I already started ripping it apart to clean it so no pictures at the moment, but I picked up an Optiplex GX150 at a thrift for $25.

senrew wrote:

I already started ripping it apart to clean it so no pictures at the moment, but I picked up an Optiplex GX150 at a thrift for $25.

Haha. Lmao, good luck. My current experience with my first clamshell Dell has not been positive.

Somehow it has this weird single pin power on design. No clue how to short a single pin power on.

probnot wrote:

I was going to pick up an Asus A7V motherboard from the same guy, but turns out he had already sold it, but he did have something even neater!

2sjlCfr.jpg

Suntac 286-20Mhz motherboard from 1990...and it has an onboard Floppy and IDE controller! On a 286!

THAT is a cool 286 board! :OOOOO I hadn't seen onboard I/O on anything non-OEM before late late 486 PCI boards until now.

Cherish it, I've never seen that before.

cj_reha wrote:

probnot wrote:

I was going to pick up an Asus A7V motherboard from the same guy, but turns out he had already sold it, but he did have something even neater!

2sjlCfr.jpg

Suntac 286-20Mhz motherboard from 1990...and it has an onboard Floppy and IDE controller! On a 286!

THAT is a cool 286 board! :OOOOO I hadn't seen onboard I/O on anything non-OEM before late late 486 PCI boards until now.

Cherish it, I've never seen that before.

Just tried booting it. Works great! I'm definitely going to upgrade my current 286. This is twice the speed, supports way more memory, and has a bios that supports user type 47 for the hard disk.

What's interesting is it doesn't have onboard Serial/Parallel ports. But luckily I picked up an 8bit IO card a few weeks ago that will work perfectly for this!

TheAbandonwareGuy wrote:

Bought a clamshell case Dell Dimension 4500 for $10 monitor included. […]
Show full quote

Bought a clamshell case Dell Dimension 4500 for $10 monitor included.

A 17" 1600x1200 M782 Flatglass CRT. I'm more excited about that than the computer.

Oddly, the PC only had a Rage 128 Ultra 16MB in it. What that could drive beyond desktop at the monitors native I have no clue whatsoever. Odd mix of a bottom end configuration with the only upgrade being a ridiculously beefy WiFi card. I just hope the monitor works right. This would be my 16x12 CRT (actually, it would be the highest resolution monitor I have aside from my XPS Gen1 built in display)
---
How is it nice? A DX6 part in a 2002 machine is ridiculous.
---
And I'm also not sure I like this M782 display. It seems to have very washed out color, although I must admit it's very sharp. It's definitely NOT one of the famed Dell Trinitron displays I thought it was. The search for the perfect gaming CRT continues I guess.

Nice finds man, seems like more and more people are trying to recreate my black Dell setup. I actually have a Dell M782p CRT as a main gaming monitor and it's not as bad as how you described yours, If anything its' picture quality looks slightly brighter than the Sony CPD-E240 in my collection, the only thing I notice with it is that it can make a noticeable humming noise depending on how long it's being used for and how crazy you get with the resolution and refresh rate settings, the noise wears off after a minute.

I believe the M782p is manufactured by Phillips as confirmed by the logo on the PCB when I opened it up to check the caps.

About the Rage 128 card: It's possible that it was configured as a basic system (i.e. a computer that wouldn't be used for gaming) at the time of purchase, it's a fine card for 9x games but it's as basic as an Intel GPU when it comes to XP+, those Dells can take any AGP 4x card so upgrading is a breeze, Good luck getting your Dimension 4500 to work.

---

As for what I bought recently: Another piece for my AMD64 XP rig came in yesterday.

A Silverstone 3.5" Drive Bay filler with 4 USB 2.0 ports, Audio jacks, and a single Firewire 400 port.

This is what it looks like installed in the remaining 3.5" drive bay:

KCompRoom2000 wrote:

Nice finds man, seems like more and more people are trying to recreate my black Dell setup. I actually have a Dell M782p CRT as […]
Show full quote

TheAbandonwareGuy wrote:

Bought a clamshell case Dell Dimension 4500 for $10 monitor included. […]
Show full quote

Bought a clamshell case Dell Dimension 4500 for $10 monitor included.

A 17" 1600x1200 M782 Flatglass CRT. I'm more excited about that than the computer.

