VOGONS


First post, by Robert B

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Hellow everybody, my name is Robert, and like you I have a passion for old PC hardware. Over the following weeks, I'll be posting full details about a AMD 5x86 build, AMD K6-2 build, Pentium III Slot 1 build, AMD K7 Classic Athlon build and a few extras. My posts are usually TL;DR and I upload lots of images....I used postimage.org so that I wont burden your server storage.

The 5x86 Story

What do you do when you first start gathering old hardware?

In my situation the facts were stacked against me. The pieces I was trying to find were, by all means dinosaurs, a foot note into the PC history. Many have already been discarded, buried into landfills, melted, dismembered.....

I entered a couple of IT forums in my country and tried to find the pieces for the 5x86 puzzle, but to no avail.

My first purchase was a complete success. I scored for the sum of around 80 $, a large number of AGP and PCI VGA adapters prior to 2000, an awesome Maxi Gamer 3D Voodoo 2, some socket 7 motherboards, two busted socket 3 motherboard, lots on SIMM, and DIMM RAM and the a gem of a PSU Minebea Electronics 200W AT PSU - the first piece of the 5x86 puzzle 😀

I tried the local flea market but my searches were fruitless....In the end I found a guy who let me buy from him three socket 3 motherboars, two AMD 5x86 133MHz CPU's, one AMD 4x86-DX2 66MHz, one AMD 486-DX4-100MHz and two heatsinks complete with clips for my socket 3 build. This was my second piece of the 5x86 puzzle 😀

I was quite pissed for giving away my first PC back in '98 or '99. I was young and foolish 😁

The motherboard I found was a Jetway J446A v2.0 - chipset SiS 496/497 - 256KB cache/3 PCI/3 ISA/4 RAM SLOTS not a Tomato Board 4DPS SiS 496/497 like I used to have. So this was as good as it gets 😁

So there I was in 2015 with a motherboard, CPU, RAM and a PSU. How the hell was I going to find a case like the one I used to have and an exact HDD? The ODD was not so important....

To my surprise in one of my trips to the local flea market I found an almost exact case. The first time a I saw it I was thunder struck! 😁 I just couldn't belive my eyes 😀 It was dirty and scratched but it was complete.

The bouns inside was a socket 7 motherboard with a Cyrix 6x86 PR233, Tomato 5STX-J98 motherboard, 32MB RAM, SiS VGA, a Seagate Medalist 3.2GB HDD and a Sony ODD.

With the case I had another piece of the 5x86 puzzle 😁

Through some twist of the fate I found the HDD on a local forum and the moment I held it in my hand I new the PC Gods were smiling down to me from above 😁

The entire adventure took around three months of digging up in the local flea market and local IT forums.

So there I was smiling with all my loot 😁 these relics were more valuable to me than the latest GPU, CPU or another IT gizmo 😁

All the parts were prepared for a complete cleaning process using 99.9% isopropyl alcohol and a lot of elbow grease 😁

Steps taken for success 😁

1st STEP - deep cleaning of the motherboard,SIMM and CPU preparation

The first step into my 5x86 (re)build was the cleaning of the motherboard.

Jetway J446A v2.0 - chipset SiS 496/497 - 256KB cache/3 PCI/3 ISA/4 RAM SLOTS

I took my sweet time and after a few hours it came out golden!

All the chips, jumpers and accessories were removed and labeled before cleaning.

5x86_1.jpg5x86_2.jpg5x86_3.jpga1_1_2.jpga1_1_3.jpga1_1.jpgimage.jpgimage.jpgimage.jpgimage.jpgimage.jpgimage.jpgimage.jpgimage.jpgimage.jpga10.jpga11.jpga12.jpga13.jpga14.jpgpb2.jpgsimm1.jpgsimm2.jpg
gallery: https://postimg.cc/gallery/seisg4mw/

Last edited by Robert B on 2018-04-16, 19:29. Edited 7 times in total.

