Mephusto wrote on 2020-08-18, 16:30:

more of the pictures caused they wouldn't all fit. From what I can tell it might be a 486 under the heatsink. The XC87SLC-33 app […]
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more of the pictures caused they wouldn't all fit. From what I can tell it might be a 486 under the heatsink. The XC87SLC-33 appears to be a maths coprocessor for a Cyrix or Texas Instruments 486 i think from the info i can find online. It said something about a hybrid 386/486 but i got lost at that point

edited for more info instead of making another post
"psu.jpg"
cant figure out this psu

That was common back in the 90's, would label all the variants. It could be any one of those models/wattage. You would need to remove it and check for other labels which should tell which it is. Even if just a 150 watt is more than enough for any 386 as long as you do not load up too many harddrives. I would remove the PSU and check it over well in and out, would examine the insides carefully for bulging/leaking caps, etc (and take hi-res pictures too)...

Mephusto wrote on 2020-08-18, 20:37:

debs3759 - thank you, i got confused i thought that both 386dx and 486dx had the fpu...whoops 🤣 ill have to look into getting one once I am able to test that they work

You don't need an FPU to run the board. Lots and lots of 386 systems didn't have one back in the day. It only made sense for big spreadsheets or advanced maths.

Time to stock up more on 478-939-775 mainboards before they become too expensive!
(quite a few caps need replacing)

Miphee wrote on 2020-08-19, 08:25:

Time to stock up more on 478-939-775 mainboards before they become too expensive!
(quite a few caps need replacing)

A friend of mine had one of those boards with a molex power connector on them, he used it not to power the board but to run a case fan...

Oetker wrote on 2020-08-19, 08:28:

A friend of mine had one of those boards with a molex power connector on them, he used it not to power the board but to run a case fan...

I've never seen such a feature before, it has a red LED next to it that lights up when I connect a card that needs more power.

H3nrik V! wrote on 2020-08-19, 03:25:

Mephusto wrote on 2020-08-18, 20:37:

debs3759 - thank you, i got confused i thought that both 386dx and 486dx had the fpu...whoops 🤣 ill have to look into getting one once I am able to test that they work

You don't need an FPU to run the board. Lots and lots of 386 systems didn't have one back in the day. It only made sense for big spreadsheets or advanced maths.

Indeed. There is a really short list of DOS games that use it:

Begin, A Tactical Starship Simulation
SimCity
Falcon 3.0
MS Flight Simulator
Scorched Earth
Pub Pool
Stunt Car Racer
Quake

Out of that lot, the only one that would a) run decently on a 386 with 387 in the first place (forget Quake...) not already run fast enough on a 386 without 387 (SimCity flys anyway on a 386-16) is Falcon 3.0.

Thanks for the info and its less of needing the fpu so much as wanting one 😀

Mephusto wrote on 2020-08-19, 10:08:

Thanks for the info and its less of needing the fpu so much as wanting one 😀

I can very much understand this sentiment :3

imi wrote on 2020-08-19, 11:46:

Mephusto wrote on 2020-08-19, 10:08:

Thanks for the info and its less of needing the fpu so much as wanting one 😀

I can very much understand this sentiment :3

Yeah it is mostly learning for me, but I figure I may as well put as much into it as I can 😁I am also going to try to figure how much ram I have and see what I need to get and see if I will be able to max it out. I also have to learn the cache stuff for it too. I have been looking at the info on that site you linked earlier and I have been looking at both of the 386 systems. I am super excited for these systems. Oh and I think I want to do the Compact Flash to IDE too.

Miphee wrote on 2020-08-19, 08:25:

Time to stock up more on 478-939-775 mainboards before they become too expensive!
(quite a few caps need replacing)

I don't think there will ever come a day when 775 motherboards will ever be expensive.

dionb wrote on 2020-08-19, 09:06:

Out of that lot, the only one that would a) run decently on a 386 with 387 in the first place (forget Quake...) not already run fast enough on a 386 without 387 (SimCity flys anyway on a 386-16) is Falcon 3.0.

To be fair a Falcon 3.0 on a 387 wouldn't be fun times either I would think.

Unless you are going to use CAD software from a very specific window of time, 386 co processors are an absolute waste of money.

I could even debate the merits of going with a 486DX/DX2 over an SX/SX2 as well.

appiah4 wrote on 2020-08-19, 13:06:

I don't think there will ever come a day when 775 motherboards will ever be expensive.

