stamasd wrote:

Got a 486 VLB motherboard+CPU+VLB video card bundle. Pretty standard for 486-land, but what attracted my attention was the item description which was very detailed, including repairs that had been done to the board after damage from a leaking battery, extensive tests done to the board after the repair, modifications done to the BIOS, corrections to the jumper table inscribed on it because the stenciled one was wrong etc. Seemed like the work of on enthusiast (perhaps someone on this site? 😀) so I just couldn't pass it. And the price was right.

Stamasd, the past few auctions you've mentioned in this thread are also ones that I was watching on eBay. We seem to share interests in retro hardware!

The corsair supplies are very good. You eont have any issues with them.

luckybob wrote:

The corsair supplies are very good. You eont have any issues with them.

I seen 100's of dead corsair supplies on ebay.

Some are good and some are not.

@kanecvr
awesome Chieftec case mate, I really like it... it's model is UNI or MESH os something like that AFAIR... Chieftec used the same metal chassis in many full tower cases and they only changed the front faccia depending on the design. I wanted to get this one ~10 years ago for my main pc but I had to settle for the CHIEFTEC GIGA GX-01B-OP model that was in stock back then and I still use on my main pc - the insides changed many times but the case remained the same 🤣

yawetaG wrote:

brostenen wrote:

Personally, I have only fond memories with that bus.
Don't recall all those reports people make of the VL-Bus as being an awefull bus. Guess it comes down to people being too used on having PCI or people only focusing on fastest speed possible.

Most problems back in the day pertained to people trying to use three VLB cards at once or running the system at 50 MHz bus speed. Quite a few of the lesser boards didn't like that. On some motherboards it was also possible to plug in more ISA and VLB cards than there were resources available for them to use.

True that. Those systems have their limits. I still think it is wrong, to flat out just say that VL-Bus are a dreaded bus.
Most of the times, it is said by those that are making an article or video about old obsolete technology.

kanecvr wrote:

Got a 2000's chieftec server case and a corsair value 650W PSU for my LGA775 XP rig:

Nice case. It looks like a sweet one with lots of potentials.
How thick are the plates in it?

brostenen wrote:

yawetaG wrote:

Most problems back in the day pertained to people trying to use three VLB cards at once or running the system at 50 MHz bus speed. Quite a few of the lesser boards didn't like that. On some motherboards it was also possible to plug in more ISA and VLB cards than there were resources available for them to use.

True that. Those systems have their limits. I still think it is wrong, to flat out just say that VL-Bus are a dreaded bus.
Most of the times, it is said by those that are making an article or video about old obsolete technology.

...who never actually tinkered with it back in the day and seem to expect that because nowadays everything is pretty much plug-and-play, that back then it also worked like that but with just a little bit more manual work. Even on this forum it's pretty easy to figure out who actually did something more than just regular office work with 486 to early Pentium era hardware back in the day, or who only used Windows 95 and later as a kid or normal user, or who heard "of those old systems" and now wants to try one.

Kadath wrote:

Cool case - I like professional-line server case, this beauty will last forever

I'm sure it will, It's build like a tank.

keropi wrote:

@kanecvr
awesome Chieftec case mate, I really like it... it's model is UNI or MESH os something like that AFAIR... Chieftec used the same metal chassis in many full tower cases and they only changed the front faccia depending on the design. I wanted to get this one ~10 years ago for my main pc but I had to settle for the CHIEFTEC GIGA GX-01B-OP model that was in stock back then and I still use on my main pc - the insides changed many times but the case remained the same 🤣

Thanks! I've been looking to get one of these for a while now - I also like it's stilling, and the metal bits are of excellent quality. The plastic is "meh" - above average I'd say. Back in the day, these were "the" high-quality case to get for your expensive build, even tough it wasn't a server or workstation 😀

brostenen wrote:

Nice case. It looks like a sweet one with lots of potentials.
How thick are the plates in it?

Believe it or not, it's about 1.5-2mm thick and it weighs a ton!

Aideka wrote:

The PSU is pretty much absolutely fine, as long as the caps are in working order, AFAIK it uses CapXon caps, so they might blow, but if you pull under 500 watts from it I would not worry.

luckybob wrote:

The corsair supplies are very good. You eont have any issues with them.

I sure hope you guys are right, but time will tell 😀 For now it seems to be working fine.

Jade Falcon wrote:

luckybob wrote:

The corsair supplies are very good. You eont have any issues with them.

I seen 100's of dead corsair supplies on ebay.

Some are good and some are not.

Same with any manufacturers unfortunately. What has me worried is that this PSU belongs to their "value series". I know vs ram is good, hoping this PSU is decent.

USPS strikes again! Last time they shipped what should have been a simple in-state package out of the state in the wrong direction twice if you remember.