Reply 3 of 844, by Robert B

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Thank you all for the appreciation 😁

My only problem is adding images. I have over 400 pics with a lot of details. All are sized around 512KB and my only gripe is that postimage.org doesnt put them in order as I like. Well whats free it's free 😁

I dont know if Vogons will let me upload around 250 MB of files.

2nd step - THE CASE

The case received a special treatment - full disassembly. A wash with hot water and detergent, followed by a good scrub with CIF Cream. I removed a bit of the yellowing from the plastic but I wanted to keep the "character" and the aging. The stuff that says 'been there done that!

First I used a coarse fabric/felt but in the end a soft sponge was better.
case1.jpgcase2.jpgcif_1.jpgcif_treatment.jpgcif_treatment_2.jpgfata_1.jpgfata_2.jpgfata_3_1.jpgfata_3.jpgfata_4.jpgfata_5.jpgnocif.jpg

gallery: https://postimg.cc/gallery/1bpwv62w2/

Last edited by Robert B on 2018-04-16, 19:37. Edited 6 times in total.

Reply 4 of 844, by Robert B

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3rd step - FDD, ODD, Bits and Pieces, a lot of attention do detail!

Next came the turn of the FDD's and ODD's 😁

Full cleaning process too 😁 I like my components squeaky clean - It makes the experience all more authentic.

The assembly of the face of the PC case.

The plastics were kept in water with a small quantity of vinegar.

Check the bug in the system 😁

More pics and the compressor used to clean/dry the plastic parts.

LCD display test. In the end I didnt use it for the 5x86 build because my 5x86 didnt have one to beging with.

Test fitting of the motherboard revealed that after all these years the motherboard was little bent out of shape and I had to be very carefull with the RAM sticks touching the metal case. The SIMM problem was solved with carefull bending of the metal 😁 By all means do not use a hammer....IBM.....

Some of the motherboard spacers were made from plastic which in time changed its shape. Also the motherboard tray had HUGE fitting holes and I had to compensate this with a little bit of copper wire wrapped around them. Nothing was moving now 😁

I used some soft foam to stop the motherboard tray from making noise. Also the foam was used to cancel the vibration from the ODD, FDD and 3.5" and 5.25 bay covers.

First I didnt have the metal plate which connects the POWER SWITCH to the case and I had make one from a bike spoke. I came out strudy as hell. 😁 In the end I found the missing metal plate.....there goes an hour from my life 😁....The switch had a little play in its internals and I used a zip tie to cancel this.

The PSU was fully stripped and cleaned. I checked it with a light load and it was in awesome shape.

The case was missing some rear covers and I decided to make my own from perforated metal strips.

Back in '96 my PC didnt have a sound card or a CD-ROM. They came later in '98 an ESS1868 ISA sound card and an LG 16X which was crap. It read only silver CD's. Any other colour blue or gold was not read by this crappy unit.

All the cables were also cleaned with a great attention to detail. I matched the colour of the red strips for all the cables as best as I could 😁

The HDD was mounted in a 5.25 slot instead of a 3.5, using metal spacers, for better cooling.

This case didnt have a Turbo switch like my old one, so I added a Turbo Led and used a jumper to set Turbo On or Off.

If you are still hanging in here I hope I dont spam the thread 😁 - this work was done in weeks and the build log was full of details written in romanian so for now I cant translate all of it. In the future I'll post simultaneously here and on the lab501 forum, from my country,Romania.

After all this hustle the result came up.....well you can see for yourself 😁

This rebuild of my first PC, in 2015 was like a trip in the past. All the smells of the electronics, the noises were all familiar. It was awesome!
image.jpgimage.jpg133.jpg14091_262_1.jpgassembly.jpgbug.jpgcablu.jpgcase1.jpgcase2.jpgcase3.jpgcase11.jpgclean.jpgcompresor.jpgfdd1.jpgfdd2.jpgfdd3.jpgfdd4.jpgfdd5.jpgotet.jpgotet2.jpgsolvpr16.jpgcase_1.jpgcase_2.jpgcase_3.jpgcase_4.jpg
gallery: https://postimg.cc/gallery/34cx2py0o/
https://postimg.cc/gallery/1la9yqliw/

Last edited by Robert B on 2018-04-16, 19:38. Edited 6 times in total.

