ragefury32 wrote on 2020-02-20, 19:39:

H3nrik V! wrote on 2020-02-20, 08:44:

ragefury32 wrote on 2020-02-20, 05:52:

Took delivery of a Compaq Evo n600c - suppoedly the "ultimate DOS compatible" 2 spindle P3 laptop,. Why? Tualatin P3m CPU (al […]
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Took delivery of a Compaq Evo n600c - suppoedly the "ultimate DOS compatible" 2 spindle P3 laptop,.

Why? Tualatin P3m CPU (all the way to 1.1 GHz), i830MP chipset, ATi Radeon M6, and an ESS Maestro 3/Allegro chipset, which is supposed to offer both DOS mode SB emulation and AC97 support all in a relatively svelte 5 lb package (technically the Dell Inspiron 8100 has the same audio chip and a Geforce2Go or Radeon M7, but that machine uses the older i815EP which limits it to 512MB of RAM, while this one can do 1GB. The 8100 is also bulkier at 7 lbs - the Evo n6x0 series is arguably one of the last truly Compaq machines made before the HP accquisition - Thanks Carly Fiorina).

Of course, it's still just a Radeon M6 (no hardware T&L, and ATi is buggy in older DOS stuff), and the Maestro doesn't do FM synth so audio quality in DOS is...kinda questionable. Came with 128MB of RAM, a 20GB HDD, a DVD/CDRW drive and a dead battery (both primary and the ML1220 within). Oh well, some minor work needs to be done, should be able to use most of the configuration from the Dell Latitude C600 that I also have.

Cool! That i830MP chipset apparently is not very widely known ...

"2 Spindle"? What do you mean with that?

Oh yeah, the i830MP Almador-M mobile chipset. Intel killed the desktop version when they did the big push to P4+RAMBUS, but on the mobile end Rambus didn't have a solution (the P4m were also terrible, power consumption-wise), so Intel's arms are twisted to offer a Tualatin+PC133 solution. The mobile space never got a P4+RDRAM solution, and for the i845 P4 chipset they used DDR instead (which was arguably better). The Almador-M was found in quite a few machines (Thinkpad T23, X22-24, Compaq Evo n600c, Dell C610), but the deluge of P4m stole its spotlight - smart money held out for the Pentium-M, and comparatively few mainstream P4ms were sold. At similar clock speed the Tualatin+i830 were better machines than the Norwood P4+845MPs, but the Norwoods can be clocked much higher. In a way the Pentium-M Banias + i855PM was the better solution - P6 but with a 400MHz Netburst FSB, ICH4M southbridge with native USB2 support, and much more comprehensive speedstep support. It was so good some made it onto boutique SFF desktops.

Oh, the spindle thing? Back in the 2000s back when machines still have spinning drives, the number of spindles denote how many spinning drives it has, and hints at the size/bulk of the machine. For example, a Thinkpad X24/Vaio SR17/Dell D420 ultraportable will be considered a one-spindle. A mainstream Latitude C640/D600 or Thinkpad T22 will be a 2 spindle (one hard drive bay and one optical drive in the hot swappable bay), and a 3 spindle will be something with a bullt-in floppy, an HDD and an optical drive, like a Thinkpad A31p or Dell Inspiron 8100. Of course, a 2008 Dell E4200, a 2011 Samsung NP900 X3A or a 2013 MacBook Pro 13 will be a zero-spindle by that definition despite their rather substantial difference in size.

Thanks for clarifying, I had an idea that the spindle stuff had to do with that.

And thanks for the chipset round-up

SpectriaForce wrote on 2020-02-20, 21:34:

Predator99 wrote on 2020-02-19, 10:30:

Dont think the other AGP cards are of interest? Maybe the one in the middle (GF7300GT).
IMG_8009r.jpg

Dual voltage AGP GF7 card? That's quite an unicorn!

The AGP 7950GT is also dual voltage if I remember correctly as is the 7800GS that has the 7800GT core... forget the brand. I have both.

I've though about getting the 7300GT as it is actually supposed to be faster than a 7600GT.

Mentioned this a month or two back, but only picked up this week - a Compaq AP550 Workstation.

Got it foc thru a friend in e-cycling; apparently they cleared a few from an old business and this one had been robbed for various spares so couldn't be sold on. Aside from the missing parts it's in good condition and I'm assured it does mostly work. It has a PSU, a single P3 733MHz (VRM module, but no terminator for the 2nd slot), 2 x 128MB sticks of PC800 RDRAM (but no terminator CRIMMs), no HDDs, no graphics card and the IDE DVD drive (CPQ/Samsung SD-612) is on its last noisy legs.

I'll add the missing parts and try to max it out as much as possible -

- 2 x 1GHz cpus
- 2GB RDRAM
- IDE or SCSI disks, maybe even SATA/SSD
- Video (seems they came originally with Matrox G-series or various pro workstation cards)
- OS

I'm planning to start a thread in System Specs to cover all my dual stuff so I post in there once I get the time.

My Spectra 2500 arrived a couple of days ago from China.

It got to the east coast of the US in two weeks, and I don't see anything obviously wrong with the card. I'm already defying the odds, but I bet my screen looks like a patchwork quilt knitted by aliens when I boot it up.

