The Overkill Windows XP and DOS gaming machine:Core i3-530 , 500GB HDD Radeon HD 7470

Late-DOS & Early-2000s Gaming Rig: Pre-loaded and ready to play

A punchy little 2010-era LGA1156 rig set up to dual-boot FreeDOS and Windows XP Professional SP3, with a discrete GPU that leaves plenty of headroom above period-correct 3D titles. Covers everything from late-DOS classics (with real General MIDI / OPL3 FM sound via SBEMU) to early-2000s 3D games.

Specifications CPUIntel Core i3-530 @ 2.93 GHz (2 cores / 4 threads, Socket H1 / LGA1156, Intel H55 chipset) MotherboardIntel DH55TC (Intel H55 "Ibex Peak") RAM8 GB DDR3-1332 (PC3-10700), dual-channel, comfortably more than either OS needs) GraphicsAMD Radeon HD 7470 1GB DDR3, discrete (low-profile card; onboard Intel HD video disabled) SoundOnboard Realtek HD Audio (Windows) + SBEMU/VSBHDA Sound Blaster emulation for DOS (see Hardware Notes below) Storage500 GB HDD , partitioned (see below) OpticalHL-DT-ST DVD-RAM GH24NS50 burner NetworkingIntel 82578DC Gigabit Ethernet (onboard); Realtek RTL8188CU 802.11n USB Wi-Fi adapter tested working PortsUSB, PS/2, serial, all present and working OSDual boot: FreeDOS 1.4 and Windows XP Professional SP3 (Build 2600)

Benchmark: 3DMark2001 SE Overall Score: 27,363 3D marks. For reference, a period-correct P4 rig from this era of gaming typically scores in the 8,000-10,000 range, so this machine has significant headroom above what these games ever demanded.

Pre-loaded games (legally free / freeware)

This unit comes ready to play with a curated set of legally-distributable classics:

• Wolfenstein 3D, Doom & Duke Nukem 3D (shareware), DOS
• Grand Theft Auto 2 (full freeware release), Windows XP
• Command & Conquer: Tiberian Sun (full freeware release), Windows XP

About the DH55TC / i3-530 platform

The Intel DH55TC paired with a Core i3-530 is a small, efficient LGA1156 platform from the first-generation Core i-series era. It has enough horsepower to comfortably run early-2000s 3D games far above their native requirements. Even a demanding period title like Crysis (2007) is well within reach if you own a copy, while still supporting FreeDOS for real DOS-era compatibility.

YOU MUST HAVE PRIOR EXPERIENCE WITH COMPUTERS OF THIS ERA, OR A WILLINGNESS TO LEARN. No technical support is included with this sale. Configuring, fixing, and maintaining the software and games is up to you.

Condition & servicing

Used, [ADD CONDITION: good/very good], fully tested and set up. ONLY THE TOWER IS INCLUDED. Powers up and boots cleanly to either OS.

• CMOS battery replaced
• CPU Thermal Paste replaced
• There is a pretty big scratch on the right hand side.

Dual boot & partitions

• Boots to Windows XPby default; press up/down arrows at the boot menu to pick the other OS and halt the timer.
• HDD is split into two partitions:
  • FreeDOS 1.4 (10 GB)
  • Windows XP Pro SP3, NTFS (110 GB)
  • leaving 380 GB unallocated, giving you the option of installing windows 7 or something else.
• FreeDOS cannot read the XP/NTFS partition; XP can read the FreeDOS partition for file transfers and maintenance.

Hardware notes & quirks (normal behavior, not faults)

• Sound & music: digital sound effects are produced by the onboard Realtek HD Audio in Windows and always work normally. For DOS, the machine uses SBEMU-based Sound Blaster emulation, which offers:
  • General MIDI through a large soundfont, for full, richly sampled MIDI music noticeably fuller than a stock small soundfont.
  • Sound Blaster / OPL3 FM emulation, giving that authentic FM-synth character for purists or for titles with no General MIDI option.
  DOS sound-driver compatibility can vary title by title; a few games are known to have quirks with certain emulation configurations. This is normal for software-based Sound Blaster emulation on modern chipsets, and is up to the buyer to fine-tune per game.
• Windows XP networking work both with ethernet (gigabit ethernet) and wifi (802.11n)

Included

Tower only. No power cable, no peripherals. Any peripherals were connected only for installation, demo, and testing.

Shipping, returns & terms

This item ships from Canada. U.S. buyers are responsible for all import duties, tariffs, taxes, and carrier brokerage / customs-handling fees charged when the item enters the United States. These charges are set and collected by U.S. Customs (CBP) and the carrier (not by me) and are not included in the item price or the shipping cost.

Under current U.S. customs rules these fees may apply regardless of the item's value, and the amount varies by carrier (Canada Post, UPS, FedEx) and current tariff rates. I cannot calculate or estimate these charges in advance and am not responsible for them. Please research the likely import costs for your chosen carrier before purchasing.

• Ships from Canada. Shipping is calculated by ; the buyer selects the carrier at checkout: Canada Post, UPS, or FedEx.
• I carefully package my computers for shipping to ensure the computer gets to you in good shape: the case is bubble wrapped, then tightly put inside a first box. That box is then bubble wrapped again and put horizontally in a larger box so that gravity helps keep the cards in place.
• Sold as-described and as-is, no warranty implied. Buyer determines all compatibility. No technical support included. All policies apply.