TPU's Nostalgic Hardware Club

[Robert B]

Pryda ~ Loving You (Original Mix)

If you can't find an AMD Slot A 1GHz CPU then build your own from scratch!

4 years ago I bought a 750MHz CPU that was toast.

Today I'm confident to tackle extensive trace repair(even if my tools are a little prehistoric) and a 1GHz hard mod. The 750MHz CPU has a 1000MHz die. I'll go for broke and repair the traces and shuffle the resistors for the magical 1000 number! No gold finger device available and even if I had one I would do the same. My gut feeling says this is it!

My CPU has the same spec of CACHE chips. I'm ready to give it my best! All systems NOMINAL!

Wish me luck! (in case you are wondering, the WI in the name of the pics is the short from What If?)

That busted GG board made want to do something outrageous and prove that nothing is lost until you say it is so!

 

[Trekkie4]

The only issue is the 1st deck (which doesn't record anyways). 2nd deck works fine and I expect it to record audio fine. Wasn't very dusty but the buttons were pretty loose.

EDIT: nvm, it fixed itself

Seized up mech, no doubt. I've seen my share of VHS machines & tape decks suffering from the same problem... What usually happens is that the grease hardens up & seizes the moving parts. Sometimes it can work itself loose (in your case, for example) but usually requires taking everything apart & overall maintenance.

 

[Robert B]

I'm on a roll BABY!!! Orchestral Manoeuvres In The Dark - Enola Gay

Chaintech 5SEM3-Z1 Sk.7 - ODIN mod done by me.
Fujitsu Siemens - GM1000-16 2816 PCB REV:B - Riva TNT 2 M64 LP 16MB AGP
ELSA Gladiac 511TV-OUT - Geforce 2 MX400 64MB AGP
ASUS AGP-V7700/32MB(TVR) REV 1.01 - Geforce 2 GTS 32MB AGP
Matrox G250 - G250+MILA/8/OE5 - P/N 5064-9191 - 8MB AGP
ELSA Synergy II-32 - Riva TNT 2 32MB AGP
Diamond Viper V550 SDR ATXNLX 16MB - Riva TNT 16MB AGP
MS8806 VER:1.1 - MSI Riva TNT 2 PRO 32MB AGP
Alpha PAL6035 Sk.370/A
Spire FalconRock II
Canopus Spectra 5400R2 N17-AG-904 - Riva TNT 2 32MB AGP
Diamond Fire GL 1000 Pro AGP ATX 8 MB - 3DLabs Permedia 2 8MB AGP
SL656 Intel Celeron 1.2 GHz - Tualatin-256
SL6C7 Intel Celeron 1.3 GHz - Tualatin-256
Abit KR7A-RAID - VIA KT266A - needs a few caps, nothing too serious.

The SLOT A 750MHz CPU has been prepared for operation. This will take a while to pull off. (The pic is from the Black Cat, White Cat movie, one of my all time favorites. )

The stuff above is from the last Saturday plus a BIG BONUS from the the guy that sent me to repair his V5500.

 

[Audioave10]

I'm on a roll BABY!!! Orchestral Manoeuvres In The Dark - Enola Gay

Chaintech 5SEM3-Z1 Sk.7 - ODIN mod done by me.
Fujitsu Siemens - GM1000-16 2816 PCB REV:B - Riva TNT 2 LP 16MB AGP
ELSA Gladiac 511TV-OUT - Geforce 2 MX400 64MB AGP
ASUS AGP-V7700/32MB(TVR) REV 1.01 - Geforce 2 GTS 32MB AGP
Matrox G250 - G250+MILA/8/OE5 - P/N 5064-9191 - 8MB AGP
ELSA Synergy II-32 - Riva TNT 2 32MB AGP
Diamond Viper V550 SDR ATXNLX 16MB - Riva TNT 16MB AGP
MS8806 VER:1.1 - MSI Riva TNT 2 PRO 32MB AGP
Alpha PAL6035 Sk.370/A
Spire FalconRock II
Canopus Spectra 5400R2 N17-AG-904 - Riva TNT 2 32MB AGP
Diamond Fire GL 1000 Pro AGP ATX 8 MB - 3DLabs Permedia 2 8MB AGP
SL656 Intel Celeron 1.2 GHz - Tualatin-256
SL6C7 Intel Celeron 1.3 GHz - Tualatin-256
Abit KR7A-RAID - VIA KT266A - needs a few caps, nothing too serious.

