Looks like a 386SX16 with a free FPU socket.
2 or 8 MB of RAM and an Trident TVGA8900CS, network card and Multi I/O Controller.

I somehow can only see the thumbnails on imageshack, it doesn't display full size.

Filosofia wrote:

A friend is going to give me an old PC that has been stored since 1999 inside a box in an attic. He can only send it to me next […]
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A friend is going to give me an old PC that has been stored since 1999 inside a box in an attic. He can only send it to me next week, but I was so eager that he sent me some photos just to get rid of so much drooling...

It's said to be a 486, but I only spot an AMD chip and, definitely, a 386SX Bios 🙁

Do you see anything that can further help to identify this little guy? Thanks!

I can't make out what chip is soldered to the board.
I reckon the empty socket is for the FPU?
Anyway, looking at the graphics card and the motherboard layout it does seem like either a 386 or perhaps a very early 486 (or a very very late 286), I can't tell as I can't read any of the print

Best is to identify the chip in the 1st pic in the upper right corner, to the left of the empty socket.
Also, are there any marks on the motherboard like a model number?
To the left I see the letters DMAC(then the view gets obscured).

elianda wrote:

Looks like a 386SX16 with a free FPU socket.
2 or 8 MB of RAM and an Trident TVGA8900CS, network card and Multi I/O Controller.

I somehow can only see the thumbnails on imageshack, it doesn't display full size.

😵 I could not identify the video card!
What makes you think it's a 16MHz ?
I double checked the links , once I get to imageshac I click again on the photo and it zooms in
😐

Tetrium wrote:

I can't make out what chip is soldered to the board. I reckon the empty socket is for the FPU? Anyway, looking at the graphics c […]
Show full quote

Filosofia wrote:

A friend is going to give me an old PC that has been stored since 1999 inside a box in an attic. He can only send it to me next […]
Show full quote

A friend is going to give me an old PC that has been stored since 1999 inside a box in an attic. He can only send it to me next week, but I was so eager that he sent me some photos just to get rid of so much drooling...

It's said to be a 486, but I only spot an AMD chip and, definitely, a 386SX Bios 🙁

Do you see anything that can further help to identify this little guy? Thanks!

I can't make out what chip is soldered to the board.
I reckon the empty socket is for the FPU?
Anyway, looking at the graphics card and the motherboard layout it does seem like either a 386 or perhaps a very early 486 (or a very very late 286), I can't tell as I can't read any of the print

Best is to identify the chip in the 1st pic in the upper right corner, to the left of the empty socket.
Also, are there any marks on the motherboard like a model number?
To the left I see the letters DMAC(then the view gets obscured).

The chip soldered to the mboard is an AMD of some kind, but the picture is blurred , and yes its printed on the board right by its side "386SX" and the empty socket is for a 387SX , so it probably ha 2MB of ram instead of 8 🙁

Could not find a model number, in the DMAC sticker is "DMAC 3" 92 (as in 1992)

What makes you think it's a 16MHz ?

I'm not seeing where that idea came from either. It's a 25mhz 386SX. It's hard to make out the marking on the CPU, but the first digit of the speed rating is definitely not a '1' (and I don't believe AMD ever made a 386SX-16 anyhow), and the 50mhz oscillator gives it away for sure.

It looks like this is your board. There's another one marked as 'unidentified' which appears to be the same thing, and I suspect both may have some relation to Biostar in some way. It's a very unusual layout, so I doubt it's just a coincidence.

thanks man! 😊

It's my fault the pictures aren't good enough, I also tried photobucket and picasa but I can't seem to store them online with the original resolution (3264x2448):

Was hoping to substitute my main ms-dos (a Pentium-S 100MHz, 16MB, 2MB video) with a 486, or at least a 386DX 33MHz or 40, but a 386SX at 25MHz with no co-processor for the math stuff?!
Turbo switch and Megahertz LED !!! yeah

Thanks guys for all your help, as soon as it arrives I'll be posting some new pictures (hopefully by then I figured out how to post full size photos).

Hmm, can I install a 387SX like this one , would it be reasonable , and would it make any performance difference?

Here it is : http://stason.org/TULARC/pc/motherboards/B/BI … ml#.UL5K6oZ_dbw

edit : I didn't notice you guys had already found it.

Getting the co-processor will hardly improve performance. Only if you run any programs that make use of it. Most games that will run on a 386-25 won't.

Old Thrashbarg wrote:

What makes you think it's a 16MHz ?

I'm not seeing where that idea came from either. It's a 25mhz 386SX. It's hard to make out the marking on the CPU, but the first digit of the speed rating is definitely not a '1' (and I don't believe AMD ever made a 386SX-16 anyhow), and the 50mhz oscillator gives it away for sure.

The AMD chip mentioned could have been any other chip as well. And 16 MHz was most common for 386SX systems.
But anyway a 25 MHz 386SX, maybe good enough for Wing Commander.
Adding a FPU would add only performance in application using it. These were rare...
Maybe Winfract.

According to wikipedia AMD 386sx cpus were available at 20-40MHz. A guy was giving me for free a 386sx-16 pc a year ago, and I didn't take it as I didn't like the case. He had it painted with several different colors. I guess I'm an idiot. It should be more rare than any other 386sx(if only Intel made them at that speed).

(...)But anyway a 25 MHz 386SX, maybe good enough for Wing Commander.

well yes, and probably for any other 2D game up until 94 or something, depending on the amount of video ram, but not for DOOM.
Maybe I can still find a place for the 386.

doesn't fpu help on "3D" doom-like games ?

Filosofia wrote:

well yes, and probably for any other 2D game up until 94 or something, depending on the amount of video ram, but not for DOOM. M […]
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(...)But anyway a 25 MHz 386SX, maybe good enough for Wing Commander.

well yes, and probably for any other 2D game up until 94 or something, depending on the amount of video ram, but not for DOOM.
Maybe I can still find a place for the 386.

doesn't fpu help on "3D" doom-like games ?

I would only run games on this that are for the 286 or older. As for the FPU, its job was to perform floating point math. not simple math, but trig and The vast majority of programs made up until the 486 never had any real use for a co-processor. The main processor can do fpu calculations, but a dedicated fpu can do it 10x faster.

I think there are like FIVE? games that ever took advantage of the FPU. I think 2 are flight sims, 2 I don't know. The last I personally found, was simcity classic. The game would run almost twice as fast on a 386/40 WITH a 80387 than without.

Where is the battery on this thing?

Last Pic below the most left slot.

It's in the usual place, right under the keyboard connector.

And now that I look closer at it... you may have a problem there. Not only is it corroded near the battery (though it's hard to see exactly how bad), the corrosion also follows a trace down the rear edge of the board and appears to have affected all of the contacts on the bottom ISA slot. Not a good sign at all. 🙁

Ah 🤣, cant believe i missed it. It was kind of hidden by that connector. In any case i'd unsolder that barrel.

Old Thrashbarg wrote:

It's in the usual place, right under the keyboard connector.

And now that I look closer at it... you may have a problem there. Not only is it corroded near the battery (though it's hard to see exactly how bad), the corrosion also follows a trace down the rear edge of the board and appears to have affected all of the contacts on the bottom ISA slot. Not a good sign at all. 🙁

Yes I see it 🙁 , mainly to to last slot , but also a bit on the other too, and it seems to come from the battery, probably some serious problems, what to expect from a 20yo machine? They should remove the battery before storing.