Hello, World! :D - Robert B's PC builds - oogle away freely :) - OLD Hardware Emporium

[Aenra]

made me smile

Something similar for me with the first Voodoo (ie not Voodoo2); and maybe the only time when i could barely wait to get home, tempted to open it up on the way, just to look inside. Usually it'd be the opposite, had a proper ritual for this.
Good times, more innocent times. Missed

( and at the time, lol, my dad doing the 'assembly' for me, shouldn't forget that. I don't exactly have delicate fingers, took me years before i trusted myself. Had to wait till he too got home, and ate, and showered, and made his coffee, and God, i just couldn't wait ^^ )

 

[Robert B]

5x86 - THE REBIRTH

Ladies and gentlemen, I present to you MY FIRST PC!

Almost two years ago I embarked on a journey to find and rebuild my first personal computer.

This was no easy task, as the components I wanted, were getting scarce by the second and many have already been turned to scrap. Somehow I managed to find the hdd, the soundcard (by a twist of fate my original one ) and the case. I was missing the motherboard, the odd and the video adapter. These were replaced with the closest equivalent I could find: a SiS 496/497 motherboard, an Ark Logic ARK2000PV video adapter and a 52X CD-ROM.

The assembly of this system made me remember all the good times I had back in '96, when my first PC was standing in my room, happily doing his tasks and having the divine new electronics smell GOOD TIMES!!!

The 5x86 build was the first one posted on this thread.

During all this time I searched for my missing pieces of the 5x86 puzzle. I managed to find my missing CD-ROM, a Goldstar/LG CRD-8160B. This one didnt have the front panel headphone jack and had a different bezel but for me, the most important thing was the model number CRD-8160B. This unit was cleaned, tested and ready to be put to work. Details in the posts above.

The motherboard proved to be the most illusive. No matter were I looked I couldn't find it. I didnt lose hope but I was pretty close to. All this time the string 4DPS 496/497, P75....133MHz, was daunting me......damn, I dont think I'll ever get to see one in the FLESH!!!

By a twist of fate, 10 days ago I received a small package containing my last two missing pieces of the 5x86 puzzle: the ZIDA/TOMATO 4DPS SiS 497/497 motherboard and the Cirrus Logic 5446 8260B/V6. Back in the day I think I had a Cirrus Logic 5430 but this 5446 is as close as it gets. The 5446 received a 1MB video memory upgrade just because it could . Against its will, a SiS video adapter was left without its memory chips.All for the greater GOOD!!! These last pieces were found on the local OLX site.

So here I was with all the pieces of the 5x86 puzzle and I was ready to do the right thing and recreate MY FIRST PC!!!

Today I had three free hours and I put them to good use.

The first task was to decide which CPU I was going to use. I had two revisions of the AMD 5x86 CPU: ADW and ADZ. The ADZ was more desirable as it could run without a heatsink and a fan. I stood a moment and said to myself that back in the day I really couldnt have the ADZ as it was uncommon and I went with the ADW.

I removed the labels from the back of the CPU. I really hate those stickers, removing them is always a PAIN IN THE A$$. Thank GOD FOR ISOPROPYL ALCOHOL 99%!!!

Then I set up the jumpers, which by the way didnt need setting as it seems the motherboard used to run the same CPU model Go figure!

Taking apart the original 5x86 build, filled me with mixed emotions as I thought it'll never be disassembled again. Regardless, I marched on and did what I had to do. An easy and quick task.

gallery: https://postimg.org/gallery/e9gq5f5m/



Next, I attached the heatsink and made a mock-up to see how my system will look like.

LOOKING GOOD YOU sexy piece of HW Pr0n!!!

gallery: https://postimg.org/gallery/xb9fff6s/



Now came the time to get the motherboard in the case. This proved more challeging that I anticipated.

Of course the fixing holes from the motherboard tray didnt lign up with the new motherboard so I did what I had to do, and I added two new standoffs.

The 4DPS motherboard is so compact that in one corner I couldnt insert a fixing screw as it would damage a nearing IC so I had to improvise. I remembered that back in the day you had a screw in plastic standoff. GOOD LUCK FINDING THOSE TODAY. So I took a regular plastic standoff, used a grinding wheel to remove as much as I could from its collar, then I cut all the remaining bits and screwd the thing in the motherboard tray. PROBLEM SOLVED!!!

When I tried to insert the tray and motherboard combo in the case, a metal bar used to strengthen the case , stood in my way. I took out the top RAM stick and put the tray in, then I tried to insert the RAM stick back in. NO DICE. I removed the power supply and tried again. NO DICE.

Hmmmm....I took out the tray and started to look at it with a blank expression. What to do? To my surprise I find a problem with a RAM slot as I see a bent pin. SHEEETTTT!!! Not good. With great care I straightened the pin and the crysis was averted. HUH!!! That was a close one. I started looking at the pictures with the motherboard, I took when I cleaned it and I'm 90% sure it came with the bent pin. I dont have a clear picture but in one picture I took you can see the bent pin. Regardless the problem was solved.

I put back all the RAM sticks, loosened the power supply from its fixing screws, then I lifted with a hand the metal bar and with the other I inserted the tray. THE MOTHERBOARD IS IN!!!

Observe how close to each other the RAM stick are and the small clearance they have until they touch the case. You can be sure I took great care and there is no danger of the motheboard or the RAM sticks to come in contact with the case.

Inserting the power supply connectors proved challenging too. The fit is extremely TIGHT as the securing clips must slide between three resistors. YEP BOYS I think this one's a V....N!!! In the end the connectors went ALL THE WAY IN!!!

HUH!!!

gallery: https://postimg.org/gallery/x6knmut4/



After these tasks I decided to make a BOOT test and attached all the front panel connectors.

The system came to life on the first powerup and it made a clear and happy: beep! I'm allive! The CL5446 and the 4DPS are in excellent working condition! No drama, no more problems!

The PC is purring like a kitten, the hdd makes all the right noises and the Noctua fan is silent as a wisper. EPIC WIN 4 ME!!!

gallery: https://postimg.org/gallery/1lk67mme4/



REMEMBER MY FACE!!! SAY MY NAME!!!



