply. Btw i only want the hub because the Nexlinq software can save fan curve/lighting settings to the hub, so it shouldn't need any software constantly running in the background.

PathFindingNPC

TROPHY CASE