Custom PC - Project Picasso

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What a whacky looking thing...

The 90s were a wild time for graphical developments on the PC. Every Tom, Dick and Harry was releasing their own 3D acceleration hardware with their own APIs and own list of games that supported it, if it supported games at all. I recently received a couple of those weirdos and figured they could hang out together in a ridiculous old machine for maximum entertainment value.

Specifications

Intel Pentium II 233MHz CPU @ 300MHz

64MB EDO RAM

Intel "Portland" PD440FX mainboard

30GB ATA hard disk (Windows)

Samsung DVD reader CD writer

Rendition Verité V2200 PCI 3D accelerator

Matrox m3D PowerVR PCX2 3D accelerator

Creative SoundBlaster 32 sound card (AWE64 based)

Intel EtherPRO 100S ethernet card

Procase Armor ATX chassis

Windows 98

Unique features

The motherboard is an Intel OEM model built for Packard Bell, the PD440FX "Portland". The part that makes the Portland so outright absurd is that it's not a Pentium II chipset at all, it's a repurposed Pentium Pro part with Slot 1 instead of Socket 8... hence using EDO RAM and having no AGP slot, which consequently made it the perfect platform to host the two diametrically opposed PCI 3D cards.

Officially it's meant to be able to support up to a Pentium II 333, but I couldn't get that to work at all so left the original 233 fitted. Seemingly the 440FX ignores the CPU's multiplier settings so it was more than happy to let me jumper it from 3.5x66 to 4.5x66 and weirdly, the early Pentium II simply doesn't give a toss. It's stable, runs cool... can't ask for more. Golden sample perhaps?

The Procase Armor chassis is very much a product of its time, with the PSU mounted above the CPU. This actually helps exhaust heat from the CPU pretty effectively but makes any maintenance that needs access to the CPU slot a major pain in the arse.

The Verité and PowerVR actually coexist pretty nicely, the biggest issue is a quirk with the PowerVR driver that means after installing the driver and restarting the PC, the control tab appears exactly once - restart again and it's gone. You need that control tab to stop it latching onto any DirectX calls and interfering with the Verité.

The SoundBlaster 32 that's fitted is actually a heck of a card - it's essentially an AWE64 with two SIMM slots instead of the memory header that the AWE64s had, making it significantly less painful to add 8MB sample memory.

And yes - regular ass Windows 98, not 98 Second Edition. I already have a fine 98SE system in Outatime, more weren't required!

Personal history

The motherboard was acquired from eWaste at my former job. It was too pretty to send to the bin but too pointless to use for anything... so it got hung on my wall then stored in a bin waiting for the day...

The case was donated by my aunty, populated with a reasonably stout AthlonXP 2400+ setup. We've saved the Athlon for later (and the FX5700 Ultra that was inside, who would've thought?) but the chassis was just perfect for our work. And it's got a whacky abstract looking bit on the front, where it got its name.

It was used extensively during DOSember 2025 to run VQuake - the first 3D accelerated build of Quake, unique to the Rendition Verité and the only DOS based accelerated build. I also played some of Rebel Moon, but the less said about that mess, the better!

Future plans

For right now... none. The whole combination just works.