Next: wire management & software testing.

More later.

 

[Robert B]

With what should I start? Hmm....this story doesnt have so much material going for it but I'm sure I can make SOMETHING SPECIAL with it!

Saturday the AGER case received all of its "organs" and she almost went into cardiac arrest with all its 133MHz!!!

Next task on the LIST: WIRE MANAGEMENT!!!

I took out the FDD and 40 pin ATA cables and I did a quick test to see how they look. I really didnt like the results. Last time I rolled them up and they ended up like a GIANT FUNNEL. NOT GOOD!!!. I tried to let them be and hang like in the GOOD OLD DAYS but they looked HORRIBLE!!!

What to do? CLICK! I have an idea!

One or two years ago I saw somebody fold ribbon cables in half, then in another half, across their length and then tied them up with zip ties. I tried to do the same but the cables turned to be STIFF AS A BOARD!!! GOD DAMN IT!!!

You know what came next? EXTREME MEASURES of course.

I started by looking on the internet for some information about separating ribbon cable in individual strands / groups of wires. I found something, but as usual what I want is hard or can't be done....

I remember the 80 pin round ATA cables with their individual wires.

So I take in my hand a cutter / X-acto knife with a fine blade and I CUT THE FLESH!!! Curiously no blood comes out! Hi Hi Hi! (evil smile)

And a TUTORIAL IS BORN!

ATA / IDE / FDD RIBBON cable - MANAGEMENT or WIRE MANAGEMENT OF RIBBON CABLES IN AT PC CASES - 386/486/586 etc

Steps:

STEP 1. You take the ribbon cable you wish to separate in groups of wires. You cand choose 2,4,6,8 etc, 3,6,9 etc or any number of wires you want to group. I went straight to the NUMBER 2 for the FDD and ATA ribbon cables, after I found out that groups 10 wires arent very flexible. You can experiment as much as you like.

STEP 2. Place the ribbon cable on a glass surface with a source of light underneath. In my case I placed it against a glass window.

NOTE. First choose the cable with the most visible / bigger space between wires by placing it against a source of light. You'll see that not all cables are the same.



PROS and CONS of using the glass window:

PROS

a) better control of the ribbon cable when you cut between wires. You have a better feel of the space between wires.
b) the gravity helps by allowing the ribbon cable to stay stretched.
c) when you cut between the wires the ribbon cable follows your cutting motion because it is able to move freely.
NOTE. I saw on the internet that when somebody tried to separate groups of wires in ribbon cables, he used clips to stretch and fix the cable onto a surface. I DONT NOT RECOMMEND this, as the ribbon cable becomes rigid and the chances to cut or expose a wire are far greater.

CONS

a) the ribbon cable slides on the glass surface
b) it is harder to control the cable as you start cutting.

NOTE. THE GLASS WINDOW WASNT AFFECTED, but I have very sensitive fingers. YMMV!!!



STEP 3. The cutter / X-acto knife MUST BE sharp. with a fine blade and reasonable "high" cutting edge to fit nicely between wires.

I started from one end and I cut as much as I could, then I started from the other end. All this time I kept the cable by its connectors and I took care to keep the cable straight and under tension, as much as possible.

The FDD cable was more flexible and was easier to separate.

THE ATA cable was less flexible beeing new and it was a little harder to separate.

The SERIAL/PARALLEL cables had more tightly packed wires and the grooves were closer. It was more difficult to separate and I almost damaged cable Here I had to completely separate the gropups of wires with the blade.

TIP. If you have to stop when you cut, KEEP THE BLADE in the grooves, and just reposition the cable. If you went sideways, start lower bellow or from the other side. The jackets of the wires are thicker than you think. Inspect for damage afterwards.

NOTE. Before you start cutting straighten the ribbon cable as much as possible.
OBS.Preferably the cutting motion MUST be continuous, without stops. If you stop, start from the other end.Keep the blade straight when you cut. Otherwise bye bye cable.



STEP 4. After you have cut between two groups of wires separate them. Dont cut all the cable and then separate it.

CUT.SEPARATE.CUT.SEPARATE.REPEAT!!!

OBS1. Sometimes the blade wont cut all the way and you will have to cut again. BE CAREFUL.Sometimes is possible to separate the groups of wires even if you havent cut the material between them all the way, sometimes not. The flexibility of the ribbon cable jacket will dictate this. Dont use FORCE when you separate the groups. Faillure to do this right will damage the jacket of a wire or it will expose it and you will have to start again!

OBS2. Regardless that you have cut the material between the wires all the way or about 50% the separation of the group of wires MUST BE DONE applying force over the LENGTH of the cable and in a downward motion. NOT UP or SIDEWAYS!!! Take it step by step, centimeter by centimeter and if the groups arent separating place the cable on the glass surface and cut more material if you didnt cut all of it. DONT start from one place and pull hard.

OBS3. DONT USE FORCE. The wires are DELICATE and each cut makes them more FRAGILE. Tie the groups of wires with zip ties ONLY AFTER YOU PLACED THEM IN THE CASE and you like their position.




I MANAGED TO DO THIS ON MY FIRST TRY. FTW!!! No drama or other problems.

And there you have it! A 40 pin and kind of a round cable I wont cover the ribbon cables in a plastic jacket as I like how they look!

i still have more work to do, so GLAMOUR PICTURES WILL HAVE TO WAIT a little

After I separated the groups of wires I inspected all of them to look for damage even if I already knew they were PERFECT!

I did a quick BOOT test to see if the cables are still working and as expected they are IMPECCABLE! I was nervous at first, and I tried the FDD cable. Afterwards came the ATA cable. I dont know if I will have problems with interference as some 80 pin ATA round cable had, but because these are 40 pin cable I think I'll be OK.

The entire process took about 60 or 90 minutes. I dont know for sure. This includes the taking of pictures and fitting inside the case. After this experience I can do it much faster.

Just a regular day in my life Me and my OBSESSIONS!!!



