nezwick wrote on 2023-11-17, 13:28:

Here's my retro PC #2. […]
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Here's my retro PC #2.

It was a FB Marketplace find - paid $25 for it in "unknown working condition" with no hard drive or graphics card. I promise you it did not look like these pictures when I bought it. It was a complete disaster with wires and cables and plugs and loose parts everywhere, and of course packed with dust.

At the time, I had just completed my Athlon XP 1700+ tribute system and did not really have a use for another Socket A rig, especially one as ridiculous looking as this. I always considered these types of cases to be gaudy and obnoxious and unnecessarily huge.

I had actually considered parting it out and selling everything on eBay for a profit, but decided to give it a chance and see what I could do with it first. I'm glad I did, because the style has really grown on me and it feels perfectly mid-2000s.

Aside from a general cleaning and a whole lot of time spent on taming the cable mess, it really didn't need much to get going aside from a fresh CMOS battery, graphics card, and a SATA HDD. I installed XP Pro and started taking inventory of the specs.

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Case: Thermaltake Xaser III w/ original Thermaltake Hardcano fan controller
CPU: AMD Athlon XP 3000+ (Barton core 400FSB version!) at stock speed
MB: ASUS A7N8X Deluxe, nForce2 chipset, with all the accessory PCI slot brackets
RAM: 1GB Corsair TWIN X DDR 400 (2x 256 and 1x 512, runs in dual channel)
HDD: Seagate 160GB SATA - added from my personal stash
Sound: onboard nVidia nForce2 "SoundStorm"
GPU: Gainward nVidia GeForce FX 5700 256MB AGP 8x - also added from my personal stash
Case cooling: (5x) original Thermaltake 80mm fans, (2x) generic blue LED fans - total of 7 fans
CPU cooling: Thermaltake Volcano7 with a blue LED fan
Lights: Green cold cathodes
Storage: IDE DVD-ROM and CD-RW, and a 3 1/2 floppy
Other: Cooler master round/clear IDE cable and generic round/black floppy cable

I did the best cable management job that I knew how. There are SO many wires to deal with (pertaining to the fan controller, 7 fans, and front panel illumination) and with no cable management pathways, I hid what I could behind the left panel and inside a black sleeve. It doesn't measure up to modern cable management practices, but it's better than what I probably would have come up with in 2003, and it honestly looks period appropriate.

I added the green lights and blue fans. I also upgraded the CPU cooler. It was a stock AMD cooler and the 60mm fan was SO loud. The Thermaltake Volcano7 that I originally had in my 1700+ machine fits pretty nicely in here.

So aside from possibly upgrading the graphics card when I come across a better one, this rig is in its final form. I don't really use it much right now, but I'm definitely hanging onto it. I do enjoy how the blue LED fans and green cathode lighting look together.

Nice! Nice nice nice!

I totally get how old school case bling can be appealing now when it maybe wasn't at the time. When people first started cutting windows into their cases and adding LEDs to their fans, I just couldn't understand why you would want that. As far as I was concerned, a computer should be as small, quiet, and unobtrusive as possible - adding bling to it was the opposite!

Now I'm like.. yeah, it's ok for computers to look cool. 😎👍

ubiq wrote on 2023-11-17, 22:55:

Nice! Nice nice nice!

I totally get how old school case bling can be appealing now when it maybe wasn't at the time. When people first started cutting windows into their cases and adding LEDs to their fans, I just couldn't understand why you would want that.

Thanks!

Funny thing is, I actually was deep into case modding and lights and things back then, but I was pretty particular and elitist about what I liked. Even if 15 year old me could have afforded one of these beasts in 2003, I wouldn't have bought it. My "thing" was stealthy looking, all-black, or black and silver cases; but with the window in the side to reveal illuminated fans, cathode tubes, and all sorts of UV reactive bits. I always dismissed this whole segment of cases as tacky and gaudy. I've definitely learned to appreciate a lot of the previously-disliked trends from that era just because of the nostalgia factor.

paulo_becas wrote on 2023-11-08, 23:31:

Here's my pride and joy

Oh wow! I love the look of this machine! Awesome job and the graphics really make it pop! Congrats!

Best wishes,

Tony.

nezwick wrote on 2023-11-15, 22:35:

I don't think brand new DDR memory purchased on Amazon is actually brand new. I had bought 2 sticks, expecting a matched pair, and when they arrived they were not. Plus, one turned out to be failing. My guess is that the seller just "tests" some used memory and slaps on a new label for resale. I might eventually take it back to Windows 2000, but for now all my games are installed on XP.

That happens, unfortunately. I have bought memory modules that were advertised as new, but they turned out to be customer returns (packaging was closed, but the seal had been removed before and the modules had signs of installation on the contacts). I also once bought a couple hard disks, advertised as new old stock, for a not so low price, from a 'reputable' 99.x% feedback ebay seller, but when I unpacked them (new ESD bags 🤣) I noticed dust on places that could only come from actual use.

