Am looking to build a retro gaming PC - box only - for playing the super old games that fall within the ''twilight zone'' time period where the 3D graphics war was at it's highest (and thus complicated) point - 1998-2006. During this period 3D graphics card hardware evolved in such a fast rate and with so many different and complex technologies that it plays havoc with games playing with much later hardware. So a vast number of games released during this time are super hard to ''get working'' on later hardware, drivers and versions of Windows. Tweaks, mods, custom patches, compatibility mode, hardware settings tweaks, edited of config files, game files, messing around with any number of crap just to make the game RUN. To say nothing about making it run well in a good resolution with good FPS and NO glitches or problem. Therefore, i am looking to build a retro gaming PC so that i can play these games literally by just installing them with zero work. This PC will last forever and never be updated. I still need to connect it to my router to gain internet in order to download these games on GOG and Steam. For operating system, the most well known Windows version for compatibility is Windows XP SP3 so that is already settled. As for the hard drive, i am thinking maybe a 20gb hard drive would be sufficient. After all, once a game is finished with, i can just uninstall it and redownload it again whenever i like on Steam or GOG. As for the rest of the other hardware, i need some help choosing components. I am not after the BEST possible speed or raw power - rather compatibility will rule by a long way. What this means is this - the hardware has to work and be compatible with as much as possible. Great compatible motherboard, RAM, CPU, graphics card. Optical drives are irrelevant as i can just transfer files over network or USB. Also i am trying to build this box as SMALL as possible so one of those micro boxes would be great. I had a look at a few opinions on this topic and the majority of responses has always tended to be the ''best hardware at the end of the time period'' - meaning the best possible components that you could buy on the final day of 2006. The newer the technology, the more compatibility problems you get. I will use my current mouse and keyboard on my KBM switcher and a converter to plug into my monitor's second input. So i need a ''sweet spot'' for this build.