I'll see later if something is wrong but for now I'M PROUD of a JOB WELL DONE! gives himself a pat on the back.

gallery: https://postimg.org/gallery/3e7hf03rq/

 

[Aenra]

The interior of your cases puts any of mine to shame, lol

Everything's awaiting inspection. Sir ^^

 

[Robert B]

ALL CREWS ... not REPORTING SiiiiiiRRRRRRR!

wait until you see the finished results. OH MY GOD!!!

I separated all the ribbon cables and I also found a longer floppy cable to really make this build my masterpiece. We are talking about my first PC, after all.

More later.

 

[Robert B]

I found the MOTHER OF ALL FDD CABLES which received the same treatment as above This way the system look cleaner.

The wire management isnt done yet. After I'm happy with the placement, I'll reduce de number of zip ties, if possible.

The wires will be "combed" to make them look better.

I added PS2 and PARALLEL ports to complicate things even if I dont need them both I dont see me using a printer even if I have a SEIKO SP-2415.

Some modifications will be done to the placement of the PSU wires. The problem is that in the case of this PSU, the wires come from the side, instead from the back. Nothing difficult though.

Try to imagine how good a system with this kind of wire management would look, full of long ISA or VLB cards. No more clutter just clean looking boards

.....more to follow.

gallery: https://postimg.org/gallery/wq5skj9i/

[url=https://postimg.org/image/qx9s165tj/] [/URL]

 

[Robert B]

A RAINBOW OF CABLES

Tweezers for fine tuning

Wire management still in progress...front panel cables, PC speaker and a final inspection of wires and connections are still required. The ODD received a new rubber belt.

gallery: https://postimg.org/gallery/11lcpwwfs/



I extended the RESET, POWER, IDE LED, HDD LED, TB LED and PC SPEAKER cables, using male-female extension cables. The connection was held in place with heat shrink tube.

Not all was smooth sailing though.

I had to use washers for the screws that hold the cards and brackets at the back of the case. Because the fixing screws and the brackets are chromed, even when you tighten the screw to the max the brackets still move inside-outside when you plug in or take out the connector from the PS2 port, for example. Also because the thread of the screws isnt going all the way under their head, they werent holding the brackets and sometimes couldnt be tightened. The washer solved this problem.

To fix the extended front panel cables, I used a stretchy and very adhesive electrical tape. Normaly I dont use such techinque but given the fact that 5 years ago I was forced to keep in place a fan cable in my system in such a way, and it still didnt come off, I can vouch for this method. While I loooked at the pictures I think I have a solution to reduce the patches of tape use, through the use of a perforated, rubber coated, metal plate.

With the mouse plugged in the PS2 port the system hangs at boot. If I take out the mouse the system resumes the boot process. Here I have to check again the pinout of the PS2 connector on the motherboard and the connector on the back bracket. Back in the day my PC didnt have a PS2 port This however is requried as I could use newer mice on this system. I'll see if there is a BIOS setting required.

Initially the FDD unit worked if it was plugged on the middle connector on the FDD cable. I know I should've connected the unit on the last connector on the cable. I hoped I would get away with this but now I get FDD unit error at boot and I will have to take out the FDD cable and separate in strands the ending part of it. No big problem though.

The system booted finely in win95 which was installed on the old configuration

I'm waiting to tie up all the loose ends and catch a sunny day for some really nice pictures.

The PC looks incredibly clean and it makes me want to fill it with lots of extension cards

More later.

gallery: https://postimg.org/gallery/2dc6hbnf8/

 

[micropage7]

A RAINBOW OF CABLES

Tweezers for fine tuning

Wire management still in progress...front panel cables, PC speaker and a final inspection of wires and connections are still required. The ODD received a new rubber belt.

gallery: https://postimg.org/gallery/11lcpwwfs/



I extended the RESET, POWER, IDE LED, HDD LED, TB LED and PC SPEAKER cables, using male-female extension cables. The connection was held in place with heat shrink tube.

Not all was smooth sailing though.

I had to use washers for the screws that hold the cards and brackets at the back of the case. Because the fixing screws and the brackets are chromed, even when you tighten the screw to the max the brackets still move inside-outside when you plug in or take out the connector from the PS2 port, for example. Also because the thread of the screws isnt going all the way under their head, they werent holding the brackets and sometimes couldnt be tightened. The washer solved this problem.

To fix the extended front panel cables, I used a stretchy and very adhesive electrical tape. Normaly I dont use such techinque but given the fact that 5 years ago I was forced to keep in place a fan cable in my system in such a way, and it still didnt come off, I can vouch for this method. While I loooked at the pictures I think I have a solution to reduce the patches of tape use, through the use of a perforated, rubber coated, metal plate.

With the mouse plugged in the PS2 port the system hangs at boot. If I take out the mouse the system resumes the boot process. Here I have to check again the pinout of the PS2 connector on the motherboard and the connector on the back bracket. Back in the day my PC didnt have a PS2 port This however is requried as I could use newer mice on this system. I'll see if there is a BIOS setting required.

Initially the FDD unit worked if it was plugged on the middle connector on the FDD cable. I know I should've connected the unit on the last connector on the cable. I hoped I would get away with this but now I get FDD unit error at boot and I will have to take out the FDD cable and separate in strands the ending part of it. No big problem though.

The system booted finely in win95 which was installed on the old configuration

I'm waiting to tie up all the loose ends and catch a sunny day for some really nice pictures.

The PC looks incredibly clean and it makes me want to fill it with lots of extension cards

More later.

gallery: https://postimg.org/gallery/2dc6hbnf8/

looks good but i never use steel washer, i prefer make it by using plastic

 

[Robert B]

The 5x86 - (re) Build

This moment is one of great satisfaction, as I am about to present to you my first PC which I had back in 1996. The components are identical or as close as possible to what I had then. The name, the looks, the specifications etc. are all as they are supposed to be! Differences are small and irrelevant.

The allocated time for this rebuild is plain and simple RIDICULOUS. Endless hours spent for cleaning, wire management, bug solving, setup, etc.