Reply 6 of 844, by Robert B

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I have to post multiple times otherwise the images will get all mixed up.

The 5x86 - Build

Vital statistics

1. CPU: AMD 5X86 133MHz - AMD-X5-133ADZ/Am5X86-P75 3.45V
2. Motherboard: Jetway J446A v2.0 - chipset SiS 496/497 - 256KB cache/3 PCI/3 ISA/4 RAM SLOTS
3. RAM: 2x16=32 MB RAM SIMM FPM
4. VGA: ARK Logic ARK2000PV, 2MB, PCI
5. AUDIO: ESS AudioDrive 1868F ISA
6. HDD: QUANTUM TRAILBLAZER TRB850A -850MB- 4500RPM
7. FDD: SONY
8. CD-ROM: SONY 52x CDU5221 - I couldn't find a period correct CD-ROM so this will have to do...for now
9. PSU: Minebea Electronics 200W AT PSU
10. Cooling: CPU-Noctua NF-4x10FLX 40 mm x 40 mm x 10 mm 4500 rpm/SSO2 SYSTEM: Scythe Mini Kaze 60 mm x 60 mm x 20 mm 2500 rpm/sleeve.
11. CASE: Generic AT Case manufactured 1998.
12. Enthusiasm/Nostalgy/Dedication/Time/Headaches/Money 😁

The RESULT?PRICELESS!!!

This was the AMD 5x86 DX5 133MHz rebuild presented in fast forward speed 😁

More builds have been completed an K6-2 450MHz, a Pentium III 550MHz Slot 1 and an AMD Irongate SLOT A test system.

If there is interest I'll post some later. Also I have an extensive picture collection of other old hardware (mostly '90s) which I can post. All the parts have been cleaned and are kept in boxes.

They were gathered in 2015 and 2016. After this stage I came to a halt. All the stuff fits in about 14+ boxes and I have enough stuff for a lifetime 😁 Hoarding is bad for health and the wallet....

Much more later. Enjoy the pics!

sis1.jpgsis2.jpgsis3.jpgsis4.jpgsis5.jpgsis6.jpgsis7.jpgsis8.jpgsis9.jpg
gallery: https://postimg.cc/gallery/3ibd4aa76/

Last edited by Robert B on 2018-04-16, 19:39. Edited 9 times in total.

Reply 7 of 844, by Robert B

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And now some fun and testing. The HDD testing was done using a standard PSU, an ABit Serillel adapter, eSATA ExpressCard and a Acer Aspire 5315 laptop.

dig0.jpgimage.jpgg3_1.jpgg3_0.jpgimage.jpgimage.jpgimage.jpgg6_1.jpgimage.jpgg7_1.jpgimage.jpgimage.jpgg10.jpgg11.jpgg13.jpgg14.jpgg15.jpgg16.jpgg18.jpgg19.jpgg22.jpgg29.jpgg31.jpghw1.jpghw3.jpghw5.jpgQT_850_MB_1.pngQT_850_MB_2.pngQT_850_MB_3.pngQT_850_MB_4.pngQT_850_MB_5.pngQT_850_MB_6.pngsursa.jpg
gallery: https://postimg.cc/gallery/2bd3abwgy/

Last edited by Robert B on 2018-04-16, 19:40. Edited 4 times in total.

Reply 10 of 844, by Robert B

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Glad you liked it 😀 Back in the day my system used a sleeve bearing generic one and it made a nasty sound later on. For this (re)build I said I must use the best there is!

Buckle your seat belts! Sensory overload will follow with the next builds and extras!

For today I'm done posting but tommrrow or over the weekend I'll post more interesting stuff.