Probably not, except for the deluxe versions. But I like the idea of having a huge variety of boards to choose from 25 years later without the need to buy from a limited supply. 😀

appiah4 wrote on 2020-08-19, 13:08:

To be fair a Falcon 3.0 on a 387 wouldn't be fun times either I would think. […]
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dionb wrote on 2020-08-19, 09:06:

Out of that lot, the only one that would a) run decently on a 386 with 387 in the first place (forget Quake...) not already run fast enough on a 386 without 387 (SimCity flys anyway on a 386-16) is Falcon 3.0.

To be fair a Falcon 3.0 on a 387 wouldn't be fun times either I would think.

Unless you are going to use CAD software from a very specific window of time, 386 co processors are an absolute waste of money.

I could even debate the merits of going with a 486DX/DX2 over an SX/SX2 as well.

I played Falcon 3.0 on a 286/16 + 287 and as I remember it run just fine.

Miphee wrote on 2020-08-19, 13:22:

appiah4 wrote on 2020-08-19, 13:06:

I don't think there will ever come a day when 775 motherboards will ever be expensive.

Probably not, except for the deluxe versions. But I like the idea of having a huge variety of boards to choose from 25 years later without the need to buy from a limited supply. 😀

Depends if in 25 years anyone thinks XP, is like what people around here think windows 98 is. That is the Gen Z people but they are probably too attached totheir phones to care? who knows.

dionb wrote on 2020-08-19, 09:06:

Indeed. There is a really short list of DOS games that use it: […]
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H3nrik V! wrote on 2020-08-19, 03:25:

Mephusto wrote on 2020-08-18, 20:37:

debs3759 - thank you, i got confused i thought that both 386dx and 486dx had the fpu...whoops 🤣 ill have to look into getting one once I am able to test that they work

You don't need an FPU to run the board. Lots and lots of 386 systems didn't have one back in the day. It only made sense for big spreadsheets or advanced maths.

Indeed. There is a really short list of DOS games that use it:

Begin, A Tactical Starship Simulation
SimCity
Falcon 3.0
MS Flight Simulator
Scorched Earth
Pub Pool
Stunt Car Racer
Quake

Out of that lot, the only one that would a) run decently on a 386 with 387 in the first place (forget Quake...) not already run fast enough on a 386 without 387 (SimCity flys anyway on a 386-16) is Falcon 3.0.

I am not questioning your list or knowledge, but I have a weird case: Doom. I played it in the nineties with sound in normal window (you could limit the viewable area to speed game up) on my mum's old 386DX/40 with math coprocessor (Weitek, I think, but I may be wrong after all these years) and it run as well as on my friend's 486DX2 (don't remember 50 or 66). Everybody else on 386, both SX and DX had Doom stutter, I played it to completion and enjoyed it a lot. Do you reckon this coprocessor thingy could be a reason? Or is it just my hazy memory?

OldCat wrote on 2020-08-19, 13:50:

Or is it just my hazy memory?

I attribute it to hazy memory. I also remembered playing Road Rash on the Mega Drive back when it was new and in my memory it was silky smooth and had realistic graphics. I was a bit shocked when I played it again a few years ago. It runs at like 8fps...

Warlord wrote on 2020-08-19, 13:48:

Depends if in 25 years anyone thinks XP, is like what people around here think windows 98 is. That is the Gen Z people but they are probably too attached totheir phones to care? who knows.

It's completely unpredictable, there are sentimental people in every generations. Young people collect ancient coins and WW2 memorabilia too.

appiah4 wrote on 2020-08-19, 13:06:

I don't think there will ever come a day when 775 motherboards will ever be expensive.

Same thing was said about 486 stuff in 1999. Back then most people were just giving them away or throwing them in the trash because it was useless.

I don't know... Starting from Pentium 2, nothing really has changed. And the same way, the demand for such PCs is also a lot lower than for anything before that.

To me personally, this applies as well. I have 386, 486 and Pentium MMX, because they are fun. But Pentium 2+ are just terribly slow "today's machines".
I wouldn't bet too confidently that socket 478, 775 and such stuff ever becomes as valuable as those old machines, where new generation meant that almost everything changed.

Highend parts of any generation will almost always have some value. For instance the Pentium 4 EE CPUs or DDR2 sticks with the best speed and lowest timings.