Now I can breathe a sigh of relief as everything I own is were I want it to be and for the first time in MONTHS I can take it a little bit easy, relax and enjoy the fruits of my labour. I'm really exhausted...

I've redone the wire management for the front panel connectors, as the tape used to hold the cables was looking out of place. The audio cable bewteen the sound card and the CD-ROM was routed underneath the motherboard.

To reach this point and call my first PC done and returend from its ashes scattered in the four conrers of the world, took more than two years. Finding its pieces took a great amount of time. money, effort and luck.

I dont think there is anything more to add. The story of my first PC took center stage in many of my posts.

The system is incredibly silent.

Next on the list will be some fun with programs and some games. Also I will have to solve the mistery of the TURBO button and I want to see if the TURBO downgrades the performance of it keeps it at maximum levels. Back in the day I kept the TURBO button always ON.

Enjoy!

Vital statistics

1. CPU: AMD 5X86 133MHz - AMD-X5-133ADW/Am5X86-P75 3.45V
2. Motherboard: Tomato board / ZIDA 4DPS v2.11- chipset SiS 496/497 - 256KB cache/3 PCI/3 ISA/2 RAM SLOTS
3. RAM: 2x16=32 MB RAM SIMM FPM
4. VGA: Cirrus Logic 5446 - 8260B/V6, 2MB, PCI
5. AUDIO: ESS AudioDrive 1868F ISA
6. HDD: QUANTUM TRAILBLAZER TRB850A -850MB- 4500RPM
7. FDD: NEC
8. CD-ROM: Goldstar/LG CRD-8160B
9. PSU: Minebea Electronics 200W AT PSU
10. Cooling: CPU-Noctua NF-4x10FLX 40 mm x 40 mm x 10 mm 4500 rpm/SSO2 SYSTEM: Scythe Mini Kaze 60 mm x 60 mm x 20 mm 2500 rpm/sleeve.
11. CASE: Generic AT Case manufactured 1998.

gallery: https://postimg.org/gallery/d2mxg20y/




INTERIOR



The next episode will be about PS/2 PS2 mice:

THE MISTERY OF THE PS2, PS/2 connectors on vintage systems

I managed to make mice work on the Zida 4DPS v2.11 motherboard with the onboard PS2, PS/2 connector. An EPOX motherboard proved invaluable Full story later next week!

 

[Aenra]

Something i'm wondering..

Once built, what happens to these beauties?

 

[Robert B]

Storage / Suspended animation waiting to be put to work on a moment's notice! They will be checked regularly.

In the future I'll have a place where they will be used more. For now I really have no plans for them besides looking good and working flawlessly. I'm just in the hunter-gatherer mode

Being "reunited" with my first PC is something I consider as an achievement and a source of great satisfaction. Since my father passed away in 2015 I still remember on a daily basis the moment we went to the shop and bought this beauty, Good Ol' '96. Sheeshhhh I feel old.....

Also having into my possession these relics of days past, means more than just reading about them.

 

[Aenra]

Aaah.. my condolences..
I can relate to that. As i mentioned above, most of my "awesome" PC-related moments were shared with (and to be honest, entirely due to) my father. They kinda go hand in hand

It's funny how we 'link' things together sometimes, isn't it?
You keep enjoying yourself dude.

 

[Robert B]

THE MISTERY OF THE PS2, PS/2 connectors on vintage systems

This story was harder to write than it was to actually do the facts presented bellow.

Using a serial mouse, the one with the ball inside, isn't one of the experiences I wish to live again so when I saw that the ZIDA 4DPS v2.11 motherboard had a PS/2, PS2 motherboard connector I was very excited!

I had one PS/2, PS2 cable available and after I read the motherboard manual, I connected the cable and I tried to use a USB optical mouse through a USB-PS2 converter. Tough luck! It didnt work. Also the 5x86 system would hang at BOOT. If I took out the mouse from the PS/2, PS2 port the PC would resume the BOOT process.

Searching for solutions, I remembered that the K6-2 - EPOX EP-58MVP3C-M REV 0.8 build also had a PS/2, PS2 cable so I took it out and I tried the second cable on the ZIDA 4DPS v2.11. Still nothing. The optical sensor light would flicker and that was it.The PC booted in Win95 but the mouse wasnt working. I put back the cable in the K6-2 build only to find out that it didnt work there either. !@!&(#!(*&~(*#^~~~~~~~!!!!.

Hmmmm..... this wasnt a case of BIOS settings either....

I thought that I mixed up the orientation of the motherboard connector so I checked the manual again. The position was good, as the space of the missing cable(NC/Not Connected) was the tell tale sign. Pins I,II,III,IV,V were all in good order. In desperation I even flipped the connector just to see what happens. Well....NOTHING HAPPENED. I dont recommend you try this though.

I searched the internet and I tried to find a diagram for the PS/2, PS2 pinout. I found some information but sometimes the data was conflicting and also the colour of the cables was different.

Eventually I settled on a diagram, which looked ok to me and went from there.



WE WILL CONCENTRATE on the left side of the above image - THE CONNECTOR AT THE COMPUTER!



NOTE 1. The position of the cables on the BRACKET connector at the back of the case will be numbered with arabic numerals: 1,2,3,4,5,6
NOTE 2. The position of the cables on the MOTHERBOARD connector will be numbered with roman numerals: I,II,III,IV,V

A quick continuity test revealed some interesting facts. The PS/2,PS2 wires were a TOTAL MESS!!! Like I didnt know this already!

First was the cable I took out from the K6-2 system. The one with the exposed wires at the back of the PS/2, PS2 connector.

From the image above I found:

1 - KEY DATA
3 - GND
4 - +5V
5 - CLOCK

Looking at the cable colour of the PS/2, PS2, connector on the bracket I found:

1 - KEY DATA - RED
3 - GND - GREEN
4 - +5V -YELLOW
5 - CLOCK - BLUE



I looked in the EPOX EP-58MVP3C-M & ZIDA 4DPS manuals:

I - KEY DATA - BLUE
II - CLOCK - YELLOW
III - GND - GREEN
V - +5V - RED



A TOTAL MESS!!!

