VOGONS


First post, by treeman

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I had a thread about a 486 board in which I ended up using a turbochip amd 133mhz upgrade which is a cpu + 3V / 5V converter + fan in 1 package.

I am waiting for a 40mhz crystal to try overclock it to 160mhz. however this package seems to have a pretty much non-existent heatsink and a little fan that is glued to the cpu.
I also noticed sometimes the fan doesn't start and I need to poke it with a pen to make it start, it is also loud so must be the bearings.

Has anybody every removed one of these or done a proper heatsink upgrade?

Also im curious is it possible to pull the CPU module off the actual voltage converter? I can see the pins from the CPU board plugged into the converter but don't want to try and rip it off if its not made to be removed. I got a few real amd 133 cpus around so if the convertor comes off I could try fit a real amd CPU + 486 heatsink and fan.
also not sure about the voltages I think the TC runs on 3v and amd might be slightly more.

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Reply 1 of 14, by Anonymous Coward

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Cool, I didnt' release that some of the turbochips had PGA CPUs. I am pretty sure you can remove the CPU from the VRM.

I recommend you peel the existing fan off the CPU and get a standard 486 heatsink/fan combo for it.

"Will the highways on the internets become more few?" -Gee Dubya
V'Ger XT|Upgraded AT|Ultimate 386|Super VL/EISA 486|SMP VL/EISA Pentium

Reply 3 of 14, by Anonymous Coward

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Absolutely. I think just about any 3.3V 486 chip would work in that converter.

The chip that's presently installed in the adapter is not special in any way. It should just be a regular 5x86-133 with a fan glued to it.
After you remove the current CPU from the adapter, look at die cap on the bottom. If it's gold, it should be an AMD (as far as I know all the turbochips were AMD), but if it's black then it's a Cyrix.

"Will the highways on the internets become more few?" -Gee Dubya
V'Ger XT|Upgraded AT|Ultimate 386|Super VL/EISA 486|SMP VL/EISA Pentium

Reply 4 of 14, by treeman

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ok, so I was trying to take the cpu out carefully of the converter only 1 side was budging slowly because I was using a plastic pryer tool and not much to push off from the converter. Then the fan popped off and I saw this
IMG_20180820_083453.jpg
A actual AMD 5x86 chip!
I was pretty sure I would find this as I was researching before trying to open it.
images.jpg

So im quiet happy that its a real amd cpu and at the same time no need to take it out from converter as its exactly the same as my other 5x86 cpus
IMG_20180820_090610.jpg
side by side with my AMD cpu and the crappy stock fan and pretty much non-existent heatsink
IMG_20180820_091027.jpg
A after market big heatsink and fan on left I plan on installing just have to make some custom non metal clips to clip onto the converter, stock 486 heatsink + fan in middle and a heatsink that fell off a socket 1 cpu on right

Reply 5 of 14, by Anonymous Coward

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How come in the photo, the motherboard you are using looks to be a 3.3V one, yet you are still using a VRM?

"Will the highways on the internets become more few?" -Gee Dubya
V'Ger XT|Upgraded AT|Ultimate 386|Super VL/EISA 486|SMP VL/EISA Pentium

Reply 6 of 14, by treeman

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haha I was wondering if anybody will ask, its the motherboard I broke from this post Think I broke my Biostar MB-8433UUD-A

and this is how my adventure started trying to build a fast 486 again but all I had left was a 5v isa board which will never match a PCI board in overall performance but I actually enjoy the challenge of trying to push the limits of a isa system

I was using the dead board to hold the cpu while I scrub the old glue/paste off not to risk any pins bending

Reply 7 of 14, by gbeirn

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I would try repairing that board for you if you'd like. I'm in the USA so depending on where you are it may not even make sense to ship it around.

Reply 8 of 14, by treeman

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thank you for the offer but I am in Australia so shipping would not be worth it. This biostar motherboard was originally bought by me at a computer market when I was 14 or 15 so its more about sentimental value for me, working or not and also something to always look at as a reminder not to do stupid things.

I did order a luckystar 486 3v board from USA but before I received it I started this 5v project and now quiet enjoy this box so the luckystar is in my collection.

I have 2 other systems. A 386dx40 and a Pentium 133 so I kind of feel a fast 486 isa system fits somewhere exactly in the middle.

Also since my last post I added cpu paste, attached the green heatsink and added some jb weld on the edges of the cpu to the heatsink to hold it in place (the previous glue already wrecked it nicely so why not)

Ill upload a photo when it dries, then the final piece is waiting for a 40mhz crystal to try take it to 160mhz

The cpu on the converter being a ADW will be interesting to see how it overclocks, I read mixed feedback. ADW being older then ADZ and ADY which were supposedly designed for 160 operation is harder to clock, but then again I saw posts of people claiming to take ADW to 180. Time will tell

Reply 9 of 14, by The Serpent Rider

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ADW has lesser thermal threshold compared to ADZ. It's more picky when it comes to operating temperature and probably won't work stable with passive cooling.

I must be some kind of standard: the anonymous gangbanger of the 21st century.

Reply 10 of 14, by treeman

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thanks for sharing that, I guess ill try the ADW with the bigger heatsink and fan (green one from the pictures) and if not it be cutting the jb weld off with a knife and putting in the ADZ... this project never finishes

Reply 11 of 14, by Anonymous Coward

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The funny thing is though, of the five 5x86-133 chips I own, only my ADZ won't overclock to 160. My three ADWs and one BGC all do it fine.

"Will the highways on the internets become more few?" -Gee Dubya
V'Ger XT|Upgraded AT|Ultimate 386|Super VL/EISA 486|SMP VL/EISA Pentium

Reply 12 of 14, by The Serpent Rider

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Which should not be a surprise with active cooling.

I must be some kind of standard: the anonymous gangbanger of the 21st century.

Reply 13 of 14, by treeman

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not much of a update, glue dried cpu is in and working heatsink didn't feel hot to touch at all after a bit of duke nukem3d, altho it is winter here around 10c degrees in the garage where pc is in and running stock 133

test will be when crystal comes and hopefully boots at 160mhz

Screenshot_Skype_20180820_124427.png

those little grey blobs are jb weld, dont worry I applied thernal paste and smudged it nicely in the centre of the heatsink which gave it good suction, then tied it down just in case and glued the edges with jb weld which is rated at 600F so everything is tight, if I ever need to remove the heatsink I will only need to cut through the jb weld on the outside edges (hopefully)

Reply 14 of 14, by treeman

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The 40mhz crystal came today and after doing some other maintenance (swapping keyboard din plug and cleaning corrosion) I installed it.

System booted on first turn and seems stable running 160mhz!

Ran some benchmarks and played duke nukem 3d for 5 mins,. nothing crashed so far.

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I am very happy with these results and how far this upgrade went since starting with a 486dx50.