Big Pink wrote on 2022-09-08, 20:56:

Spent another not inconsiderable sum on a Model M even though I already have one. Some covet the IBM logo, but there's something more I've sought: the Made in Greenock label. Centuries of shipbuilding eclipses 30 years of Silicon Glen in local history, to my chagrin. My dad contends 'Assembled in United Kingdom' is more accurate as the keyboards were made elsewhere and merely bolted together in the EEC to get around import restrictions. Let me have this.

Well guess mine is of the more accurate ones... They did lower the quality with every new generation... If we go as back as IBM beam Springs, these was inanse, the material used was as much as x3 Model M gen 3 (blue logo)... Then the Model F did replace Beam Springs, and was also lower quality and cheaper to produce, same with Model M... Ppl state that the made in Mexico Model M13 stealth black, was even more inferior, and the letters did scrub off, the keys, also no caps on the keys... I did have before Model M gen 3, such as urs, made in Greenock, sure my current one Gen 2 is higher quality, BUT is not like 50% better, but only 10%. So even if the label is missleading, is still about the same...

And the old one same as urs... At least is not made in Mexico, or some other shitty place. 3Dfx Voodoo III cards are about all made in the STB Systems factory in Mexico, but there are few from China, never saw much of a difference...

Bought a Goldstar Viewmax GVT-9100M

Radical Vision wrote on 2022-09-08, 10:00:

Then maybe, a word of advice, ppl just to speak with the seller, and tell them exactly how to pack/ box, and prepare for the shi […]
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PcBytes wrote on 2022-09-07, 23:29:

Looking at how you guys received smashed boxes, I fear for how will my ASUS F8S laptop arrive (technically today since it's already 2AM here). Here's hopes it will be intact.

Then maybe, a word of advice, ppl just to speak with the seller, and tell them exactly how to pack/ box, and prepare for the shipping, what will be shipped. And ofc disclosure from u as buyer, if the primate seller, promice to pack properly the stuff, and when they arrive are with shitty packaging, well then u tell him before that, there will be negative feedback, and he will lose money, as buyer wont pay for shipping back... If is me, i will be pissed, that i did pay shipping for nothing...

That way i think these cases of idiots box stuff, not the proper way, and destroying them will be reduced alot...
Just my 1.5 cents here...

Well, fortunately for me, most of the sellers I had to deal with have had reputable scores on the website I frequent (OLX). This one came fine (although it had some funky oily stuff on the LCD cover that I couldn't pinpoint as to what it is - it did resemble paint thinner but less strong - kinda like some detergent or glass/lens cleaning solvent.

Anyways - the machine itself came out fine - I had to open it up to the last screw though, as ASUS, in their infinite stupidity, decided it was a good idea to hide the CMOS battery slot (which btw, it's a standard PC sized CR2030 socket!) right next to the WLAN/Robson Turbomemory (yes, this thing actually has a special minicard with two Intel branded NAND chips on it!!) and cover it so that you have to dismantle the whole machine to get to it.

I figure I'll leave some specs for the machine - Core 2 Duo T7500 (to be replaced by a T6400 tho), Geforce 8600M GT 256MB (G84-600-A2, kinda rare to see such a low count card) in a rather proprietary MXM format (similar in design to standard MXM, but its orientation is flipped.), 200GB Fujitsu HDD I had from an Sony Vaio I upgraded, as well as a Hitachi T40N DVD-RW drive (originally had a T20N that I wasn't really entrusting to use.)

Next up is an iGP/UMA version of an Acer Aspire 5530 that I'm going to be working on. I have found a MXM enabled board from a repair shop my friend owns and I'll be getting the respective heatsink from him as well - tried to test it without a HSF but no dice as it enters thermal protection rather quickly. It's been reflowed (his board, not the standard HD3200 UMA/IGP one that I will get with the 5530), I know, but oh well, not gonna have a big issue if it doesn't work. After all, the only thing I would have benefited from using a MXM enabled board was just Hybrid Crossfire between the IGP and the 3470 I chose for it.

Picked up one of these White bezel LCD Displays at bargain price.
Its a View Sonic VE175.
The Stand needs Some retro bright but the rest of the Display is in real good condition.
Looks just like a CRT from the front

I just Love those little birds. ( Little finches )

bjwil1991 wrote on 2022-09-09, 03:56:

Bought a Goldstar Viewmax GVT-9100M

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Nice find that things pretty cool!

chrismeyer6 wrote on 2022-09-09, 11:42:

bjwil1991 wrote on 2022-09-09, 03:56:

Bought a Goldstar Viewmax GVT-9100M

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Nice find that things pretty cool!

GREAT BIG BOX ...itty bitty view screen

Would be even cooler if it was BetaMax and not VHS. <---I now await the people who ask WTF is BetaMax and then the old farts who remember both using it and hiring movies from the video store in that format.