The SLOT A 750MHz CPU has been prepared for operation. This will take a while to pull off. (The pic is from the Black Cat, White Cat movie, one of my all time favorites. )

The stuff above is from the last Saturday plus a BIG BONUS from the the guy that sent me to repair his V5500.

Nice! Another Abit board. I had an Abit AN8 back in the early 2000's but kept trading-in PC's (should have kept it).

 

[QuietBob]

There was one for Nalu too IIRC

Back in the day yes...but just the regular version now. I wouldn't remember which files to remove.

The two hacks were distributed as a single patch which also allowed the demos to run on ATI hardware. Now, curiosity got the better of me and I installed it on one of my Win7 machines with an HD6850. Not only did it not work, but it also messed up some essential system fonts.

Serves me right for trying I guess

Gärbäge Inc. rescue
View attachment 210021

Radio works, tape however... not sure. It had some generic music tape inside but I probably didn't notice it had about 10 or so seconds of dead air at the beginning.

eXtra High Bass = XHG
Yep, makes sense

 

[Audioave10]

The two hacks were distributed as a single patch which also allowed the demos to run on ATI hardware. Now, curiosity got the better of me and I installed it on one of my Win7 machines with an HD6850. Not only did it not work, but it also messed up some essential system fonts.

Serves me right for trying I guess

There is an enhanced version from Nvidia themselves (which they also removed) that I downloaded recently that works on W10.
The older version i have on my XP machine. I had only removed some files at the time but can't remember what they were. Did not use any hacks.
I didn't try running on ATI hardware (but I had heard about it).

 

[Athlonite]

I really miss those tech demo's that ATI/AMD and nVidia used to put out

 

[Audioave10]

I really miss those tech demo's that ATI/AMD and nVidia used to put out

PixelPipes on Youtube has a video which covers most of the old Tech Demos.

 

[Peter1986C]

Here is the linke thereto:

 

[Audioave10]

Thanks for the Link Peter1986C.
I have some old Nvidia cards:
GT 240 512MB.......7600 GS 512MB
8500 GT 256MB.......9600 GT 1GB

 

[QuietBob]

As some of the regulars here may remember, a while ago I had a wacky idea. It occured to me while trying to establish the minimum requirements for 64-bit Windows 7 with the default transparent interface. As a quick reminder, here are the official guidelines from MS:

CPU - 1 GHz x86-64
RAM - 2 GB
GPU - DX 9.0 compatible with hardware PS 2.0 support and WDDM 1.0 driver, 128 MB (discrete) or 64 MB (IGP) VRAM for Desktop Windows Manager (Aero Glass GUI)
HDD- 20 GB free space

I decided to build the simplest system capable of running it. Not subscribing to the "any hardware will do" paradigm, after some research I cobbled together a rig using the actual slowest components that fit the bill. I shared the result of my work here

The only part in this build that wasn't really fitting was the 120 GB 5,400 rpm laptop HDD. It was the slowest drive I had on hand at that time, but I really wanted to try something even slower and less spacious. The problem with such small drives is that they aren't generally in good supply. I managed to get a 20 GB EIDE 4,200 rpm 2.5" drive and was hoping to put it in my minimum Win7 machine.

Alas, the disk wasn't correctly recognized by the Socket 754 board I'd used for that build. It also didn't work in another 2004 board because of BIOS limitations. I find this baffling, because at that time EIDE was the standard and SATA was only being introduced. Long story short, I procured another HDD, a 20 GB 5,400 rpm 2.5" SATA drive:

Oh well, it benchmarks almost the same as the 120 GB drive I originally put in that PC. Let's use it for another minimum build My previous system is based on the slowest 64-bit AMD CPU and the weakest DX9 Nvidia iGPU, so this one will employ the Intel/ATI combo.

