Right, setting it up now
All seems great with a firegl1000 & voodoo 2 (still waiting on the v3)
However I have a 256mb of ram and it only counts it as 131072 or so. so 128. No biggie but any ideas why?
wrote:Right, setting it up now
All seems great with a firegl1000 & voodoo 2 (still waiting on the v3)
However I have a 256mb of ram and it only counts it as 131072 or so. so 128. No biggie but any ideas why?
You're using a BX based motherboard with high density ram I presume?
If you do, then I suppose your 256MB stick of ram has just 8 chips on 1 side, right?
thats correct
The BX chipset doesn't support high density memory.
The only 256Mb sticks that will work in a BX are the ones with 8 chips on both sides. 256MB sticks with 8 chips (in total) will work as 128MB ones, 128MB ones with 4 chips will work as 64MB ones, etc.
On the other hand, apart from halving your memory, it shouldn't cause any other problems like crashes etc.
So how's the rest of your system doing? 😉
Few annoying things during the build.
The case i wanted to use had gone walk about so I had to use a slightly more modern one with a window. I wanted to use a nice beige tower and the power supply I had in mind wouldnt fit this case for some reason so I'm using a cheapo generic one but it seems to be working well. I also couldnt find a suitable I/O shield so I'm running it without one.
I also haven't installed a network card as I am out of space on my router so will need to pick up a cheap switch and get me some more ports.
It was fun reinstalling windows 98, I havent ran this for about 11 years or so. I had a nice warm feeling inside while installing it. Because it hasnt got a network card yet I looked around for a way to get a usb pen working in 98, I found this http://www.technical-assistance.co.uk/kb/usbmsd98.php and copied it to a cdrom and it worked flawlessly as do my external usb hdds)
Gaming wise Ive been playing some Silver & Shadows of the empire. They are the main two games I wanted to run and they work perfectly* (And thats without the awe64 or voodoo3!) These games are a real pain to get working properly on modern computers (Silver especially) so I'm really looking forward to playing them again. When I completed the hoth level on SOTE I knew this whole project had been worth while. Im sure I will find tons of other games when I look through my collection but those are the main 2 I want to play.
(* Well SOTE fps dips a bit, Its running on the Diamond firegl 1000 pro, I can remember it running fluidly on this card but I couldnt find updated drivers on the diamond or ati website, so I just used the stock ones on the cd. Does anyone know what the last drivers for the 1000pro was? or how I can get sote to use the voodoo card?)
All thats left now is...
-Voodoo 3
-awe64
-floppy drive (The one I was going to use is missing a fascia)
-backplate or new case
-change the heatsink on the cpu, At the moment it has 2 small fans and they are a bit noisy. I think this p3 might be a bit too fast to run passively so I will just try and find a single fan heatsink.
-Bigger hdd, I have an 80 gig deskstar. Will that be supported by this motherboard? (OR windows 98 for that matter. I think the largest drive I ever ran on it was 40 gig.
Here are some pictures.
http://www.mike65.ukfsn.org/main/uploads/files/DSCF4820.JPG
http://www.mike65.ukfsn.org/main/uploads/files/DSCF4819.JPG
http://www.mike65.ukfsn.org/main/uploads/files/DSCF4822.JPG
http://www.mike65.ukfsn.org/main/uploads/files/DSCF4810.JPG
I'm a Shadows of the Empire fan too. It is a D3D5 game but is essentially designed for a Voodoo card and will run perfectly with one. The game will also run too fast if the CPU is too speedy. I'm not sure at what CPU speed it will run too fast. It came out during the PII era though.
That machine looks very 1998 😁
Yeah, Shadows and dark forces 2 are my favorite star wars games. I was big in to star wars in 97 when the re-releases came out. Shame there arnt any good star wars games any more. Galactic battlegrounds was probably the last good one. Mind you i'm not as mad on star wars any more.
Yeah Shadows runs too fast on modern systems, Sounds crackles/cuts off and too quick to play properly.
When i first played it it was on a p2 266, 64mb ram and this firegl card and it ran perfect. but now it doesnt seem to run as well as i remember but im 99.9% sure its a driver problem.
When the voodoo 3 comes and the firegl and v2 go walkabout it will look more 99-00 😜
Yup I am an old Star Wars fanatic myself. I love most of the pre-2000 games, even Star Wars Rebellion. The games that use the EU material are my favorites because I read just about all of the novels.
I actually almost prefer Shadows on the N64 because that's where I've played it the most (by far). The N64 version has a dark, blurry look and mono audio that actually adds to the atmosphere in some ways. The cutscenes are different too. I didn't try the PC version until a few years ago! Of course the PC version is clearly superior overall.
Wow remember playing shadows of the empire on my friend's MMX 166. Great game!
I gotta admit I love Dark Forces 2 though. It had some amazing level design and you really gotta love those FMVs!
Silver is another beautiful game, a bit crippled by the controls though.
DF2 has amazing maps. Great atmosphere.
