Re: ATX2AT Smart Converter - Live on Kickstarter!

Posted on 2019-12-04, 13:30

by

by dionb

in Marvin \ General Old Hardware

in Marvin \ General Old Hardware

thank you ^^ and done. will be really helpful testing unknown condition boards... or uh, boards that have the cache sockets mounted the wrong way *cough* Yep. These are too expensive to use as generic converters in all systems, but on the test bench for that all-important first boot they should be …

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Re: Issues with ESS ES1869

Posted on 2019-12-04, 08:22

by

by dionb

in Marvin \ Sound

in Marvin \ Sound

Have you installed the Windows Via chipset drivers (4-in-1)?

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Re: Where can I find Dos/3.1 Aztech azt2316r isa sound card drivers?

Posted on 2019-12-04, 07:14

by

by dionb

in Marvin \ General Old Hardware

in Marvin \ General Old Hardware

[...] I shall do so. I want to mention that my card is some huge fax-modem and soundcard combo. It is enormous (for a soundcard). Yes, that's what the Rockwell chipset is for, hence Rocky-II. However if you only want sound that doesn't matter, it's just two different devices connected to the ISA …

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Re: MSI MS-6168 ... is a rebirth possible ?

Posted on 2019-12-03, 16:16

by

by dionb

in Marvin \ General Old Hardware

in Marvin \ General Old Hardware

I have the ms6168 rev 2 too. Mine was flashed with the Award BIOS which means better CPU support but "no onboard video". Which BIOS do you intend to flash? Try a Pentium 2 / Celeron up to 333MHz. It might not "like" CPUs with FSB100 I uploaded the latest AMI BIOS for this mainboard. It should …

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Re: MPU-401 compatibility on 286

Posted on 2019-12-03, 16:14

by

by dionb

in Marvin \ General Old Hardware

in Marvin \ General Old Hardware

I occasionally see MusicQuest cards going cheap locally, usually from musicians not into retrocomputing who just see them as no longer useful old crap. Managed to nab two that I'm very happy with.

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Re: How to test DOS Sound Card?

Posted on 2019-12-03, 09:14

by

by dionb

in Marvin \ Sound

in Marvin \ Sound

Only way to scale down is to focus on what matters to you, both in terms of functionality and in terms of gaming. Personally I'm not into shooters, graphical adventures, driving or sports sims so a lot of the list doesn't interest me the slightest. I just check what works with the stuff I do do, at …

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Re: MSI MS-6168 ... is a rebirth possible ?

Posted on 2019-12-03, 06:58

by

by dionb

in Marvin \ General Old Hardware

in Marvin \ General Old Hardware

The rev1 (with i440ZX) was shipped with late P2 and early P3 Katmai CPUs, the rev2 (with i440BX) was shipped with Katmai and later Coppermine P3s. Every MS-6168 would have supported 100MHz FSB, so if it only does 66MHz, it's got problems. That said, if a component isn't working, trying it at lowest …

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Re: Bought these (retro) hardware today

Posted on 2019-12-02, 23:34

by

by dionb

in Marvin \ General Old Hardware

in Marvin \ General Old Hardware

:dead: Bought a SiS 6326 8MB PCI with S-Video out because I needed a decent 1996/97 PCI card with TV-Out for capturing DOS. It cost me $8 so it wasn't cheap considering how useless it is for anything else. I'm not sure how good a card for DOS it is, but considering my second option is an ATI Rage …

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Re: A 286 computer, is it totally useless?

Posted on 2019-12-02, 22:58

by

by dionb

in Marvin \ General Old Hardware

in Marvin \ General Old Hardware

A 286 isn't useless - you're right it lacks a lot of stuff that 386 introduced, but see it as a significantly faster "XT" with 16b bus and more 'normal' hardware & config and it suddenly starts to look interesting. That said, if you don't like CGA or EGA and want to play 386-era or later stuff, a …

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Re: What can you tell me about BCM BC845DL Pentium 4 industrial motherboard?

Posted on 2019-12-02, 07:46

by

by dionb

in Marvin \ General Old Hardware

in Marvin \ General Old Hardware

I'd say it does say the chipset - the original 845 (without additional letters), hence only supporting PC2100 DDR. I wouldn't worry about AGP 8x cards running at 4x - the AGP bus speed was rarely a real-world bottleneck, certainly not with the slow RAM and FSB of this old board, and as for no 3.3V …

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Re: Where can I find Dos/3.1 Aztech azt2316r isa sound card drivers?

