AMD Athlon XP 3000+ Retro Build

[MrGenius]

Never released.

If you don't want to pay out the ass for a HD 3850 AGP or HD 4670 AGP, you can do what I just did. Get a HD 4650 1GB AGP. It's basically the next best thing(WAY better than a 6600 GT or even a 6800 Ultra). And can be had for relatively cheap. Good overclocker too.

 

[phill]

Respect for the socket A build I've still got mine and a 939 build as well

I'll see if I can grab some better pictures tonight

 

[INSTG8R]

Respect for the socket A build I've still got mine and a 939 build as well

I'll see if I can grab some better pictures tonight

Ah a fellow ABit connoisseur. I used exclusively ABit until they folded. Still got my IP35-Pro and my previously mentioned AT8 32X Had a an IC7 too
Funny enough the website is still up, it’s like a museum almost
http://abit.ws/page/en/index.php

 

[phill]

I had a fair few Abit boards back then, I think I moved to DFI and then Asus and then all over the place.. I think I saw a post somewhere back then about MSI catching fire and was really put off by them.. That said, I've a X99 MSI board now :lol:

I love the hardware back then.. But trying to find a Abit NF7-S Rev 2 in box?? It's like rocking horse......... I look back and think about all the hardware I've had back along, it's scary but I don't ever regret a thing

 

[eidairaman1]

Yeah a 3870 AGP never released.

The last 3 AGP cards that ATi had was the x1950 Pro, HD3850, HD4670.

 

[Bones]

I had a fair few Abit boards back then, I think I moved to DFI and then Asus and then all over the place.. I think I saw a post somewhere back then about MSI catching fire and was really put off by them.. That said, I've a X99 MSI board now :lol:

I love the hardware back then.. But trying to find a Abit NF7-S Rev 2 in box?? It's like rocking horse......... I look back and think about all the hardware I've had back along, it's scary but I don't ever regret a thing

I found an Ultra B in it's original box not too long ago with everything it was supposed to have so it can still be done.
However you are right - Would be almost like tracking a unicorn..... Not quite but close.

 

[Splinterdog]

@storm-chaser
You've got me all tempted to fire this up now, if I can find a board to go with it.

 

[phill]

I found an Ultra B in it's original box not too long ago with everything it was supposed to have so it can still be done.
However you are right - Would be almost like tracking a unicorn..... Not quite but close.

There's one on Ebay now, but I can see myself spending £200 on a socket A board..... There's even a new XP CPU as well, £135 I think, it's just too much

 

[Susquehannock]

Cool thread. Love seeing old hardware being used and enjoyed again. Looking forward to seeing how you do.
I am very well acquainted with ASUS a7n8x Deluxe boards. Built a lot of systems with them back in the day. Durable and feature rich.

Wasn't nforce known for OC'Ing? Or was that the opposite..?

nForce was largely a failure due to poor drivers and hardware design. However, they got it right the second time. nForce2 was a huge success.

How is the A7N8X deluxe for overclocking? Have you had good success with your XP 2500? I assume I will have to do FSB overclocking as my chip is "super-locked"

They are poor overclockers as nForce2 boards go. BIOS was not set up for it. Which is OK. They were not designed with OCing in mind.

Ended up with an extra due to a shipping error. It sat in box on the shelf unopened for eleven years until I pulled it out in 2014. Much to my surprise many of the capacitors were bulging, and some were actually leaking even though the board never saw light of day. Good news is it still ran flawlessly for two years until I put the Soltek FRN2 (my favorite nForce2) back in. Go figure.

.

 

[storm-chaser]

@storm-chaser
You've got me all tempted to fire this up now, if I can find a board to go with it.
View attachment 110515

Fire it up and remember the good old days! That's what this is all about. I've seen some other A7N8X boards on ebay within the past week.

Cool thread. Love seeing old hardware being used and enjoyed again. Looking forward to seeing how you do.
I am very well acquainted with ASUS a7n8x Deluxe boards. Built a lot of systems with them back in the day. Durable and feature rich.

nForce was largely a failure due to poor drivers and hardware design. However, they got it right the second time. nForce2 was a huge success. They are poor overclockers as nForce2 boards go. BIOS was not set up for it. Which is OK. They were not designed with OC in mind

Thanks brother! I already have a lead on a modded BIOS for the A7N8X Deluxe and I'm thinking it will unlock some overclocking features. Hopefully that will allow me a moderate 5-10% overclock. Nothing too crazy.
Most of the parts should be here by Friday

 

[Susquehannock]

Thanks brother! I already have a lead on a modded BIOS for the A7N8X Deluxe and I'm thinking it will unlock some overclocking features. Hopefully that will allow me a moderate 5-10% overclock. Nothing too crazy.
Most of the parts should be here by Friday

Great! Never did play with any of the modded BIOS for a7n8x. Had a small business back then and used them for people who were not interested in overclocking. 5-10% should be quite doable. That said. I do remember I could drop the same low volt unlocked 1700+ (DLT3C) into a Soltek or Abit board and easily get 70% on air cooling. About 1ghz over stock speed.

