I couldn't resist and quickly installed good old trusty Q3 to run a bench and it returned 70 fps for 1024*768*32 max detail. Have set graphics options also to max quality in CCC, except for AA and AF.
So it runs the way it should, which is great. I can rest assured that I did it right 😀

Now I need to get the Soundblaster sorted so I can start to enjoy it more and get to play with it.

One odd thing I noticed that, when loading some webpages, it just instantly reboots. I'm using Firefox 12, which was the latest build available for Win2000. I'm going to run some extensive tests on memory and HD to rule out hardware issue.

love those early cooler master cases

Errius wrote:

love those early cooler master cases

I do too. I also have 2 Cooler Master Wave Masters pending a build (one was already shown in my "Mean Green" NFO2 build.
Those early all-aluminium Cooler Masters still look good and have an excellent quality and they weigh almost nothing.

AzzKickr wrote:

Errius wrote:

love those early cooler master cases

Those early all-aluminium Cooler Masters still look good and have an excellent quality and they weigh almost nothing.

For sure. It's sort of the same with the old Antec cases. It is funny to think that in some ways, we went backwards with cases as time went on. Removable motherboard trays went to the exclusive domain of super high-end modern cases (CaseLabs, etc). Aluminium is rarely seen outside higher end cases in favour of plastic and SECC steel.

Just goes to show at the end of the day, profit margins will win out in favour of innovation when accountants run the place 😒

The NewQ is especially cool, I haven't seen one of those in a hell of a long time. Even though there is a certain appeal in modern minimalist cases these days, there's just something special to me about a front filled with 5.25" / 3.5" drives and panels. Thinking back, I suppose it was one way to show off how expensive and full of the latest gear your PC was in an age without widespread windowed panels.

Awesome system though - especially with a replacement for your original Radeon in it! 😀

Absolutely. The mounting/installing part of building oldskool machines is an absolute joy. But in all honesty that also comes from the fact that back in the days there was little to no cable management or options. Rounded IDE cables or carton foldable ones, and for the rest it was all up to imagination.

Yeah the NewQ has been with me since it was released. I never got rid of it and probably never will 😀 . This is version 2, the first version had analog sliders and is currently listed on Ebay 😉 . Version 3 has a silver faceplate instead of a white one and looks cheap by design with funky buttons. I always liked the V2's and still do.

The system itself is just an absolute joy to work with. I never thought that I would still get impressed by 15+ year old hardware. It actually boots faster than my main rig, feels really snappy and responsive and brings a smile to my face every time I hit the power button.

Okay, so I'm typing this from the P4 machine. It turns out the rebooting issue while surfing seems to be a serious one.
I can't get to working on the Soundblaster because I'm unable to comfortably browse the web. Most of the webpages cause the machine to crash and instantly reboot.
The memtest ran fine for hours and also the hard disk checks turn out ok.

Internet Explorer 7 doesn't have the problem but only loads like 15% of all sites I want to go to. On all the others it gives an error that the site can't be reached.
Firefox like I said loads all webpages but makes the machine crash.

So now I'm wondering; how do you guys browse the internet on old machines ? Which browser ? (I'm running W2K btw)

agp problems? software issues? can You try with some older linux live thing if other systems work well?
also: http://kmeleonbrowser.org/

I already did and everything checks out fine. I'm thinking it's an issue between Firefox and the Radeon card.
Which is OK, IF there is an alternative ?

another driver maybe?

It's the latest one they released for Radeon 1. Perhaps a different Intel chipset driver ? I might try that first

I have the same Problem and same Mainboard.

It seems this Mainboard has trouble with memory configurations.
When i remove 2 512Mb RD-Ram Sticks and insert my 2 64Mb the GeForce 6200 works.
i have 2Gb RAM installed and a 1,3Ghz CPU.
Also with GeForce 6200.
A FX5200 works flawless also GeForce 2 and 4.

I don't know why. It seems to have to do with AGP Memory.
Also PCI Cards are fine.

I'm messing with an Asus P4T motherboard right now.

Everything worked fine until I inserted the cable into the installed Intel NIC, this caused the computer to stall and eventually lock up. There is a known PCI bug with early i850 boards and using a Sound Blaster Live! like I also do does probably not improve the situation. I use 2x256MB + 2x128MB memory and a P4 1.5 @ 1875 MHz, the memory runs at 3x.

The solution for me was to install the lastest BIOS (1008.001) and disable all motherboard crap I do not use like the second IDE interface. Now everything works fine! I'm using a GF4 ti 4600 at the moment, I will let you know if a Geforce 6 series card (6600GT AGP with bridge chip) works or if I run into issues. I will also upgrade the CPU to a P4 1900 MHz and the memory to 1Gb when I get the modules I ordered.

Edit.

No issues with the Geforce 6600GT from what I can see, I did a quick 3dmark 2001 run with the P4 1.9 CPU, perhaps this issue only happens with 512MB sticks?

/Edit

Excellent info as usual on Vogons ! Thanks for sharing !

I saw my board is still running an early BIOS so I'll look into that too. I'm still strugling to get the Live! to work properly. It's an SB0060, Live! Platinum running the Live!Drive as seen on the pics.

mrau wrote:

agp problems? software issues? can You try with some older linux live thing if other systems work well?
also: http://kmeleonbrowser.org/

I overlooked your browser proposal. Many thanks ! As soon as the W2K installation finishes, I'll give that one a try.

I also had the same issue with W2K and Firefox on a p3 board

You've to install Post-SP1 Update rollup and it gets fixed

SP1 ? I'm on SP4 already ? Does that still apply then ?

Wow, BIOS upgrade did it, also works now fine.

RAMBUS, Win2k not your average build, I like 😀
Some inside pics please?

chinny22 wrote:

RAMBUS, Win2k not your average build, I like 😀
Some inside pics please?

Absolutely ! I'll take care of that