TPU's Nostalgic Hardware Club

[JackOO7]

What a coincidence, I have the same case lying around (which i don't use anymore).

 

[Aaron_Henderson]

So I found a Radeon 9550 just randomly lying on the sidewalk. I still haven't tested it, or cleaned it, but thought it was the most random find ever. It's also an odd card...specifically because of the molex connector. My assumption is that the card is from an OEM of some kind where the motherboard wasn't able to supply enough power on its own? I wonder if it has potential to overclock better than normal 9550? Only one way to find out, I guess. If anyone knows what this is, they can have it (if it works, of course). I already have a 9600XT in my "retro" PC.

What a coincidence, I have the same case lying around (which i don't use anymore).

I had that case when it was new...and then proceeded to hack it up over the next half decade, installed my first custom watercooling loop, gave it colour shift paint job, a small LCD, maybe 4-5" in the drive-bay area...it was an ugly mess but taught me nearly everything I know about case modding and custom computer design...going to go see if I can dig up some old photos of it.

EDIT - now that I think of it, I think it was the first CM690, and not the second version.

 

[debs3759]

There were quite a few cards with Molex connectors for power.

 

[68Olds]

So I found a Radeon 9550 just randomly lying on the sidewalk. I still haven't tested it, or cleaned it, but thought it was the most random find ever. It's also an odd card...specifically because of the molex connector. My assumption is that the card is from an OEM of some kind where the motherboard wasn't able to supply enough power on its own? I wonder if it has potential to overclock better than normal 9550? Only one way to find out, I guess. If anyone knows what this is, they can have it (if it works, of course). I already have a 9600XT in my "retro" PC.

View attachment 172786View attachment 172787


I had that case when it was new...and then proceeded to hack it up over the next half decade, installed my first custom watercooling loop, gave it colour shift paint job, a small LCD, maybe 4-5" in the drive-bay area...it was an ugly mess but taught me nearly everything I know about case modding and custom computer design...going to go see if I can dig up some old photos of it.

EDIT - now that I think of it, I think it was the first CM690, and not the second version.

That ATI heatsink fan would be an awesome add for northbridge cooling on a vintage motherboard. Something to keep in mind if the video card is DOA.

 

[stinger608]

That ATI heatsink fan would be an awesome add for northbridge cooling on a vintage motherboard. Something to keep in mind if the video card is DOA.

Especially if it would fit a DFI board. Their northbridge fans were notorious for taking a crap.

I've got 2 socket 939 boards with bad fans.

 

[Aaron_Henderson]

There were quite a few cards with Molex connectors for power.

9550 though? I can't really find any info...I know the higher end 9700/9800 used them.

 

[lexluthermiester]

Their northbridge fans were notorious for taking a crap.

While this is true, it was an easy fix. DFI used a type of bearing grease that dried up after a year or so. Taking the fan apart, cleaning and using a quality oil fixed it right up and made it a lot less noisy.

 

[TOMCAT]

9550 though? I can't really find any info...I know the higher end 9700/9800 used them.

short info to the card:

ATI Radeon PowerColor 9550 256MB DDR SDRAM AGP

Just type the UPC EAN code ((4) 710810 936166) to your favotited search engine.

 

[Aaron_Henderson]

short info to the card:

ATI Radeon PowerColor 9550 256MB DDR SDRAM AGP

Just type the UPC EAN code ((4) 710810 936166) to your favotited search engine.

That returned about zero amount of info except that it's a Powercolor branded card...nothing about why there is a molex connector when it seems 99% of 9550 don't have them. Even the photos are wrong (when I do as you said) and don't have the molex connector. I really just wanted to know why it's there in the first place.

 

[lexluthermiester]

That returned about zero amount of info except that it's a Powercolor branded card...nothing about why there is a molex connector when it seems 99% of 9550 don't have them. Even the photos are wrong (when I do as you said) and don't have the molex connector. I really just wanted to know why it's there in the first place.

It was likely one of the factory OC'd Radeons. A standard AGP port can only deliver 48.25 watts of power to a card and some card needed more, thus the molex power jack. This was not uncommon.

 

[Aaron_Henderson]

It was likely one of the factory OC'd Radeons. A standard AGP port can only deliver 48.25 watts of power to a card and some card needed more, thus the molex power jack. This was not uncommon.

