I like it, great machine for Wing Commander, Wolf3D or the various sierra/lucasarts adventure games

That's about the cleanest, most organized build I've ever seen. Props and kudos to you for your cable management skillz 😀

Why are you doing this to me? I'm currently trying to avoid starting a similar build, sorry, I was trying. Do you think you could pass by and help me with the cables? 🤣
Awesome job dude, really...

Very nice build and nice job with those cables.
Just as a matter of interest - the external battery holder's connector. Did you buy it like that (with the connector) or did you add it on later?

very nice!

jesolo wrote:

Very nice build and nice job with those cables.
Just as a matter of interest - the external battery holder's connector. Did you buy it like that (with the connector) or did you add it on later?

I robbed the 4-pin connector and wires from a dead PC speaker, and soldered them to the wires that came with the battery holder (N-size). As a side note, these N-size battery holders are super cheap, and compact. I would recommend using these in place of AA or AAA.

clueless1 wrote:

That's about the cleanest, most organized build I've ever seen. Props and kudos to you for your cable management skillz 😀

Thanks! This is probably one of the neatest and organized builds I've done so far. Lots of experimenting, patience, and practice paid off. 😁

konc wrote:

Why are you doing this to me? I'm currently trying to avoid starting a similar build, sorry, I was trying. Do you think you could pass by and help me with the cables? 🤣
Awesome job dude, really...

Sure. I have a stockpile of single and dual device 40-pin IDE cables. I usually cut them up in strips of 2, 5, or 8 wires, and bind them together with heat-shrink tubing (if I can get the tube around the connector), or zip-tie them.

I have a couple more of these Dell power supplies I may use to experiment with, like shortening the cables, or turn into a modular PSU. Nothing I hate more than unnecessary wire clutter. 😁

Quick update:

Swapped out the Diamond Stealth VRAM with a Tseng Labs ET4000AX. Did some quick benchmarking with between three cards with Wolf3d.

Trident TVGA8900C (1MB) = 13-14.9 FPS
Diamond Stealth VRAM (1MB) = 15.9 FPS
Tseng Labs ET4000AX (8bit DAC; 1MB) = 20.9 and 21.9 FPS

Superb! 😁

In addition to the IDE cables, those ATX --> AT adapters can quickly turn into a mess of cables, you handled those very nicely.

At first I thought the cables were missing 🤣

It looks very empty actually, but only 1 ISA card was installed when you took those pics?

I also like the case and I very much like that you used an original HDD instead of one of those IDE flash cards (even though those seem to be quite good in actual use!)

Definitely a nice rig! And nice to see a 386 AT tower having been build. Is that larger CPU "socket" for some upgrade chip?

Tetrium wrote:

At first I thought the cables were missing lol […]
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At first I thought the cables were missing 🤣

It looks very empty actually, but only 1 ISA card was installed when you took those pics?

I also like the case and I very much like that you used an original HDD instead of one of those IDE flash cards (even though those seem to be quite good in actual use!)

Definitely a nice rig! And nice to see a 386 AT tower having been build. Is that larger CPU "socket" for some upgrade chip?

Yeah, I intentionally left out the video and sound card for an unobstructed view for the camera. I will take some after-shots soon. I love the sound of the Maxtor 7120AT, which has a unique seek test noise. The larger socket you see is for standard 386, and I assume, SLC CPUs judging by the Opti 495SLC chipset.

I wish I could learn how to do that with ribbon cables

god that's one thing I don't miss about old computers

Neco wrote:

I wish I could learn how to do that with ribbon cables

god that's one thing I don't miss about old computers

Ribbon cables are definitely one thing I don't miss either. I've tried to come up with a multitude of ways to create a clean look that provides accessibility. Eventually I decided the simplest solution is cutting the wires in even strips.

If anyone else is interested, I could write up a how-to tutorial with pictures?

Brickpad wrote:

Ribbon cables are definitely one thing I don't miss either. I've tried to come up with a multitude of ways to create a clean look that provides accessibility. Eventually I came up with the simple solution of cutting the wires in even strips.

