Re: Retro OSes for retro computers

Posted on 2019-05-18, 11:31

by

by Half-Saint

in Marvin \ Software

in Marvin \ Software

Years ago I used to run Puppy Linux off a CF card on a passively cooled 800 MHz Pentium 3 machine with 1.5 GB of RAM. I used most of the memory as a RAMdisk. I wasn't impressed with the speed tho..

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Re: FB Marketplace Gateway Rebuild - Beginner Build Log!

Posted on 2019-05-18, 07:17

by

by Half-Saint

in Marvin \ System Specs

in Marvin \ System Specs

rasz_pl wrote: That would most likely exclude caps as the source of problems. Personally I wouldnt even touch VIA board with a stick, and rather take my chances overclocking 440BX. That's a bit dramatic, don't you think? There's nothing wrong with VIA boards in my experience.

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Re: My AST premium 286

Posted on 2019-05-18, 06:58

by

by Half-Saint

in Marvin \ System Specs

in Marvin \ System Specs

A Trident VGA is not really out of place in that machine. Trident began making VGA cards in 1987. On another note, get a CRT you heretic!!!

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Orchid Tiny Turbo 286 card

Posted on 2019-05-17, 08:16

by

by Half-Saint

in Marvin \ General Old Hardware

in Marvin \ General Old Hardware

Anyone here has one? Has anyone thought of reverse-engineering one? I mean, cloning it shouldn't be that hard as long as it's a two-layer PCB.

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Re: Best IRC client for Windows 98?

Posted on 2019-05-17, 08:10

by

by Half-Saint

in Marvin \ Software

in Marvin \ Software

Try Pirch98: https://www.malavida.com/en/soft/pirch/#gref There's also Vortec IRC: https://download.cnet.com/Vortec-IRC/3000-215 … 4-10971658.html

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Re: Does anyone else prefer ME over 98?

Posted on 2019-05-15, 20:47

by

by Half-Saint

in Marvin \ Software

in Marvin \ Software

Nah, avoided ME like the plague! It had a really bad reputation back then 😀

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Re: XT speed test?

Posted on 2019-05-15, 14:33

by

by Half-Saint

in Marvin \ Software

in Marvin \ Software

I started with 286/16 and this is/was my base line. One time I used an XT for an hour or so... I was glad I had a 286 :lol: That's also why I don't have any desire of having pre-286 PC stuff. It's just too slow... Yeah, another limiting factor is that 360K floppy although I'm currently fine with …

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Re: Recapping a 10-year old, 24 inch AOC LCD monitor?

Posted on 2019-05-15, 07:11

by

by Half-Saint

in Marvin \ General Old Hardware

in Marvin \ General Old Hardware

Just open it up and look at the caps. If they're bulging and leaking, they're dead and recapping will probably fix it. Also check the fuses while you're at it. I think a 24" monitor is worth fixing regardless of its age.

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Re: Project KA7, yay or nay ?

Posted on 2019-05-15, 07:01

by

by Half-Saint

in Marvin \ General Old Hardware

in Marvin \ General Old Hardware

If you don't mind soldering a bunch of caps, go for it. If it wasn't a Slot A board, I personally would not bother.

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Re: XT speed test?

Posted on 2019-05-14, 13:07

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by Half-Saint

in Marvin \ Software

in Marvin \ Software

jesolo wrote: You could swop out the 8088 CPU with an NEC V20. At the same clock speed, you should still see a slight performance boost. Thanks for the tip but there's already a V20 in there 😀

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Re: XT speed test?

Posted on 2019-05-14, 09:11

by

by Half-Saint

in Marvin \ Software

in Marvin \ Software

Yes. If you never had prior experience with XTs they do seem too slow. But that's what they are. This is actually my parent's old PC and I used it as a kid. I just don't remember it being so slow :lol: Maybe a 16 MHz 286 would be better as it will run at 8 MHz with turbo off but then it wouldn't be …

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Re: XT speed test?

Posted on 2019-05-14, 08:28

by

by Half-Saint

in Marvin \ Software

in Marvin \ Software

BloodyCactus wrote: landmark, checkit, norton sysinfo Thank you. I was able to confirm that my XT is running at full 8 MHz. I ran a hard drive test on a 64MB CF card and transfer speed came out at 486 KB/s. Is that normal for this class of machine?

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Re: Remember those early-mid 2000s gaming cases? Here's an Ultra Wizard Sleeper Build

Posted on 2019-05-13, 17:58

by

by Half-Saint

in Marvin \ System Specs

in Marvin \ System Specs

Ha! I had a Chieftec Dragon tower as well. I bought it new and my friend wouldn't drop me off at my place so I had to carry it about a kilometer. The longest kilometer in my life 😀

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XT speed test?

Posted on 2019-05-13, 16:41

by

by Half-Saint

in Marvin \ Software

in Marvin \ Software

What software can I use to see the CPU frequency in particular? I'm running DOS 3.30. Loading times seem horribly slow despite the fact that I'm using a CF card now and not a hard drive.

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Re: Two dead monitors within a month

Posted on 2019-05-13, 16:38

by

by Half-Saint

in Marvin \ General Old Hardware

in Marvin \ General Old Hardware

Just picked up that Sony monitor. Turns out it's a Sony Trinitron Multiscan 17se II. It has BNC connectors in the back along with the VGA connector. Anyone know what I can use them for?

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Re: Bought these (retro) hardware today

Posted on 2019-05-13, 16:36

by

by Half-Saint

in Marvin \ General Old Hardware

in Marvin \ General Old Hardware

Just picked up a yellowed but working Sony Trinitron Multiscan 17se II monitor for 5€ as a replacement for a dying 15" no-name CRT 😀

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Re: What is better for pure Dos and Win98-Super socket 7(K6-III) or Slot 1/Socket 370 (PII/ PIII)? Where are differences?

Posted on 2019-05-08, 08:53

by

by Half-Saint

in Marvin \ General Old Hardware

in Marvin \ General Old Hardware

The passive cooler mentioned above is Zalman CNPS6000-Cu. I think I still have a couple lying around 😁 There was also an Alu-Cu version where only the central part was made of copper.

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Re: Two dead monitors within a month

Posted on 2019-05-07, 14:33

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by Half-Saint

in Marvin \ General Old Hardware

in Marvin \ General Old Hardware

I don't think CRT PC monitors are worth paying a premium for. Most of them can do 1600x1200 at 60hz just fine. Based on my limited experience, monitors from the late 90's are usually all pretty good, while some Dell and Emachine cheapo monitors from the mid 2000 are sometimes total dog shit. If you …

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Re: Two dead monitors within a month

Posted on 2019-05-06, 20:35

by

by Half-Saint

in Marvin \ General Old Hardware

in Marvin \ General Old Hardware

Might not bother with the CRT as it's a generic chinese brand. Maybe it's time I finally found me a proper Sony CRT.

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Two dead monitors within a month

Posted on 2019-05-06, 19:05

by

by Half-Saint

in Marvin \ General Old Hardware

in Marvin \ General Old Hardware

Is this bad luck or something else? First my 4:3 LCD TV died (no video, just sound) and now my CRT VGA monitor is having problems. Sometimes it appears to be working fine only to have it widen the picture at random. It also sometimes shows two images in horizontal split screen. I presume it's about …

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