TPU's Nostalgic Hardware Club

[kithylin]

Indeed... As someone who got to experience dual-slot 1 system (even if it was for a day or two), I have to say I'm seriously disappointed with the performance. Not to mention it's only compatible with certain group of selected software and OS, which makes it pretty much useless in the terms of every-day usage or even retro gaming

I even converted my HP Kayak XU800 back to its factory specs, running single 800MHz CPU instead of dual 1000MHz ones. The reason was pretty simple, the system was overheating and consuming way too much power, and yet I didn't see any noticeable improvements in the terms of speed & performance.

I haven't tested it yet really myself extensively... the only multi-socket systems I've ever owned are my big 4-P3 dell, and it won't utilize any sort of "3D video card" what so ever, only the onboard video. So I can't test gaming on it, sadly. Except maybe a Voodoo2 SLI might work. But in theory any game designed for multi-core as modernish games from 2005 -> forward should use it all fine, and WindowsXP supports dual cpu and treats it just like any dual core computer. It's probably more of you were just playing old single-core based games actually.

I own a dual-Pentium-Pro motherboard I bought summer 2016 but haven't been able to get it running yet.. no money for cpu's and I have to spend the money on other stuff. I did pick up a 550 watt power supply recently from Antec that has a hefty +5V rail, (a requirement for old pre-p4-connector systems). Modern power supplies can't handle those systems, the +5v rail on modern units is usually like 20 amps or less, probably not enough for a pair of P-Pro's.

A little bit of info for you. The very first dual core CPU's from Intel actually were two single core cpu's slapped on a cpu package together with an inter-connect, and technically -WERE- "2 cpu systems" and sold to the masses as "A dual core cpu!".

EDIT: An image of the first dual core CPU's from Intel, Pentium4 era Pentium-D chip:

 

[Disparia]

Oh yeah, I don't want to get one running these days

I was the odd-fan of Windows NT (and BeOS) back in those days for the SMP support. If software didn't work in NT, the fallback was Windows 95/98 depending on the year. It's probably why I have such good memories of 95/98 -- I was only running it 20% of the time.

Had a small number of other SMP systems over the years, finally ending with a pair of hyper-threaded Xeons (they came before P4 HT). After that, we get multi-core CPUs from AMD. My 3800 X2 at 2.5Ghz was amazing



6-way P-Pro? Could be an ALR 6x6, it's famous for supporting 6 OverDrive 333Mhz CPUs. Normally you can only have 2 Overdrives, but that particular board has bridge chips to allow 6 of them in a system. Never had one, but was a big collectible awhile back.

 

[Trekkie4]

Heh, I'm still using one of these Pentiums D on a daily basis, it's paired up with Gigabyte P31-ES3G, has 2GB of DDR2 and ATI X1550, running Win7... I'm using it for emails, HiFi and/or video watching & editing Basically, a full multimedia system, this is the system that's paired with Genius HF2020 speakers!

Yes, the Voodoo1 and Voodoo2 will most likely work OK, since these are not being recognized as video adapters. In fact, Voodoo 1 & 2 are not capable of 2D environment, so you still have to use the onboard solution, in combination with 3dfx. And yeah, that's just it! Personally, 2005 is not retro OR nostalgic for my taste, just old (but still modern enough for today's standards) So I just don't see a point in making a dedicated "retro" system for games from this time period, since I can easily play them on my daily runner Q6600 for example, which still has XP along with Win7. But that's my personal opinion of course

As for the Pentium Pro, I was fortunate enough to pick up one for free. Been searching for the CPUs and motherboards separately for months, but couldn't find anything! Then I got lucky & picked up the entire Pro system, but it's a single CPU model. Has solder pads for optional expansion (better model, perhaps?) to dual CPU system, but overall I'm just glad to have at least one in my collection

 

[kithylin]

Heh, I'm still using one of these Pentiums D on a daily basis, it's paired up with Gigabyte P31-ES3G, has 2GB of DDR2 and ATI X1550, running Win7... I'm using it for emails, HiFi and/or video watching & editing Basically, a full multimedia system, this is the system that's paired with Genius HF2020 speakers!

