First post, by mmx_91
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Hey guys!!
Let me introduce you to the project I’m currently working on. In some way it’s based on our first pc, a Pentium 166MMX that my dad bought back in Dec 1997, when I was only 6/7 years old. Recently, I found the original bill dated 22/Dec/1997 describing the hardware it originally had:
Pentium 166 MMX
32MB EDO
Intel TX mainboard (unknown model)
2,1GB HDD
S3 Virge 2MB
‘Multimedia pack’ (which contained a SB Vibra16, 24x cd-rom unit, 2.0 speakers and a microphone)
AT case, 14 inch color monitor, a HP Deskjet printer, etc.
I used it mainly for gaming purposes as I was a little child haha, and some of them are still kept in my closet like treasures! 🤣
Later, in 2001, we had it updated with a bigger hard-drive and some more ram (256mb-PC133) but it didn’t last long due to the lack of AGP and processing power, when newer games started to refuse working. So we bought one of the earliest and shiny Pentium 4 and installed the new parts the MMX had before, and got rid of the old computer.
So this build is more nostalgic than anything, I remember it as the pc I started to raise interest on computers and technology, which gradually increased till last year when I graduated in Automation & Electronics engineering 😊 😊 .
Some time ago I started to read this wonderful forum and decided to build a similar computer, an ‘improved version’ of the original one, just for fun and to eventually play the games I had back then and even the ones I never had the chance to try and right now are available on the Internet as ‘abandonware’. I neither have patience/interest nor enough free time to play newer computer games in my daily pc but in this case it’s all about nostalgia!!
This ‘new’ machine has the following specs, with this configuration works like a charm for my purposes:
Pentium 166 MMX overclocked to 250MHz (100x2.5 and stable!!)
512MB SDRAM (the maximum the chipset is capable to cache, a huge amount but it allows me to disable virtual memory)
Jetway 542C - ALI Aladdin V motherboard
nVidia GF2-TI 64MB AGP (overkill, but recycled from a junk pc, good VGA/TV output)
HD 80GB IDE (the same as above, enough space for maaaany ISO files)
SB AWE64
Windows ME (out-of-the-box HID support and plug&play monitor, mass-storage drivers...)
‘Unknown’ AT case with its power supply, CD drive… etc. Bought for 3.50 € in a thrift store!!
Last week, when I brought the case home, I found that it had mounted a SS7 board as well, a Matsonic Aladdin V (came with a K6). The Jetway one is better because it mounts the rev.G of the chipset (bigger cacheable area and ATA-66 support), so it's the one to choose. The Matsonic board will be saved for parts, as well as other components like its sound card (SB16 Vibra).
Let’s see some pics!
Hope you like it!!