If anyone else is interested, I could write up a how-to tutorial with pictures?

I wouldn't mind seeing that. 😀

You just take a sharp blade, get the cut started, pull it apart like string cheese, fuck up, start over on a new cable. This was a fun "hack" before rounded cables became popular.

As for the 386, Bravo. I dare say I have not seen a more tidy setup than that.

luckybob wrote:

You just take a sharp blade, get the cut started, pull it apart like string cheese, fuck up, start over on a new cable. This was a fun "hack" before rounded cables became popular.

Yeah, it's a very simple process, but I figure it might be useful for the newcomers. For me there were some concerns when I started. At the time I was very short on 40-pin cables, especially the ones without that stupid blocked pin, so I couldn't afford mistakes. From what I remember, and I'm pretty sure now he was wrong, but a friend had told me that slicing these cables up would cause "crosstalk" and data corruption. So far I haven't had any issues.

As for the 386, Bravo. I dare say I have not seen a more tidy setup than that.

Thanks. As I look over this, I think there is still some room for improvement. I am mellowing over the idea of cutting off that P4 connector as there is no use for it in this case (or really any other future setup), but then I'd be left with exposed wires, so either I'd have to cap them off, or desolder them from the PSU, which wouldn't be easy. The other thing I don't like is the length of device wires. They take up too much space in that empty 5.25" slot, and I would prefer to maximize airflow. 😒

Brickpad wrote:

Yeah, it's a very simple process, but I figure it might be useful for the newcomers. For me there were some concerns when I started. At the time I was very short on 40-pin cables, especially the ones without that stupid blocked pin, so I couldn't afford mistakes. From what I remember, and I'm pretty sure now he was wrong, but a friend had told me that slicing these cables up would cause "crosstalk" and data corruption. So far I haven't had any issues.

I saw the same ting about crosstalk somewhere reading about factory rounded cables and while it makes sense seems to be rare enough not to worry about

Brickpad wrote:

Thanks. As I look over this, I think there is still some room for improvement. I am mellowing over the idea of cutting off that P4 connector as there is no use for it in this case (or really any other future setup), but then I'd be left with exposed wires, so either I'd have to cap them off, or desolder them from the PSU, which wouldn't be easy. The other thing I don't like is the length of device wires. They take up too much space in that empty 5.25" slot, and I would prefer to maximize airflow. 😒

This is what got me into modular PSU's I had all these sata connectors left over once in underpowered PSU in a P3 so when looking for a replacement found out about modular. Got 2 and swapped the extra Molex connectors and SATA connectors for my old and new PC as needed

chinny22 wrote:

This is what got me into modular PSU's I had all these sata connectors left over once in underpowered PSU in a P3 so when looking for a replacement found out about modular. Got 2 and swapped the extra Molex connectors and SATA connectors for my old and new PC as needed

I've thought about using a modular power supply, but that'll likely be in the later future, for cost reasons.

UPDATE

Edom board was not keeping proper time. I replaced the batteries, but the clock would stop counting when the machine was powered off, and retained only the time at power-down. Swapped out the board with a Magitronic A-B345G and all things are normal.

looking forward to your tutorial, round IDE cables are expensive!

Weren't rounded cables more susceptible to noise due to the data wires not being separated anymore by ground lines?

I do have to say that the rounded cables look neater and make it easier to get optimal airflow, but I don't really prefer either over another. I just use whatever I have on hand (as long as it works).

chinny22 wrote:

This is what got me into modular PSU's I had all these sata connectors left over once in underpowered PSU in a P3 so when looking for a replacement found out about modular. Got 2 and swapped the extra Molex connectors and SATA connectors for my old and new PC as needed

modular PSUs do make more of a mess when you have to keep order to your storage of unused cables, especially since I don't like mixing up cables of different brands (not even sure if these are all the same though, but I'd prefer to use the cables that came with its original unit).