I'll keep you guys posted

 

[QuietBob]

Alright, so here are the parts for my "Win7 min spec" system #2:

- the slowest 64-bit Intel desktop CPU:


- the weakest DX9 ATI IGP:


- 2x 1 GB DDR1 @ 200 MHz:


- Intel D101GGC motherboard:


In fact, this is my second LGA 775 board with the same IGP. The first one I bought turned out to be a lemon. There was no signal from the IGP and I figured it'd be simpler just to get another one.


This is gonna be fun

 

[Valantar]

Alright, so here are the parts for my "Win7 min spec" system #2:

- the slowest 64-bit Intel desktop CPU:
View attachment 210578

- the weakest DX9 ATI IGP:
View attachment 210579

- 2x 1 GB DDR1 @ 200 MHz:
View attachment 210577

- Intel D101GGC motherboard:
View attachment 210580

In fact, this is my second LGA 775 board with the same IGP. The first one I bought turned out to be a lemon. There was no signal from the IGP and I figured it'd be simpler just to get another one.
View attachment 210582

This is gonna be fun

Looking good, but where's the CRT monitor at the lowest supported resolution and color depth?

 

[QuietBob]

Looking good, but where's the CRT monitor at the lowest supported resolution and color depth?

Ah, forgot that one! Don't have a CRT, but my FPD can do 640x480. And I did manage to run Aero on much less than the required minimum VRAM

 

[Valantar]

Ah, forgot that one! Don't have a CRT, but my FPD can do 640x480. And I did manage to run Aero on much less than the required minimum VRAM

Hey now, what it can do is Irrelevant. It needs to be its maximum spec or it obviously doesn't count. Never let silly things like what is practically feasible get in the way of perfection!

 

[Audioave10]

Hey now, what it can do is Irrelevant. It needs to be its maximum spec or it obviously doesn't count. Never let silly things like what is practically feasible get in the way of perfection!

I must admit I also found it easier to get a good Dell 19" 1280 x 1024 then a CRT that takes too much room on a desk or kitchen table.

 

[Ruru]

Yeah, an old 4:3 or 5:4 TFT is IMO fine for a retro build.

 

[agent_x007]

My first (Super) Socket 7 board/CPU/AT case I ever owned

CPU :


Does work (even with bulged cap) :

 

[Audioave10]

Do not check Ebay...
Do not check Ebay...
Do not check Ebay...

 

[lexluthermiester]

Do not check Ebay...
Do not check Ebay...
Do not check Ebay...

?!? Why not?

 

[Audioave10]

?!? Why not?

I need to start doing some more builds I guess. I've also got 2 new cases in the boxes just sitting there Lonely.

 

[Ruru]

Do not check Ebay...
Do not check Ebay...
Do not check Ebay...

Have to admit that a little jealousy bite me..

 

[Audioave10]

Gigabyte 970A D3 AM3
AMD Phenom II 820 2.8Ghz x 4 (will clock to 3.2Ghz easily)
Patriot DDR3 1600Mhz 8G
Xigmatek Loki Cooler
Intel 60GB SSD
my choice of at least 15 different era correct Graphics Cards
Windows Vista Business 64bit SP2 - this is a great OS IMHO now-a-days
a new EVGA 450 watt PSU ready for case and another hard drive

 

[Ruru]

Gigabyte 970A D3 AM3
AMD Phenom II 820 2.8Ghz x 4 (will clock to 3.2Ghz easily)
Patriot DDR3 1600Mhz 8G
Xigmatek Loki Cooler
Intel 60GB SSD
my choice of at least 15 different era correct Graphics Cards
Windows Vista Business 64bit SP2 - this is a great OS IMHO now-a-days
a new EVGA 450 watt PSU ready for case and another hard drive

Nice base for a retro gaming PC rig. At least that 820 is the better 8xx Phenom IIs as some are just rebranded Athlon IIs without L3 cache.

I have two 955 BEs to test myself which one I'll put to my ultimate AGP rig. Haven't tried those yet.

 

[Audioave10]

Nice base for a retro gaming PC rig. At least that 820 is the better 8xx Phenom IIs as some are just rebranded Athlon IIs without L3 cache.

I have two 955 BEs to test myself which one I'll put to my ultimate rig. Haven't tried those yet.

Yes! I always go for the biggest L3 cache.