Yeah that level with the ship falling from orbit is excellent 😀
I completed both df2 & mots over Christmas. Might go back and do DF1.
Never got in to outcast, something just feels odd about it :s
also ive found a 256mb 133 dimm with ram on both sides.
Is it worth swapping it out for what i have now?
wrote:Here are some pictures.
I have a Global WIN dual fan cooler similar to the one you have, on my Celeron 300A. Those poor little fans have become rattle traps now, why are 50mm fans so freaking expensive?
wrote:also ive found a 256mb 133 dimm with ram on both sides.
Is it worth swapping it out for what i have now?
Hint: Do NOT run your system powered on while on an antistatic bag. You may short something! Antistatic bags often are conductive.
The pics look good, no leaky caps and all. Could you post a pic of the PSU you're using?
And yes, swap out (or better yet, ADD it 😉 ) the ram with the dual sided 256 stick.
There is an unofficial service pack for 98SE, it will add USB mass storage support along with a couple other things. What language 98 are you using? Are you using 98FE or 98SE?
wrote:Hint: Do NOT run your system powered on while on an antistatic bag. You may short something! Antistatic bags often are conductiv […]
wrote:also ive found a 256mb 133 dimm with ram on both sides.
Is it worth swapping it out for what i have now?
Hint: Do NOT run your system powered on while on an antistatic bag. You may short something! Antistatic bags often are conductive.
The pics look good, no leaky caps and all. Could you post a pic of the PSU you're using?
And yes, swap out (or better yet, ADD it 😉 ) the ram with the dual sided 256 stick.There is an unofficial service pack for 98SE, it will add USB mass storage support along with a couple other things. What language 98 are you using? Are you using 98FE or 98SE?
Really? Ive always done that or on the foam backing thats normally in the AS bag. (Although I didnt with this motherboard I just mounted it on the spacers)
I will post a picture of the PSU Shortly.
i'm using the English British language and second edition of 98.
http://www.mike65.ukfsn.org/main/uploads/files/DSCF4826.JPG
http://www.mike65.ukfsn.org/main/uploads/files/DSCF4828.JPG
Sorry about how dire that is, i can retake if you wish.
wrote:http://www.mike65.ukfsn.org/main/uploads/files/DSCF4826.JPG
http://www.mike65.ukfsn.org/main/uploads/files/DSCF4828.JPGSorry about how dire that is, i can retake if you wish.
Even though I can't make out the make of your power supply, it does look like one of the 'El Cheapo' brands.
Can you tell who made it?
And about the antistatic bag thing, I only found out after having done what you did for a couple of years myself 😉
It's only that I read those bags could be conductive and theres no harm in avoiding a short in such a simple manner. I'd say, see it as a precaution 😉
If you want to, theres an unofficial service pack for 98SE, it adds lots of bugfixes, tweaks and some extra stuff. Just do a net search for 98SE SP 2.1 😉
It's best however to install it on a fresh build
ill be doing a fresh install when the v3 arrives anywho so ill check this unoffical serverpack out thanks 😀
Its a mercury branded psu rated at "400 watts". Weak performance but its reasonably quiet.
http://www.mike65.ukfsn.org/main/uploads/files/DSCF4833.JPG < new ram
The "SD Collection"
http://www.mike65.ukfsn.org/main/uploads/files/DSCF4832.JPG
http://www.mike65.ukfsn.org/main/uploads/files/DSCF4831.JPG <The one in the middle is the new dimm
http://www.mike65.ukfsn.org/main/uploads/files/DSCF4830.JPG
wrote:ill be doing a fresh install when the v3 arrives anywho so ill check this unoffical serverpack out thanks :) […]
ill be doing a fresh install when the v3 arrives anywho so ill check this unoffical serverpack out thanks 😀
Its a mercury branded psu rated at "400 watts". Weak performance but its reasonably quiet.
http://www.mike65.ukfsn.org/main/uploads/files/DSCF4833.JPG < new ram
The "SD Collection"
http://www.mike65.ukfsn.org/main/uploads/files/DSCF4832.JPG
http://www.mike65.ukfsn.org/main/uploads/files/DSCF4831.JPG <The one in the middle is the new dimm
http://www.mike65.ukfsn.org/main/uploads/files/DSCF4830.JPG
I did some reading about your brand PSU but could find little information about it. What I could find was about a newer unit and it got a good rating from Jonnyguru.
For a P3 a 400W will do just fine 😉
Whenever I get a new PSU I always open it up so I can see the insides (and do some cleaning if needed) but that's just me 😜
Just stuck the awe64 gold in and upgraded the hardrive to a 40 gig drive.
Is there anyway to wire up the awe64 to the ports on the front of the case? (line out & mic)
Theres an "sb-link" on my motherboard... whats that? It seems to be near a pci slot. but im guessing the sb stands for sound blaster.
I seem to remember there use to be a bar at the top with sound profiles for games last time i ran this card. Does anyone know what that or what it was about?