JustJulião wrote on 2022-07-26, 09:14:

The wallpaper is here and you seem to be aware of it since you replied haha. If you just want the screensaver, it's the "seal" o […]
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H3nrik V! wrote on 2022-07-26, 07:30:

JustJulião wrote on 2022-07-22, 11:13:

My PowerVR PCX2 based machine. Coppermine 1GHz, 815 chipset, 256mb of RAM, Pioneer Slot-in DVD reader (had an hard time fitting […]
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My PowerVR PCX2 based machine.
Coppermine 1GHz, 815 chipset, 256mb of RAM, Pioneer Slot-in DVD reader (had an hard time fitting it since it's much longer than the stock optical reader), 160GB WD HDD on a Silicon Image SATA controller (to be replaced with a CF card on IDE).
Running WinME (hated for bad reasons IMO).
Displayed on the 2nd picture : PowerVR SGL screensaver from Videologic's disc.
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Any chance you'd upload that background picture and the screen saver? I really want to use it with my Matrox m3D. I guess it shouldn't have copyright issues?

The wallpaper is here and you seem to be aware of it since you replied haha.
If you just want the screensaver, it's the "seal" one in demo/screensavers folder. Just open it with isobuster. http://www.vogonsdrivers.com/getfile.php?fileid=230
It also includes cyberk that is my favorite one.
A more recent (and much heavier) version of the cd is there : http://www.vogonsdrivers.com/getfile.php?file … 995&menustate=0
It has two more screensavers. "logo" that is ugly IMO and "Mask" that isn't bad.

Installed the m3d today. Was I disappointed that the image on archive only contained the booooooring screen savers. Glad Google found me this thread again. Gonna be a happy day tomorrow 😎

here are some photos of my recently acquired and upgraded dell precision 220.
dual piii 1ghz, 512rambus, voodoo5, audigy, adaptec ultra2, 2x quantum atlas 36gig, scsi plexwriter.
the seller didn't pack this well, so ended up paying nothing for the dell. replaced the fans on the voodoo5.
these workstations have a button on the lower left of the front bezel that released the side panel. this is no longer functional and all the plastic tabs on the side panel were broken off.
some very small magnets keep the side shut now. these are at the bottom of the case and well away from the mechanical media.
this machine is now on permanent display next to my 730x.

wirerogue wrote on 2023-12-17, 03:03:

here are some photos of my recently acquired and upgraded dell precision 220. dual piii 1ghz, 512rambus, voodoo5, audigy, adapte […]
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here are some photos of my recently acquired and upgraded dell precision 220.
dual piii 1ghz, 512rambus, voodoo5, audigy, adaptec ultra2, 2x quantum atlas 36gig, scsi plexwriter.
the seller didn't pack this well, so ended up paying nothing for the dell. replaced the fans on the voodoo5.
these workstations have a button on the lower left of the front bezel that released the side panel. this is no longer functional and all the plastic tabs on the side panel were broken off.
some very small magnets keep the side shut now. these are at the bottom of the case and well away from the mechanical media.
this machine is now on permanent display next to my 730x.

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Oh that green air duct in that computer....that's the one thing I remember about these. I must have had to take the cover off one or two of these back then to add RAM or whatnot.

Really solid feeling computer.

I was planning to do a retro build in modern case for a while now, and finally decided to do it. Here it is:

My goal was a pc for playing late DOS, early Windows and early Glide games. Here are the specs:
- Case: Modecom Oberon Pro Glass
- Fans: Darkflash 120mm ARGB with controller
- Motherboard: MSI MS-5169 REV 2.0
- CPU: AMD K6 200MHz
- RAM: 128MB
- Graphics card: Cirrus Logic CL-GD5446 2MB
- Accelerator: 3dfx Voodoo 1 (A-Trend ATC-2465)
- Sound card: Labway LWHA111800 (ES1868F / Admos QDSP 700 Wavetable)
- PSU: Fortron FSP 350W

The only thing I'm missing is matching i/o shield for the motherboard. Also I had some problems with this particular Voodoo card. It refuses to work with pretty much any driver other than the oldest Diamond Monster driver.

K6 200Mhz! Nice 😎

Is the tiny fan cooling the VRM?

devius wrote on 2023-12-25, 18:52:

K6 200Mhz! Nice 😎

Is the tiny fan cooling the VRM?

Yes, there is a voltage regulator with heatsink under there. Actually when I first got that motherboard it was faulty. It turned out that voltage regulator was bad, it was getting like 90 deegres C hot and that was causing system to lock up. After replacing the voltage regulator it was still getting quite hot, like 60-70 deegres which is technically ok according to specification of that voltage regulator, but I decided to add a fan to improve cooling.

My HP Pavilion 7140P, which once belonged to my grandmother. Needed a new CD drive and HDD (though I think the Quantum Bigfoot that came out of it might still be usable). Wish I could get the photo scanner to work for the fun of it, but I've never found the proper drivers...