The simple solution was to rearrange the cable position at the motherboard connector.

RED went to the place of BLUE
GREEN went to the place of GREEN
YELLOW went to the place of RED
BLUE went to the place of YELLOW



This way I managed to use PS/2, PS2 mice on both the K6-2 and 5x86 systems. It was really rewarding after the time spent to find the sollution .

****************************************************************************************************************************************************************************************************************************************************************

Next came the second cable. This was a hard nut to crack. The PS/2, PS2 connector on the bracket was cast in hard plastic.

I did a continuity test and I received some bad news! I found the 1,4,5 wires but no number 3. To make things more complicated I found the wire 6, which was supposed to be NC-NOT CONNECTED! , ACTUALLY WAS CONNECTED!!! This threw a spanner in the works!!!

So instead of 1,3,4,5 I had 1,4,5,6! GREAT!!!

After some deliberation I took a hacksaw and I did a circular cut around the collar of the PS/2, PS2 connector. I cut a little, then a little, until I reached something hard which sounded metalic.

After I finished cutting I separated the two plastic pieces. I WAS LUCKY the backside wasnt glued and that I cut along the exterior metal shroud of the connector. A few millimeters more and bye bye chance of recovering something. Indeed the green wire was connected to pin 6 and BEHOLD, pin NUMBER 3 connected to the exterior metal shroud of the connector. I think that GND was supposed to come from the PC CASE instead of the motherboard and knowing this, I might've insulated the metal shroud of the connector from THE PC CASE and soldered a new wire to it and had my GND without cutting the plastic cover. It wouldnt've looked pretty though

So I went from having 1,4,5,6 to having 1,3,4,5 again!!! AWESOME!!!

I cut the white wire from the metal shroud of the PS/2 connector and soldered it to the green wire. So number 6 was no more and I had back my number 3.

The solder job on number 3 isn't my best but the wire was very short and I wasnt going to risk to damage something. Also my small soldering iron wasn't with me. A continuity test revealed that all the wires were OK!!!



I used transparent POXIPOL to glue the pieces and heat shrink tube to cover the missing cable jacket.

I set up the wires at the motherboard connector after doing all the checks mentioned above in the case of the first cable and tested the second cable on both the k6-2 and 5x86 systems. IT WORKED BRILLIANTLY!

It doesnt look too pretty but it gets the job done. I used the first cable in the 5x86 build and the second one went into the K6-2.



TWO PS/2 PS2 cables ready to be put to good use!



As a reward for giving up its PS/2, PS2 cable, the K6-2 build received an era period correct CD-ROM: LG CRD-8240B instead of the TOP-G 50X it had before



More later.

 

[Robert B]

These are some quick tests I ran on the 5x86 build. TURBO - ON makes the PC to function at MAX performance.

TURBO - OFF showed some unexptected results. The CPU frequnecy went from 133MHz to 125MHz. The memory bandwidth went from 28MB/s to 20.35MB/s. The VESA memory speed went from 19376KB/s to 13975KB/s. The speed index went from 50.06 to 50.05 .

The HDD has some problems but it works for what I need it to do. I wont exchange it until it breaks down for good. I'll take it out and do something about it at a later date.

Win95 works beautifully. I tested some games. IT IS AS GOOD AS IT WILL EVER BE!!! I call this build truly completed and an incarnation of my first PC in all its glory.

This is it for now. The 5x86 will go into storage and I will take a BREAK, which I need.

I tested the external ZIP drive with the parallel connection on the 5x86 and it worked FLAWLESSLY. The floppy with the drivers was in good shape and the ZIP disk was also mint. I call this a WIN!

Testing of the Slot 1 and Slot A parts will be done at a later date. For now they are sitting pretty

The MAXX and the V2 SLI are still waiting paciently

More later.

gallery: https://postimg.org/gallery/2ghhg1qmk/

 

[Aenra]

Am jealous

Gotta get me some extra space somehow, build me my own, lol

(can't fit another PC+monitor in my cave)

 

[Robert B]

A few days ago I was looking for a couple of nice cardboard boxes to store my Slot 1 and Slot A motherboards.

I went to a local PC shop and asked if they had some ATX motherboard boxes. To my surprise I went home empty handed as the response was: we give the boxes to our customers for warranty reasons. Well, I can't argue about this so no BOXES FOR ME!

In the end I used a Slot 1 box I had and a box from a Gaiwnard 9800GTX GPU from the times when the graphic cards really had quality cardboard boxes.

A few days later I went to my office where I also store my stuff and because I had a few free hours I was still thinking about the Gigabyte GA-6BXC and the Asus K7M I put in their boxes. Also the box with the Slot 1 and Slot A CPUs was so enticing that in the end I had to do something



I guess it is pretty obvious what came next

A quick and dirty testing session. YAY!!!

I took out the Enermax PSU, a HDD, some PC-133 SD-RAM, etc and by magic a test bed took shape in front of me. Which I must say was also functional!

First on the test bed was the ASUS K7M Slot A motherboard.

I took out the first Slot A CPU - the 500 MHz one, which was recognized as a 700 MHz on the previous PC CHIPS M800LMR 1.3A motherboard. To my surprise it booted also as a 700 MHz CPU. Please observe the small clearance I have until the beefy cooler will reach the ATX power connector on the motherboard. This ATX power connector placement was pretty common back in the day. NOT GOOD!

I took out the second Slot A CPU - the 550 MHz without a heatsink, which didnt booted on PC CHIPS M800LMR 1.3A motherboard. To my joy it booted fine and showed the desired frequency of 550 MHz.

I took out the third Slot A CPU - the 600 MHz with the dual fan heatsink. The system started but the fans spun at low speed and then shutted down and nothing happend. Black screen, no beeps, no noises, nothing. I checked the jumper settings and I manually set VID1, VID2 and VID3 with the correct default voltage and I bypassed the default setting detected by the motherboard.BEHOLD!!!! THE system BOOTS!!! Unfortunately the screen registered the CPU running only at 500 MHz no matter what I tried. #%^@%#@^~*~*~*~~!!!! By this time the peculiar nature of the K7M reminded me of PC CHIPS M800LMR 1.3A. DAMN!

