TPU's Nostalgic Hardware Club

[xBruce88x]

Finally put my old k6-2 to work today, tried to set it to 550 but the mobo ignored the jumper setting and ran it at 500 anyway. O well.

Got 3x 128mb pc100 sticks in, a 4gb hdd, and a voodoo 3 3000 agp. Unfortunately the bios won't recognize drives larger than 32gb.

It's running windows me... I managed to get a gog installer to work with it, gonna try installing duke nukem 3d tomorrow, and maybe shogo mad to get that voodoo 3 a shot. It currently only has a demo of motocross madness on it. I've also got a PCI rage 128 all in wonder card that I want to try hooking up, curious to see how the built in DVD decoder works

 

[Jetster]

It's time to kick ass and chew bubble gum, and I'm all outta gum!

Loved DN

 

[The Egg]

Finally put my old k6-2 to work today, tried to set it to 550 but the mobo ignored the jumper setting and ran it at 500 anyway. O well.
Got 3x 128mb pc100 sticks in, a 4gb hdd, and a voodoo 3 3000 agp. Unfortunately the bios won't recognize drives larger than 32gb.

Nice. I recommend using a Compactflash to IDE/PATA adapter in any of the various form factors. I use one with a 16GB card on older systems and it works great. You can also get adapters for SD cards, but those require a translator chip, whereas Compactflash does not, and is thus more compatible.

 

[Trekkie4]

Can any of you here please ID this board? No markings/brand names, whatsoever. But I DO have a sneaky suspicion that it's PC-Chips... AT-form factor, Slot-1. ALI M1621 A1 chipset, SD-RAM (PC-100?)



I've been trying to get it started, but it's not giving me anything... Board powers up, and doesn't give any signs of life. So either I'm doing something wrong, or this one is toasted!

Edit
Seems to be very similar to PC-Chips M-726... But it's not the same.

 

[The Egg]

I remember avoiding ALi chipsets like the plague. It's probably doing you a favor by not working.

 

[xBruce88x]

Yea sadly mine is an Ali chipset as well, it's a Matsonic MS6260S

@Trekkie4 is there a label on the cpu slot? Pull the cpu off and see, sometimes there are stickers on the sides of slots, pci, isa, etc... Can also try the back of the board

 

[Robert B]

Can any of you here please ID this board? No markings/brand names, whatsoever. But I DO have a sneaky suspicion that it's PC-Chips... AT-form factor, Slot-1. ALI M1621 A1 chipset, SD-RAM (PC-100?)



I've been trying to get it started, but it's not giving me anything... Board powers up, and doesn't give any signs of life. So either I'm doing something wrong, or this one is toasted!

Edit
Seems to be very similar to PC-Chips M-726... But it's not the same.

You can start it up and on the POST screen on lower part of the screen look for the row of characters that is usually manufacturer specific.

I attached an example.

 

[Grog6]

It's an Aladdin Pro II chipset; if it's a P II processor.

It would be a PC Chips mobo, IMHO.

One of these:

BXcel

ALi M1621 (Aladdin Pro II)

PCChips M726 (Amptron PII-3726), M727 and M729

I had some PC Chips mobos bitd.

 

[Trekkie4]

I remember avoiding ALi chipsets like the plague. It's probably doing you a favor by not working.

Yeah, not much luck with PC-Chips... Too bad, it seemed unusual, it would have been my first AT-styled Slot-1 board so far.

Yea sadly mine is an Ali chipset as well, it's a Matsonic MS6260S
I had yet another system with ALI chipset, Socket 462/A... It caused me a LOT of headache. I was going to pair that one with Savage4 Pro card, but due to incompatibilities with the card, I eventually settled for nVidia M64 instead. Seemed to work fine after that, it was the initial setup that was the actual PITA.

@Trekkie4 is there a label on the cpu slot? Pull the cpu off and see, sometimes there are stickers on the sides of slots, pci, isa, etc... Can also try the back of the board

Nope! No label, no codes, nothing. It came without the CPU, I was the one who placed it in there, to give it a try (just an old passively-cooled Celeron 300A) Well OK, there was ONE thing apparently - on the back it simply said "Elpina". That's it, nothing else. Which is why (and how) I connected it to PC-Chips in the first place.

You can start it up and on the POST screen on lower part of the screen look for the row of characters that is usually manufacturer specific.

I attached an example.

Yeah, I know. But that's the thing - it doesn't start! Nothing ... black screen, no beeps, no POST, nothing! And yes, I tried the obvious solutions - swapping out the CPU, RAM, video card, even tinkering with FSB and multiplier. Nothing! CPU heatsink gets warm, but the chipset(s) and RAM are stone cold.

It's an Aladdin Pro II chipset; if it's a P II processor.

It would be a PC Chips mobo, IMHO.