I know BetaMax was before VHS and it only had 1 tape reel that was visible and the other side was not. That and magnetic tape which can fit up to 5 hours of shows, movies, etc. If my memory serves, the BetaMax lasted from 1975-about 2002 when recorders weren't being produced since the sharp decline in the late 1980s and the last beta tape was manufactured in 2016 and had ceased since then.

bjwil1991 wrote on 2022-09-09, 15:12:

I know BetaMax was before VHS and it only had 1 tape reel that was visible and the other side was not. That and magnetic tape which can fit up to 5 hours of shows, movies, etc. If my memory serves, the BetaMax lasted from 1975-about 2002 when recorders weren't being produced since the sharp decline in the late 1980s and the last beta tape was manufactured in 2016 and had ceased since then.

It was better than VHS in everyway except ...Sony owned it.

Repo Man11 wrote on 2022-09-07, 05:41:

Meatball wrote on 2022-09-07, 01:16:

Shponglefan wrote on 2022-09-07, 00:51:

Oof, that really sucks. What was in the box?

A bunch of 4, 5, 6, and 7 series AGP cards.

Tonight I found an even better deal on an X800, $20.00 shipped. I hope this one works.

"If something seems too good to be true, it probably is."

Heavy sigh when I opened up the box to see this. I took it out and laid it on my grounded anti static mat to take the bubble wrap off, then tried it in two different motherboards just to be sure; nothing but POST beeps in both, not even a hint of a display. Maybe it was in working order before it was wrapped in bubble wrap and packed in static generating packing peanuts, but this is now an ex video card.

Got this big tower Microway today. Unsoldered the battery as soon as I got back of course. Not much damage, but applied some vinegar to be sure.

Unfortunately not the original mainboard, but happy with it.

PD2JK wrote on 2022-09-09, 20:27:

Got this big tower Microway today. Unsoldered the battery as soon as I got back of course. Not much damage, but applied some vinegar to be sure.

Unfortunately not the original mainboard, but happy with it.

Very nice and I find it beautiful.
Congrats!

Repo Man11 wrote on 2022-09-09, 19:19:

Repo Man11 wrote on 2022-09-07, 05:41:

Meatball wrote on 2022-09-07, 01:16:

A bunch of 4, 5, 6, and 7 series AGP cards.

Tonight I found an even better deal on an X800, $20.00 shipped. I hope this one works.

"If something seems too good to be true, it probably is."

Heavy sigh when I opened up the box to see this. I took it out and laid it on my grounded anti static mat to take the bubble wrap off, then tried it in two different motherboards just to be sure; nothing but POST beeps in both, not even a hint of a display. Maybe it was in working order before it was wrapped in bubble wrap and packed in static generating packing peanuts, but this is now an ex video card.

You are not alone.
Sorry for your misfortune.

Repo Man11 wrote on 2022-09-09, 19:19:

Repo Man11 wrote on 2022-09-07, 05:41:

Meatball wrote on 2022-09-07, 01:16:

A bunch of 4, 5, 6, and 7 series AGP cards.

Tonight I found an even better deal on an X800, $20.00 shipped. I hope this one works.

"If something seems too good to be true, it probably is."

Heavy sigh when I opened up the box to see this. I took it out and laid it on my grounded anti static mat to take the bubble wrap off, then tried it in two different motherboards just to be sure; nothing but POST beeps in both, not even a hint of a display. Maybe it was in working order before it was wrapped in bubble wrap and packed in static generating packing peanuts, but this is now an ex video card.

I wonder... Did u try to clean the slot on the card with 95% alcohol ? Since i saw many video cards and some RAM sticks that did not work, till i did clean their slots, some times even multiple times like 4-5, and after that the damn thing will start working... If the card is still on u, just try that, it may fix it for u...

Just received a Pentium MMX SBC. Good specs:
MICRO INDUSTRIES 9700931-0002A 5X00105G01 CONTROL CIRCUIT BOARD

Pair of 4 pin headers for PS/2 keyboard and mouse.
8 layers PCB (!!)
Phoenix bios (called Pico Bios, Product 3).
IDE0 is CF socket. There is solder holes for floppy and IDE1, all connected and have components populated. All you need is install the pin headers on them. Boot selection set by a one jumper.
Intel TX chipset with 512K cache
BGA 2.0V Pentium MMX 266MHz covered by small chipset style black heatsink fastened with pair of sprung (real metal springs) pegs.
Soldered 4x SDRAM ICs 32MB total with 144pin SDRAM for expansion.
3 x LAN Intel Ports each has 82559ER ethernet IC capable of 10/100
2 COM ports, one is 9 pin and other 2x5 pin header driven by two MAX211EEA1
Super I/o SMSC chipset.

Requires backplane ISA and PCI. I got one already. Will try it out later.

Cheers,

Radical Vision wrote on 2022-09-09, 22:59:

Repo Man11 wrote on 2022-09-09, 19:19:

Repo Man11 wrote on 2022-09-07, 05:41:

Tonight I found an even better deal on an X800, $20.00 shipped. I hope this one works.

"If something seems too good to be true, it probably is."

