I don't know much about that particular board myself but I can say that what appears to be onboard general midi opl4 yamaha chip makes this board look even better. Good buy. With a p166 cpu I think this would make a great dos gaming rig.

Thanks! Good to know that the integrated audio might actually be worth utilizing. I have a p166 sitting in my desk drawer, who knows what kind of cpu it comes with but it would be funny if it was a p166 as well. This is one of the few impulse buys im not instantly regretting 😀 actually getting my friend into retro gaming with this build. Originally we put together a Slot 1 450 p3 system for early 3d games but the board ended up being unstable and damaged, so he decided to wait on a 98se 3d build and build a 95/dos system.

Also would I be able to use the onboard s3 virge with a Voodoo 1?

Yes.

Ha, this should be a pretty fun little build.

That should be a nice little system when it's done!

ODwilly wrote:

Ha, this should be a pretty fun little build.

I just remembered this text file at this URL (http://www.jumpjet.info/Application-Software/ … OS/Hardware.txt)...it provides an excellent overview of how to build a good DOS system based on a socket 7 build.

The board you have there reminds me of an Intel AN430TX board as discussed in the above text file. I mentioned this text file in another topic somewhere but I can't remember exactly where. It seems very long, but it is worth a quick read. Essentially it discusses building a DOS system with maximum compatibility for old and new games....seems like a P166 is the sweet spot. I have found this to be true from one of my more recent P166 builds, but I had to disable the internal and sometimes external caches to play older sierra games and have them work properly with my Roland MT-32 and SB most of the time.

I'm curious...is there any Turbo button header on that board?

Keep us updated on your build progress and specs...that board is a great place to start!

Looks like OEM version of Intel TC430HX.

Just as a side-note, to use the onboard Virge and a PCI voodoo, you'll need a longer passthrough cable (like a VGA extender cable).

I never knew they made circle-based heatsinks to that size... interesting. I also didn't know intel made boards with integrated YMF-704 (assuming that's an intel board).

raymangold: My pass through cable looks long enough, but I have seen a some of those 6 inch cables on newegg that would do the trick I think, and the heatsink looks like it is attached with adhesive from the photos. Kokornov: I agree, looks like a ATX version of my Acer's HX board. Retrofanatic: Thanks for the link! some good reading in there. I will let you guys know if it does have a turbo header, as that would be awesome! I even have a 3.5 Turbo front panel in with my 486 stuff. It will be another week before I get to see it in person 🙁 out of town for work, but I am looking forward to getting this project started!

Ok after all month out of town i just got back home. This board is AWESOME, came with 4 pieces of 72 pin simms with a total of 40mb of ram. The heatsink slides over the sides of the cpu before putting it in the socket. Strangest retention mechanism ever. The cpu is a ceramic P166 non MMX. now i have a plastic p166 and a plastic 233 mmx as well. Which chip would you guys suggest? As far as I can tell it seems to be a Intel board that was customized a bit by Micron. Not only does it have a Micron heatsink but it 2 pieces of ram are Micron as well. There is a header for "Video expansion module" (add ram to the onboard Virge?) and yamaha audio which are pretty interesting features. I am debating on HDD sizes (have anything from SCSI drives to sata drives available for it) amount of ram to use and either win95 OS 2.0 w/usb or 98se.

WOAH! Check out that awesome looking heatsink.

Very nice find.

Is there a list anywhere of Socket 7 motherboards with working Turbo headers?