Yes, the Voodoo1 and Voodoo2 will most likely work OK, since these are not being recognized as video adapters. In fact, Voodoo 1 & 2 are not capable of 2D environment, so you still have to use the onboard solution, in combination with 3dfx. And yeah, that's just it! Personally, 2005 is not retro OR nostalgic for my taste, just old (but still modern enough for today's standards) So I just don't see a point in making a dedicated "retro" system for games from this time period, since I can easily play them on my daily runner Q6600 for example, which still has XP along with Win7. But that's my personal opinion of course

As for the Pentium Pro, I was fortunate enough to pick up one for free. Been searching for the CPUs and motherboards separately for months, but couldn't find anything! Then I got lucky & picked up the entire Pro system, but it's a single CPU model. Has solder pads for optional expansion (better model, perhaps?) to dual CPU system, but overall I'm just glad to have at least one in my collection

Most of the world has moved on to modern Core i3/i5/i7 / amd ryzen systems for their daily computers. Or at least something better than Intel-775 yeaaaaars ago. I couldn't imagine anyone still using that stuff for modern web browsing and daily stuff. In fact chrome dumped gpu acceleration for any GPU older than DirectX-11 last week even. As well, windows 7 (as much as I love it) is still technically a "Obsolete" operating system now and is gradually being dropped support wise for browsers and gpu drivers I believe next year. Most everyone has moved on to windows 10 now a days for their modern computers. Which comes in the problem.. a lot of 2005 and older games won't run on the newer OS's. I'm actually having to dual-boot win7 and windows 10 on my big 3770K-I7 system just to play some games that won't run in win10.

So technically "Windows 7" is retro today. As well my primary "web browsing" computer is a 3.4 ghz 2nd generation Intel i3 cpu with a GTX 470, and I'm having bad difficulty browsing today's internet on this system and probably have to upgrade the gpu in it soon.

 

[Bungz]

Maybe just sack off Chrome

Firefox + addons for forcing youtube to use H264 means old hardware should run a treat for the time being.

I was messing with a 2Ghz core duo and a 8400Gs this morning, 1080 video on youtube and about 10% cpu usage.

Its the codecs that youtube have started to use that's killing off older gpus because they don't support the decoding of H265/VP9, support is still very limited even for modern GPU's. There are no low end cards that support HEVC decoding other than a Nvidia 1050 or intels kabylake.

 

[Disparia]

About 3 months ago I pulled together my oldest parts and gave my sister-in-law a system.

Gigabyte Ultra Durable 3 P45
Core 2 Duo E6400 (overclocked)
8GB DDR2-800 (4 x 2GB)
Radeon HD 5670 1GB
640GB WD Black
Windows 7

That's about as old as I can imagine using today (as a daily driver, not our retro hobby systems). Her boyfriend says it's just enough to run vanilla Skyrim on their 720p TV, along with Netflix.

My hope is that it runs until Christmas. My other hope is Zen APUs being available around Christmas.

 

[kithylin]

Maybe just sack off Chrome

Firefox + addons for forcing youtube to use H264 means old hardware should run a treat for the time being.

I was messing with a 2Ghz core duo and a 8400Gs this morning, 1080 video on youtube and about 10% cpu usage.

Its the codecs that youtube have started to use that's killing off older gpus because they don't support the decoding of H265/VP9, support is still very limited even for modern GPU's. There are no low end cards that support HEVC decoding other than a Nvidia 1050 or intels kabylake.

Modern firefox is dropping gpu acceleration for older gpu's soon as well, I found it in their documentation, so is opera. And I'm not just talking youtube. I mean browsing script-heavy websites even without flash in them. The browsers use gpu acceleration for random websites, not just flash. They've been doing that for years. We're slowly being forced to "move on" in hardware just to keep using the internet.

 

[Trekkie4]

Most of the world has moved on to modern Core i3/i5/i7 / amd ryzen systems for their daily computers. Or at least something better than Intel-775 yeaaaaars ago. I couldn't imagine anyone still using that stuff for modern web browsing and daily stuff. In fact chrome dumped gpu acceleration for any GPU older than DirectX-11 last week even. As well, windows 7 (as much as I love it) is still technically a "Obsolete" operating system now and is gradually being dropped support wise for browsers and gpu drivers I believe next year. Most everyone has moved on to windows 10 now a days for their modern computers. Which comes in the problem.. a lot of 2005 and older games won't run on the newer OS's. I'm actually having to dual-boot win7 and windows 10 on my big 3770K-I7 system just to play some games that won't run in win10.

So technically "Windows 7" is retro today. As well my primary "web browsing" computer is a 3.4 ghz 2nd generation Intel i3 cpu with a GTX 470, and I'm having bad difficulty browsing today's internet on this system and probably have to upgrade the gpu in it soon.

