First post, by Mad-Lunatic
- Rank
- Newbie
Hey all, this topic to present my brand new retro PC build.
I wanted to (re)build an AT class machine again for some time now, and fate threw a donor PC in my path:
- Modded Midi Tower AT Case with a 230W Power Supply
- Pentium 100 CPU SX963 without a CPU cooler
- Soyo SY-5TCS Motherboard
- BIOS: AWARD 08/10/95 - TRITON - 2A59CS2LC-00
- 256KB Cache (8x32KB DIP SRAM + TAG module)
- ODIN OEC12C887A RTC with a failed CMOS battery
- 40 MB (2x16MB, 2x8MB) Fast Page SIMM
- Quantum Fireball ST 3.2GB IDE Hard Disk Drive
- Quantum Fireball EX 3.2GB IDE Hard Disk Drive
- 1.44MB Floppy Drive
- NEC CDR-1600A 12x/16x IDE CDROM Drive
- Soundblaster AWE32 CT3980 ISA
- Symbios Logic SYM20403 SCSI Controller ISA
- Accton UK0022 NE2000 NIC ISA
Now this PC was far from perfect: the condition at purchase was poor with the AT case missing all main buttons and the previous owner drilling holes to replace the missing buttons. Moreover, only a large flip switch for power-on was still present in the system. Also, the CMOS battery was dead (and the motherboard does not have a coin cell style slot) and one of the hard drives proved to be faulty.
However, I was lucky enough to track down a replacement AT case (including its power supply), so after assessing that all other components were in OK condition I decided to rebuild and upgrade the donor PC!
I was able to replace the failed ODIN RTC with a Dallas DS12887A+ replacement RTC, and the system keeps time perfectly now.
The BIOS has been upgraded to a version from February 1997, which added support for newer CPUs, and allowed me to boot from the hard drive when I was still waiting for the RTC replacement chip.
I tried to stick to a budget, I really did. But ebay s/h fees and an unexpected customs bill for the memory quickly escalated the cost - but the end result is a nice and fast system (for its day) with these specifications:
- Intel Pentium 200 (16KB Cache, 66MHz FSB)
- Soyo SY-5TCS with 512KB Cache (FX Chipset)
- Mini Tower AT
- Task International TK-920VZ 200W Switching Power Supply
- 128MB (4x32MB) 60ns EDO 72-pin SIMM
- Trident TGUI 9440-1 1MB PCI
- Diamond Monster 3D 3dfx Voodoo1 4MB PCI
- Quantum Fireball EX 5400 RPM 3.2 GB IDE
- NEC CDR-1600A 12x/16x CDROM IDE
- 1.44 MB Floppy
- Soundblaster AWE32 CT3980 ISA
- 3Com Etherlink XL 3C905-TX (10/100 Mbit) PCI
- PS/2 Port (PCI Bracket)
The build now looks like this:
Ports!
And a view of the inside:
The system seems very stable and already has survived a 12 hour prime95 torture test.
Now I only need to decide what sofware to throw at it 😀 and whether I want to run it in a 64 or 128MB configuration.
http://homenet.gnu-linux.net/ -- My computer collection, past and present