I took out the forth Slot A CPU - the 700 MHz one. It booted correctly and the 700 MHz was shown on the screen. I am really happy because this CPU didnt work on the PC CHIPS M800LMR 1.3A motherboard. The fact that it is alive is nice.

I took out the fifth Slot A CPU - another 700 MHz core, which came with the Asus K7M . This also worked as intended. This is SUPER OK!!! FTW!!!

The sixth Slot A CPU - a 750 MHz one, is dead and I'm still pissed about this fact. It is down right USELESS aka a corpse aka a shadow of its former self. DAMN YOU VANDALS FOR DESTROYING MY CPU!!! (Story in the posts above)

I couldnt get into WinXP with the HDD that it was installed on from another test and I wasnt going to install Win 98 as this needed more time than what I had available. In depth testing will be carried at a later date.

The first contact with the Asus K7M wasnt how I hoped it would be. In BIOS the only OC setting available was for FSB and nothing else. I tried to alter the default setting of 100 MHz by going up or down but on each boot the settings would always revert to the default 100 MHz.

I was expecting more OC settings in BIOS but this wasnt the case. I used jumper settings only for Vcore but I didnt touch the jumpers for FSB settings.

At least in BIOS there are some settings for RAM.....the PC CHIPS M800LMR 1.3A motherboard didnt have any of these.

With a slight sour taste in my mouth I came to the conclusion that I need a GOLD FINGER DEVICE if by any means I want to do some overclocking. I could try OC without a GF device but I would have to intervene directly on the PCB of the CPU. This job would be time consuming and dangerous. So GET A GF device or GO HOME!!! These are my 2 cents.

To add assault to injury, albeit, we arent really talking about assault or injury, I had mixed feelings about the fact, that even if the Asus K7M is better than PC CHIPS M800LMR 1.3A, some CPUs werent detected correctly. I might try a BIOS update but at this point in time I see no reason for it.

The only OC I might able to accomplish would be by FSB ~ 105-110 MHz but I dont want to try this for now.

I have the seed for something great but I still need a freaking GOD damn it GF device which is close to IMPOSSIBLE to find...



Next on the test bed was the Gigabyte GA-6BXC Slot 1 motherboard.

After the test of the Asus K7M my state of mind wasnt so great. Little did I know that I wasnt out of the woods yet.............

I placed a Pentium II 350 MHz CPU in the slot and I tried to start the system. NOTHING HAPPENED!!! No noises, no beeps, absolutely n o t h i n g!!! sheeeshhhhh

I took out a Pentium II 333 MHz and I tried again. NO BOOT!!! WTF WTF WTF!!!

I checked again the Gigabyte GA-6BXC motherboard, I checked the manual, I checked the DIP switches all was OK. I pressed the POWER button.NO BOOT!!! NO NOISE!!! NOTHING!!! just ear piercing SILENCE. (*$^!&^($!%&*^$!%^$!&^)~~!!!!!!

I changed the graphic card from the Palit GF3 Ti 200 to a ELSA Riva 128Zx. Still nothing!!!

This testing session it's starting to get on my nerves!

I checked again the 6BXC motherboard and this time I concentrated on the area near the front panel connectors. I saw a jumper which was set only on one pin instead of two. I checked the manual and I see: J15 - System After Ac Back * Open - Soft Off / Short - Full On. I put it on the ON SETTINGS and the system BOOTS!!! Well I'll be......$^!$^!$&(^$&#(&^*!!!!!!!

The first PII-350 MHz CPU worked as intended. NICE!!!

I tried again the PII - 333MHz - 66 MHz bus SL2S5 which I dismantled a few post ago. I had high hopes for this little one I knew that some 333-66 CPU's had unlocked multipliers but after I tried some settings I found out it wasn't the case with this one. I knew this so no biggie. x5 multiplier will be FOREVER!!!

By this time I was starting to get a little angry so I told myself: LET'S TRY 100MHz bus, as the CPU had new thermal paste, the CACHE CHIPS now made contact with the heatplate, the heatsink was BIG and I really needed something to change my mood. 100MHz! FTW!!!

The PII-333MHz SL2S5 booted and was stable at 500 MHz!!! what a glorious thing In my book this is better than the OC of the Celeron A 300MHz to 450 MHz. Also the cooling fan is silent. The 6BXC is running smoothly and the ATX power connector is out of the way of the CPU heatsink. To think that I only bought this CPU for its heatsink and I was planning to use it on the dead Slot A 750 MHz CPU....if the 750 was alive this 333 was destinded to stay in a box and I wouldnt've known its potential!

I also tried the HDD with the existing WinXP installation but it didnt work as it was the case on the K7M. Win98 in depth testing will have to wait.

The PII-500MHz never locked up the system and it ran for some time. I'm 90% sure it is stable. The heatsink wasnt very warm. Arctic MX-4 did its job

I will leave the pleasure of testing this PII-500 MHz CPU at a later date. Win98 will be glorious on this little one

I tried a Gigabyte-GA-6R7-Rev -366 MHz Celeron A CPU, slotket but it didnt work. By now I had it with DIP switches, jumpers, etc....and I called it a day.



The Slot 1 and Slot A systems deserve to sit in a proper case. The 440BX is legendary and the Slot A is exotic. I wont run tests on these parts until I have suitable cases. I have Pionner slot loading ODDs, V2s, V3s, Ati MAXX, AWE64, Vortex MX300, wire management skills for something unique etc... ingredients for something really nice.

I end this post on a high note.For the time beeing I have no loose ends. What I own is functional or/and represents a known quantity without grey areas like "there be dragons" or end of the world after this point.

I STILL have something to do. When will these projets take shape? I dont know for now. It's all in the STARS!!!

I'll have to choose/find two matching cases...I think I'll need two modern ones....

gallery: https://postimg.org/gallery/298beodj2/

 

[Robert B]

3RD TIME (MAYBE) LUCKY? AOpen Aeolus GF4 Ti 4200 128MB AGP 8x

This is my third GF4 and I hope is in good working condition. I bought it yesterday.

