TPU's Nostalgic Hardware Club

[Trekkie4]

Finally, some truly nostalgic hardware! Was that Slot A CPU, in the last pic?

 

[Robert B]

That's the saturday shopping I came too late and I lost more old ISA VLB motherboards as someone before me bought them for gold extraction. Good thing I found that awesome ASUS 486 board. The 30PIN and 72PIN SIMMs were almost free.

1. PNY Geforce 4 4600Ti AGP 8872 Ver:200
2. Diamond S3 Savage4 Pro - Rev. A - AGP 8MB - Diamond STL III S520 ATX AGP 8MB
3. Diamond nVIDIA Riva 128 - Rev. D - VIPER V330 PCI 4MB
4. nVIDIA Riva TNT2 M64 - AGP 32MB
5. ASUS VL/I-486SV2GX4 REV. 2.0
6. VLB FDD/HDD/SERIAL/PARALLEL/GAME PORT Winbond W83787F, W83758F / Promise PDC20630- EIDE / Super-I/O VLB Controller
7. Memorii 3x512MB DDR400 - KINGMAX, 30 PIN SIMMs, 72 PIN SIMMs.
8. Cache stick - 256KB COAST module Elpina HT-VX Ver. 3.1
9. Cache stick - 256KB SPB CACHE - COAST module - HP 0960-0944
10. Heatsinks - Cyrix without CPUs , Generic, Arctic Cooling Copper Silent 3
11. Protac Fastware AG240D Intel i740 AGP 8MB -VER 1.2 SL292
12. Intel Pentium II 450MHz SL2U7
13. AT PSU Minebea 145W - 73G4374
14. THE MISTERY BOX.

Actually that's a PII 450MHz SL2U7 - it looks like a Slot A and it even is assembled like one - I'll post pics when I tear it up for cleaning and new TIM.

The RIVA 128 has already been cleaned and it looks great. I still have to test it though.

I still have to repair the 4600Ti and to clean the remaining parts.

Today I received a mistery box with parts from someone. I still dont know what's in it. I have it in my car and I'll see tomorrow It should contain usefull parts.

 

[biffzinker]

Any guesses what the mystery box contains? If you don't mind me asking, where do you acquire your old components from?

 

[Robert B]

Tomorrow I'll post the contents of the box It's not so big. It should contain a motherboard and some other usefull bits. I dont know the details. The sender gave them for free and paid the shipping costs within my country. He called it Kinder Surprise. Go figure... He wouldn't tell me more details...I surprised even myself that I didnt open the box already. I guess I was stuffed with the parts I found saturday

I find the components at the flea market, I buy them from people with connections to recycling centers, I buy them from collectors and sometimes I buy them from local ad sites like OLX. I'm from Europe - Romania.

I started looking for old HW parts less than three years ago. It is kind of scary how many parts I would be able to find...I try not to loose control and become a hoarder. My "collection" is not so big but I have 150+parts, miscellaneous items and three completed builds. Anyway with each passing year it gets bigger...

I visit the local flea market when my gut feelings says I have to go That was exactly the last saturday and I found some nice parts. At the local flea market I have several contacts which bring fresh stuff on a regular basis. Sometimes a new seller comes and brings some more exotic stuff.

 

[Trekkie4]

Still working on that AMD Athlon 750 project, and even though things are mostly finished (or at least I thought so), it turned out I'm having problems with the replacement hard drive... Western Digital unit to be exact, model number WD400BB.

From what I understood, this is one of those OEM drives, made for DELLs and so they're using unique architecture. As a result, I'm not able to format the drive in DOS, it either gets corrupted and/or it's showing 9.5 GB. Tried everything, from fiddling with the BIOS to formatting the drive under Linux Partition Magic, doesn't seem to be any difference I'm afraid. So now I'm on the hunt for replacement 40GB unit - until then, the project is on hold
[url=https://postimg.org/image/7mjcfo6623/] [/URL]

@Robert B I have the similar approach... Not walking around the flea markets though, but I do know certain people, who can find what I want most of the time. Sometimes it takes a while for them to find it, but in the end I usually get it for free or with huge discount

Edit

Not exactly what I have here, but it's certainly the similar model... Too bad actually, I'd LOVE to get my hands on a Slot A mobo & CPU.

