First, and most important, Windows 98 will not operate on an 8080, 8086, or 80286 system. The operating system requires a minimum platform consisting of an 80386, an 80486, or a P-5 or equivalent, or an MIPS R4000.
In theory, you can run Windows 98 on an 80386 system. And, again in theory, you can run Windows 98 on as little as 4MB of RAM.
Okay, so much for theory. In the real world, you should not attempt to run Windows 98 on anything less than a 486 and with anything less than 16MB of RAM. In fact, with 16MB of RAM, you will be running an essentially crippled version of Windows 98, with lots and lots of disk swapping as the system uses the hard drive as an extension of the system memory. A Pentium and 32MB of RAM are better; 64MB of RAM is not unreasonable. Many of the new features, such as broadcast services and the Active Desktop, really do need 32MB to perform comfortably. Granted, if you ask Microsoft marketing people, they will tell you otherwise; but, if you believe them, I have a wonderful bargain on a used bridge I would like to discuss with you.
TIP
While the Intel folks would like to consider the PC desktop market as their personal monopoly, there are a number of fine alternatives to the Intel line of processors, including the AMD K-6, the Cyrix 6x86MX, and the IDT WinChip C6. All of these are fully Windows-compatible and offer performance equal (or even superior) to the Pentium Pro chip series. On the other hand, today memory is less expensive than it ever has been, providing a cheap investment with remarkable yields in both speed and performance. If it really becomes a trade-off, buy a cheaper CPU and add more memory—you’ll appreciate the differences.