I knew I wanted a CNC before.
Now I crave one!
Great work, lovely system! 👍

Welcome to the forum btw.😃

Hehe, thank u. But u have to invest so much time for cnc projects. 🙁

Ok, lets start to present the fullactive 2way speakers. The speakers called CT227MK II.
The developer use a 3inch bass/midrange driver with an aluminiummembrane ( I don’t like Aluminiummembrane. It sounds to fat…). The bass for realmusic is almost enough. But for electronic u need a subwoofer. Later more… And he use a 18mm titancoated tweeter ( I don’t like aluminium, and titan coated tweeter. They sounds to aggressive). I don’t change the speaker housing for this project but I build it a little bit bigger, but in separate cell to place the china amplifier. Its just a small one for small speakers. The material is MDF und walnut veneer and black leather + nickel plated copper and 2 small polished black acrylparts. At the buttons its still not finish yet even iam almost finish since 8 years. Hehe. Iam too busy 🙁 But later I will print some covers for it. Ok lets see the pictures.

Ok, lets start to the last part. The Subwoofer. Now I have more skills in hifi, I know what I like, have more experience then 2013 so i can build better laudspeakers. I select an Omnes Audio SW5.01. I simulate the subwoofer in Winisd. The result is a 7l vented housing. Port: 150 x 30mm. The simulation said I will get 37hz @ -3db. Its pretty good for a small 5 Inch subwoofer. It fits perfect to my CT 227MKII.

I use a lot of material, the cover and the base r 35mm thick. I use also Walnut and black leather. This subwoofer I build few month before. I and my neighbours really have fun with the Subwoofer hehe. I use also a small Chinaactivemodul. I tested it before @ my SW6.01 ( it’s a 6inch Subwoofer in a 14l vented housing. For a normal use is a 6 Inch subwoofer sufficient. Since I have the SW601 I never use my 12inch Subwoofer in a 70l vented housing hehe). The 5 Inch subwoofer is a little bit limited in level. Buts its fine. Its just for a pc.

Now iam done 

I would just like to congratulate you on such a great project - it looks amazing. The 1st revision I could kinda tell it would struggle a bit, with just a single heatpipe - my thermalright Si-97 that could cool a barton 2500 mobile, that had 4 heatpipes! and a fan.
But it's great how you've progressed from there 😀 I too have the M7NCG-400, the only MATX nf2 board that can still overclock, to my knowledge?
The addition of the video card - the fact that there's still room to fit more in from there, is amazing - and the soundcard too. Changing such a restrictive design, is really tough.

Those speaker cabinets look awesome too 😀

Yeah it was a lot of work. But the result is nice 😀
If I had known beforehand that a n extra sound card and graphics card would be required, I would have planned it from the start.
In retrospect, it wasn't easy. But it fits 😀 Even it was a lot of work. Tomorrow i will order 2 new risercards.
I hope they works to place the GPU inside. But i guess, Midisound is impossible. This is why i prepare for Dosbox.
But i dont know how to use Dosbox and wich version. Everyone is welcome to teach me.

The thing is, its absolutly impossible to find a board. The Boards didnt fits. Its not a problem to find a board with viachipset
or change the strategy and take a Pentium 4. The problem is, i need µ ATX, space for the coolingunits and it have to be compatible
with the SSD Flashmodule. Also the ATX connecter at the board is important bcoz, if i placed the videocard, in this area is no space for it 🙁

The M7nCG is a really nice µATX board. I guess some other Boards works also. But i dont know wich hehe.
Usually one pipe works too. One pipe have 40W @ 40°C. Ok, the CPU have 45W.... but i could underclock the cpu, what i did.
One pipe is borderline. But 2 pipes r totally fine. If i remember well i had 65°C with two pipes. Its not totally good, but accepable.
Its a mobile Cpu. This cpu could be 100°C. With 2 pipes more, my temperatur is 10 degrees less. The more as performance is not that good hehe
But its fine. It looks cooler and i have more space for overclocking. But i cant. I still have freezes since i use one heatpipe.
The Problem is not the temperature. The problem is the picopsu. I ordered a new psu (250W, the old one have 150W) and hope it will works.
If it dont works, i will place a new small 40mm fan in top of the psu.