 

[Robert B]

The box

Today I opened the box I received yesterday.

Contents:

1. CPU Intel Pentium 4 1.7GHz - Willamette, S423, SL57W
2. Graphic card 6600GT Inno3D - 128MB AGP - in sexy BLACK
3. Socket 3 Motheboard VIP REV:A - 3 PCI / 3 VLB / 2 ISA - SIMM 30 PIN /SIMM 72 PIN, chipset OPTi 82C822/82C895 - missing jumpers, BIOS chip, CACHE chips and some light corrosion from the barrel battery.All in all it might be brought to life but I dont know the manufacturer as the markings with the model number are all but missing. It might be a '90 clone.

The P4 CPU was stuck on the heatsink. First I tried to heat the heatsink with a hair dryer and gently move the CPU. This didnt work. I took a syringe with isopropyl alcohol 99% and kept the CPU soaked for about an hour, periodically replenishing the alcohol after it evaporated. The TIM softened but I still could budge the CPU. So I used a vice to hold the heatsink and I used dental floss to separate the CPU. Uhhh minty fresh The leftover TIM from the CPU heatspreader was removed with acetone and a cotton stick. I took precautions so that the acetone didnt get inside the hole in the heatspreader. I used a small amount of a polishing abrasive cream to make the heatspreader shine



gallery: https://postimg.org/gallery/34k2q1rek/

 

[Trekkie4]

What? No, no, no! Acetone will dissolve plastic, it might even destroy the CPU entirely Just use the WD-40, it'll melt away all the TIM into the puddle of liquid. Just make sure to wipe the CPU afterwards, otherwise it'll have that horrible smell once it heats up

This here is the perfect example of what WD-40 can do to a CPU...

 

[Robert B]

It was an extremely low quantity on a cotton stick to remove the leftover TIM on the metal heatspreader after I separated the CPU, which couldnt be removed by isopropyl alcohol 99% or using plastic or hard bamboo pointed sticks.....afterwards it took several washes with isopropy alcohol 99%. There are no problems in my case. The small quantity of acetone evaporated quickly. I know that stuff is powerful

Thanks for the tips though.

 

[Mr.Scott]

Needs more TIM.

 

[Trekkie4]

Needs more TIM.

View attachment 92694

Heh-heh, how true! This one was around for a while now, I got this rig from a friend of mine long time ago. Actually (now that I think about it), I believe it was from her boyfriend, who put this thing together. So either way, I wasn't in the position to criticize TIM application, but SERIOUSLY!! Good thing I had a WD-40 to help me, otherwise this would have taken me ages to remove! And judging by the amount of dust, this thing had been around for quite some time.

Got the replacement Western Digital WD800JB 80GB hard drive earlier today!!

Couldn't find (and wait for) 40GB one to appear, so I took the WD800JB & placed it inside the 2GHz Celeron machine that I've got some time ago, which was running one of those 40GB slim Maxtor drives up until earlier today, when I swapped it over for Western Digital.

Obviously, the old Maxtor drive will be going into the AMD build, I already placed it inside the case & took the opportunity to upgrade the CPU heatsink for something better. The original one was reused from the original setup, Duron 700 but ever since I swapped it for Athlon, it's been running seriously hot. As high as 150F under full load, which is way too hot for my taste. Sooo instead of the small "Titan", I now have aftermarket GlacialTech heatsink, which is more massive & has a bigger fan to keep everything nice & cool within factory specs

 

[DR4G00N]

I finally got around to recapping my nf3-250Gb but unfortunately I think it's dead.

The voltages across the board are just perfect and the standby and dram led's are lit. But when I power it on it doesn't post, not even a beep. Tried clearing CMOS and the other typical things I also flashed the bios to a newer version.

In other news another DFI goodie arrived.

DFI LP DK 790FXB-M2RS
A64 X2 3600+ & 4000+
2x1GB Crucial Ballistix, Micron D9's.

