Re: New 486 Build

Posted on 2016-07-27, 18:45

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by TheMobRules

in Marvin \ General Old Hardware

in Marvin \ General Old Hardware

You have the Acer/AOpen Vi15g right? Each 72pin SIMM slot on that board is an entire bank, so it's not necessary to install SIMMs in pairs. Regarding the amount of memory, either 16 or 32 MB will be fine if you are running MS-DOS games and applications. Assuming you have 256KB of cache, 32MB should …

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Re: ATX PSU recommendations for use with AT adapter

Posted on 2016-07-27, 16:14

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by TheMobRules

in Marvin \ General Old Hardware

in Marvin \ General Old Hardware

A 486 PC should need very little power, 15A on the +5V line as you said should be fine. Back in the day most people I know used those cheap generic AT power supplies that came with the cases, and they were generally rated between 15-20A on +5V, but I doubt those things could really provide that much …

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Re: Wading slowly into the 486 waters

Posted on 2016-07-22, 21:33

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by TheMobRules

in Marvin \ General Old Hardware

in Marvin \ General Old Hardware

Another option you can consider for the power switch is to replace the momentary ATX power button of the case with a self-locking on/off button of the same type, and then solder the new button to the adapter green & black wires. Of course, this depends on the type of button your case uses, but I …

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Re: Wading slowly into the 486 waters

Posted on 2016-07-22, 20:30

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by TheMobRules

in Marvin \ General Old Hardware

in Marvin \ General Old Hardware

Congrats on getting a 486 board! "You have taken your first steps into a larger world..." :-D Judging by the year of your BIOS (1993), it likely supports LBA (>500MB) for HDDs. At least all my 486 motherboards with 1993 BIOS support LBA. In any case there are alternatives, so go with a 1-8GB HDD as …

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Re: Advice on Socket 478 motherboard - Intel D865GLC

Posted on 2016-07-22, 15:29

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by TheMobRules

in Marvin \ General Old Hardware

in Marvin \ General Old Hardware

Thanks guys... from your comments sounds like a good board to get into S478 so I may give it a go then. Thanks again!

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Advice on Socket 478 motherboard - Intel D865GLC

Posted on 2016-07-22, 03:05

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by TheMobRules

in Marvin \ General Old Hardware

in Marvin \ General Old Hardware

Hello I found a local seller offering an Intel D865GLC motherboard with 512MB and an unspecified Socket 478 CPU for very cheap, pretty much shipping cost only. Now, I am not familiar at all with S478, back in the day I totally skipped that era of Intel technology (I used AMD since my P3 died until …

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Re: Acid-destroyed 486 motherboard

Posted on 2016-07-22, 01:56

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by TheMobRules

in Marvin \ General Old Hardware

in Marvin \ General Old Hardware

Just wanted to add that the blue stuff that leaks from those batteries is actually an alkaline substance, not acid like in cars, that's why an acid like vinegar is suggested to neutralize it. For that same reason it is important to fully clean the vinegar with water after you're done neutralizing …

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Re: First computers you've used

Posted on 2016-07-21, 21:50

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by TheMobRules

in Marvin \ General Old Hardware

in Marvin \ General Old Hardware

back in the 80s it was basically impossible to import things to Brazil, so we mostly relied on local clones, as far as I know the Gradiente MSX is a clone, not officially licensed, but it was the most popular computer in the 80s The Microdigital TK90X (brazilian Spectrum clone) was massively …

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Re: What retro activity did you get up to today?

Posted on 2016-07-19, 22:15

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by TheMobRules

in Marvin \ General Old Hardware

in Marvin \ General Old Hardware

These last few days I have been dedicating my free time to restoring an old AT case I got a few weeks ago. The thing was in lamentable condition: rust, dirt, insects, goo, broken power button, broken turbo button, broken MHz LED display, and a horrible case of front cover yellowing. The only thing …

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Re: First computers you've used

Posted on 2016-07-19, 20:03

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by TheMobRules

in Marvin \ General Old Hardware

in Marvin \ General Old Hardware

I don't remember the first computer I used, but it was probably a Spectrum clone or a C64 respectively owned by two of my best friends, during mid to late 80s. I didn't actually "use" the computers but rather played games on them, but I remember being in awe at my friends inputting arcane commands …

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Re: What's the hardest part of building a retro rig for yourself?