This time they shipped a piece of hardware I bought from Florida to Connecticut via Puerto Rico:

1 December 9, 2016 , 1:44 pm
2Departed USPS Facility
3SAN JUAN, PR 00936 
4Your item departed our USPS facility in SAN JUAN, PR 00936 on December 9, 2016 at 1:44 pm. The item is currently in transit to the destination.
5
6December 8, 2016 , 8:35 pm
7Arrived at USPS Facility
8SAN JUAN, PR 00936 
9
10December 8, 2016 , 5:22 am
11Departed USPS Facility
12CATANO, PR 00962 
13
14December 7, 2016 , 10:03 pm
15Arrived at USPS Facility
16CATANO, PR 00962 
17
18December 6, 2016 , 9:23 pm
19Arrived at USPS Origin Facility
20JACKSONVILLE, FL 32099 
21
22December 6, 2016 , 2:07 pm
23Acceptance
24JACKSONVILLE, FL 32246  

At least they didn't route it through Hawaii, or Guam. Although there's still time for that to happen.

Holy f*ck. That's a sweet case. 😳 (me want one too)

yawetaG wrote:

...who never actually tinkered with it back in the day and seem to expect that because nowadays everything is pretty much plug-and-play, that back then it also worked like that but with just a little bit more manual work. Even on this forum it's pretty easy to figure out who actually did something more than just regular office work with 486 to early Pentium era hardware back in the day, or who only used Windows 95 and later as a kid or normal user, or who heard "of those old systems" and now wants to try one.

Hmmm.... Yeah. I guess that I am somewere in between these two segments. I have used computers since 1984'ish, pc from 1987'ish-something. Bought my first computer with VLB in 1995, though I first started tinkering with hardware from around 1998/99.

I think a lot of those that are looking down on VLB, have only read about it, using all the bad stories as the source for knowledge.
And come to think about it. Those articles and videoes are all made by young persons in their early 20's. 🤣
When they say: "Shut up old man, you don't know the pain of being young", I reply with: "Then you should try to set up MS-Dos-6.22".

(Stupid emo's, trying to be a cutter using a plastic knife, and complaining about you'r dad making 3+ million dollars a year)

boxpressed wrote:

stamasd wrote:

Got a 486 VLB motherboard+CPU+VLB video card bundle. Pretty standard for 486-land, but what attracted my attention was the item description which was very detailed, including repairs that had been done to the board after damage from a leaking battery, extensive tests done to the board after the repair, modifications done to the BIOS, corrections to the jumper table inscribed on it because the stenciled one was wrong etc. Seemed like the work of on enthusiast (perhaps someone on this site? 😀) so I just couldn't pass it. And the price was right.

Stamasd, the past few auctions you've mentioned in this thread are also ones that I was watching on eBay. We seem to share interests in retro hardware!

Hmm... and we're both on Vogons... think it's more than a coincidence? 😁

Just bought this board for $25. Never seen a socket 3 board with a COAST slot. I suspect it might be PCChips? Either way, I now have 4 486 PCI motherboards (2x PCI/VLB combo, and 2x PCI/ISA). 😁

kanecvr wrote:

Same with any manufacturers unfortunately. What has me worried is that this PSU belongs to their "value series". I know vs ram is good, hoping this PSU is decent

There are a few manufacturers that only make top end stuff.
But yeah I get you. However I can tell you one thing. I never see one off there psu's take a system with it.

And you have solder pads for fake cache too 🤣

Brickpad wrote:

Just bought this board for $25. Never seen a socket 3 board with a COAST slot. I suspect it might be PCChips? Either way, I now […]
Show full quote

Just bought this board for $25. Never seen a socket 3 board with a COAST slot. I suspect it might be PCChips? Either way, I now have 4 486 PCI motherboards (2x PCI/VLB combo, and 2x PCI/ISA). 😁

Yup, that's a PCChips or an Amptron or something. Wall art.

Hello all! It's my first post here. I've lurked quite a bit, and now finally have a couple projects going so I wanted to start contributing and sharing.

I found a new in box Chieftec Dragon on craigslist this week! It still had the original packaging slip on the box dated January 2005.

I'm planning on building a Fall 2006 era Windows XP system in this case. I'm gonna to try to get a AMD Quad FX system running with the FX-74 processors and, I believe, two GeForce 7950 GX2s. It's still just in the planning stages, but I do have the ASUS motherboard on the way and I was lucky enough to find this NIB case, so, so far so good!

Here's a little unboxing for you:

Hah - I had that exact case badged as an Antec. Looked completely the same except no side window. Are they the same company?

Few arrivals!

A pair of 1ghz Coppermine CPU's and Antec Orb HSF to go on my Abit VP6

Asus CUSL2-M with a Celeron CPU. Already have this board but was £5 delivered and will be a spare.

Finally a Sound Blaster AWE64 Gold CT 4390.. well because its a AWE64 Gold 🤣.

xjas wrote:

Hah - I had that exact case badged as an Antec. Looked completely the same except no side window. Are they the same company?

I've used (and hated) this same case in the past. Originally it -IS- an antec case and antec design. Cheiftec was a "knock off" company trying to emulate and copy antec's design.