TPU's Nostalgic Hardware Club

[MIRTAZAPINE]

Back, when I 1st started with retro hardware, I used to think (and remember) DDR memory as very expensive, hard to find piece of hardware. Especially DDR400, 512MB & 1GB modules! But not any longer, you can find brand NEW 1GB modules on AliExpress for as low as $5.92. I bought 3 or 4 of these, don't really remember. Two modules went into my S775 Pentium4 RetroMaster 4000 system (running Vista SP1), where the one other module ended up inside AthlonXP 2800+, same system that I mentioned above, in my answer to @Mr.Scott The 4th module is still inside the original box, sealed up & has never been used ... so far At least I think so, because I've been moving RAM modules between the systems several times, to optimize the speed & differences between the modules themselves.

I don't know that aliexpress have cheap ddr ram! Thank for the find! Gonna grab it probably in the future for retro builds.

 

[Trekkie4]

Just got back from the shop, they got new old stock Corsair DDR400 1GB for RM45 around USD11. Good enough, it still have the sticker of the original price back then! RM160 around USD41.

View attachment 97452

Quickly assembled it on old case without any side panel. The card looks new without any dust, and the CPU cooler also have minor dust with a bit of spider webs all around. Yep this Thermaltake fans is loud, its not obnoxiously loud like FX 5800 but compared to any new fan noise this one is definitely loud!

View attachment 97453

It boots! It lives! Yes, I felt like I'm a youth again, I miss those days. And this is my very first Athlon XP system. Abit BIOS is quite good, I can reduce fan voltage to tame that Thermaltake fan. There are still some things I need to dig in but I just leave it at default. Temperature seems fine at 35C idle. I didn't even repaste it.

View attachment 97454

Installing Windows XP now. I use my trusty 160GB Seagate 7200.9 from the storage and install it via USB drive.

View attachment 97455

I don't know that aliexpress have cheap ddr ram! Thank for the find! Gonna grab it probably in the future for retro builds.

Those AliExpress modules look like this:


I'm sure there are loads of other brands & models, the reason I'm pointing out this specific one is only because of the good feedback, personal experience. I remember testing the first two modules upon arrival in MemTest & they both checked out OK without any problems, whatsoever. So to be honest I never tested the other two, as the system was perfectly stable & wasn't showing any signs of RAM problems.

Just make sure to buy these from a seller (store) that has a GOOD reputation. Always check for customer feedback & the amount of reviews posted online. Because even though 99% will be honest & legit, there's always that 1-2% who will try to scam you. This one HERE is a fine example of what I'm talking about. They had 65 orders (up to this point), of which 57 users left a feedback indicating whenever they are happy or not. Which, according to 4.9 star rating, they are

Also, check out the price(s) for nVidia FX PCI series cards, model FX5500 in particular. TBH, I was going to buy one or two of these myself but then I gave up on retro hardware altogether & decided to invest time & money into HiFi & my Audio Technica LP120

Additionally, I would like to point out really cheap (and effective) GPU coolers for as low as $2.22. These are perfect for cards such as TNT2 for example, GeForce2 or even Voodoo3 2000, 3000. Just don't expect that high quality, polished finish on the base lol, you pretty much get what you pay for. But hey, for 2,22 you can't go wrong! If you want something more powerful (nVidia FX series, nVidia GeForce6, Radeon 9000 series, etc) you might want to buy THIS one instead. Again, this is from my personal experience, I got both of these. Here's a pic of my Ti4200 with one of the "bigger" GPU coolers, mounted on top of it.

 

[phill]

I remember my D-Tek Fusion block I had (and still do have!!) for my XP CPU Ah those were the days....

 

[Robert B]

I managed to clean a little the 9800 PRO 256MB just to be able to test it. Attaching a regular fan to the asimetric mounting holes of the heatsink was a PITA but I squeezed that LEGEND in THERE as far as it would go

Full story later on the Project log part of TPU I hope the card works less ~ 1.5 USD / 1.08 EUR from the Good Ol' flea market. I saw it and I wanted to find if she's alive...that fire engine red

The heatsinks and the tall capacitors took most of the beating. No missing resistors or small ICs.

 

[agent_x007]

Best AMD MB combo with AGP & PCI-e support :

Because I'm not "Intel fanboy" when it comes to AGP ;P

 

[Red_Machine]

Is that a "fake" AGP slot that's just a modified PCI slot with a bridge chip?

 

[dorsetknob]

Because I'm not "Intel fanboy" when it comes to AGP ;P

Asrock also done the Intel Duel Series (AGP+PCIx) and DDR1 or DDR2 still got one ( and it Runs a Core 2 quad )

 

[Trekkie4]

Is that a "fake" AGP slot that's just a modified PCI slot with a bridge chip?

The "fake" AGP slot is actually their expansion interface, that allows converting the board into other socket. I got the same slot on my K8Upgrade NF3

 

[agent_x007]

Is that a "fake" AGP slot that's just a modified PCI slot with a bridge chip?