Well, considering I've just upgraded my Q6600 rig not so long ago to 8GB of DDR2, I don't think I'll be moving to a new platform any time soon. Probably not for the next 4-5 years to say, at least. TBH I can't afford i7 at the moment, and don't really see much of a point since both Q6600 and 8800GT can pull just about anything - even GTA V which is considered one of the newest & most demanding titles out there.

 

[kithylin]

Well, considering I've just upgraded my Q6600 rig not so long ago to 8GB of DDR2, I don't think I'll be moving to a new platform any time soon. Probably not for the next 4-5 years to say, at least. TBH I can't afford i7 at the moment, and don't really see much of a point since both Q6600 and 8800GT can pull just about anything - even GTA V which is considered one of the newest & most demanding titles out there.

We're going off topic here but.. I find that very very hard to believe you can manage that on that old system. I have a big 3770K @ 4.8 ghz and a overclocked R9 290X 8GB and it still can't run GTA-V maxed out at maximum settings @ 1080p-60 FPS. I'm not sure what you'd have to turn off/down for a 8800GT to even hope of running that.. Lowest possible settings @ 30 FPS or so? not a very enjoyable experience. I even tried it on a pair of GTX 470's a while back and it was pretty slow on medium-low even then.

 

[Disparia]

Well, to tie it back into nostalgia my first monitor was Gateway Vivitron 17" @ 1024x768. Most games however ran at 320x240 or 640x480. It was a CRT, so scaling issues were non-existent. But the point is, that some of us might be very accepting of "less than maximum" graphics? I love 1994-onward which includes many graphical styles and improvements over last couple decades.

But I certainly see the other side, I want to build a simple and cheap APU system for my sister-in-law and her family. The latest tech makes life easier, but for right now they gotta live lean on my old C2D

 

[Trekkie4]

We're going off topic here but.. I find that very very hard to believe you can manage that on that old system. I have a big 3770K @ 4.8 ghz and a overclocked R9 290X 8GB and it still can't run GTA-V maxed out at maximum settings @ 1080p-60 FPS. I'm not sure what you'd have to turn off/down for a 8800GT to even hope of running that.. Lowest possible settings @ 30 FPS or so? not a very enjoyable experience. I even tried it on a pair of GTX 470's a while back and it was pretty slow on medium-low even then.

You're right, we should move on. Just wanted to add this, I never said the game is maxed out lol It's running on the bare minimum, with around 25-30 around the open areas, sometimes (quite rarely) slows down to 10 in Los Santos, around the major intersections & highway. So the game is indeed playable, and my Q6600 is overclocked to 3.00GHz which kinda helps with the overall performance which is why I'm running Hyper 212 instead of the stock CPU cooler

 

[kithylin]

You're right, we should move on. Just wanted to add this, I never said the game is maxed out lol It's running on the bare minimum, with around 25-30 around the open areas, sometimes (quite rarely) slows down to 10 in Los Santos, around the major intersections & highway. So the game is indeed playable, and my Q6600 is overclocked to 3.00GHz which kinda helps with the overall performance which is why I'm running Hyper 212 instead of the stock CPU cooler

I'm not sure if you realize but there's used HD 5870's on ebay today for $50, they're literally +266% faster than your card.. and you can snatch up Q9200 chips for $12 - $15 used instead of your old Q6600. There's some half way decent cards really cheap today. Heck even the mighty GTX 780 Ti cards are down to $160 now.

 

[agent_x007]

Pentium 4 vs. Windows 10 Pro x64 on Intel Optane 16GB : LINK (I know... overkill )

PS. Actually Smithfield core (first "Dual core" from Intel), looked like this : LINK, comparison to other Pentium D : LINK (source : LINK).

 

[Trekkie4]

 

[Komshija]

I didn't even know I had these in a sealed box with old PC case. Now I remember - CPU is dead, while RAMs were a big surprise since I was selling them a few years ago without success. I tought that they were gone untill i found them today. They were in working condition some 7-8 years ago, so they should be OK.

 

[Trekkie4]

Nah, the brand new DDR400 1GB module will cost you around 6USD, AND it comes with free shipping world-wide. So unless you offer it for half the price (2-3USD per module), you're probably not going to sell them any time soon.

Speaking of Athlons, I got my hands on XP2200 the other day... Still have to give it a try, but it's most likely working OK. Also got P4 @ 2.8GHz along with yet another P4 @ 1.4GHz Both S478....

On a side note, I'm finally done with Cherry keyboards Squeaky clean, right out of my dishwasher, which is why I had to take them apart in the first place

 

[micropage7]

Nah, the brand new DDR400 1GB module will cost you around 6USD, AND it comes with free shipping world-wide. So unless you offer it for half the price (2-3USD per module), you're probably not going to sell them any time soon.

