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;[[PCem]]/[[86Box]]/[https://pcbox-emu.xyz/ PCBox]/[https://www.varcem.com/ VARCem]: It provides an excellent compatibility with MS-DOS, Windows 3.11 and Windows98/95 that is beyond what DOSBox or Bochs can offer. As of June 14, 2021, PCem's original developer, Sarah Walker, has stopped working on the project. It has now been taken over on December 18, 2021, by a new maintainer, Michael Manley. 86Box is a fork of PCem, while PCBox and VARCem are forks of 86Box, with PCBox being the most fully-featured of the four.
:: One aspect commonly used to compare PCem and 86Box is the emulation performance. PCem v15 introduced a rewritten dynamic recompiler, which was primarily aimed at improving emulation performance in games; however, it also caused minor to severe performance regressions in other applications. 86Box uses the previous recompiler from PCem versions before v15, with optimizations performed by devs, as they have determined that the new one causes too many regressions to be adopted as a sensible default. There is a way for you to try out the new recompiler on 86Box, though. PCem’s emulation of some core system components, such as the Programmable Interval Timer (PIT), takes a few shortcuts to improve performance. These shortcuts are perfectly fine for games, which is what PCem targets; although, they have caused issues with the software preservation side of things. In addition to taking fewer shortcuts, 86Box also tries to follow the specifications of these components, rather than implement the minimum viable feature set, which is - once again - good enough for games, but not good enough for some other applications. Generally speaking, the more accurate a component’s emulation is made, the more host CPU horsepower it will require. In addition to taking fewer shortcuts, 86Box also tries to follow the specifications of these components, rather than implement the minimum viable feature set, which is - once again - good enough for games, but not good enough for some other applications.<ref>https://86box.net/2022/01/07/pcem-migration-guide.html</ref>
→Notes
==Notes==
;[[PCem]]/[[86Box]]/[https://pcbox-emu.xyz/ PCBox]/[https://www.varcem.com/ VARCem]: It provides an excellent compatibility with MS-DOS, Windows 3.11 and Windows98/95 that is beyond what DOSBox or Bochs can offer. As of June 14, 2021, PCem's original developer, Sarah Walker, has stopped working on the project. It has now been taken over on December 18, 2021, by a new maintainer, Michael Manley. 86Box is a fork of PCem, while PCBox and VARCem are forks of 86Box, with PCBox being the most fully-featured of the four.
:: One aspect commonly used to compare PCem and 86Box is the emulation performance. PCem v15 introduced a rewritten dynamic recompiler, which was primarily aimed at improving emulation performance in games; however, it also caused minor to severe performance regressions in other applications. 86Box uses the previous recompiler from PCem versions before v15, with optimizations performed by devs, as they have determined that the new one causes too many regressions to be adopted as a sensible default. There is a way for you to try out the new recompiler on 86Box, though. PCem’s emulation of some core system components, such as the Programmable Interval Timer (PIT), takes a few shortcuts to improve performance. These shortcuts are perfectly fine for games, which is what PCem targets; although, they have caused issues with the software preservation side of things. In addition to taking fewer shortcuts, 86Box also tries to follow the specifications of these components, rather than implement the minimum viable feature set, which is - once again - good enough for games, but not good enough for some other applications. Generally speaking, the more accurate a component’s emulation is made, the more host CPU horsepower it will require. In addition to taking fewer shortcuts, 86Box also tries to follow the specifications of these components, rather than implement the minimum viable feature set, which is - once again - good enough for games, but not good enough for some other applications.<ref>https://86box.net/2022/01/07/pcem-migration-guide.html</ref>
;[[DOSBox#Forks|DOSBox-X]]:The Git readme file (Under the ''Comments on what DOSBox-X is lacking'') for DOSBox-X states that "''DOSBox-X contains code only to emulate the 8088 through the Pentium Pro. If Pentium II or higher emulation is desired, consider using Bochs or QEMU instead. DOSBox-X may eventually develop Pentium II emulation...''" if the user demand is there.
;[[MAME]]:The emulation of various CPU types seen here regarding MAME are all over the place in the changelogs and seem confusing. However, MAME has preliminary support for the families of 286, 386/i386, 486/i486, and almost the entire range of Pentium CPUs. However, the color, sound, and graphics emulation for various CPUs and PCs based on the 286/386/486 architecture is acceptable. According to [http://www.progettoemma.net/mess/sysset.php ProjectMESS], many [http://www.progettoemma.net/mess/system.php?machine=ibm5170 IBM PC/AT 5170] family PCs running the 286 CPU have preliminary support. MAME [https://wiki.mamedev.org/index.php/MAME_0.146u3 0.146u3] (Jul 2012) added CPU types for Pentium MMX, Pentium Pro, Pentium II, Pentium III, and Pentium 4.
::- [https://wiki.mamedev.org/index.php/MNW wiki.mamedev.org's list] for MACHINE_NOT_WORKING (Few systems based on a Pentium CPU)
::- [https://wiki.mamedev.org/index.php/MIS wiki.mamedev.org's list] for MACHINE_IS_SKELETON drivers (Several PCs/systems based on a Pentium CPU)
;[[Bochs]]:A full x86 PC emulator with a focus on accuracy, that is typically used to develop and test operating systems and other low-level software. Its lack of proper timing emulation makes it not useful for anything pre-Pentium, and it is often too slow for newer systems to be playable. It is thus not recommended to use Bochs for gaming.