 

[Trekkie4]

I'm curious, is DFI still in business? Because I never realized (up until recently) they've done modern motherboards (featuring PCIe), as all my experience with DFI was mainly focused to Slot-1 and/or Socket A. Then again, I've seen several ppl who were fascinated & surprised to see Slot-1 DFI boards lol, so I guess it's all a matter of perspective (and personal taste for hardware).

 

[Mr.Scott]

DFI is still in business. They only do industrial applications now though.

 

[biffzinker]

I'm curious, is DFI still in business?

Still in business but focused on Industrial motherboards. Maybe embedded as well?

http://www.dfi.com

 

[Trekkie4]

Wow, thanks guys! It takes a lot of skills to survive in the IT industry for so long... Good management most likely, followed by right corporate moves. Which kinda translates to what I originally said, good management since they're the ones who make all the important decisions.

 

[GreiverBlade]

they've done modern motherboards (featuring PCIe), as all my experience with DFI was mainly focused to Slot-1 and/or Socket A.

meeeehhhhhh for that "Dark" i concurre: most modern, it's a AM2/AM2+ (AND I WANT IT!)

but my LanParty UT Nf4 Ultra-D is a S939 (non SLI) and my second favorite mobo of my collection (yep i bloody love my SuperMicro H8DCE both are board i dreamed to own when they were "top notch" )

funny is .... i noticed the review here after i finally got my hands on one which came after i got my hands on a sealed BNIB Athlon 64 3200+ (Venice)
https://www.techpowerup.com/reviews/DFI/LPNF4UD/ (2005 yep ... old enough for me )

 

[Trekkie4]

Captain's log, stardate -305238.37519025867

The AMD machine is finally set up & ready to receive all the retro gaming nostalgia It's running Windows 98 SE, with all the drivers, apps & basic software already up & running. So therefore, I'll be posting more pics of the games & benchmark results some time tomorrow!

Getting the dialup modem & SB Live to work was somewhat challenging to say at least, but nevertheless both had been resolved one way or another & are in working condition

 

[phill]

Seeing some lovely hardware in this thread Been away a while, so it's been a welcome thread to look up on

 

[Robert B]

VLB controller card restored

I still have many other pacients waiting paciently to be returned to their former glory

 

[Trekkie4]

There you have it guys, as promised... Loads more to come, this procedure will take (for at least) 3-4 days, until I set everything the way I want it!

Starting off with DFI itself... This here is that Slot-1 system I was talking about, the only DFI-branded Slot-1 system in my entire collection. I had to borrow a SB Live installation CD from this unit, so I powered it up but it turned out that the CMOS battery was dead, so I immediately took it apart to replace it.


Model number is DFI PA61, revision D2. It's running a 500MHz Pentium III & has 256MB of RAM. This is one of the 5 Voodoo2 SLI rigs in my collection, featuring two identical Diamond Monsters 3DII, 8MB each. The AGP graphics is ATI Rage 128, older 16MB model

Moving on with Pentium 4-class Celeron, running at 2GHz. This is one of those systems which ended up in trashbin, probably since the old hard drive was shot & didn't serve much purpose to anyone. When I 1st picked it up, I immediately replaced the hard drive for another, identical 40GB Maxtor (which is now replaced by 80GB Western Digital), and also took the liberty of upgrading the graphics to Radeon 9600SE. I've had it sitting around & doing nothing, but since I had to take it apart, in order to swap out the hard drive I had to touch up on cable management inside. It's not perfect, I know but it's not terrible, either


Here's the weird part, it seems that the PCI bracket cutout on the back of the case isn't big enough for a "real"
video card, since the original one was just some crappy Radeon 9200 I think without TV out &/or DVI. Still have it by the way, as it's perfectly fine, just seriously underpowered for anything useful. Anyhow, to overcome the PCI bracket problem I had to remove the DVI port standoffs from the card, before I could slide it into the case. And only then, once the card was already mounted inside the case I could screw them back inside, so therefore this card isn't going anywhere lol. Well, it was either that or to cut the case, but since I'm all about preserving the original I've decided to go with more complicated (yet less invasive) technique instead

Anyhow, enough about other projects! This here, AMD Athlon 750 is what you've been waiting for... So enjoy!


