Justin

Agreed.  However, DOSBox does an amazing job of sorting this all out.  It works great.  On a machine like this, there is no option to use expansion cards, so DOSBox is a savior. 

If I remember correctly, once integrated sound chips became a standard, most DOS games took the hit.  My little Compaq has an ESS sound chip in it with legacy support.  No DOS game can find the settings and setting them manually does nothing.  
 
Words of advice...if you can opt for it, and are trying to repurpose an old computer, get a true Sound Blaster.  You'll have less headaches 😉.
 
 

Nice.  And Doom to boot!  Quake was a power hungry game when it came out.  I remember the AMD K6-2 500mhz CPU I had at the time struggled a bit.  Quake and Hexen...but I could play Final Fantasy 7 without problems.  Once I installed a Diamond Monster video card it could play anything seemed like.
Very nice all-in-one setup for sure.  Can you add more RAM if you need it or is it maxed already?

I think it could do 2GB DDR memory (2 * 1GB sticks), but I don't have those).

The integrated graphics in this machine is an NVidia Geforce 4 MX 440 and it runs Quake and Quake 2 pretty well!
 

Fun Fact: The 1989 Lotus Esprit SE was the "movie car" that Richard Gere famously drove throughout the film Pretty Woman. Neither Ferrari nor Porsche wanted to be associated with Pretty Woman because one of the leads was a prostitute, so they prohibited the film from using their cars. 
Lotus didn’t mind.
 

I LOVED this game. I had an Esprit back in the day, partially due to this game and partially due to the Esprit being the "sister car" to the DeLorean DMC-12, as the DeLorean was based on the Esprit and engineered by Lotus at Hethel. They're sisters but not quite twins. Park them side by side and you'll see the similarities, same low, swept-back stance, both designed by Giugiaro, the DeLorean is wider, Esprit typically had a smaller engine at that time, nestled in the middle of the car rather than the rear.
Lotus Esprit Turbo Challenge was a cool game, fun to play, and one of the first racing games I can think of that was both 1.) officially licensed and branded with a car brand (Lotus) as opposed to games like Out Run which were not officially licensed through Ferrari and never used the Ferrari brand, and 2.) challenged the player with more detailed and somewhat more realistic driving physics, instrumentation, cockpit layout and gear shift. I remember playing this game and thinking it was like a flight simulator for driving. Really a neat game.

Fun Fact: The 1989 Lotus Esprit SE was the "movie car" that Richard Gere famously drove throughout the film Pretty Woman. Neither Ferrari nor Porsche wanted to be associated with Pretty Woman because one of the leads was a prostitute, so they prohibited the film from using their cars. 
Lotus didn’t mind.
 

I LOVED this game. I had an Esprit back in the day, partially due to this game and partially due to the Esprit being the "sister car" to the DeLorean DMC-12, as the DeLorean was based on the Esprit and engineered by Lotus at Hethel. They're sisters but not quite twins. Park them side by side and you'll see the similarities, same low, swept-back stance, both designed by Giugiaro, the DeLorean is wider, Esprit typically had a smaller engine at that time, nestled in the middle of the car rather than the rear.
Lotus Esprit Turbo Challenge was a cool game, fun to play, and one of the first racing games I can think of that was both 1.) officially licensed and branded with a car brand (Lotus) as opposed to games like Out Run which were not officially licensed through Ferrari and never used the Ferrari brand, and 2.) challenged the player with more detailed and somewhat more realistic driving physics, instrumentation, cockpit layout and gear shift. I remember playing this game and thinking it was like a flight simulator for driving. Really a neat game.

I have something very special coming in this same vein.  More info to come....

Hey that's super cool @RickR! I've been thinking of doing a similar thing but with an ancient computer. I like what you did here!  🔥   🔥   🔥   🔥 

That RPG you're playing does sound a bit different.  Not liking someone because they are not powerful enough?  That would be unexpected for sure.

I was more amazed how decent the RF output was from this 7800 after I got it back and running again. My daily driver has never looked that good on a flat panel through RF so this one is quite nice.

Very nice work.  I love reading these things. 