Also sought out the monitor and speakers it would've come with based on photos I've found, along with appropriate keyboard+mouse.

Front headphone jack on the monitor, one of the best inventions ever.

domobot wrote on 2023-12-26, 02:34:

My HP Pavilion 7140P, which once belonged to my grandmother. Needed a new CD drive and HDD (though I think the Quantum Bigfoot that came out of it might still be usable). Wish I could get the photo scanner to work for the fun of it, but I've never found the proper drivers...
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Also sought out the monitor and speakers it would've come with based on photos I've found, along with appropriate keyboard+mouse.

Please post a picture of the Bigfoot harddisk 😀

H3nrik V! wrote on 2023-12-26, 19:20:

domobot wrote on 2023-12-26, 02:34:

My HP Pavilion 7140P, which once belonged to my grandmother. Needed a new CD drive and HDD (though I think the Quantum Bigfoot that came out of it might still be usable). Wish I could get the photo scanner to work for the fun of it, but I've never found the proper drivers...
20231225_212202.jpg
Also sought out the monitor and speakers it would've come with based on photos I've found, along with appropriate keyboard+mouse.

Please post a picture of the Bigfoot harddisk 😀

When mounted externally it can't be explored in Windows, but I was able to recover files from it with another program. It appears in disk management but it doesn't have a label and I can't change any settings. It might work once I format it but I haven't gotten to it yet.

Those disks were so cool! I remember them as extremely cheap per megabyte, but took up a looot of space, and AFAIR not very fast?

So let me present my Pentium MMX machine.
Most of the parts are trash picks, except the case, which I paid for around $5 in local money, and the OG metallic Pentium / Win98 stickers, which I lifted from a school computer when I was a kid. Fun fact: all the PCBs in the case are green.

MB: Acorp 5TX29 (430TX, 512K cache) w. Steunebrink BIOS patch
CPU: Intel P1 MMX 233 (xB1)
RAM: 64MB Siemens SD 100MHz
Video: Acorp ST-375B Virge/DX 4MB 35ns ram, 2.07 BIOS (Has a surpisingly good image output for a virge)
V3D: Diamond Monster 3D, Voodoo1 4MB
Sound: SoundBlaster AWE64 CT4520, w. 2MB ram mod
Sound2: Mysterious green GUS Classic clone, 1MB ram
LAN: Intel Pro/100 SB82558B
HDD: Samsung SpinPoint P80 SP1203N 120GB
ODD: LG GDR-8162B
FDD: 1.44MB (Came with the case)
Case: Fujitsu T-Bird AT (Factory black, not a paintjob)
PSU: King Year 200W AT (Came with the case)

It's a rock solid machine, had absolutely no fuss with it (which cannot be said about some of my others). Runs Windows 98SE with 98lite and SP3lite. A custom config.sys/autoexec.bat provides multiple options via a menu (JemmEX, XMGR/UMBPCI, EMM386/Himem, Windows). It's mostly used as a reference machine to test unruly software, which might fail on my other PCs.

Finally got a matching CRT for my MikroMikko!

dj_pirtu wrote on 2023-12-29, 12:36:

Finally got a matching CRT for my MikroMikko!

Looks great! Reminds me of that one time I bought a pair of shorts, and a couple of years later, went into a completely different store and bought a random T-shirt, and later found out they were a perfect matching set.

This is my system. It is named after Qbix's DOSBox emulator.

This system is a long time project that I've had lots of fun putting together. It is very close to complete, but I have a few very minor changes planned ahead. The pictures are from different times in the project, so they are not showing entirely the current configuration.

The computer is an Intel i486DX2 66Mhz on a ECS UM4980 V 1.1 motherboard, with 8 ISA expansion slots, whereas 3 are VESA local bus.

It has 8MB of RAM and 256KB of cache.

Drives:
- Seagate ST38410A HDD
- Compact Flash drive (8GB card)
- Quad speed CD-ROM
- PCMCIA card reader with 2 slots using 2 x 16MB flash cards.
- Floppy drive
- Gotek FlashFloppy with rotary encoder and OLED screen

Expansion cards:
- Roland Sound Canvas Card SCC-1A
- Roland LA PC Card LAPC-I with Roland MCB-1
- Sound Blaster Vibra 16 CT2800 (OPL3)
- Gravis Ultrasound PnP with 8MB of RAM
- SCM Swapbox card (interface for PCMCIA card reader)
- 2theMax ET4000/W32i VLB 1MB
- SST-2948 Super I/O Card VLB
- 3Com 3C5098-TPO NIC

Other:
- Gravis Gamepad Pro
- Gravis Analogue Pro
- Roland MT-32 rev0 (connected to the MCB-1)
- Roland MA-7 speakers
- Roland M-160 mixer

If I wanted to describe all these period-correct systems with one word it would be 'cosy'. It just looks so nice. I can imagine having so much fun playing the retro-games, with proper music, and the original boxes on the shelf above. 👍