Starting with Colin McRae Rally


Eventually moving to Carmageddon 2 (which was also my very 1st Glide game to run on this system)


Deus Ex...


Worms Armageddon


Driver


Discworld Noir


Ford Racing


Sports Car GT


Test Drive 5


Sorry guys, I'll have to split this into two posts... Moving on!

Motocross Madness


Monster Truck Madness 2 (the ONLY Microsoft game to support Glide & 3dfx, AFAIK) Cart precision Racing was a demo, included with Monster Truck Madness


Hard Truck - Road to victory


SimCity 3000


Midtown Madness


Midtown Madness 2


Half-Life


Half-Life Opposing Force


Half-Life Blue Shift


Surely you know this one? Yup, it's Unreal Gold & Unreal Tournament


Max Payne


Too tired to keep on going today, so I'll be back tomorrow with more

 

[Apocalypsee]

I still playing Max Payne and Half Life on my laptop that I resurrect. Though the laptop is dying last night since it unable to boot in a few tries, I have a few RAM that I swap around to see if it boots, it did boot but this morning it failed to boot again. I think it might reach the end of it's life....last thing I play is GTA San Andreas last night for about a couple of hours, the fan runs quite noisy and stutter quite badly, and it won't boot after restart.

 

[T4C Fantasy]

 

[uuuaaaaaa]

View attachment 92755 View attachment 92756

I've always loved the look of these cards

 

[Trekkie4]

I still playing Max Payne and Half Life on my laptop that I resurrect. Though the laptop is dying last night since it unable to boot in a few tries, I have a few RAM that I swap around to see if it boots, it did boot but this morning it failed to boot again. I think it might reach the end of it's life....last thing I play is GTA San Andreas last night for about a couple of hours, the fan runs quite noisy and stutter quite badly, and it won't boot after restart.

Cool! I was running San Andreas the other day, on that 2.00GHz Celeron from the previous page... It's working so much better with Radeon 9600SE, although you can clearly see the CPU bottleneck.

Speaking of AMD... Darn, I forgot to include Grand Theft Auto 2 yesterday! "Damn nation, no donation - no salvation"

Oh and by the way, speaking of your laptop ... I'd check to see if the CPU heatsink is clogged up with dust. Because of what you described, it seems to be overheating issue, so the CPU throttles down trying to cool off, to the point where it overheats (and shuts down), until the temp is back to normal.

 

[Apocalypsee]

Cool! I was running San Andreas the other day, on that 2.00GHz Celeron from the previous page... It's working so much better with Radeon 9600SE, although you can clearly see the CPU bottleneck.

Speaking of AMD... Darn, I forgot to include Grand Theft Auto 2 yesterday! "Damn nation, no donation - no salvation"

Oh and by the way, speaking of your laptop ... I'd check to see if the CPU heatsink is clogged up with dust. Because of what you described, it seems to be overheating issue, so the CPU throttles down trying to cool off, to the point where it overheats (and shuts down), until the temp is back to normal.

I have one of those Celeron Northwood 2A GHz way back, even at 3GHz it was slower than stock 2GHz Pentium 4 in gaming which I later upgrade to. If I'm not mistaken Celeron line socket 478 lacks floating point unit or something which makes them rubbish for gaming. But they do clock like a champ, and not very that hot as compared to it's bigger brother. I hit 3GHz on stock cooler. Ah, I miss those days overclocking on stock cooler and cheapo PSU. I have Albatron PX845E and PX845G back then, interestingly the 845G performs faster which I suspect it have a better memory controller for its IGP (it have higher actual bandwidth in SANDRA benchmark)

Too bad I already done repasting and cleaning. Thing is my PC being infected by virus and pegged the CPU at 100%. My wife being using it for a bit without noticing, I think that might killed it. I don't know how long its been like that since I rarely using it.