I have a more modern Pirates! for the Wii.  Fun game.
I have more Microprose games for my XEGS including F-15 Strike Eagle, Decision in the Desert, top gunner (has three games), Crusade in Europe.  All complete in box. I'm looking for Gunship and Red Storm Rising for the ST.
And, yes, I play Silent Service.  I also have that one for the NES but play the XEGS version more.

I played and owned a few Microprose titles on my 286 back in the day. I think the first game I played from them on my buddy's IBM model 25 or 30 was Airborne Ranger. He never seem to really get into it so I borrowed it from him and had a blast with that game. I still have it loaded up to play in Dosbox but simply don't have the controls remembers anymore nor the overlay that used to come with these back in the day to know what does what.
Other Microprose games I played and got really good at was Red Storm Rising and F-19 Stealth Figher (It would later be released as F-117A but essentially the exact same game). I own both of those games complete in box.
The only submarine games I got into and was really able to understand how to play was the aforementioned Red Storm Rising and Wolfpack by Nova logic.
I've heard of Silent Service but I didn't know anyone that owned it much less played it myself. I did play Lightspeed for a bit but it had a different name back then. Hyperspeed I think it was called? Didn't get far with that one. 
Pirates! was another Microprose classic, but I only found about that game much much later on when I first played the Genesis version in the early 2000s and discovered Pirates! and Pirates! -Gold for PCs had come out prior.
 

I own an AV Famicom, which is the Japanese equivalent to the 2nd generation NES that was released in the United States with the "dog bone" NES control pad, the exception being that the Japanese AV Famicom lacked the "hump" the US version had to support the substantially larger cartridges, and the AV Famicom had terrific AV output for a nice picture. @MaximumRD may recall a video I used to have giving an overview of this system on my old YouTube channel.
I never understood the aesthetic appeal of the original Famicom. The games are absolute classics, and the Disk System is really neat, but I've never liked the styling of the original Famicom. The red and white are very, very ugly to me, beyond unattractive. It looks like a cheap toy, and the white plastic looks cheap, gets dirty and turns yellow. I can see why Atari engineers were going to rebody the Famicom, likely in the Atari 2600 Jr. shell. I've preferred owning the original North American NES, and the 2nd generation AV Famicom from Japan.

Very cool. As far as real hardware I do not own a Famicom, I DO have one of those adapters you can use plug plug a Famicom cart into a NES or compatible system, that said I only have a  single Famicom cart at that itself is a cheapo knockoff multicart with mostly bad titles 😆I guess another option is using my original Nintendo or my Retrobit RetroTrio clone (it plays NES / SNES / GENEIS carts) and I could use my EverDrive N8 Flashcart and load Famicom roms off it. I will likely never own an original Famicom since my collecting is highly curbed these days but I always like the looks of them compared to the North American NES and the carts, don't even get me started, from label art to the compact size I was amazed by Famicom carts and was always disappointed we didn't get that design. Nice and interesting write up, thanks for sharing. 

Thanks for the comment Rick! I should have stated that in many cases, one can usually get away with just spraying a bunch of contact cleaner into a switch and follow that up with some IPA and then the dielectric without having to completely gut a switch apart. But in the case of these va0 Saturn model 1 units like mine. The switch is essentially an enclosed housing. And the way the switch is oriented when installed, means that hitting it with contact cleaner and IPA will just cause it to pool up and not actually drain out properly. That would be an issue all on its own as the gunk doesn't get removed and just ends up drying up over time and still in the way.
It also doesn't help that the switches used in these earlier models are near unobtanium to get these days. I've only found on selling on the internet that has replacement switches exactly like what was used, and they want about $55 Aussie bucks for them. Yeah... Australia appears to be the one place the switches can be purchased. I'm sure a modern replacement could be used and installed in a 3D printed bracket or something, but yeah... like the Veccy as you mentioned, the power switches aren't common on these earlier models so if you can clean and repair them, it is best to do so.
Here is what it looks like btw. model 1 va0 power switch assembly.

This is an awesome post.  Thank you for sharing this very important information.
I had a similar issue on my Vectrex.  After not using it for about a day, it would take about 10 minutes to power on.  Turn the switch on, wait 10 minutes, and them BOOM, the console comes to life.  After that (within the same play session), it would turn off/on normally.  I found that leaving the switch ON and not touching it and using a power strip to turn the console on/off solved the issue, but that was a temporary fix.  So I found a local expert to change out all the caps and also had them disassemble and clean out the switch.  Now it works just right. 
 

