Sorry Feipoa - No updates for you at this point and probably not for awhile I'm afraid. Our little lady is taking up literally ALL of our time.

OK, no problem.

Artex wrote:

feipoa wrote:

Were you able to solder on the jumper and establish 40 MHz operation? How is the progress with the Saturn-II board?

Short answer is... not yet. I've been spending some time de-yellowing some of the yellowing plastic on these AT cases and I haven't had much time for further motherboard work. I hope to get back to it soon though.

Some time has elapsed. Any progress?

Artex wrote:

Build 4: 1 x Asus PCI I-486SP3G Rev. 1.8 with in AMD X5-133ADZ Write-Back Mode [slow memory/cache performance??]

Did you confirm that the 486SP3G rev 1.8 works with L1 in Write-back mode on the AMD X5 and Intel DX4 &EW? [You should be using L2 in WT mode if you don't have the 64kx1 dirty cache.] I hope you try to reorder the dirty bit. I have one but it is in use in my AMI Mark V Baby Screamer. If at some point you feel like letting this board go, please let me know. I would like to take a crack at it.

badmojo wrote:

Using the information in this thread I've managed to get my Asus VL/I-486SV2GX4 rev 2.1 board humming along with a Am586 PR75 in write back mode, yay. I can't quite reproduce your benchmark results because of the VGA cards I have at my disposal (my Ark Logic comes closest), but it's still an awesome 486.

Could you let me know which jumper settings you used for the Am5x86? I have seen 4 different versions of what jumper settings to use for the Am5x86. I assume they all cannot be correct.

kixs wrote:

vetz wrote:

Actually your results just prove my conclusion even more. I was out to get the myth that memory interleaving on the ET4000/W32P was a major performance boost. I won't call 0,4 (less than 1%) extra FPS in Doom a huge performance boost. My W32P use 45NS memory in both tests btw.

Try to test it in Windows with Winbench 3.11 and Wintach.

Do you have a link for Wintach?

vetz wrote:

Finally received the memory chips necessary to upgrade my ET4000/W32P to 2MB. I wanted to do this since there have been lots of talk of performance increases of 64-bit memory interleaving on these cards but I've failed to see any benchmarks on this before (like this post). Me and Artex previous published results was kind of overlooked because of this (even though Artex tested 1MB S3 vs 2MB ET4000 and I did the opposite and we got the same results)

User Anonymous Coward mentioned that performance benefits are only visible in Windows. Would you be willing to run some Windows benchmarks? I only did a comparison of this on my ISA-based ET4/w32i on a 386-class system. There was only a hint of increase in, I think it was, Winbench96 Graphics when using Win3.11. However, I suspect that 386 system may be holding the ET4 back, so perhaps a VLB-based 486 with Am5x86 or POD would be preferred.

vetz wrote:

Edit: Btw, you should use your Cyrix CPU in the rev 2.1 board:
"Rev 2.0 and 2.1 of the VL/I-486SV2GX4 only differ in one detail. 2.1 provides voltages between 3.3V and 5V (3.45V, 3.6V, 4.0V) intended for Cyrix processors."

The single voltage jumper on my version 2.0 board is also used to select between 3.45, 3.6, and 4.0 V, so I do not really understand the difference between the 2.1 and 2.0 boards. The 2.1 board has that extra IC near the VRMs and an extra jumper.

On my version 2.0 board,
JP32
1-2 = 3.41 V
2-3 = 3.60 V
open = 4.1 V

For JP32 to have any effect, JP16 must be set to 1-2. If JP16 is open, the CPU runs at 5.0 V. I determined these using a multimeter.

vetz wrote:

https://dl.dropboxusercontent.com/u/57506833/vogons/diverse/vlcsnap-2014-06-10-00h35m48s39.png […]
Show full quote

What performance effect does Local Bus Ready: Transparent have over Synchronize ? What is the optimal setting? Do you know why we should use one over the other?

gerwin wrote:

My plan is to replace an old 28-Pin EPROM with a flashable 32-Pin EEPROM, once I receive it:
Atmel AT29C512-12P = 512 kilobit = 64 kiloByte
I will hotflash it with a i440BX board, using uniflash software. Then install it in the 486.

Did you have success with this? I noticed that the Asus VL/I-486SV2GX4 board has the extra solder pands for a DIP-32 EEPROM, however it is fitted with a DIP-28 socket. I was considering desoldering the DIP-28 socket and putting in place a DIP-32 socket. The reason is because I have ample extra DIP-32 1Mbit EEPROMs and only one 512 Kbit DIP-28 EEPROM.