Btw. The left cooler have 39°C and the right cooler have 41°C. The heatpipes works fine 😀
But i guess i will be afraid if i place the gpu inside. 30W more TDP in the case. So, more temperature in the case 🙁
Its not good for the picopsu 🙁 ... naja i will see hehe

Hi,

it looks like I have to concentrate on Dosbox. The Auriel Vortex2 does not run under Dos either.

Meanwhile I tried the Auriel Vortex 2 on another board with SIS chips. Runs without any problems. Even under Windows. Since there is almost no compatible board to be found, I only have this option with Dosbox. Anyone who can help me with Dosbox is welcome.

I'll continue next year with the graphics card and a new riser card.

Since the system is currently only running stable at 1 GHz, I will start a short test with another Picopsu next week. Measurements have shown that the PC draws 75W under load. That's not much, and the power supply should be able to. The internal temperature of the case of over 40 ° C probably bothers the power supply. The temperature problem cannot be solved either, as the large passive heat sinks increase the housing temperature significantly. In version 4, a 40mm fan should be placed over the Picopsu in the event of instability. Furthermore, the two case fans are controlled with a potentiometer. Version 4 will be available in summer 2022 unless otherwise stated. Then all bugs should be eliminated 😀

Hi,
I had no rest last night and once installed the potentiometer and milled the button. I also placed a 40mm fan over the power supply, which meant that the PC no longer just turned off. Currently at standard clock 1833MHZ 54 ° C CPU temp in the closed case and all fans at full load.

I am fully satisfied. The days will come with a few more cables so that I can control all the fans. If all the fans are running at their lowest speed and the box is stable, I'm more than satisfied. Then next year I only have to install the riser card with the new graphics card on the hardware side. That will be another number because the case temperature will rise again quite a bit due to the graphics card.

The milling of the button was again a bad number. The used Alucast was pretty much smeared. Already after 3 seconds there was built-up edges. So I had to sacrifice a single tooth cutter with a polished flute, which offered suboptimal cutting quality despite the finishing pass. But it doesn't matter. When it is anodized, you can hardly see it. The anodizing takes place in January.

I am currently testing the stability with one of two low-speed fans. So far no problems with 1500MHZ.

Hi, there won't be much more to report. The riser card was still in the States Wednesday noon and was here Friday noon.

Kp how they did that .... Anyway. Riser card is built in and the Radeon 6800Pro runs like clockwork.

Currently I am doing more benches because of the fan and the potentiometer. The 40mm power supply fan must turn to 100%.

Otherwise the box will go out again 🙁

Currently I'm at 50 ° C @ 1Ghz with Graka. At 1.8Ghz I will probably scratch the 60 ° C mark. Doesn't interfere with the graphics card and CPU.

I hope that both case fans can still turn to 50%. They are then in an inaudible area.

I'm really happy that the riser card works and that the system is now stable. The 40mm fan makes a bit of noise, but ok.

You have to accept a smear. The rotary knob will be anodized in January.

Project Dosbox then later. This is a new big thing for me. I have to have a clear head for that.

So, the 1GB patch for Windows 98SE is now running.

Since I was successful in terms of sound technology with the P4MAM-V, and mobile CPUs with TDP are an option, I bought a P4M with 2.4 GHz. Unfortunately it only ran at 1.2Ghz. The fault is a fixed multi on 10. The Celerons don't have that. So I bought a Celeron that also ran at 2Ghz. However, I can't set Vcore in the bios. So I had to use a soldering iron.

I had to unsolder an SMD resistor (R22), which didn't seem that easy at first because the component is only about 1x2mm in size. But in practice it wasn't a problem. In addition, the IC (Hip6302) that is responsible for the Vcore must be modified. To be precise, a pin needs to be removed. VID 4. This gives us a fixed Vcore of 1.2V

In practice, with a standard 1.6V core, I have a power consumption of 85W under load. After the Vcoremod I am now at a very good 60W under load. That means around 25W less TDP, which helps me extremely. Because of the high housing temperature, cooling is an extremely important factor so that the power supply does not break down. At 60W I am even slightly below the value of a Mobile Bartons 1800+ without any major loss of performance. (previous configuration)

In the meantime I have dismantled everything again and am now waiting until I can measure the board. The heat pipe cooler and a new IOShild for the case/board are then constructed. Finally, the recording for the Msata module must be constructed as a new hard drive as well as the sound card.

This would mean that my retro dream PC would be finished and fully functional, which after 9 years is about time. 🤣
Big thanks to TZK who told me that I should unsolder the R22 and raise pin 1 on the HIP6302.