Speaking of Athlons, I got my hands on XP2200 the other day... Still have to give it a try, but it's most likely working OK. Also got P4 @ 2.8GHz along with yet another P4 @ 1.4GHz Both S478....

On a side note, I'm finally done with Cherry keyboards Squeaky clean, right out of my dishwasher, which is why I had to take them apart in the first place

yeah classic keyboard, i dunno why now i feel its better thantodays keyboards. maybe coz im getting old?

 

[Trekkie4]

Because it /IS/, period! Take a look at my previous post, these things actually have a metal plate underneath to make them heavier & more reliable. Not to mention the rubber feet, etc. You can actually see the manufacturing quality going downhill, just by comparing these 3 keyboards from the pic above... Even though all 3 of them look pretty much identical, the oldest one is obviously the best choice to go with. Sturdy, heavy & reliable, then there's 2nd model which more-less resembles the old one, but without grey keys, it's all made in one color. And then there's the 3rd one, PS2 version which uses cheap, silicone based domes (where the other two use real rubber), does NOT have a metal plate (so it's much lighter, comparing to other two) and feels "cheaper" overall.

 

[micropage7]

Because it /IS/, period! Take a look at my previous post, these things actually have a metal plate underneath to make them heavier & more reliable. Not to mention the rubber feet, etc. You can actually see the manufacturing quality going downhill, just by comparing these 3 keyboards from the pic above... Even though all 3 of them look pretty much identical, the oldest one is obviously the best choice to go with. Sturdy, heavy & reliable, then there's 2nd model which more-less resembles the old one, but without grey keys, it's all made in one color. And then there's the 3rd one, PS2 version which uses cheap, silicone based domes (where the other two use real rubber), does NOT have a metal plate (so it's much lighter, comparing to other two) and feels "cheaper" overall.

yep, rubber dome from old keyboard feels better than todays keyboard
metal plate makes it sturdy and you can't complain about their quality

SK-8815 lenovo keyboard

 

[Trekkie4]

I went through a LOT of different keyboards over the years, but nowdays I'm using Genius SlimStar C110. It's a cheap model, but surprisingly good actually! Got 3 of these, one for RetroMaster 2500 rig, one for Q6600 and one for Pentium D system.

They even included a liquid draining holes underneath, in case you spill water across the keyboard, so it simply drains away from the contacts, (hopefully) without shorting anything. Not that I ever had a situation like this before, but better safe than sorry!

 

[Red_Machine]

I got an old mechanical Dell AT102W in black a few years back, I even posted it in here at the time I think. I used that for a long while, before getting a cheap board with Cherry MX blues. Now I'm using a buckling spring UNICOMP Classic, which is essentially the old IBM Model M with Windows keys.

 

[kithylin]

yep, rubber dome from old keyboard feels better than todays keyboard
metal plate makes it sturdy and you can't complain about their quality.

This is exactly why I still use this very old Acer keyboard that originally went to an old 1990's Pre-MMX Pentium system I picked up years ago.. use it via PS/2 on my modern I7-3770K system for gaming and everything. It's not actually mechnical, but it definitely feels -A LOT- better than any of the "modern" rubber dome keyboards made out of plastic we get today. It also has a metal plate inside.

 

[rtwjunkie]

Found this in the closet this morning

Number 9 PCI card with an S3 Virge gpu- think it can play Crysis?

Late to reply on this and all, but that puppy looks to be in pristine condition!

 

[Trekkie4]

No luck with that S775 Asus P5S800VM Vintage board, I recapped just about every single capacitor I could find & still getting artifacts across the screen. At this point I'm looking at the alternative mATX boards, but really - if this one doesn't work out (assuming I can't find a cheap one), this thing is getting parted out & rest will go to the recycling yard.

 

[Bungz]

Bit quiet in here

Got a bit of a thing for socket A stuff currently so bear with me

I have a very beat up but functional SK41G shuttle based on a older KM266 chipset, so while it hums along nicely it wasn't the flashy Nforce 2 version.

Had been after one of these for a while as I built one up for a friend at University about 15 years ago, always was a bit Jelous of it!

Bought for peanuts, came with a 9550 so swapped that for a 6800GS I had around. After a good clean out it runs perfectly. I have since bought a black one local, so now have a pair



Picked up a K7S5A with blow caps a few weeks back, recapped it and stupidly killed it. Luckily they are cheap so bought another and transfered all caps across. For £4 delivered I got a palamino XP2000 and a cooler thrown in too.