Hello everyone,
I want to build a new PC but one of my requirements is that I already have the case and it has to be an AT format motherboard. I would like your opinion of what top of the range equipment you would mount or that could be mounted at most in AT format. I think the motherboards that went up to AT were the Pentium 1 motherboards if I remember correctly. What would you recommend me?
Regards!
Welcome to Vogons 😀
There are plenty of options beyond Pentium I in the format, certainly to at least Pentium III (coppermine or tualatin versions) and possibly better if you consider boards designed for industrial use.
Are you aiming for a period correct build or just the best you can get in the format (nice case btw)?
PC Hoarder Patrol wrote on 2024-05-08, 11:38:Welcome to Vogons 😀
There are plenty of options beyond Pentium I in the format, certainly to at least Pentium III (coppermine or tualatin versions) and possibly better if you consider boards designed for industrial use.
Are you aiming for a period correct build or just the best you can get in the format (nice case btw)?
Thanks for the welcome, and sorry for not having written in the right place first.
The truth is that I want a pc that does not lose compatibility with MS-DOS games and as powerful as possible, adapting speeds if possible lowering the clock and disabling caches if necessary.
I think that thinking a little I would decide to go to the maximum of 486 or if I go a little further to pentium mmx. I would look for an intel 486 dx4-100 or an amd 5x86 133 and in the case of pentium it would be a 233 mmx. I do not know what boards you would recommend ...
If the intent is building an AT system that can be easily throttled for backwards compatibility, I'd go with a Socket 7 / Pentium MMX.
Phil has done a video on a Pentium MMX build demonstrating how it can be throttled: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xcBmEjXg2ME
That's an awesome looking case btw! Very unique!
There are Pentium 3 AT boards that can be converted to run a Tualatin CPU, and there were Socket A motherboards in the AT form factor. But the Socket A AT motherboards are incredibly rare, so I wouldn't hold out for one, and the power supply and case cooling could also be a factor with those.
More specific recommendations could be made if you specified what game(s) and operating system(s) you would want to run on this system. And that's a very nice case!
"I'd rather be rich than stupid" - Jack Handey
what is this type of case called? When I was a kid we just called it a "desktop" case vs a "tower".
I've had a really hard time trying to track one of these down that isn't a pre-built. the first PC I built for myself was in one of these and I would love to find another!
I recently searched for the most powerful AT motherboard for my retro build, and found the "Raptor AT" board made by Corvalent/Pelco/APC has a socket 479 CPU socket.
Here's one on Ebay: https://www.ebay.com/itm/166689028029
However, if you would prefer a non-industrial board, look for something with a 133MHz bus, which would probably be socket 370.
(I also found that Zida's Tomato boards appear to have the smallest form factor.)
Lylat1an wrote on 2024-05-08, 15:12:Here's one on Ebay: https://www.ebay.com/itm/166689028029
This board probably will be in conflict with the HDD/Floppy/CDROM bay.
Shponglefan wrote on 2024-05-08, 13:44:If the intent is building an AT system that can be easily throttled for backwards compatibility, I'd go with a Socket 7 / Pentium MMX.
Phil has done a video on a Pentium MMX build demonstrating how it can be throttled: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xcBmEjXg2ME
That's an awesome looking case btw! Very unique!
Thank you very much for the video, I will watch it.
The case is a bit special with integrated speakers and a very peculiar look. I had a hard time finding something like this and quite new.
Repo Man11 wrote on 2024-05-08, 14:34:There are Pentium 3 AT boards that can be converted to run a Tualatin CPU, and there were Socket A motherboards in the AT form factor. But the Socket A AT motherboards are incredibly rare, so I wouldn't hold out for one, and the power supply and case cooling could also be a factor with those.
More specific recommendations could be made if you specified what game(s) and operating system(s) you would want to run on this system. And that's a very nice case!
I think the destination would be for ms-dos and win95 - win98 so maybe pentium mmx could be the final destination. What do you think?
snipe3687 wrote on 2024-05-08, 14:55:what is this type of case called? When I was a kid we just called it a "desktop" case vs a "tower".
I've had a really hard time trying to track one of these down that isn't a pre-built. the first PC I built for myself was in one of these and I would love to find another!
The truth is that it was in second hand applications that I was browsing and one day a seller appeared with that box and I fell in love and bought it.
Disruptor wrote on 2024-05-08, 18:07:Lylat1an wrote on 2024-05-08, 15:12:Here's one on Ebay: https://www.ebay.com/itm/166689028029
This board probably will be in conflict with the HDD/Floppy/CDROM bay.
wow! this is a very nice board and its specs are quite good. The anchors to the case are correct or you have to adapt this type of motherboards?
Disruptor wrote on 2024-05-08, 18:07:Lylat1an wrote on 2024-05-08, 15:12:Here's one on Ebay: https://www.ebay.com/itm/166689028029
This board probably will be in conflict with the HDD/Floppy/CDROM bay.
Why would it create conflict?
DeLFuS wrote on 2024-05-08, 18:15:Why would it create conflict?
Processor cooler?
To understand, look what was done with the SIMM sockets on motherboard "Batman's Revenge" to fit in original AT cases:
https://theretroweb.com/motherboards/s/intel- … atman-s-revenge
If I were to go to a mmx what would you think of a motherboard like the Gigabyte GA-5AA?
https://theretroweb.com/motherboards/s/gigaby … -ga-5aa-rev-2.2
DeLFuS wrote on 2024-05-08, 18:17:If I were to go to a mmx what would you think of a motherboard like the Gigabyte GA-5AA?
https://theretroweb.com/motherboards/s/gigaby … -ga-5aa-rev-2.2
That looks like it could work, the RAM slots are as close to the keyboard connector as possible with two power connections between them. I sought the same layout for my board in an IBM PC-XT case. (VERY tight clearances beneath the drive bay)
That board has a 3.3v AGP slot and you also get two ISA slots: That will allow DOS-compatible video and sound cards, and perhaps a Voltage Blaster if you want to use a modern ATX PSU with no -5v pin. (ATX will probably be much quieter than an AT PSU)
My FIC KA-6100 board's mounting holes didn't quite line up in the IBM case, so I used only the keyboard mounting hole and slid a stripped clipboard beneath the rest of it. The expansion cards prevent the rest of the board from sliding around.
I have another box, but I will use this one for another project. Anyway I put it here for the interest of boxes a little different from the normal.
Lylat1an wrote on 2024-05-08, 19:39:That looks like it could work, the RAM slots are as close to the keyboard connector as possible with two power connections betwe […]
DeLFuS wrote on 2024-05-08, 18:17:If I were to go to a mmx what would you think of a motherboard like the Gigabyte GA-5AA?
https://theretroweb.com/motherboards/s/gigaby … -ga-5aa-rev-2.2
That looks like it could work, the RAM slots are as close to the keyboard connector as possible with two power connections between them. I sought the same layout for my board in an IBM PC-XT case. (VERY tight clearances beneath the drive bay)
That board has a 3.3v AGP slot and you also get two ISA slots: That will allow DOS-compatible video and sound cards, and perhaps a Voltage Blaster if you want to use a modern ATX PSU with no -5v pin. (ATX will probably be much quieter than an AT PSU)
My FIC KA-6100 board's mounting holes didn't quite line up in the IBM case, so I used only the keyboard mounting hole and slid a stripped clipboard beneath the rest of it. The expansion cards prevent the rest of the board from sliding around.
yes, I think it is a good option. If anyone has any other ideas, it would be appreciated.