I may have missed it. What do you plan for the CPU cooler?

 

[Ruru]

Damn, I guess I'll be building the skeleton for my 462 rig also..

9700 Pro, 6600 GT, 2x Thunderbird 1000, Duron 1200, Sempron 2200+, AXP 2100+, AXP 2400+

X800 Pro, AXP 2700+, 2x 1GB DDR400, Thermaltake cooler with 80mm fan and copper base

Asrock K7VT4A Pro

 

[storm-chaser]

I may have missed it. What do you plan for the CPU cooler?

Masscool 80mm all-copper beast of a cooler. Pics are on page one, but here they are again
Once you see this cooler actually installed on the mainboard you'll see how massive it really is....

@Chloe Price That's quite the collection! Looking forward to seeing what you can build with all that old school hardware! You have any old video cards to go with my Athlon XP build?

 

[Ruru]

Masscool 80mm all-copper beast of a cooler. Pics are on page one, but here they are again
Once you see this cooler actually installed on the mainboard you'll see how massive it really is....
View attachment 110533

View attachment 110532

@Chloe Price That's quite the collection! Looking forward to seeing what you can build with all that old school hardware!

I still have more stuff in boxes, another 6600 GT with Zalman VF700Cu, some 512MB sticks etc..

I'll drink few cups of coffee and build what I can from the parts I have now (no HDD or PSU for now)


edit: This is where we got for now.

 

[Susquehannock]

Masscool 80mm all-copper beast of a cooler. Pics are on page one, but here they are again
Once you see this cooler actually installed on the mainboard you'll see how massive it really is....
View attachment 110533

I remember those. They were good ones. I used the Thermalright which is pretty much same thing. One pictured below is SK-7. Used the SLK-900 (92mm fan) on my top rigs.

Here is a hack you may like. Screwdriver mishaps were the demise of many good boards. Bend a cheap screwdriver to make install easier. Push down on the retainer then move to use natural curve of bend to set it in place. Got so I could change CPU and cooler in just a few minutes.

to

 

[Mr.Scott]

Random tupperware box of poker chips. I have a few of these. Probably 20.

And my screwdriver.

 

[Ruru]

That's a real treasure chest there.

 

[MrGenius]

The Thermaltake Silent Boost is another similar(pretty much identical) cooler. I had the K8 version and it served me very well for a very long time.

 

[storm-chaser]

Going to be purchasing some RAM shortly. A few pointers would be helpful here. Am I going to need 3.3v unbuffered non ecc ram? I also remembered some 2.6 volt ram. I don't recollect which one I'll need. Here are a couple snips from the manual, looks like a can run 3GB in a dual channel configuration!

 

[phill]

Random tupperware box of poker chips. I have a few of these. Probably 20.

View attachment 110549

And my screwdriver.

View attachment 110550

20 CPUs or 20 boxes??

 

[DR4G00N]

Going to be purchasing some RAM shortly. A few pointers would be helpful here. Am I going to need 3.3v unbuffered non ecc ram? I also remembered some 2.6 volt ram. I don't recollect which one I'll need. Here are a couple snips from the manual, looks like a can run 3GB in a dual channel configuration!

Any unbuffered non-ecc DDR will work, if the mobo decides it want's to work with it...

 

[Mr.Scott]

You can run 3 gig only in single channel. 2 gig for dual.
For ram on that board you're better off with Samsung TCCD chipped sticks.
They're still pretty easy to find.

20 CPUs or 20 boxes??

Boxes.
You already knew the answer Phil. You're just breaking my chops.

 

[phill]

I am indeed Have you played with many of them or just a few??

I'm just trying to tidy up a few CPUs I've got laying about, trying to find something that will fit socket A/462 CPUs in is a bit of a pain! I wouldn't mind the plastic trays but I don't think they'll be cheap... Some of the prices I see they want for Duron or XP CPUs are scary....

 

[Mr.Scott]

I'm a bencher. They've all been at least tested. Got dice runs over 3 gig.

 

[Ruru]

Did 1GB bh-5 sticks exist?