No. AM2 on left uses nForce3 250 for AGP and "ULI" M1695 Chipset for PCi-e (x16 electric). Specs : LINK.
S939 MB has similar configuration, however both north and south bridges are from ULI (M1695 and M1567), specs : LINK.
From what I heard, they are both native AGP/PCI-e solutions.

@dorsetknob Indeed, and I already "maxed" that one out

@Trekkie4 A small spoiler for you :
I have one coming next week - LINK, because I love this kind of stuff

 

[_JP_]

Asrock also done the Intel Duel Series (AGP+PCIx) and DDR1 or DDR2 still got one ( and it Runs a Core 2 quad )

Right, the "4CoreDual" and the "775Dual" series
Mine still works like new And I bought it new, so I would know

 

[Trekkie4]

Right, the "4CoreDual" and the "775Dual" series
Mine still works like new And I bought it new, so I would know

I had 775Dual VSTA for few years, paired with Core2 Duo & 8800GTS but i gave it away since it was "too modern" for my taste. Besides, my daily runner is Q6600 (and it had 8800GT back then), so this other one seemed more like "just another" system, than a true retro rig!

 

[_JP_]

I understand you.
Mine is back with the P4 it had initially and is working like a charm. Anything more recent, I prefer to pair to later 775 chipsets, better performance too.

 

[Trekkie4]

I understand you.
Mine is back with the P4 it had initially and is working like a charm. Anything more recent, I prefer to pair to later 775 chipsets, better performance too.

Exactly, spot on!

 

[phill]

Had a few of those boards for benching for HWBot, not the most user friendly with options and no voltage options but you could always hard voltage mod it.. Was pretty fun but trying to find them boxed and such is like rocking horse......

 

[dorsetknob]

Right, the "4CoreDual" and the "775Dual" series
Mine still works like new And I bought it new, so I would know

My 775 4Coreduel quad Has/had a funny Bios quirk. ( as noted in the Manual)
When running a quad (q6600 @ 2.4Ghz) it would not run at full speed ( it ran at 2.2Ghz) but you could overclock it via Bios Settings.

 

[agent_x007]

Had a few of those boards for benching for HWBot, not the most user friendly with options and no voltage options but you could always hard voltage mod it..

You can bypass Vcore increase limitation by using Throttlestop (only for unlocked CPU), or doing a VID mod on CPU itself.

 

[phill]

I didn't have an unlocked CPU in the board back then.. Q6600 if I recall I didn't think those boards had massive bios controls anyways? I thought most of it was all auto and that was it.. It's been a while since I have used one of those boards....

 

[agent_x007]

They don't have any voltage control in BIOS - you are correct.
I simply wanted to point out you can bypass that limitation using either a VID mod or Throttlestop program.
With latter one you need unlocked CPU, however with former - it will work with any CPU
FYI : I used VID mod to get QX9770 up to 3,84GHz.

 

[dorsetknob]

Bios was reasonably adjustable for overclocking ( i used a Q6600 )
After i retired it from full time use i also used to use it as a testing board for
1. other 775 CPU's
2. DDR Ram
3. DDR2 Ram
4. AGP graphics Cards
5. PCIx Graphicss cards
Like i said i still have it and occasionally when older hardware needs testing (for buying or selling or just plain free upgrading for others)

 

[phill]

They weren't so bad to use but I find with hybrid stuff, it's never quite the same as a dedicated bit of kit, but I think that's where the fun is sometimes Not so much when your trying to get the best out of it, but ... Well never mind!!

I don't think I managed very much in the graphics cards testing... Was very well and very hard to get decent scores with no volt mods and LN2 etc lol

 

[dorsetknob]

I don't think I managed very much in the graphics cards testing... Was very well and very hard to get decent scores with no volt mods and LN2 etc lol

I never used it for Benching only for Hardware Testing to check that the hardware worked

 

[phill]

I was thinking more so about the GPUs with the LN2 but yes, with limit control I don't think that was the perfect board for it

 

[_JP_]

A very cool feature was DualGraphics, which unlike SLi/CrossFire, didn't mirror vRAM and load-balance, actually each card would be on its own and drive its own display.
Assuming the OS could take care of the rest, very interesting performance figures could be had.
Configuring it was a pain, though

AGP performance on the VIA 880Pro was very good, IIRC.

EDIT: I should still be able to manage that again with a pair of HD3650s or any other single-slot card made for both buses, that I can find.

 

[Apocalypsee]

I forgot to post about the pair of HIS ICeQ4 HD 4850 I bought the other day. Here's the pair really digging the wicked cooler

The card inside my main system

 

[Trekkie4]

IDK about the cards, but I'm amazed with Intel's Gigabit Ethernet

Nice setup, makes me feel bad for never even attempting to go SLI or CrossFire. Other than 5 Voodoo2 SLI rigs of course but those are whole other class & generation