Oddly, the PC only had a Rage 128 Ultra 16MB in it. What that could drive beyond desktop at the monitors native I have no clue whatsoever. Odd mix of a bottom end configuration with the only upgrade being a ridiculously beefy WiFi card. I just hope the monitor works right. This would be my 16x12 CRT (actually, it would be the highest resolution monitor I have aside from my XPS Gen1 built in display)
---
How is it nice? A DX6 part in a 2002 machine is ridiculous.
---
And I'm also not sure I like this M782 display. It seems to have very washed out color, although I must admit it's very sharp. It's definitely NOT one of the famed Dell Trinitron displays I thought it was. The search for the perfect gaming CRT continues I guess.

Nice finds man, seems like more and more people are trying to recreate my black Dell setup. I actually have a Dell M782p CRT as a main gaming monitor and it's not as bad as how you described yours, If anything its' picture quality looks slightly brighter than the Sony CPD-E240 in my collection, the only thing I notice with it is that it can make a noticeable humming noise depending on how long it's being used for and how crazy you get with the resolution and refresh rate settings, the noise wears off after a minute.

I believe the M782p is manufactured by Phillips as confirmed by the logo on the PCB when I opened it up to check the caps.

About the Rage 128 card: It's possible that it was configured as a basic system (i.e. a computer that wouldn't be used for gaming) at the time of purchase, it's a fine card for 9x games but it's as basic as an Intel GPU when it comes to XP+, those Dells can take any AGP 4x card so upgrading is a breeze, Good luck getting your Dimension 4500 to work.

---

As for what I bought recently: Another piece for my AMD64 XP rig came in yesterday.

A Silverstone 3.5" Drive Bay filler with 4 USB 2.0 ports, Audio jacks, and a single Firewire 400 port.

IMG_1567.JPG

This is what it looks like installed in the remaining 3.5" drive bay:

IMG_1570.JPG

Yeah, when if and if I get the Dimension 4500 running I'll probably install my 9800Pro 256MB in it if it works (it doesn't work on my 4600).

The PC was definitely built as a bottom end machine. I pulled the CPU during my system check and it's a 1.8GHz model. It had only 512MB of RAM and only a 20GB hard drive. These came with configurations up to a 2.8GHz HT P4 and a Ti4200 IIRC on the top end.

As for the monitor it's a bit better once it's dialed in. Its trading blows fairly well with my HP M703 (which isn't in use because I need to take off the anti glare coating due to scratches). How do you get games to run at 1600x1200 on yours by the way? It's not exposed to the D3D rendering system and I have to force the resolution on desktop. If I try to force a game it usually throws a render create or unable to match resolution error. Morrowind wouldn't do it even forced to 1600x1200 in the registry. I tried it on both my 9800 Pro based laptop (XPS Gen1) and my FX5950U powered Dimension 4600.

TheAbandonwareGuy wrote:

How do you get games to run at 1600x1200 on yours by the way? It's not exposed to the D3D rendering system and I have to force the resolution on desktop. If I try to force a game it usually throws a render create or unable to match resolution error. Morrowind wouldn't do it even forced to 1600x1200 in the registry. I tried it on both my 9800 Pro based laptop (XPS Gen1) and my FX5950U powered Dimension 4600.

I haven't tried it at 1600x1200, I usually stick to 1024x768 which is the optimal resolution. the highest I remember setting it to was 1152x864 on NFS: High Stakes, I can't remember if I tried 1280x960. AFAIK 1600x1200 is mostly what 19" or larger CRTs call for so I'm not surprised that a 17" M782 struggles there.

IIRC even the Sony CPD-E240 didn't like that resolution because 1280x1024 was the maximum resolution that Windows would allow that monitor to display.

Nice to see other people getting sweet CRTs 😀

Mine can also do 1600*1200 but I prefer using it at 1024*768 to get higher framerates (IIRC it can go up to 120Hz at this res even though my tnt2 m64 only allows me 100hz at best 🙁 )

This makes any flicker to disappear. I think that even when I take photos of that screen with my phone, I don't have any flickering either, it's just gone

I just recently bought some cool CRT. I remember my cousin used to have one exactly like this somewhere in mid 90s.

It's IBM 8512, just like this one:
.

Mine is in great cosmetic condition and works very well. Doesn't seem to be burnt out, at least not yet.

There were better models - like 8513 or 8514. This one is an entry model, but I still like it very much. It's much better for late 80s and early 90s games than any Trinitron!

senrew wrote:

I sincerely hope you're good at recapping and sourcing flybacks.