One of these:

BXcel

ALi M1621 (Aladdin Pro II)

PCChips M726 (Amptron PII-3726), M727 and M729

I had some PC Chips mobos bitd.

Thanks for the hint, but I decided to get rid of it. Besides, I already got more than enough Slot-1 boards laying around. I also managed to fix (well, more like get it to POST, really) FIC VB-601. My 3rd VB-601, I believe. The other two 601's are inside the 3dfx Voodoo2 SLI rigs

 

[TOMCAT]

Trekkie4 wrote:
"Nope! No label, no codes, nothing. It came without the CPU, I was the one who placed it in there, to give it a try (just an old passively-cooled Celeron 300A) Well OK, there was ONE thing apparently - on the back it simply said "Elpina". That's it, nothing else. Which is why (and how) I connected it to PC-Chips in the first place."

Sorry, I am late for the clue party, but for the next time:

Elpina was a motherboard manufacturer. They did OEM boards for PC-Chips and many others.
On the backside of the motherboard should be a BA E-VO number like on the attached foto.

The old BA E-VO numbers can be used to identify computer hardware similar to the FCCID nowadays.

For this board member Grog6 shows the list of the 4 possible Mainboards

 

[Chomiq]

It's time to kick ass and chew bubble gum, and I'm all outta gum!

Loved DN

Loved They Live.

 

[kapone32]

Just wondering but is there also a thread for nostalgic software? Like the great Space Racer game or even Silpheed (not the PS version).

 

[Trekkie4]

Trekkie4 wrote:
"Nope! No label, no codes, nothing. It came without the CPU, I was the one who placed it in there, to give it a try (just an old passively-cooled Celeron 300A) Well OK, there was ONE thing apparently - on the back it simply said "Elpina". That's it, nothing else. Which is why (and how) I connected it to PC-Chips in the first place."

Sorry, I am late for the clue party, but for the next time:

Elpina was a motherboard manufacturer. They did OEM boards for PC-Chips and many others.
On the backside of the motherboard should be a BA E-VO number like on the attached foto.

The old BA E-VO numbers can be used to identify computer hardware similar to the FCCID nowadays.

For this board member Grog6 shows the list of the 4 possible Mainboards

Thanks for the tip, didn't realize that! But yes, I found a manual online for one of the PC-Chips boards & the layout was very similar, almost identical to the one I had... Except for the chipset, that is.

Still, I'm pretty sure the board was gone. I even found some severe scratches on the back side, across the vital traces which lead away (or into?) the Slot 1. Not sure if my problem was because of those or not, but at this stage it really doesn't matter, I suppose. Sad thing is, even if the board turned out to be OK, I probably wouldn't have much use for it. I got dozens of ATX Slot-1 systems laying around, not to mention 3 spare Slot 1 boards in stock. At the same time, I have a shortage of "AT" small (baby) towers, for all my Socket 7, Socket 5 rigs... So given the choice, I would build a vintage 4x86, or 6x86 rig over the Pentium II every time!

 

[Hyderz]

i dont have any of my old parts anymore... but i can tell you guys
2002 i was 17, My Brand new pc...
Amd Athlon Xp 2200+
512MB PC133 SD Ram
Geforce 4 Ti4600
WD 60GB HDD
15" Crt 1024x768 resolution

Good days of Warcraft 3 Reign of Chaos, Battlefield 1942, Medal of Honor Allied Assault.
but it was 2003 that has a real solid list of pc games...

 

[candle_86]

Maybe I'll show off some pics but for now a list of completed retro rigs

Oldest working
Pentium 166 classic
Matronics 430TX board
32mb Edo dimm
Daytona GT64 video card
10gb hdd
Dos/Win 3.1/95

Next
K6-III 400 6X66
Matronics 430TX
128mb pc66
Riva TnT pci card
40gb hdd
Windows 98SE

Athalon 700
Compaq 750 irongate board
256mb pc100
Geforce 256 SDR
80gb hdd
Windows Me

HP A430N
Axp 3200
Leadtek FX5600
512mb pc3200
120gb hdd
Windows 2000

Pentium 4 3.4C
MSI P865 neo
PNY 6800GT
1gb ddr 500
500gb hdd
Windows XP Home

Opteron 180
Epox nforce4 sli
7900GTX sli
2gb ddr 500
500gb hdd
Windows XP Pro

Phenom 9950
Asus M3N72D
8800GTS 512 SLI
4GB ddr2 1066
1tb hdd
Windows Vista Business

 

[candle_86]

Thought I'd share this mod, I showed it on another forum some of you may go to, but this is a 6800GT, i never found the 6800GT cooling adequate and had a dead 7900 GTX, it runs much cooler now

 

[Robert B]

Fresh from the gutter!