Then why is it so difficult for me to find any info? Even typing in "radeon 9550 molex connector" into google isn't helpful. Can anyone link me to any article talking about a molex connector on a 9550? Google images shows it was not common for 9550 to have a molex connector as the cards didn't "need" it and were able to be completely powered by the AGP slot alone. Is it for overclocking? Is it for OEM motherboards that cannot provide the 48.25W spec through the AGP? I am just curious and have been absolutely unable to find any info, really. I know it's just a 9550, but that's the only reason the molex connector is interesting...because it IS just a 9550. I don't even think my 9600XT has any power connectors...and it's significantly faster.

 

[freeagent]

IIRC the 9550 was a cut down 9700 that could be unlocked with a flash? Kinda hazy these days..

 

[lexluthermiester]

IIRC the 9550 was a cut down 9700 that could be unlocked with a flash? Kinda hazy these days..

That was the 9500. The 9550 was it's own design, did not have the extra features and thus there was nothing to unlock.

I don't even think my 9600XT has any power connectors...and it's significantly faster.

To be fair, the 9800/9600 series GPU's were made on a smaller lithography process and didn't require as much power, even when OC'd.

 

[Aaron_Henderson]

IIRC the 9550 was a cut down 9700 that could be unlocked with a flash? Kinda hazy these days..

That was actually the Radeon 9500, I believe. The 9550 is a down clocked 9600...can be bios flashed or overclocked to 9600 speeds, but no pipe unlock.

EDIT - ninja'd

 

[Trekkie4]

There had been some development with my "Adison" full restoration project. At this point, there are no guarantees that it will actually work out (primarily because of financial reasons), but I'm going to keep my fingers crossed.

To all of you who recently joined TPU & don't have a slightest clue what am I talking about, "Adison" machine was/is my own Pentium II, 350 machine from back in a day, which (to this day) I still own. Unfortunately, over the last 10, 15 years many original components were removed (and replaced with "upgrades") to the point where restoring it back to original specs was a serious challenge. To make it even more difficult, I got rid of the original case (which is what this restoration story is all about) and I hadn't been able to find another one in all these years ... until earlier in March. Unfortunately, the replacement case is extremely rusty, not to mention spray-painted in blue. Come to think of it, I talked about Adison system on more than one occasion here, it was first mentioned & introduced on the page 148, which was loooong time ago!

So other than soda-blasting the entire case to remove the rust & powder coating the metal panels in beige/white (along with the internal structure, in grey/silver) I'm also looking at re-capping the entire Chaintech 6BTM motherboard and maybe (if the budget allows me to) getting my old CRT professionally serviced. Overall, this is going to cost a lot of money - to be perfectly honest, more than I can afford at the moment. But hey, the whole world is coming apart, so I might as well do it now. After 15+ years of waiting & hoping, I say it is now or never!

And this is what the replacement case looks like, at the moment. As you can probably tell from the pictures, the entire case was disassembled because I was hoping to get it blasted immediately, but then the Covid pandemic happened, followed by the financial difficulties & devastating earthquake which put everything on hold

 

[lexluthermiester]

And this is what the replacement case looks like, at the moment. As you can probably tell from the pictures, the entire case was disassembled because I was hoping to get it blasted immediately, but then the Covid pandemic happened, followed by the financial difficulties & devastating earthquake which put everything on hold

Vinegar and light sanding would do well to clean up all that rust. Inexpensive and very effective.

 

[biffzinker]

Vinegar and light sanding would do well to clean up all that rust. Inexpensive and very effective.

Vinegar to neutralize the rust with baking soda as an abrasive should work too.

 

[lexluthermiester]

Vinegar to neutralize the rust with baking soda as an abrasive should work too.

Yeah, that would work too.

 

[Trekkie4]

Vinegar and light sanding would do well to clean up all that rust. Inexpensive and very effective.

Vinegar to neutralize the rust with baking soda as an abrasive should work too.

Maybe so (and actually, I've been told the same thing from several people), but there are several issues with DIY approach...

First & probably most important, I don't have the appropriate space, room to do it myself. I live in the apt. building, so it's not like I can do it outside in the back yard or the front porch.

Second, even if I do take care of the rust issue myself, there would still be a matter of painting (powder coating) the case. Because from what I've been told, the actual sandblasting is going to cost me next to nothing. In fact, I received an offer from a fellow forumer, who offered to sandblast the case for the price of a beer or two. That being said, I would still have to strip the blue (oil-based) paint from the case & then respray the whole thing from scratch, which would be a nightmare ... especially since I don't have the appropriate space for this kind of job.