The previous 4600 Ti and 4200 Ti I found at the flea market , werent doing so well. The Asus GF4 4600 Ti was giving artifacts and the Leadtek GF 4200 Ti was missing a lot of ceramic capacitors and wasnt giving any signal to the monitor. What could you expect from dumpster diving?




Today I cleaned the card and I present to you another story:

A new GF4 RISES FROM ITS ASHES! AOpen Aeolus GF4 Ti 4200 128MB AGP 8x DVC128 (N8) VIVO

(whisper) I hope I'm not going to eat my words if in the end the graphic card wont be in good working condition For sure, a future test will clear this unknown. Regardless, I treated this GF4 as a GPU that is firing on all its cylinders

As usual the card was dirty and lost its shine. I did my magic and sure enough it was returned to its former glory.

Arrival state

gallery: https://postimg.org/gallery/i61bbl36/



Cleaning

The card was cleaned very well. I even cleaned all the screws. By using a cotton disk and a screwdriver each screw had its thread cleaned until it was shining. The card was also washed with isopropyl alcohol 99%.
This process doesnt require any presentation Talk about obsessions!

Artic MX-4 thermal paste was used on the graphic chip.

gallery: https://postimg.org/gallery/l2oqg3nc/



Final results

Nothing more to add Smooth sailing all the way!!!

I keep my fingers crossed that the card will function as intended. I dont have a test bed set up yet.

gallery: https://postimg.org/gallery/1lur10v42/



More later.

L.E.

3rd time LUCKY INDEED!

The 4200 Ti is purring like a kitten . The fan is silent and runs great. Go figure !!!

I wasnt going to take out of storage a motherboard with AGP 4x or AGP 8X so I used the PIII build. I was a little apprehensive to test an AGP 8x card in a 2x slot but after I quickly refreshed my knowledge with the help of Good Ol' internet , I did it and I found that the AOpen Aeolus 4200 Ti is still going strong. Flawless victory!!!

http://www.playtool.com/pages/agpcompat/agp.html

In pictures, the 4200 Ti runs on the LuckyStar 6VABX2 VER. 2.0 motherboard + PIII 550MHz.

gallery: https://postimg.org/gallery/1kt68aws8/

 

[jaggerwild]

Love the shredded cables on the IDE!!!!!

 

[ozkisses]

Can't wait for the next episode

 

[Mr.Scott]

On your Slot A's,
Don't be too quick to toss those non or mis working CPU's. The Irongate boards even with the correct bios were picky about what processors were supported and supported correctly.
You need a KX133 chipset board for full support.
Good luck on your GFD quest. It took me near 10 years to find one.

 

[Robert B]

10 YEARS for a GFD!!! HOLY COW... 3650, 3649, .......2560.....114,..........0 - are we there yet??!?!?

I already had my sights on a KX133 - I found one last year but I wasnt quick enough!

I found two SLOT A motherboards but they are both on the Irongate chipset so I think I'm goind to pass.

 

[Robert B]

This episode is plain and simple called: NOTHING SPECTACULAR. I'm sure you will agree with me, if not entirely, at least in part.

Here it goes

The two graphic adapters I'm about to tell you about, aren't something extraordinary or eye catching, but they kept me busy for a few hours

My last visit to the flea market ended with the purchase of a Leadtek WinFast A7600 GS TDH 256MB 128bit AGP graphic card and a Inno3D Tornado Geforce 2 MX400 - M400R12 64MB 64bit AGP graphic card, that's quite a mouthfull for a low end card

So here I was with two cards which by some standards should've been left in the scrapheap

The Leadtek was bought because it looked pretty clean. Some light dust and a few scratches here and there. I couldn't leave it to die so I gave it another lease of life, providing, of course that future testing will reveal that it is in good working condition. Otherwise it will be a clean good looking paper weight just like my dead Leadtek 6600GT.

The Inno3D was bought just for the name Inno3D. It reminds me of some nice cards back in the day. This card was absolutely disgusting! At first, the back label tricked me and I thought it was a 64 bit DDR card, but in the end I found out it is a 64 bit SDR card. I wiped the dirt from a VRAM module and tried to find some information by searching the codes. Tough LUCK!!! Who the F..K is SOLUTION?!?! So I said to myself how can I differentiate SDR and DDR without puting the card in a PC? EASY! Just count the contact points on one side of a SDR or DDR memory chip. The SDR IC has 27x2 contact points and the DDR should have at least 33x2 or more contact points on the PCB. Mistery solved: Inno3D has SDR and 64 bit - YUCK!!! How low can you get....



Regardless, what I own MUST BE SPOTLESS so I carried on with the cleaning process.

Steps:

1. Full disassembly.
2. Isopropyl alcohol 99% wash. Some paper laber labels were hurt in the process. Inno3D lost some text in translation but that's no big problem
3. Cleaning of the fans and heatsinks.
4. Oiling of the fans.
5. Cleaning of the brackets.
6. Straightening of the bent heatsink fins on the 7600GS.
7. New Arctic MX-4 thermal grease and new Arctic heatpad for the 7600GS PCI-E/AGP bridge IC. Inno3D has a glued heatsink and it was left in place. The heatsink is croocked and one side is in the air.A 10/10 job! GG!!!
8. Final assembly.

You are familiar with the steps above and they dont need further clarification. I take my "work" very serious

In the end both of the cards came out pretty well. As expected the Leadtek was better looking.

Note. The exposed die of the 7600 GS is chipped on all four corners due to the fact that when any kind of force is applied on the heatsink, it moves accordingly. Four sponge black squares were glued to the heatsink but they werent sufficient to prevent chipping. BAD DEISGN CHOICE!!! Anyway the damage is not terminal and future testing will reveal if the card is alive or not. The PCI-E/AGP bridge IC is not chipped at all.

This was a short account about two cards who were lucky enough to come into my little-big collection

Arrival state:

gallery: https://postimg.org/gallery/tn6j5iy8/



Cleaning:

gallery: https://postimg.org/gallery/2siob7t6w/



Final results:

gallery: https://postimg.org/gallery/1024r0i64/



More later.