Artex, I just re-read much of this thread. Do you have any final words on the Saturn-II board? In particular,

1) Were you able to get L1 write-back working with the Intel DX4 or Am5x86
2) Did you order the dirty-tag IC and determine if L2 WB is working property and what the benchmark results are? I am wondering if this will somehow improve the main memory performance, at least to SiS 496 or UMC 8881 levels.

I have a Asus VL/I-486SV2GX4 now too. Still waiting for some spare BIOS and cache chips to arrive. I briefly played around, it's a very fast board that's for sure.

Haven't had much luck yet with the write-back chips, so far a plain IntelDX4 works great though. Will look at this properly when I can update to the newer BIOS.

Hey there gents. It's my daughter's 1st bday this weekend so I won't have time to dig into this for you. I'll try to provide some details over the coming week. Cheers!

PhilsComputerLab wrote:

I have a Asus VL/I-486SV2GX4 now too. Still waiting for some spare BIOS and cache chips to arrive. I briefly played around, it's a very fast board that's for sure.

Haven't had much luck yet with the write-back chips, so far a plain IntelDX4 works great though. Will look at this properly when I can update to the newer BIOS.

The Asus VL/I-486SV2GX4 is a must have for fast and stable VLB/ISA-only 486 systems. It is necessary to update the BIOS if you want to use the CPU in WB mode. The Am5x86 works very well at 160 MHz on this motherboard.

I made a few notes in my manual for this configuration (I have a rev 2.0 board)

1024K works well
64 MB is max. Even if you install 128 MB, 64 MB is max.
L2 in BIOS must be set to Auto (not write-back) for RAM speed to be correct
P24D (Intel DX4-100 with write-back) and Am5x86 jumper settings in official Asus manual are correct for P24D/Am5x86. Page 4-9, second from bottom. Note that JP20 1-2 (short) = 2x/4x, JP 1-2 (opened) = 3x
JP21 2-3 short = write-through L1
JP21 3-4 short = write-back L1

Depending on your PCB component layout,
JP16 open = 5.0 V to CPU
JP16 1-2 = 3.45 V, 3.60 V, or 4.0 V, as determined by JP32
If JP16 = 1-2, and JP32 = open = 4 V
If JP16 = 1-2, and JP32 = 1-2 = 3.45 V
If JP16 = 1-2, and JP32 = 2-3 = 3.6 V

For AMD Am5x86-160, CPU voltage must be set to 3.60 V, not 3.45 V
VL Bus & wait state must be set to 0 ws if <= 33 MHz FSB
For 40 MHz, Local Bus Ready needs to be set to Synchronize for S3 Vision968 (For Mach64 and Trio64, you can use Transparent, which is faster). VESA Clock Delay JP26 must be set to Delay.

It seems like only the Am5x86 works in L1 write-back mode when a VLB SCSI controller is used. I had to set Intel DX4, POD83, and Cyrix 5x86 to L1 WT mode if using an Adaptec VLB SCSI host controller.

Cheers for the pointers. That will come in handy.

Just a note for switching between the modes - besides the JP21 feipoa listed, the second JP16 jumper needs to be adjusted accordingly for WB/WT. 1-2,4-5 for WB as per the P24D settings in the manual, or 1-2,5-6 for WT from ASUS online documentation.

I wonder about JP22. Some folks advocate setting it to 2-3,4-5 for WB CPU's, while all the docs agree with 1-2,4-5. (1-2 is shorted for every CPU except Intel/AMD SX models which use the 2-3 setting.) Guess it's nothing very important if it works for people either way?

For JP16, it is just 1-2 (short) or 1-2 (open) which determine CPU voltage. JP16 4-5 (short) is, of course, still needed for the P24D and Am5x86.

There is conflicting information concerning JP16 4-5 vs 5-6 for write-through and write-back CPUs. The online manual says 5-6 is for L1 Write-through, however it also says to short 5-6 for Cyrix 5x86, which is a write-back CPU. Some trial and error may be needed. I did a lot of experimentation with jumpers for the Am5x86-160 only, and only minimal experimentation with the Cyrix 5x86 and POD. What I know for certain is that the jumper configuration listed on page 4-9 of the printed manual for the Am5x86 is correct.

In my notes, the items I had questions about concerning the Am5x86 were:
JP21 3-4 = must be shorted for WB
JP18 5-6 = set anyway? I wrote yes.
JP16 4-5 = must be shorted to POST.