Rebuilding my first PC, this 5x86, which I received in '96, almost 20 years later in 2015 was really challenging. I thought it couldn't be done. But in the end I prevailed 😀 If possible sometimes is good to keep your first PC or other "landmark" in your "electronic" life. Maybe you'll regret later giving it away...

Extra pics with the Noctua NF-4x10FLX 40 mm x 40 mm x 10 mm 4500 rpm/SSO2 bearing

image.jpgimage.jpgimage.jpgimage.jpg
gallery: https://postimg.cc/gallery/vddqfpbs/

Last edited by Robert B on 2018-04-18, 17:24. Edited 3 times in total.

Reply 11 of 844, by Tetrium

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14 boxes of parts is quite a lot for having gotten collected in under 1 1/2 years.
So what are you going to do with your photo collection? I'm fairly sure the Vogons Wiki could use a couple extra. Too bad my cellphone has a kinda crappy camera (some pics come out fine, but others are blurry and I can't really tell until I check all the pics on my PC, it's annoying taking pics that way 😵 ).

And I happen to have that exact same case! 😁 Mine has that front sider thingy, but it doesn't slide very easily.

Whats missing in your collections?
My retro rigs (old topic)
Interesting Vogons threads (links to Vogonswiki)
Report spammers here!

Reply 13 of 844, by Robert B

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@tetrium - My original case had pink accents 😁 This one is green 😁 - Regarding the sliding cover. If you take apart the front cover of the case by removing 6 screws (inside the front cover) from the (in my case) green inserts, you will find two pieces of metal shaped like an accolade { }. In time they may break and get stuck in the groves. In my case one was good and one had to be made from a plastic zip tie (improvized) Sometimes the plastic grooves on which the door slides may get warped or there can be plastic shavings from sliding/usage. Now it closes and opens easily.

Vogons Wiki can use any of my photos. I'll post plenty of them. I'll upload even more that I originally planned because postimage.org seems a reliable host. In the past I tried to upload the pictures on the site I posted but this meant restrictions and sometimes warnings so this time I used an external service.

Il post pics with my 14 small boxes and my storage place. Starting with 2015 the search for parts was done usually from January to May/June. The rest of the year usually I stopped because I already had all I could want.

Until 2015 I had almost nothing regarding old hardware but I was planning something like this for more than a decade. It all started with the rebuild of the 5x86. In 2016 I slowed down and for now I'm not actively searching for parts. This may change in the future.

@badmojo - glad you like what I posted but it's only the begining. Lots more to follow... Wait until you see what I did with the K7 system. Full disassmebly and rebuild. The parts arent very high end but boy, I was on a rampage with the reconstruction.

Almost all pictures have been made in natural light or sun using my SAMSUNG GALAXY S4 GT-I9505 phone. So nothing fancy here. The pictures were just resized and no editing was done. If my eye likes the photo that means it's good to go! 😁 The S4's camera is incredibly good in natural light.

Last edited by Robert B on 2016-07-08, 05:10. Edited 3 times in total.

Reply 14 of 844, by ElBrunzy

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wow are you working for an hardware magasine ? Those pictures you took are simply astounding ! Any hint about how you do that ?
okay sgs galaxy 4 .. got it ...

great job tho ... My guess is that you have good lighting. I have a 6d and love to take picture of hardware pieces. I love your composition, get a bust of the usual white background of the computer store.

Reply 15 of 844, by Robert B

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@ElBrunzy - I dont work for a hardware magazine 😁 but I'm more than a perfectionist 😁 and I what I do must be A++++++ it's in my nature and it comes effortlessly. I have knack for details.

offtopic: I'm just 36 years old. Until highschool '94-98 I didnt know anything about PC's. It's like a hobby taken to the extreme. Reading about PC's and IT in general for me it's like breathing air 😁

Reply 16 of 844, by Tetrium

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Robert B wrote:

@ElBrunzy - I dont work for a hardware magazine 😁 but I'm more than a perfectionist 😁 and I what I do must be A++++++ it's in my nature and it comes effortlessly. I have knack for details.

offtopic: I'm just 36 years old. Until highschool '94-98 I didnt know anything about PC's. It's like a hobby taken to the extreme. Reading about PC's and IT in general for me it's like breathing air 😁

Welcome aboard! 😁

By now, you must've come to the conclusion that you need some kind of systematic way to store your collection. There's a couple threads which cover exactly this.