Fixed. I love CRTs, but they haven't been made for ~15 years now. Any that are still around are bound to be dodgy.
My workbench CPD-G520 has been funny for a while now, I don't know what I'll do when it finally kicks the bucket. Also, good luck keeping yours adjusted. Mine's has a purplish tint and convergence issues forever, but I don't have the equipment to adjust it so ¯\_(ツ)_/¯

TheAbandonwareGuy wrote:

Somehow it has this weird single pin power on design. No clue how to short a single pin power on.

Short it to ground?

probnot wrote:

- ATI Mach64 (VLB)

Looks like it has good VGA signal strength. How well do they perform on TFT/LCD's?

Rawrl wrote:

I love CRTs, but they haven't been made for ~15 years now. Any that are still around are bound to be dodgy.

Actually the last CRT I purchased new in box from Newegg and was still being sold in mid 2007 was a phenomenal 19" CTX that I used for gaming. Now that I travel so much I sold it off, but I miss it. It could pump out a max of 1600 x 1200 @ 75Hz.

https://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?I … N82E16824103203

TheAbandonwareGuy wrote:

senrew wrote:

I already started ripping it apart to clean it so no pictures at the moment, but I picked up an Optiplex GX150 at a thrift for $25.

Haha. Lmao, good luck. My current experience with my first clamshell Dell has not been positive.

Somehow it has this weird single pin power on design. No clue how to short a single pin power on.

Its likely just grounding the one pin to the case.

liqmat wrote:

Rawrl wrote:

I love CRTs, but they haven't been made for ~15 years now. Any that are still around are bound to be dodgy.

Actually the last CRT I purchased new in box from Newegg and was still being sold in mid 2007 was a phenomenal 19" CTX that I used for gaming. Now that I travel so much I sold it off, but I miss it. It could pump out a max of 1600 x 1200 @ 75Hz.

https://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?I … N82E16824103203

1600x1200 on a crt is nice, I have a 19" diamond pro and I can push 85hz at 1600x1200 or 60hz at 2048x1536.

As for crt not being made in 15 yeas, not true, a few companies like Sony and Mitsubishi were pushing high end units out as late as 2010.

Jade Falcon wrote:

As for crt not being made in 15 yeas, not true, a few companies like Sony and Mitsubishi were pushing high end units out as late as 2010.

Exactly my point and also not true that most would be "dodgy". I used to restore Commodore and Atari systems with 30 year old CRTs that worked flawlessly. It's all about how they were raised and if they had a good family life. 😀

And the TV I use daily is a 1978 zenith Space phone TV. Ok its a bit dodgy. It has a big warning on the back stating to ware a lead lined vest when working on it. 😲 And I did refurb it. It will need a new pitcher tube down the road. 😠 as its getting abit dim.

850GB, P4 1.4GHz (socket 423), 4x 256MB Rambus 800
Antec Phantom 500

😎

And some 6core xeon and 12core opteron (25$ both, including shipping)

stege wrote:

850GB, P4 1.4GHz (socket 423), 4x 256MB Rambus 800 Antec Phantom 500 […]
Show full quote

850GB, P4 1.4GHz (socket 423), 4x 256MB Rambus 800
Antec Phantom 500

😎

And some 6core xeon and 12core opteron (25$ both, including shipping)

The way that motherboard was photographed makes it look like a Command & Conquer installation. 🤣

stege wrote:

850GB, P4 1.4GHz (socket 423), 4x 256MB Rambus 800 Antec Phantom 500 […]
Show full quote

850GB, P4 1.4GHz (socket 423), 4x 256MB Rambus 800
Antec Phantom 500

😎

And some 6core xeon and 12core opteron (25$ both, including shipping)

IMG_0483.JPG

IMG_0482.JPG

IMG_0465.JPG

Loving the shag

When working CRTs will start to be really really rare, I wonder if some company couldn't start making brand new CRTs. I mean, sure the retro computer market is rather niche, but if you take in account every people owning retro consoles and such, I guess it could still be worth it. Maybe just making the minimal thing (no case, just the bare circuitry and the monitor itself) and then you'll need to find an old CRT shell or buy one new separately would be sufficient ?

Another thing I'm wondering is how far could have been pushed the CRT technology if they still existed today and LCD screens were still hard to make. There were starting to make the CRTs thinner and thinner in the 2000's and the highest res they could support was increasing too