I also read that some people set JP22 2-3, 4-5 instead of 1-2, 4-5. I am not entirely sure why this is, but it might have something to do with using older BIOSes. Everyone should really buy an EEPROM for this board and flash it to the latest board. I originally tried to use the original EPROM that came on this board and it lead to a lot of frusturation which was eliminated when I upgraded the BIOS.

When reading through the manuals for this board, the following is a good reference:

P24T = Pentium Overdrive 5V
P24CT = Pentium Overdrive 3.3V (never produced)
P24D = Intel DX2/DX4 with WB L1 cache
P24 = Intel DX2/DX4 with WT L1 cache

Artex wrote:

Hey there gents. It's my daughter's 1st bday this weekend so I won't have time to dig into this for you. I'll try to provide some details over the coming week. Cheers!

OK, thanks.

Cool, thanks for the info.

feipoa wrote:

I also read that some people set JP22 2-3, 4-5 instead of 1-2, 4-5. I am not entirely sure why this is, but it might have something to do with using older BIOSes.

I had a look. JP22 pin 2 is the socket's "IGNNE#" pin. JP22 pin 1 is IGNNE coming from the chipset. Pin 3 hooks into the NMI signal from the chipset to the socket's NMI pin.
Pin 1: Chipset IGNNE output "Ignore numeric error informs the 80486 CPU to ignore a numeric error."
Pin 2: CPU IGNNE# input
Pin 3: NMI (Chipset->CPU)

The 486SX doesn't have an IGNNE# input, instead it has NMI input there and the pin where other CPU's have NMI is unused. That's what the jumper seems to solve.

Not sure what effects the indiscriminate ignoring of floating-point exceptions has (being unable to do so amounts to freezes), or if this connection can interfere with NMI signaling, but pretty safe to say it wouldn't be a good idea to go against the manual on this one.

I too am using a Lucky Star LS-486E Rev:F and am having problems getting any Dos games to not crash immediately. I apologize for replying to an old thread, but I didn't see a link to start a new topic(Iv'e never really used message forums so I'm lost 🤣).
I'm using:
Lucky Star LS-486E REV:F SiS 496/497 chipset, 256 cache 15ns, Award BIOS
32 mb ram (2x16)
SiS 6202 2mb SVGA PCI graphics card
Acer Magic S20 sound card
AMD 5x86-P75 AMD-X5-133ADW 133mhz

3.5 Floppy, CD Rom drive( haven't got it working yet) and one HDD

Running Dos 6.22, and Windows for workgroups 3.11

I've tried Wolf 3D, Commander Keen 1, Jill of the Jungle and Dune but they all crash immediately after attempting startup. I haven't used Windows 3.x since I was a kid and am very rusty. Games I tried to install intermittently recognized or ignored peripherals, and sound card. I tried switching out the power supply and currently have a 230 watt AT supply installed.
Would appreciate any advice(including whether this is the correct forum). Cheers! -Charlie

feipoa wrote on 2015-12-22, 01:28:

gerwin wrote:

My plan is to replace an old 28-Pin EPROM with a flashable 32-Pin EEPROM, once I receive it:
Atmel AT29C512-12P = 512 kilobit = 64 kiloByte
I will hotflash it with a i440BX board, using uniflash software. Then install it in the 486.

Did you have success with this? I noticed that the Asus VL/I-486SV2GX4 board has the extra solder pands for a DIP-32 EEPROM, however it is fitted with a DIP-28 socket. I was considering desoldering the DIP-28 socket and putting in place a DIP-32 socket. The reason is because I have ample extra DIP-32 1Mbit EEPROMs and only one 512 Kbit DIP-28 EEPROM.

Sorry to necro the thread, but this is pertinent.

I desoldered the 28-pin off my board (REV 2.1) and soldered in a 32-pin socket.

I then tried to use a W29C010 two ways:
1) Pad the 64KB file to 128KB
2) Force flash the 64KB file to the W29C010

Neither method worked. So either the board will in fact not accept 29Cxxx chips, or I am missing something (maybe I must use an actual 29C512 -- I ordered some to try).

I did have success doing this with a PCChips board

For some reason some boards don't work with an DIP-32 EEPROM installed when the board came with a DIP-28, even though there are the correct number of vias. It wasn't worth my time to figure out why. Instead, I just ordered more DIP-28 EEPROMs of the correct storage size.

Hi guys, I'm looking for 2x new co chips coast modules if still available in stock,

Best regards,
Brian