Which is why I decided for a professional approach. Powder coating is /the/ way to go when it comes to respraying the computer cases nowdays, which oddly enough is about the same price (or even cheaper) than spray painting the case with traditional "wet" paint. The main issue is that no one was actually willing to accept the job, other than the bodywork restoration shop, which normally restores old timers & classics, such as Porsche 911, old Jaguars & similar, you get the point. It was actually recommended to me on another forum, after I sent out several offers to various shops & businesses, asking them if they would even be willing to take on a computer restoration. Which, as I already explained before wasn't the case, they immediately backed off claiming that it would be too risky/complicated & that the soda blasting could damage the metal framework. In other words, "too simple for us to make a healthy profit, look someplace else"

 

[stinger608]

Man @Trekkie4 , I wish you were on this side of the pond brother!

The

"too simple for us to make a healthy profit, look someplace else"

attitude would not apply here. I could have it done for next to nothing. I know of a couple of specialty powder coating shops in Colorado. But of course shipping a case over here would be insane.

 

[Trekkie4]

Man @Trekkie4 , I wish you were on this side of the pond brother!

The

attitude would not apply here. I could have it done for next to nothing. I know of a couple of specialty powder coating shops in Colorado. But of course shipping a case over here would be insane.

Lol yeah! Shipping the case to States & back would cost a fortune!

You know, someone right here, in this thread (edit, checked to make sure - it was @mmx_91 on page 178) found this exact case in Barcelona, and told me to get in touch with the seller. Which I obviously did, and I was even willing to pay for shipping & handling from Barcelona to Croatia, when the guy backed out, saying that he would rather sell the case locally (and also that he's not willing to have it shipped internationally) Which is a shame, because the case was in mint condition and it even had yet ANOTHER Pentium II inside! What a coincidence...

Anyhow, it doesn't matter. 4 years later, I finally found the other one As for the price/value, to me it doesn't have a price tag because it is a priceless memory. Unfortunately, this "priceless memory" comes at the hefty price tag, which is why I'm struggling to work it out, but hopefully I got everything under control. We shall find out soon if that's really the case or not lol

 

[QuietBob]

So I found a Radeon 9550 just randomly lying on the sidewalk. I still haven't tested it, or cleaned it, but thought it was the most random find ever. It's also an odd card...specifically because of the molex connector.

An odd find indeed. The card would also be unique in its use of DDR2 memory. From what I gather, the only other card in the R300 lineup to use DDR2 was the X1050 PCIe.

To be fair, the 9800/9600 series GPU's were made on a smaller lithography process and didn't require as much power, even when OC'd.

Wasn't the 9800 on a 150 nm, and the 9600 on a 130 nm node?

There had been some development with my "Adison" full restoration project.

That's a nice looking keyboard. Did you keep it? I myself am a big fan of ergonomic ones.

 

[lexluthermiester]

Wasn't the 9800 on a 150 nm, and the 9600 on a 130 nm node?

That depended on the run. IIRC, ATI switched from 150 to 130 mid-product life cycle. They did the same for the 9550's as well.

 

[Trekkie4]

That's a nice looking keyboard. Did you keep it? I myself am a big fan of ergonomic ones.

No, unfortunately I did not It was one of the components which got lost in the process of moving & upgrading over the years. But for what it's worth, I can give you the technical specs/details, so you can look it up. It was made by the company BTC, I believe the model number (according to Google) was BTC 8110M.

Interestingly enough, my CD-ROM drive was also manufactured by the same company (BTC), but despite all my efforts I couldn't find the same drive again. Probably because it was terrible lol, and they easily broke down, so just about everybody upgraded to better & faster units by early 2000s. (drive model was BTC BCD36X)

 

[Dinnercore]

Is there anything better then listening to Bob Acri after finally getting Windows installed on that system that gave you trouble all weekend?

Just a short peek for today, I'm exhausted:

This will be my current 'retro' rig for the games from my childhood. From Diablo 2 to Warcraft 3. Flatout to Counter Strike Source. Might even bring it to some LANs.

Had a big water + quad SLI setup in this case before, but that is not portable and not practical. Gave constant headaches with drivers and game support too.

So this is my more relaxed and air cooled rig in festive winter spirit.

DFI DK P45-T2RS PLUS
Core 2 Duo E8400
4x 1GB Ballistix Tracer DDR2
GTX 260 (The original first card I ever bought way back in my childhood, still alive and well)

Case: Silverstone TJ10B-WNV
Cooling: BeQuiet Shadow Rock TF 2