Always great to see a Top 10 post!
1. Atari Jaguar: This was the system that got me back into gaming in 1994 and rekindled my love for Atari.
2. SEGA Saturn: Once Atari Corporation gave up the ghost and ended support for the Jaguar, I picked another winner! Honestly, I love Sega's exclusive content and the Saturn library is the pinnacle 90s arcade machine!
3. COLECO Gemini: My first love, this 2600 clone had a small form factor, came with Donkey Kong and Mousetrap packed in, and sported some of the best controllers of the era.
4. SEGA Dreamcast: The short-lived Dreamcast arguably kicked off modern gaming and has an incredible library of games. This is peak SEGA. Too bad it didn't ship with a DVD player...
5. Atari 7800: When I stated collecting in 2010 or so, I became aware of the 2600 and 7800 hhomebrew communities.  Instead of picking up both consoles, I started with the 7800 due to its backwards compatibility with the 2600. The homebrews are fantastic, but the original retail titles have some of the best home ports of 80s arcade games around.
6. NES: I don't have much to say here except that this is the system that saved console gaming in North America and changed everything.  Childhood memories of playing Mario, Mega Man, Contra, Ikari Warriors, Castlevania and others will be with me forever.
7. Playstation 4 (PRO): I love where Sony has taken the PS4. So many great first party exclusives, PSVR and great third-party games make this my favorite of the last generation.
8. Atari VCS (2020): Controversial? The VCS has been my most played system since I got it last March ('21). I love the form factor, the flexibility to operate it as a PC, and the Classic Controller. The game library is a mix of retro classics and modern indie titles that I’ve really enjoyed. The ability to game stream XBOX Game Cloud, Stadia, Luna and GeForce Now means I have easy access to modern AAA. It's also a very capable emulation box. Whether support dries up or not, this Swiss army knife of gaming consoles will continue to have a home in my set-up.
9. Atari Lynx: The first color handheld and a tremendous effort from Atari. The Lynx library is so strong and easily collectible. A winner.
10. EVERCADE VS: What Blaze has done with the Evercade has been utterly fantastic. The curated collections are interesting, priced right and look great on a shelf. I loved the Evercade handheld and the VS improves on nearly every front. Recommended for any retro gamer.
 

Oooh, this is a fun post.  Very nicely done.  I'm leaving portables off this list.

Here is mine off the top of my head. 
Atari 2600 (7800)
The 2600 is my all-time favorite.  But why not choose the 7800 instead, which is really 2 consoles in 1?
  Atari 800XL
I grew up with one and adore it.  I still use it!  I didn't include a 5200 in my list because this is essentially the same.
  Sony PS2
One of my all-time favorites due to the huge and varied library. 
  Nintendo Wii
Again, 2 consoles in 1 with the Gamecube compatibility. 
  Nintendo NES
  Vectrex
  Sony PS
So many good memories with this.  I can't leave it off.
  Virtual Boy
Truly underrated.  They should have called it "3D Boy" as that's what it does. 
  Nintendo SNES
  TurboGrafx 16
I love this thing and enjoy every game I've tried.  

Sharing writings about recollections of days past is a fine way to keep these machines alive. One story triggers another and then another.
Lots of undocumented stories and times with Digi-View. Eventually!

This is so cool and remarkable that so much time later we are still learning about who made these games.

I never owned an Amiga, so learning about this wonderful computer is a real treat.
 
If you do proceed with your writings as time allows, then I would also suggest joining EverythingC64 as they are a site of Commodore enthusiasts. They cover all Commodore computers, including Amiga. They also have a Discord. (Disclaimer: I'm a member of both their site and Discord.)

Yeap... if you take a look I just got some of them brought over. The issue was that I did have the RSS option disabled on hardware blog I have over there and thus, couldn't import it initially. Now I need to figure out how to get the new entry I made here... over there... LOL. But I think I can get it figured out and now that the AA one is linked to here, anything I do there should cross over to here as well then?