VOGONS


First post, by EmpireOfScrap

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Hello,

Long time lurker, first-time poster. Some years ago I got back into the vintage computing hobby and I have been specifically collecting industrial single board computers and accessories since.
I have now amassed about 60 different industrial SBCs in all shapes and sizes.

Today, I want to show you one of my favorite industrial builds

The 3DFX Toaster

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The 3DFX Toaster is built in a nice little industrial case, housing a backplane with space for 3 cards:

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Inside it are the mighty Voodoo 4 4500 PCI and the SBC CPU card, running on an Intel 8255GME Chipset. I have upgraded the CPU to a 2.0ghz Pentium M, and swapped the fan for a more modern Noctua. The Voodoo is using a Papst fan, which is powered from the SBC fan connector.

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Features & Caveats

The machine actually runs great, much better than I expected! It reaches top performance in most games of the time, as you would expect from such a powerful late descendent of the Pentium 3 and a VSA100.
One problem was the sound. Given that both the SBC and the Voodoo 4 have pretty tall fans on them, there was no space at all to fit another PCI card in the middle slot. Even a mutilated ESS1 Solo did not fit. So despite having one ISA and one PCI slot free, the middle slot remains unpopulated.

I had initially planned to put a slot-fan into the empty space, but I could find none that actually were short enough to fit. So instead, the middle slot now remains open for ventilation and to make delicious slices of toast while benchmarking Unreal:

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After just 6 minutes on the Unreal castle flight, we have delicious golden brown bread!

All joking aside - Please do not insert bread into your empty PCI slots.

The SBC comes with Realtek AC97 audio onboard, which is less than stellar, but better than nothing. I have since made a breakout cable for that, which I plan to mount on one of the three LED holes on the back of the case:

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But what about the heat for real though? It actually runs okay. The Pentium M is a chip that is designed to run comfortably in tight spaces - it reaches a mere 55 celsius under full load.
As for the Voodoo, I took some measurements with a temperature probe and it does seem to run only 2 or 3 degrees warmer than it reaches in a normal system with the case closed. So overall, not bad.

However, I do plan on adding another fan to the unit.

With that said:

To-Do
* Find a company that can waterjet cut a clean hole into the front of the case, so I can mount a 70mm fan, solving all temperature concerns even with the case closed at all times.
* Properly mount the speaker out on the back of the case (hotglue?)
* Replace the hard drive with an SSD or DOM to reduce heat and noise even more
* Repopulate the missing LEDs in the back of the case
* Desolder the AT P8 and P9 connector from the backplane and re-route the cabling and connectors to underneath the backplane for a cleaner look

Reply 2 of 7, by chinny22

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Really nice, Sposes you could have a top extract fan if you wanted to keep the front clean.
Although I'm liking the idea of 1/2 dozen of these with different builds all stacked up 😀

Reply 3 of 7, by henryVK

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I'm wondering if there's enough headroom for a fan. I guess it could sit in a little scoop on top of the case.

Nice machine, anyway. I really like the no-nonsense look of it and the fact that it not only has a rocker switch but also a big red reset button!

Reply 5 of 7, by wiretap

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Neat-o. I have the same chassis, but with a 486 & ISA backplane inside. There isn't much breathing room for the level of hardware you are running. I would install a PCI bracket blower fan that exhausts to the outside of the case so you can get more cool air drawn in from the outside. Adding another side vent with a fan filter would be another benefit to keep it cool, otherwise you're going to be running at elevated temperatures which will undoubtedly shorten the lifespan of the components. (unless you only use this PC sparingly and it sits on the shelf most of the time)

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Reply 6 of 7, by havli

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Very nice system. One day I plan to build something similar, but using regular ITX board and custom designed 3D printed case.

Does your system support Windows 98? Mine should as I have confirmation the Intel Little Valley 2 board can run W98 and most (if not all) drivers exist.

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Reply 7 of 7, by EmpireOfScrap

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wiretap wrote:

Neat-o. I have the same chassis, but with a 486 & ISA backplane inside. There isn't much breathing room for the level of hardware you are running. I would install a PCI bracket blower fan that exhausts to the outside of the case so you can get more cool air drawn in from the outside. Adding another side vent with a fan filter would be another benefit to keep it cool, otherwise you're going to be running at elevated temperatures which will undoubtedly shorten the lifespan of the components. (unless you only use this PC sparingly and it sits on the shelf most of the time)

A bracket fan does not work, there is not enough clearance on the voodoo fan for a bracket fan to fit between. As I said, I plan to have a company waterjet a hole for a 70mm fan in the front. But we'll see where that goes. Right now it barely runs any hotter than it does in a normal system (within 3 or 4 degrees on the heatsink of the voodoo)

havli wrote:

Very nice system. One day I plan to build something similar, but using regular ITX board and custom designed 3D printed case.

Does your system support Windows 98? Mine should as I have confirmation the Intel Little Valley 2 board can run W98 and most (if not all) drivers exist.

Yep! Running Windows 98 SE (UBCD version therefore the more modern ME/2K like icons)