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RetroPC_King's Socket A Systems (2023 Update)

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First post, by RetroPC_King

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In this topic I will post my Socket A retro systems, only the 2023 updates of them, especially new builds.
Y2K Athlon Matsonic Build from 2003 :
-AMD Athlon XP 1700+ 1.467 GHz (Thoroughbred B core) with Foxconn CPU cooler
-Matsonic MS8137C+ motherboard
-some no-name ATX mini tower PC case (that was trendy and fancy in 2002-2003 period), with white-teal accents (it have a DEF badge on bottom)
-256MB DDR266 (PC2100) Micron RAM
-Sparkle SP5300T NVIDIA RIVA TNT2 Model 64 32MB video card
-Maxtor D740X-6L 40GB ATA133 HDD
-TEAC 52x24x52x CD-RW drive (model CD-W552E) (connected on IDE Secondary Master)
-ViPowER IDE Super Rack (2 fan version) with a Seagate U10 ST310212A 10.2GB HDD (connected on IDE Secondary Slave)
-SONY MPF920-E 3.5" 1.44MB floppy drive
-460W DAVIO PSU (Linkworld OEM) (model LPK19-460WP maybe)
-Leadtek WinFast TV2000XP Deluxe TV Tuner
-I plan to install on this build Windows 98SE and Mandrake Linux 9.0 (dual-boot) for retro purposes

Any opinions? When I will build more retro Socket A rigs I will show them.

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Last edited by RetroPC_King on 2023-07-23, 19:05. Edited 1 time in total.

Reply 1 of 10, by Mahigan

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AOpen had cases that looked very similar to this one.

Main Retro Rig:
MSI 875P Neo-FIS2R | Intel Pentium IV 3.2GHz (Northwood C) | 2GB Corsair XMS 4000 DDR RAM | ATi Radeon 9800 Pro 256MB Graphics Card | Quantum Obsidian X-24 24MB Glide 3D Accelerator | Creative SoundBlaster X-fi Elite Pro Sound Card

Reply 2 of 10, by RandomStranger

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Any specific reason you chose a TNT2-M64 as the graphics card?
It's not a bad graphics card. For a Mendocino or a K6-2. But it seems very unbalanced for an Athlon XP.

sreq.png retrogamer-s.png

Reply 3 of 10, by RetroPC_King

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RandomStranger wrote on 2023-07-23, 18:55:

Any specific reason you chose a TNT2-M64 as the graphics card?
It's not a bad graphics card. For a Mendocino or a K6-2. But it seems very unbalanced for an Athlon XP.

Because I wanted a setup that was similar to what my dad had in 2002. And that video card was very common in my country. But if I want, I will upgrade when I need the graphics card.

Last edited by RetroPC_King on 2023-07-23, 19:06. Edited 1 time in total.

Reply 4 of 10, by RetroPC_King

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Mahigan wrote on 2023-07-23, 18:43:

AOpen had cases that looked very similar to this one.

Didn't know, but I guess that my case is made by Linkworld maybe, I don't know.

Reply 5 of 10, by RetroPC_King

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Today update: I installed Windows 98SE and Mandrake Linux 9.0 on my Matsonic MS8137C+ rig. It works flawlessly. I had some problems at installing Windows 98SE, but was due to the IDE cables I used, so changed them and works, initially believing that were PC Chips quirks, but both operating systems work perfectly.

Here is a screenshot from Windows 98SE.

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Reply 6 of 10, by RetroPC_King

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Also update after nearly 3 months: Yesterday I got a new NIC (TrendNET TE-100PCIWN), and after I cleaned it, I installed it in place of the Gembird NIC-R1 network card it had, and now it have a TrendNET TE-100PCIWN network card (also based on the same Realtek RTL8139D chip). That network card works flawlessly!

Reply 7 of 10, by RetroPC_King

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April 2024 update: Replaced a bulged capacitor on the MATSONIC MS8137C+ motherboard, and also put a power supply from that period, a 350W LPF2N PSU (I think is made by Linkworld maybe), that I installed in the place of the DAVIO LPK19-460W PSU it had. Motherboard and the whole system is now rock solid! Also upgraded the Windows 98SE and Mandrake Linux 9.0 OS to Windows 2000 Professional SP2 and Mandrake Linux 10.0 Official and it works!

Reply 8 of 10, by acl

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RetroPC_King wrote on 2024-04-05, 14:45:

April 2024 update: Replaced a bulged capacitor on the MATSONIC MS8137C+ motherboard, and also put a power supply from that period, a 350W LPF2N PSU (I think is made by Linkworld maybe), that I installed in the place of the DAVIO LPK19-460W PSU it had. Motherboard and the whole system is now rock solid! Also upgraded the Windows 98SE and Mandrake Linux 9.0 OS to Windows 2000 Professional SP2 and Mandrake Linux 10.0 Official and it works!

Was there mandrake linux on your dad's original system back then ?

"Hello, my friend. Stay awhile and listen..."
My collection (not up to date)

Reply 9 of 10, by RetroPC_King

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acl wrote on 2024-04-14, 08:20:
RetroPC_King wrote on 2024-04-05, 14:45:

April 2024 update: Replaced a bulged capacitor on the MATSONIC MS8137C+ motherboard, and also put a power supply from that period, a 350W LPF2N PSU (I think is made by Linkworld maybe), that I installed in the place of the DAVIO LPK19-460W PSU it had. Motherboard and the whole system is now rock solid! Also upgraded the Windows 98SE and Mandrake Linux 9.0 OS to Windows 2000 Professional SP2 and Mandrake Linux 10.0 Official and it works!

Was there mandrake linux on your dad's original system back then ?

Yes, it was, in the 2003-2004 period from what I remember. Only on his ECS K7VZA 3.0

Reply 10 of 10, by acl

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RetroPC_King wrote on 2024-04-16, 10:57:
acl wrote on 2024-04-14, 08:20:
RetroPC_King wrote on 2024-04-05, 14:45:

April 2024 update: Replaced a bulged capacitor on the MATSONIC MS8137C+ motherboard, and also put a power supply from that period, a 350W LPF2N PSU (I think is made by Linkworld maybe), that I installed in the place of the DAVIO LPK19-460W PSU it had. Motherboard and the whole system is now rock solid! Also upgraded the Windows 98SE and Mandrake Linux 9.0 OS to Windows 2000 Professional SP2 and Mandrake Linux 10.0 Official and it works!

Was there mandrake linux on your dad's original system back then ?

Yes, it was, in the 2003-2004 period from what I remember. Only on his ECS K7VZA 3.0

That was not common at the time ! Early 2000 was the peak of windows usage with W98 and XP.

Mandrake was a quite popular Linux distribution at the time (before Ubuntu). Its also the first one I tried as a live CD around the same time. I remember that the Mandrake distribution CDs were often given in magazines.

As a funny coincidence, my first job after university was to work in the Mandrake Linux founder's new startup.

"Hello, my friend. Stay awhile and listen..."
My collection (not up to date)

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