A pair of Intel XEON Foster core CPUs - 1.7GHz/256/400 SLT5E - taken from a dismembered IWILL DX400-SN motherboard. Damn scrappers, they killed such a beautiful board ... they even told me that the entire Fujitsu Siemens Celsius 670 Workstation was complete the day before. They also killed an ATI Fire GL4 S26361-D1268-V128 D1268 card ... I already straighten all of the bent pins from the CPUs. Zero casualties. I have no idea what I'm going to do with them but I had to buy them. https://www.anandtech.com/show/769/5
5 sticks of RAMBUS 256MB/PC800
Coolers
A socket 7 heatsink and what do you know, what do we have under it? A P120 SY033. Of course that I paid just for the heatsink. Lucky me! No bent pins here. Perfect.

 

[Trekkie4]

I never really cared much about laptops ... Actually, I never even owned (or used) one before. Actually, for a long time I always considered them to be inferior & slower (yet mobile) counterparts of "real", full-size desktop machines. Mainly because those had a lot more to offer, not to mention they've been easily upgradeable & could handle the heat a lot better than slim & mobile counterparts.

Unfortunately, my theory proved to be quite accurate, when a fellow forumer kindly donated his fully working & surprisingly preserved MSI M630 to me. You may remember me uploading a model number few pages ago, when I was first starting to work on this thing & had to find the appropriate drivers ... One Windows XP Home (SP2) later, along with few software modifications here & there and voila - a fully working retro-gaming platform "on the go", the first one of its kind in my collection


Although everything seems to be working within acceptable range, it's obvious that the mobile CPU (AMD Sempron) is having a tough time with even the oldest of titles. Games which are 4-5 years older than the laptop itself! But overall, it seems to be working OK, and I have to admit that I've had loads of fun working with this one. Not that I would recommend using a laptop for retro gaming, you'd be so much better with an actual desktop, but if you need to keep it compact and mobile, it will do its job just fine. For as long as you don't expect too much!

@Robert B Hmm... Is that a Socket 423 heatsink/fan among all those parts...? And those RIMM modules ... you wouldn't be playing with Asus P4T by any chance, would you?

 

[Susquehannock]

Thought I'd share this mod, I showed it on another forum some of you may go to, but this is a 6800GT, i never found the 6800GT cooling adequate and had a dead 7900 GTX, it runs much cooler now

Nice mod. Bet that made a huge improvement in cooling. What brand 6800GT if I may ask?

You inspired me to break out some old images. I still have my Leadtek 6800nu. They had about the best cooler out there. Big thick copper sinks on both sides of the card. Performed very well. Especially after using RivaTuner to unlock the extra pipes. Almost reached 6800GT levels but not quite.

Took the card apart and discovered height variations in the raised RAM pads resulting in uneven contact pressures, and gap over the GPU being too wide. Being a machinist by trade thought to myself, I can improve that. Made a lapping block and used micrometer to measure heights and got them all the same. Much better contact on all areas. Could now use premium paste instead of thermal pads. Afterward card overclocked even better. Do not have screenshots for that anymore but do remember it was significant. Above 6800GT levels. Tossed it aside when the 7800GS came out. Every time I feel nostalgic for the pre-heatpipe era of big copper sinks I remind myself of how that BFG 7800GS sounds like a hair drier under load when gaming my nForce2 retro rig. Sure wish they made water blocks or at least aftermarket coolers for these cards.

 

[candle_86]

Nice mod. Bet that made a huge improvement in cooling. What brand 6800GT if I may ask?

You inspired me to break out some old images. I still have my Leadtek 6800nu. They had about the best cooler out there. Big thick copper sinks on both sides of the card. Performed very well. Especially after using RivaTuner to unlock the extra pipes. Almost reached 6800GT levels but not quite.

Took the card apart and discovered height variations in the raised RAM pads resulting in uneven contact pressures, and gap over the GPU being too wide. Being a machinist by trade thought to myself, I can improve that. Made a lapping block and used micrometer to measure heights and got them all the same. Much better contact on all areas. Could now use premium paste instead of thermal pads. Afterward card overclocked even better. Do not have screenshots for that anymore but do remember it was significant. Above 6800GT levels. Tossed it aside when the 7800GS came out. Every time I feel nostalgic for the pre-heatpipe era of big copper sinks I remind myself of how that BFG 7800GS sounds like a hair drier under load when gaming my nForce2 retro rig. Sure wish they made water blocks or at least aftermarket coolers for these cards.

View attachment 135145View attachment 135146View attachment 135147View attachment 135148

Temps at 425/1050 went from 77c in farcry to 58c in farcry, card is a bfg stock 370/1000

 

[r.h.p]

Moar old stuff!

You know what this is...

Yes you do!

I didn't know DFI was around since the PII days...