Things aren't looking bad for project completion. I would like to complete the project by the end of the year. I did some tests with the MSI P4MAM-V, especially with a V-mod where you have to unsolder an IC pin from the mainboard in order to reduce the Vcore in the BIOS. The Mobile Celeron 2.5Ghz is fast enough for all applications.

So I measured the board and inserted it into the case in CAD. Furthermore, there should now also be FrontUSB, the ENSonic SB128 PCI was installed and the cooling was updated. I will have to mill new radiator bodies for the CPU and chipset and I will use 2 pieces. Continue to use the 5mm heat pipes that are currently in there. I still have to order a 6mm pipe.

It looks like a new window needs to be put in because the power supply has moved to a different location. The fan must be placed directly above the power supply. Unfortunately. It is too hot in the case for the power supply. Allegedly. By changing the platform I save about 20W TDP. In addition, normal ram modules can no longer be installed because they collide with the graphics card. So I had to organize low profile RAM that I found at Electromyne. Currently there are 2 pieces. PC3200 512MB modules in it. Unfortunately they are no longer available on the market. However, I found 256MB modules at Elektromyne. That's enough for everything I want to do. The highest requirement is GTA Vice City.

The Msata 256GB still gives me a bit of a headache. The system lags a bit every now and then. I'll have to see if it's actually the disk and if so, whether it can be patched somehow. There are now 2 spare parts for each component. If something breaks, I can easily replace it. The exception is a PCI riser card of which I only have a replacement card and the AGP riser card from the States which is completely overpriced at 100 USD. But I hope that everything will last for the next 20 years.

Definitely no advantage if you're stuck in the early 2000s. You waste a lot of money and time on electronic waste. But at least we got there soon. Dos works, 3DFX support and games up to 2005 can be played smoothly with the highest compatibility. Incl. Midisound/FMSynth. It's probably one of the longest PC projects ever but whatever. Looks good, is quiet and fun.

I'll try to mill the 3 aluminum parts next month. Then I can send them to the Nickler and have the parts anodized straight away. Among other things, the rotary knob of the pot.

Hi,

almost done with milling. Everything what i could check, i checked already and it fits.

Update to a new board, CPU, MSata SSD and new cooling unit + an external soundcard and front USB.

damn as a lead cnc machinist, this makes me smile. awesome work !!!

Hi, finally iam done. Naja almost. 3things r at my todolist.
The pc cant have a restart. If I restart the pc, the pc will shutdown and then I get a blackscreen. Need to mill a new Window bcoz I don’t need a fan at the top of the powersupply. Some driverissues with the Voodoo1. Tomb Raider 2 and Redident Evil works. Older Games like Carmageddon or Shadow Warrior don’t works 

But iam satisfied so far. And the next update will follow in a couple of years. The system works and looking good and I don’t have coolingproblems even I expect some.

The start of the marriage was not easy. Some Blackscreens or some other issues. Voltmod is suddenly impossible. Pc don’t starts and turn off right away  So I choose my replacementboard No. 2. I ordered some SMD resistors and will solder the resistor at the board I removed it last year. Then the board should be work again. Even not, don’t worry. I ordered one of the last boards at the market last night from romania. Then I have 3 boards again if something will broken.

The temps r pretty good. Chipset 57°C under load and CPU max 60°C under load.
Powerconsumption should be more less than the Sockel A system bcoz the powersupply don’t need a fan. It makes me easier to replace the Casewindow in a couple of years.

After the benchmarks I tested the Midisound in Blood with the SB128 PCI. And it works fine without any problem. So its an improvement compared to the last update  And of course I love the front USB especially for different kind of gamepads and USB stick.

The Msata SSD 256GB is also a big advantages compared to the 32gb SSDflashmodul. I guess I will not get problems with diskspace anymore. Overall, the update was completely successful and iam totally satisfied with the result. And no needs to suffer in future of still working at this project. The driverproblem with the 3DFX card is not a big deal. Also the dont working restart… I don’t care… And the new window is just a cosmetic problem. No needs to be in rush for the next improvement.

Attached the last pix for the moment:

Im surprised Voodoo 1 works at all with CPU this fast, usually you get glitches or crash without slowing down below ~400MHz.