P.S. This week I'll receive three graphic cards which should be quite pleasent to look at: A VIOLET violent thing, A smaller Ti and the original trinitrotoluene Sneak peek Thursday or Friday

 

[Robert B]

FRESH DELIVERY!!!

The V1 has slight damage but I hope it can repaired

Full cleanup and other details later.

All the pieces will be photographed, cleaned and returned to their original glory!!!!

 

[Robert B]

Laaaaaaaaaaaaadieeeeeeeeeeees and gentlemen!!! today was another of those glorious days!

I feel great!!! Today I received some great hardware:

* a V1 which was really something back in the day,
* a TNT which when it came out couldnt make us imagine how BIG nVIDIA will become, or that it will bring the demise of 3dfx, GREAT things sometimes have humble beginnings,
* a GF 3 Ti 200, a smaller Ti, but it still packs a punch
* a GF 2 Ti , sooooooo VIOLET and pretty rare.



Not all is sunshine and roses. One of the cards has some signs of damage. We will see later which one it is.

Before we tackle the main course may I suggest some appetizers?

This episode is called: "A Little bit of house cleaning"

So be it!

House clean....say what?!?! Have you lost your marbles? No. No, I'm not really talking about house cleaning, it's just a way to speak about my builds and my HW stash So, we get to the gist of the phrase. One of my finished builds was suffering of an unknown problem. The PIII-550 build was losing its BIOS settings once it was unplugged from the mains.

PIII-550MHz losing BIOS settings? NO WAY!!!

I tried:

* New CMOS/BIOS battery - NO DICE!
* Bending the contacts of the battery socket from the mainboard - NO DICE!

After several hours of searching on the internet I found a post which suggested the PSU might be the culprit.

The 235W JNC, which is more than 18 years old, to be the culprit?!?! . NO WAY!!! I opened it, but I saw no sign of damage. The multimeter test during LOAD revealed great voltages. Hmmmm, then it might be the CapXcon caps for sure.



I went to a local company and bought a SH PSU with 1 year warranty HEC - 300W model HEC 300-TA-2WX - Bronze rating.



Yes, yes, I know I'm replacing a crappy PSU with a less crappy PSU, but it is vital that I know the PSU is the culprit before I invest in a better one. I went from CapXcon to TEAPO... not much of an upgrade. Regardless, the system wont run 24/7.

After I replaced the PSU, the PIII-550 build didnt lose its BIOS settings after it was disconnected from the mains. PROBLEM SOLVED!

A tight fit!



The HEC PSU is very silent and has another advantage. It takes the heat produced by the CPU out of the case. The 12 cm fan is better placed than the 8 cm one form the JNC PSU. The SLOT CPUs have the nasty habbit to blow heat over the graphic card and into the top of the case. TALK ABOUT BAD DESIGN CHOICES!!!

I also tested the Inno3D MX-400 graphic card, which runs great. The poor man's Geforce 256 - The fan is running great even after all these years of abuse.



Now we get to the part WITHOUT sunshine and roses.

The V1 which was the most important to me, came a little damaged:

a. One solid capacitor almost lost its head, not in translation, but literally - needs replacement
b. Minor damage to the contact pins, in the shape of the letter "Z", of the graphic chips - the damage is not terminal, and there are no signs of separation from the PCB or contact between them
c. Small scrathes on the PCB traces - the damage is not terminal



The V1 was tested by the owner and it run well even with the problems mentioned above.

All in all I call this V1 - Functional but without ALL CREWS REPORTING...for now...

The GF3 Ti 200 doesnt have the original fan but I believe I can make a better job I believe = I KNOW 4 SURE!!!

More later. Next comes the "recovery" of all the pacients!

Cast:

1. AOpen Geforce 2 Ti 64MB DDR AGP - GF2TiVX V64
2. Asus Geforce 3 Ti 200 - 64MB DDR AGP - V8200T2/64MB/(TVR) Rev. 1.00
3. Creative Riva TNT 16MB SDR AGP - CT6710
4. Diamond Monster 3D (3Dfx Voodoo 1) 4MB PCI - Rev.E

 

[Robert B]

Today I spent two hours with the repair of the damaged V1.

I watched a YouTube video and I saw there is no big deal with the soldering of an SMD capacitor. The hardest part is to remove such a capacitor because to do it right you would need a soldering station with a heat gun and I dont have one. Luckily my job was already done as the capacitor lost its head Besides the damaged capacitor another one was a little out of its normal position but because the shift was very small I decided to change it only if the V1 wouldnt work as intended.

I used a small soldering iron and in seconds I removed the damaged capacitor. Then I used solder wick to remove the leftover solder.



I searched a spare SMD 10uf 16V in my box-o-parts and other donor cards but I couldnt find one. So I went to a local electronics shop but they didnt have a capacitor either.

So I said to myself, instead of losing my time searching in the local shops, who only sell dodgy electrolytic capacitors, I should go to a repair center. So I went to the local SAMSUNG service center. I knew the people there were nice and I had a better chance to find what I was looking for.

I went to the repair center and I asked politely if they could help me. I talked to a gentleman and I said that I need a few SMD capacitors 10uf 16V. I said in exchange I would offer a good price. So after 5 minutes in which I heard a promising metalic rattle in a plastic container, the gentleman came back with two new capacitors



WIN! WIN! WIN! I overpaid a little but now I know I have a reliable source for other components I might need.

20 mintes later the capacitor was resting neatly on the PCB.

First I put solder on one PAD, then I soldered one leg of the capacitor, then, after I saw that the position was good I soldered the other leg.



Problem solved!

I tested the V1 in the PIII-550 and it was identified correctly.



I didnt play a game with the V1 but I say it is OKAY! I'll run some demos at a later date.

Now I can focus on the other cards, as the damaged V1 took over all my thoughts!

I bought another liter of isopropyl alcohol 99% just to be sure I have enough for the task ahead.



Next will come the restoration of the other three "victims".

More later.

gallery: https://postimg.org/gallery/huyafb64/