Yet another PS2 for $12 (console, power cord, memory card, Logitech cordless controller receiver, and last but not least, the online expansion + HDD).

Seller photos:

DVD drive needs repairs and in fair condition (lots of scuffs and scratches). This'll be a fun project to work on and I'll be putting the online + HDD expansion on my current PS2 and soft mod it.

My Zenith 286 arrived - see here 😀

Re: Zenith 80286 IBF-2527-ET

I bought one of these angeled CF-IDE adaptors for Amiga 600 computers for me.

https://sordan.ie/product/548/angle-ide-44-pi … amiga-600-1200/

And a copy of Wall-E game (PAL) for Wii for my son.

Oh wow it costs 20 EUR and they call themselves cheap? 😖

appiah4 wrote on 2020-02-21, 13:48:

Oh wow it costs 20 EUR and they call themselves cheap? 😖

Probably not a huge mark-up.

The ONLY way to get cheaper would be to have a massive quantity manufactured.

I mean, how many people have that exact machine that they need that adapter for - plugs into the IDE port and lays against the motherboard while providing the lowest profile possible and letting you still plug in an IDE cable so you can also use another drive.

Sure there are cheaper options available that might work, but if you want / need it set up like this there isn't much choice.

appiah4 wrote on 2020-02-21, 13:48:

Oh wow it costs 20 EUR and they call themselves cheap? 😖

Yes. Actually quite cheap, for what the hardware is. Another solution is THIS and the price is somewhat the same. Not bad, for what it is.

cyclone3d wrote on 2020-02-21, 16:18:

Probably not a huge mark-up. […]
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appiah4 wrote on 2020-02-21, 13:48:

Oh wow it costs 20 EUR and they call themselves cheap? 😖

Probably not a huge mark-up.

The ONLY way to get cheaper would be to have a massive quantity manufactured.

I mean, how many people have that exact machine that they need that adapter for - plugs into the IDE port and lays against the motherboard while providing the lowest profile possible and letting you still plug in an IDE cable so you can also use another drive.

Sure there are cheaper options available that might work, but if you want / need it set up like this there isn't much choice.

Exactly.... The Amiga market are extremely small. Hence the prices are what they are.
One can say that an Amiga600 are expensive, however, try to get a fully working 486 in real AT case with turbo button and all that for the same amount of money. Recapped, serviced and cleaned. Sometimes looking brand new. Well.... My guess, is that the Amiga600 are still cheaper to buy, when the final price is calculated. Like, what does a 486 ISA-Only motherboard cost? And what does the rest of the components cost, as you need to source quality stuff in this case. And you need stuff that have been recapped for optimal stability, and that have been tested through. The monitor can be left out, yet you need a keyboard and a mouse.

EDIT:
Uhh... And... You need the PC to be a brand, and not a clone. Like IBM or something.

cyclone3d wrote on 2020-02-21, 16:18:

Probably not a huge mark-up. […]
Show full quote

appiah4 wrote on 2020-02-21, 13:48:

Oh wow it costs 20 EUR and they call themselves cheap? 😖

Probably not a huge mark-up.

The ONLY way to get cheaper would be to have a massive quantity manufactured.

I mean, how many people have that exact machine that they need that adapter for - plugs into the IDE port and lays against the motherboard while providing the lowest profile possible and letting you still plug in an IDE cable so you can also use another drive.

Sure there are cheaper options available that might work, but if you want / need it set up like this there isn't much choice.

An IDE extension ribbon + regular CFIDE adaptor would cost half of that..

With a ribbon cable, the card and adaptor will not be securely mounted. It can still move around, and you do not get that second IDE port, that you can use to have an external CD-Rom drive hooked up to. Furthermore, it saves the most amount of space inside the machine. And I really need as many tight fitting parts as possible, because of my current Amiga600 setup.

As of now, the keyboard is pressing down onto the MicroDrive that I have in my CF-to-IDE adaptor. Not optimal at all.
It is this machine here....

Followup to the scrap lot I got that has the ATI Mach64 VLB in it--- the Feature Connector Card in the EG-1000 video card that people were wondering about.

It is a KEA Systems EGAmate-132. It supposedly gives you 132 columns / 800px wide display.

Honestly I had no idea that Intergraph made keyboards less than a week ago. I was just searching ebay for an interesting videocard to pair with an upcoming Pentium class machine and I found this retro beauty (Intergraph RT915CTW) for a steal.

That's one nice keyboard. 😀

Anyone else ever have those times where you are completely oblivious of the existence of something, then having all consuming desire of it within seconds?

Waste of desk space 😉

BinaryDemon wrote on 2020-02-22, 08:02:

intergraph RT915CTW.jpg

Honestly I had no idea that Intergraph made keyboards less than a week ago. I was just searching ebay for an interesting videocard to pair with an upcoming Pentium class machine and I found this retro beauty (Intergraph RT915CTW) for a steal.

Nice keyboard.... I remember that I wanted one back when they were the new thing. Never had the space for one such on the table. Looks like it is in good shape.

Bought this rather interesting combination of ISA multi I/O card and dual 12V fan.

Never seen such combination before