Posted on 2016-07-13, 23:33

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by TheMobRules

in Marvin \ General Old Hardware

in Marvin \ General Old Hardware

What's always been hard for me is figuring out how to connect the motherboard to the buttons and lights on the front of the case. The motherboard is NEVER labelled the same way as the little cables that attach to the front of the case and it's always trial and error getting them sorted out. I fully …

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Re: Where to get a 486 motherboard with PCI slots?

Posted on 2016-07-13, 16:25

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by TheMobRules

in Marvin \ General Old Hardware

in Marvin \ General Old Hardware

I got a couple of those 486-PCI boards from eBay, one was from the Ukrainian sellers a while ago (it was considerably cheaper than it is now), packaging was sub-par (no anti-static bag, it came wrapped in paper and cardboard) but it made the trip across the ocean safely and has been working very …

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Re: UNI-486WB woes

Posted on 2016-07-10, 20:31

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by TheMobRules

in Marvin \ General Old Hardware

in Marvin \ General Old Hardware

VLB Video cards don't use bus mastering, so its a moot point. Can you post the BIOS string that shows on the lower left hand corner of the POST screen? I long suspect this is the motherboard that was in my first 486, but the only evidence I have to ID the board is a very fuzzy video of the machine …

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UNI-486WB woes

Posted on 2016-07-09, 22:54

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by TheMobRules

in Marvin \ General Old Hardware

in Marvin \ General Old Hardware

Hi I have an old UNI-486WB VLB motherboard that I saved from being scrapped a while ago, and recently I've been tinkering with it to get it working with optimal settings. It has an Unichip U4800VLX chipset and 3 VLB slots. I'm having some trouble with the configuration as I only used a VLB …

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Re: DIY retro PC case projects

Posted on 2016-07-07, 19:04

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by TheMobRules

in Marvin \ General Old Hardware

in Marvin \ General Old Hardware

Very nice mongaccio! Love those flip switches... and the keylock fits the case really well! I wish I had the skill to build something like that!

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Re: Bought these (retro) hardware today

Posted on 2016-07-07, 18:14

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by TheMobRules

in Marvin \ General Old Hardware

in Marvin \ General Old Hardware

That's an awesome case, I recently got a NOS AT case but it's a boring late 90s mini-tower with no MHz display or turbo button. Those desktop style cases like yours are IMO much better than mini-towers for various reasons (fits well on a desk, cable management seems easier due to the drives being …

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Re: GA-586HX sudden death

Posted on 2016-07-06, 04:47

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by TheMobRules

in Marvin \ General Old Hardware

in Marvin \ General Old Hardware

Sadly there seems to be no way of clearing the CMOS via any method such as shorting pads or jumpers. But even then I tried removing the coin battery from my hacked Dallas RTC and I still can't get signs of life from the board. :depressed: I think I have one of those ISA+PCI POST diagnostic cards …

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GA-586HX sudden death

Posted on 2016-07-06, 01:15

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by TheMobRules

in Marvin \ General Old Hardware

in Marvin \ General Old Hardware

Hello friends, A few days ago I got a GA-586HX motherboard for free during a retro purchase of a few AT mini-towers. The seller asked me if I was interested in an old mobo and I said that if it was in working condition I would take it. So we powered it up to test it, everything ran fine, except it …

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Re: DIY retro PC case projects

Posted on 2016-07-03, 19:28

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by TheMobRules

in Marvin \ General Old Hardware

in Marvin \ General Old Hardware

Finding AT cases should be easy if you know where to look, for instance I recently got a NOS case for free from a computer shop when I bought a portable HD: when I was paying, I noticed that there were a couple of cardboard boxes labeled "AT Computer Case", I inquired about it and the guy from the …

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Re: Bought these (retro) hardware today

Posted on 2016-06-26, 22:41

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by TheMobRules

in Marvin \ General Old Hardware

in Marvin \ General Old Hardware

Just agreed to buy a lot of 10 (!) AT cases from a local seller for about USD 8. I may have gone overboard this time as I don't need that many AT cases, but I couldn't resist that price. The seller claims they are in good condition, and the pictures don't show too much yellowing or missing covers. …

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