How do you store your computer parts?
How do you organise / sort / store all your retro gear?
and
Lets all share tips of how we organize our collection of retro computer stuff :)

In my sig, there's a link to a page on Vogons Wiki. I find it a very handy way to quickly look up some of the more interesting threads, which are roughly sorted by what the thread is about.

And feel free to share some pics of how you store your stuff 😁

Whats missing in your collections?
My retro rigs (old topic)
Interesting Vogons threads (links to Vogonswiki)
Report spammers here!

Reply 18 of 844, by Robert B

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@tetrium - ty for the links regarding storage. Already browsed your sig links 😁 Since I dont have pics with the content of each box I'll make some later. I'll post some general storage type ones. Anyway everything I have is catalogued, super cleaned and I made pictures of everything 😀

@oerk - glad to hear you also have rebuilt a '96 PC. When you have time you should post your work for others to enjoy.

Today I intend to upload a ton of stuff - Beware, The Lord Of The Land Approaches! 😁 - (Dungeon Keeper)

Sneak peak:
interior_10.jpg

Last edited by Robert B on 2018-04-18, 17:31. Edited 1 time in total.

Reply 19 of 844, by Robert B

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Here comes the Pentium III - Slot 1 - build. Back in the day I couldn't afford such a system. It was soooo expensive. In end I used a beefier GPU but I guess that cand be forgiven 😁

As usual all the parts were stripped and thoroughly cleaned. This build was much easier than the 5x86.

The case was in mint condition. The HDD was almost new, only the soundcard was a little roughed up, but given its name I decided to use it as is 😀.

The testing of the HDD was done using a standard PC PSU, A-bit - Serillel adapter, and a Express Card eSATA adapter plugged into my Acer Aspire 5315 laptop.

The GPU recived a new cooler: DeepCool V50 becasue the old one was small and the fan was busted.A fresh apply of Arctic MX-4 grease was made 😁

I also tested a STB Systems VooDoo 3 3000 AGP 16MB which was in great condition. I only paid 1.2 EUR for it 😁

I also added thumb screws to the case and an Enermax T.B. Silence 80mm fan.

It came out pretty good if I say so myself. Very easy build. You can see the quality of the case is better than those from the AT era.

vabx1.jpgvabx2.jpg6_VABX2_1.jpg6_VABX2_2.jpg6_VABX2_3.jpg6_VABX2_4.jpg6_VABX2_5.jpg6_VABX2_6.jpgAureal2_1.jpgAureal2_2.jpgAureal2_3.jpgAureal2_4.jpgAureal2_5.jpgAureal2_6.jpgAureal2_7.jpgCPU_8.jpgCPU_9.jpgCPU_10.jpgCPU_11.jpgCPU_12.jpgCPU_13.jpgInno3d_gf2ti_1.jpgInno3d_gf2ti_2.jpgp3_0.jpgp3_1_1.jpgp3_1_2.jpgp3_2_1.jpgp3_2.jpgp3_3.jpgp3_4.jpgp3_550_1.jpgqf40_1.pngqf40_2.pngqf40_3.pngqf40_4.pngqf40_7.pngRACK_6.jpgRACK_8.jpgRACK_9.jpgRACK_10.jpgRACK_11.jpgv3_3000_agp.jpgWDCLife_Supp.jpg
gallery: https://postimg.cc/gallery/28lnll7ky/

Last edited by Robert B on 2018-04-18, 17:31. Edited 6 times in total.