Posted on 2019-12-02, 07:28

by

by dionb

in Marvin \ General Old Hardware

in Marvin \ General Old Hardware

You won't find drivers for your specific card as it's a PB special with drivers theoretically available via PB (and even then you probably only got the Win9x drivers on the MasterCD). What you want is drivers for a card with the same chipset. The 845 also has an AZT2316R, so is a very likely …

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Re: Will this MB support lower voltage Celerons?

Posted on 2019-12-02, 06:57

by

by dionb

in Marvin \ General Old Hardware

in Marvin \ General Old Hardware

Looks like the overclocking option suggested by @ShovelKnight might be worth a look https://www.neoseeker.com/forums/17/t7530-overclocking-possibilities-along-with-my-specs/ That would be a nice speed boost indeed - but to really use it you'd need a Celeron with a lower multiplier; although there …

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Re: Where can I find Dos/3.1 Aztech azt2316r isa sound card drivers?

Posted on 2019-12-02, 00:07

by

by dionb

in Marvin \ General Old Hardware

in Marvin \ General Old Hardware

Take a look here: https://ilovepa.ws/2017/06/08/aztech-sound-cards/ I38-MMSN843 maps to the "Packard Bell 030106" That doesn't help a lot, but then you find this topic: https://www.vogons.org/viewtopic.php?f=62&t=55842 Looks like you should try the 'SG Pro16 II (2nd)' driver from that link I gave. …

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Re: AWE64 Gold worth it ?

Posted on 2019-12-01, 23:55

by

by dionb

in Marvin \ Sound

in Marvin \ Sound

[...] Well right now my retro PC is PIII 500mhz 512 mb Ram Voodoo 5 5500 flopp + Zip 750mb Drive XD I also have the Roland MPU-401 fully boxed (missing ISA Card for now) So i plan on getting an MT32 and robably an SC-55Mk2 Bouncing between DOS and windows games. Nice system! Be aware that a lot of …

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Re: AWE64 Gold worth it ?

Posted on 2019-12-01, 23:43

by

by dionb

in Marvin \ Sound

in Marvin \ Sound

Yep, this would be paying over the odds, and that backstory stinks. But maybe to backtrack a little... I am in need of an ISA sound card and of course the one most people tell you to go for is the AWE64 Gold. Totally depends on what kind of system you have and what you want to do with it. The AWE64 …

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Re: Bought these (retro) hardware today

Posted on 2019-12-01, 23:28

by

by dionb

in Marvin \ General Old Hardware

in Marvin \ General Old Hardware

[...] roland_scb-7.jpg Roland SCB-7. This was a really nice surprise! For this two cards I paid a little more than 2 Euros! Now I need to find a good sound card to pair it with this board. For now, I have just a Creative CT2900, a few ESS and Yamaha sound cards... Any suggestions? So, I've had a …

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Re: Where can I find Dos/3.1 Aztech azt2316r isa sound card drivers?

Posted on 2019-12-01, 23:22

by

by dionb

in Marvin \ General Old Hardware

in Marvin \ General Old Hardware

It would help if you told us exactly which Aztech card it is - the FCC ID is generally a good identifier. More likely than not you'll find the driver you need here: http://www.vogonsdrivers.com/getfile.php?file … menustate=41,36

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Re: Motherboard for socket 5 build

Posted on 2019-11-30, 13:26

by

by dionb

in Marvin \ General Old Hardware

in Marvin \ General Old Hardware

Just looked it up, and PS/2 is specced at 275 mA, so something's drawing over 10x max permitted current if you blow a 3A fuse...

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Re: Will this MB support lower voltage Celerons?

Posted on 2019-11-30, 13:20

by

by dionb

in Marvin \ General Old Hardware

in Marvin \ General Old Hardware

Aside from the lacking Coppermine support, that is one sweet motherboard - nice and small, with decent onboard Rage Pro - but also ISA, non-overlapping PCI and AGP. It doesn't come much better for a late DOS/early Win9x system in a small form factor.

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Re: Motherboard for socket 5 build

Posted on 2019-11-30, 13:08

by

by dionb

in Marvin \ General Old Hardware

in Marvin \ General Old Hardware

3A is a LOT for a mouse. I'd say there's more chance the pinout is off or something's shorting somewhere. You can easily find +5V and GND on the header by testing for continuity vs power connector or anywhere else with one of those voltages. If they don't match, you have an obvious pinout issue. If …

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