Hi, the first P4MAM works again. Some years ago I removed Pin 1 from an IC and a small SMD resistor from the board. In this time I had used a moble Celerons and can adjust the voltage. Some month ago, I tested the system again and I had a blackscreen. Then I took an original P4MAM and everything works fine. So my task was repairing the first P4MAM.

Soldering the pin 1 at the IC was not the problem with my tools. But for the SMD resistor, my tools was too big. I asked in an other forum what I need to buy. One question and 200 useless answers. So I made my 2mm solderingtip smaller. Around 0.5mm. Now it should works to solder the resistor at the board. And it did. It looks not nice, coz I used too much solder, but at least it works. The blackscreen turned into a normal screen and I can go into the bios.

I didn’t made a burn in test. But it will follow after my 3 other boards died.
I soldered a smd resister already at a cpu last year. With this tip, I had need 4h. I told to me: Never again with such kind of tip. This is why I grinding the original Tip to smaller dimensions. And it works absolutely fine. After 10min I was done. 10 miniutes later I was happy coz the action was successful.

The new window is still on the waitinglist. I guess minimum the next 2-3 years. The driverissues does still exist by the 3DFX Voodoo1. The inofficial 3DFX support of Germany said that a Voodoo 2 is a better choice. But I had just problems with this card. Lets see whats up. May be I will order a new Voodoo 2 if I cant solve the problem with the driver of the Voodoo1.

Awesome CnC work! Everything looks great - but I have a few questions and suggestions:

Al_bundy wrote on 2021-12-18, 16:29:

Kp how they did that .... Anyway. Riser card is built in and the Radeon 6800Pro runs like clockwork.

There is no such video card. Did you perhaps mean Radeon 9600 PRO? The card in the pics does look a lot like an Asus or Abit Radeon 9600.

Socket A platform is a bit hot for that form factor, going with a mobile CPU was a good choice, but you will need more heatpipes, especially with a 2500+.

Is the goal of this build to run win98 or dos games? Because if you built it for 98, the 2500+ will bring no benefit, just make heat. An 1700 to 2000+ would be much better suited, while still being overkill for 98 era games. Better yet, a socket 370 platform would be even better - much less heat, and some boards also come with the benefit of an ISA slot, useful for pure dos.

If you want to stick with socket A, I recommend you ditch the nforce motherboard and look for a decent board with a VIA chipset. It plays really well with 98. Nforce 2... not so much. I've tried my hand at a few win98 nforce builds, and have experienced the same issues as you - crashes, freezing, and some instability under 98, but all 3 machines ran flawlessly under XP. Several different boards (asus, asrock, abit), same symptoms, the common denominator being the nforce 2 platform. Switched them all out to VIA based boards (KT880 and KT400A) and all problems went away.

If dos games are the main focus, then Socket A is not really appropriate. In my opinion anything over a pentium II or K6-2 is way to fast, but some people managed to get Pentium 3 platforms to work perfectly fine for 80% of all DOS games - Socket 370 boards are rather easy to find, lots of them also have an ISA slot, and most socket 370 CPUs are much cooler then socket A and socket 478 parts.

That's actually a FIC branded 9600:

https://www.tiger-technik.de/en/Grafikkarten/ … g471::9376.html

Hi the Target is:
Gamingpower for games until 2004
Dosgames from 1996
Quiet system
Small system
Midisound ( impossible with nforce even with the auriel Vortex 2)

Its a Radeon 9600 of His.

I didnt care what kind of OS. I tested XP, 95, 98 and 98SE. The best results i had with Win98Se even with nforce 2. No problems.
I never had a coolingissue with the cpu and withe videocard. I had just a coolingissue with the powersupply. Coz the Aluminiumheatsinks heated the case more than 50°C.
This temperature dont like the powersupply especially if it works in Load.

In the end So 478 was the best choice i have ever made. I saved 10-15watts to So 462. It means the TDP is less and the powersupply is cooler. And with a via chipset, finally i have Midisound in DOS.
Coolingissue of the videocard/cpu was never a problem. One heatpipes could transfer 25-35W. It depends if its a 5mm diameter or 6mm diameter heatpipe. I use 5mm and 6mm. I started with one heatpipe and the cpu works stable. Later the system got an update of 4 heatpipes. Overkill. Actually i work with 3 heatpipes. Also overkill but it works. Iam satisfied with the result and happy that iam done .fFnally. The cpus have a TDP of 25-45W. It depends of the cpu and the voltage. So 1-2 pipes would be perfect.