Top one is a SCSI controller, below that is a soundcard and a network card at last. The GPUs are missing here, they're the ones I posted above.

oh my , I was working in hay com pc in perth in 1997/98 when the Pentium 2 was released !! I was a pci slot card totally different from the p1 and previous ibm compatible 286/386/486 mhz
config lol . I was low level so missed the Intel show but they said there were Lots of Intel Bunnys cruising around with bags of Goodies ( which i saw back at the shop T-shirts ,. stickers , PC bunny bobleheads and hats hehe .Promotion of the new Pentium 2 wow everyone said ... good old days nice pics bro

 

[MaxiPro800]

Speaking of PCChips, I found this board for free from a friend.

Totem TM-S730LMV, aka Matsonic MS8308E, aka PCChips M810LR V8.0.

Also, I have successfully recapped my Soyo 6BA+IV, and have replaced the CPU fan with a quiet Foxconn fan from a IBM heatsink.

Thanks for the tip, didn't realize that! But yes, I found a manual online for one of the PC-Chips boards & the layout was very similar, almost identical to the one I had... Except for the chipset, that is.

Still, I'm pretty sure the board was gone. I even found some severe scratches on the back side, across the vital traces which lead away (or into?) the Slot 1. Not sure if my problem was because of those or not, but at this stage it really doesn't matter, I suppose. Sad thing is, even if the board turned out to be OK, I probably wouldn't have much use for it. I got dozens of ATX Slot-1 systems laying around, not to mention 3 spare Slot 1 boards in stock. At the same time, I have a shortage of "AT" small (baby) towers, for all my Socket 7, Socket 5 rigs... So given the choice, I would build a vintage 4x86, or 6x86 rig over the Pentium II every time!

Could've tinned the traces. My Soyo 6BA+IV came with a few scratched traces that would prevent it from detecting RAM in any slot, and I fixed that by tinning them and adding a coat of rosin core to isolate them from shorts.

 

[Grog6]

I'm going to replace a bunch of caps on an older Mobo tonight; is anyone interested in seeing pix?

I got my DigiKey order, so time to solder.

I'll take some pix if anyone's interested, otherwise not, lol.

It's a P6WD2 Premium, and has a bunch of burst caps.

I'm refurbing it for a 775 to 771 conversion, with an SL968 3.73GHz Xeon 5080.

Intel® Xeon® Processor 5080 (4M Cache, 3.73 GHz, 1066 MHz FSB) - Product Specifications | Intel

Intel® Xeon® Processor 5080 (4M Cache, 3.73 GHz, 1066 MHz FSB) quick reference with specifications, features, and technologies.

ark.intel.com

Not positive it will work with this mobo, but there's an EE processor in the CPU compatibility tabel with the same specs.
I have a thermatake like this for it:

Thermaltake CL-P0024 Copper Cooling Heatsink - Newegg.com

Buy Thermaltake CL-P0024 Copper Cooling Heatsink with fast shipping and top-rated customer service. Once you know, you Newegg!

www.newegg.com

This is the heaviest HS I ever bought, lol. ~2 kilos of solid copper.

 

[Jetster]

Finally started working on this, just need a few cables and software
939 + Nvidia 8800GTX

 

[Robert B]

Holter & Mogyoro - All Our Mistakes

FLEA MARKET DAY TODAY!

I had to be very selective with what I buy!

1. Pentium 4 s423 Willamette 1.9GHZ SL5VN - 4 EUROS. I have P4 s423 @ 1.3, 1.4, 1.5, 1.6,1.7 and 1.9. MIA are only the 1.8 and 2.0. YAY!
2. STB Velocity-128 VBX AGP - RIVA 128ZX - missing a heatsink and one ceramic capacitor. Both easy fixes - 2 EUROS
3. Enermax EG365AX-VE(G) - 4 EUROS - NO BRAINER! Heavy as HELL!!!
4. Heatsinks - 3 EUROS. RIP!



I left behind:

1. Sapphire ATI 4870 1GB
2. Abit KD7 - swollen caps
3. nVIDIA 580 GTX
4. s775 stuff
5. HDDs galore
6. ODDs galore
7. s754 stuff
8. ATI RAGE 128 - 2 pcs
9. 8800GT
10. ASUS 1070 GTX - @ 110 EUROS - I dont know the state.
11. Lots of heatsinks
12. s462 stuff
13. Lots of RAM
14. Thermaltake ToughPower 550W
15. Some s1366 stufff from Dell or HP
16. ATI stuff
17. CPUs
18. 10-12 486 40 mm fans - NIB
19. SS7 LS 5MVP3
20. Riva TNT 2 - missing caps
21. Dual CPU motherboard(s)
22. Misc

Some were mint some had some cosmetic damage.

I LOVE GOING TO THE LOCAL FLEA MARKET!!! !!!