VOGONS


Reply 20 of 31, by Asomodai

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agent_x007 wrote:
I was using 7900 GX2 (7950 GX2 "prototype", it uses the same drivers as later model). My card was blocking both IDE ports :( […]
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I was using 7900 GX2 (7950 GX2 "prototype", it uses the same drivers as later model).
My card was blocking both IDE ports 🙁

There is a chance, that shorter card will siply sit on top of the already plugged in IDE connector, while still being secured on PCI-e slot.
I was able to do this on second IDE port with my card (one closest to the edge on PCB).

Ahh should be ok then. Mine is 4cm shorter according to official specs!

Reply 23 of 31, by Asomodai

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agent_x007 wrote:

CMOS Reset ?
Other CPU ?
What about forced power up (on 20-pin plug, short green wire to any black one) ?

I haven't tried a Cmos reset, but I did remove the Battery for 20 seconds, that should have cleared it right?

I have two CPUs both didnt work.

I have force powered up the PSU and the fans on the PSU spin up.

Reply 24 of 31, by Asomodai

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agent_x007 wrote:

CMOS Reset ?
Other CPU ?
What about forced power up (on 20-pin plug, short green wire to any black one) ?

Tried Cmos Reset as well. No life when I try to use the jumper and switch on. Has made no difference. Oh well, i'll have to keep out for another board!

Reply 26 of 31, by Asomodai

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So I got my replacement 4CoreDual-VSTA motherboard. This one does switch on with the P4 connector connected, however it's just the fan going 100%, no video output. Sometimes it switches itself off after 10 seconds, but mostly just keeps running with no output.

I have tried this with different Ram, PSU, Video cards, Cpus, inside and outside a case, checked for shorts. The only thing that is the same is the CPU fan. Which doesn't appear to be shorting anywhere.

I get no beeps from the system speaker I installed. Seems like electrically it is there, but nothing home. I have tried the jumper settings and removed Bios battery.

So anyone got any ideas? I cant believe the 2nd mobo in a row wont work for me.

Reply 27 of 31, by vetz

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I think the caps are bad. Had similar issues with my 939Dual-SATA2. Recapped the board and all problems dispeared

3D Accelerated Games List (Proprietary APIs - No 3DFX/Direct3D)
3D Acceleration Comparison Episodes

Reply 28 of 31, by Asomodai

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Well luckily I managed to get a refund from the seller of the borked 4CoreDual-VSTA.

I have read earlier in a thread that the 775Dual-VSTA supports 45nm procs like my E7500 with the modded bios. They are much easier to get then the 4CoreDual and I have a bead on a NOS one. Is there a reason why I shouldn't go with this board over the the ones that support the processors out of box? Are they literally the same boards or would I be losing performance or overclocking headroom? I can wait.

Reply 29 of 31, by Asomodai

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Update!

I picked up another 4CoreDual-Sata2 off ebay only for the seller to Ghost me. Another month wasted! Got my money back and purchased a tested motherboard combo with actual photos of it working and showing Bios, which is certainly a step above! (Sata2 model)

I also managed to pick up a different case from a very kind Vogon forum member for the cost of shipping, A Packard Bell Pulsar case, P2/3 era. The reason behind this 90's monstrosity is that my first ever PC was a P3 600 Packard Bell Pulsar 600. Otherwise it is fairly unremarkable. Biggest issue I have with it is that there is almost zero airflow and no fan mounts. For something that will have some fairly hot components going inside it, I will need to be careful! I plan to possibly add some fan mounts. 2nd biggest issue is that there is only one vertical mount for the hard drive as photographed. 3rd issue is that my IDE cables are not long enough and my graphics card partially covers one of them. I need to source longer cables and to be as low profile as possible otherwise I need to start hacking away at the graphics card PCB (There is no real circuitry there).

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(This is with one of the two non working 4CoreDual boards I have.)
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(Shame its not a white DVD Drive!)

As for additional peripherals to make up for the lack of front panel USB I am going to pick up a Card Reader front panel for the spare 3.5mm hole. This also has a USB 2.0 socket (I only need one at the front really). To help also with the airflow issue I am getting a 5 1/2 inch Fan front panel. This also has 3.5inch Hard drive mount if I choose to use it (Or even get a mount to put 2 2.5inch drives into it).

Reply 30 of 31, by 95DosBox

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Asomodai wrote:

Update!

I picked up another 4CoreDual-Sata2 off ebay only for the seller to Ghost me. Another month wasted! Got my money back and purchased a tested motherboard combo with actual photos of it working and showing Bios, which is certainly a step above! (Sata2 model)

I think I have the same motherboard here somewhere. I had tested it to boot installed 98 but I tried plugging in a USB flash drive and it seemed to have nuked it. Let me know how those USB ports turn out for you. Try using a dummy flash drive first that doesn't have sensitive data.

Reply 31 of 31, by Asomodai

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UPDATE!

Got the 4th 4CoreDual board in and this one....Works! Fires up first time. I have put the latest beta bios on it, The E7500 is installed and 4Gb of Ram.

However the performance is shoddy, i reckon it's a Ram bottleneck/issue. I probably need to muck around with the Bios settings.

At least it lives!