Heavy sigh when I opened up the box to see this. I took it out and laid it on my grounded anti static mat to take the bubble wrap off, then tried it in two different motherboards just to be sure; nothing but POST beeps in both, not even a hint of a display. Maybe it was in working order before it was wrapped in bubble wrap and packed in static generating packing peanuts, but this is now an ex video card.

I wonder... Did u try to clean the slot on the card with 95% alcohol ? Since i saw many video cards and some RAM sticks that did not work, till i did clean their slots, some times even multiple times like 4-5, and after that the damn thing will start working... If the card is still on u, just try that, it may fix it for u...

Yes, I tried that. I didn't think it would work in this case, but I wanted to leave no stone unturned in case the seller tries to weasel out of giving me a refund. Same reason I tried it in two known working motherboards.

DFI 286-12E and some ISA cards ranging from 8-bit SCSI (will modify it to have the SCSI boot ROM), Aztech Sound Galaxy NX Pro non-16, and SIIG EIDE Super I/O 16-bit card.

bjwil1991 wrote on 2022-09-10, 05:42:

DFI 286-12E and some ISA cards ranging from 8-bit SCSI (will modify it to have the SCSI boot ROM), Aztech Sound Galaxy NX Pro non-16, and SIIG EIDE Super I/O 16-bit card.

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I have the exact same Aztech Sound Galaxy NX Pro but mine is very noisy. However, looking at yours and a photo of mine, I see that on mine the tantilum at DC4 (bottom right) is entrily missing. Maybe that is why mine sounds the way it does... 🤔

Repo Man11 wrote on 2022-09-09, 23:07:

Radical Vision wrote on 2022-09-09, 22:59:

Repo Man11 wrote on 2022-09-09, 19:19:

"If something seems too good to be true, it probably is."

Heavy sigh when I opened up the box to see this. I took it out and laid it on my grounded anti static mat to take the bubble wrap off, then tried it in two different motherboards just to be sure; nothing but POST beeps in both, not even a hint of a display. Maybe it was in working order before it was wrapped in bubble wrap and packed in static generating packing peanuts, but this is now an ex video card.

I wonder... Did u try to clean the slot on the card with 95% alcohol ? Since i saw many video cards and some RAM sticks that did not work, till i did clean their slots, some times even multiple times like 4-5, and after that the damn thing will start working... If the card is still on u, just try that, it may fix it for u...

Yes, I tried that. I didn't think it would work in this case, but I wanted to leave no stone unturned in case the seller tries to weasel out of giving me a refund. Same reason I tried it in two known working motherboards.

I see.. Well i asked that, cuz did not saw u to mention, about cleaning the AGP slot of the card.. I had at least 2 times cards that did not show display, unless i did clean their slots 5 damn times with 95% alcohol, and after that they did work fine.. So some times even 2 times cleaning the slot may not fix it.. If is from ebay the seller cant do shit, if u complain to the admin there... But outside of places like ebay, i ask the seller if he will take back his thing if there is problem, or it does not work everyone (or most) say ok.

Last time i got SeaSonic SS1050 XP3 Platinum for dirt cheap in great condition, boxes and all, for only 70 euro, the seller did state in the AD that there was no missing stuff from the cables. I did not check the PSU when i did buy it from him, but a bit later, since i was in a hurry. It turned out, that fucker did not include the damn CPU cable, even 1 of them and this PSU comes with whole 2 CPU 8 pin cables. Also there was melted SATA cable, on both the PSU and one of the cables (weak point of the SeaSonic X and SS series..), the melted is fine it have more connectors, but the CPU cable is a pain in the ass really ( i still look for a cable 🤣 ). When i asked the seller if he will refund me back if there is problem he said sure. But still he did lie about the cables and the melting. But since the price for that very high end unit was good, i decided to keep it and look for cable. I have cables from Corsair PSUs HX and AX series, COU cables too, but they are not compatible ofc.. Asked some colleagues and old PC HW enthusiasts about SeaSonic CPU cable, only 1 had some, and the crap did not fit into the CPU connector on the PSU block 🤣 ... Did look in some stores they had SeaSonic CPU cable, but was also not fitting lmao ... Guess the PSUs with permanent 24 pin + 8 pin +12v are better 🤣 ....

I picked up this Tandy 1000 the other day. An older version than the first computer we had in our household. It is in good overall condition and came with a DM130 printer, original documentation including manuals and receipts, and lots of original software. Unfortunately, no games. Everything seems to be in working order with exception of the top 5 1/4 drive. I still need to test the printer. There was also a neat little piece of history included.

SilverHawk wrote on 2022-09-10, 19:24:

I picked up this Tandy 1000 the other day. An older version than the first computer we had in our household. It is in good overall condition and came with a DM130 printer, original documentation including manuals and receipts, and lots of original software. Unfortunately, no games. Everything seems to be in working order with exception of the top 5 1/4 drive. I still need to test the printer. There was also a neat little piece of history included.

Nice! Tandy 1000's are great machines. That CM-11 monitor looks in really good shape which is always a good thing for vintage CRTs.