Sorry for the non-working pictures. I reposted them here:

Wurenji wrote on 2025-05-19, 15:12:

Sorry for the non-working pictures. I reposted them here:

It's highly recommended to just upload the pictures directly to vogons, many imgur links stop working at some point.

Nice build!

There is one thing that sticks out to me in this build, which is the power supply. Everything else looks to be pretty nice but the PSU is looking like one of those really cheap things... I do see the warranty sticker being broken so I guess it has new capacitors in it and probably will serve well.

The rest is definitely nice ~

cool build! im interested in the 45nm patch for your bios as im also dealing with the same thing on a couple of MSI boards ive got, one with a P4M800 chipset and one with a P4M900, i updated the microcode for for the last core2/quads with the 1067 cpuid, as i was planning on using an E8600, but since the boards are 1066FSB and an E8600 is 1333FSB so not possible, so the E5800 is the best option.

anyway i've got an E5400 which i got working after updating the microcode, problem is the cpu is running with a multiplier stuck at x6, vcore at 1.0v, and cpu running at 1200mhz, apparently this is known as the speedstep bug according to a user on bios-mods, someone had a similar board to mine and he disassembled some code and made a patch to activate SpeedStep on 45-nm CPUs.

do you know how this fix is applied, or did you get your bios already fixed?

Tiido wrote on 2025-05-19, 17:52:

There is one thing that sticks out to me in this build, which is the power supply. Everything else looks to be pretty nice but the PSU is looking like one of those really cheap things... I do see the warranty sticker being broken so I guess it has new capacitors in it and probably will serve well.

The rest is definitely nice ~

Thank you for your reply! These PSUs were decommissioned from net cafes and most of them are reliable after years of use. I broke the warranty sticker to replace the fan years ago because the original one is too loud and dusty.

DudeFace wrote on 2025-05-19, 18:00:

cool build! im interested in the 45nm patch for your bios as im also dealing with the same thing on a couple of MSI boards ive got, one with a P4M800 chipset and one with a P4M900, i updated the microcode for for the last core2/quads with the 1067 cpuid, as i was planning on using an E8600, but since the boards are 1066FSB and an E8600 is 1333FSB so not possible, so the E5800 is the best option.

anyway i've got an E5400 which i got working after updating the microcode, problem is the cpu is running with a multiplier stuck at x6, vcore at 1.0v, and cpu running at 1200mhz, apparently this is known as the speedstep bug according to a user on bios-mods, someone had a similar board to mine and he disassembled some code and made a patch to activate SpeedStep on 45-nm CPUs.

do you know how this fix is applied, or did you get your bios already fixed?

I had the same problem when I first tried to replace the uCode. It is caused by the mismatching CPU initialization code inside the BIOS. If you plan to run XP or later you can use ThrottleStop to circumvent this temporarily.

I got the modded BIOS from bios-mods forum, you can upload your board's info and BIOS file to apply for a modded one for free. You're on VIA which is what I'm not so familiar with, but at least for Intel chipsets, if Conroe works, Wolfdale will work.

Nice to see a Win2k build, I'ts a nice OS but often overlooked as sits between Win98 or XP.
From a Westerners point of view it's interesting the mix of what does and doesn't get translated in Chinese characters.

chinny22 wrote on 2025-05-20, 00:50:

Nice to see a Win2k build, I'ts a nice OS but often overlooked as sits between Win98 or XP.
From a Westerners point of view it's interesting the mix of what does and doesn't get translated in Chinese characters.

Actually Win2000 is common in Chinese retro community because it was in many computer classrooms and net cafes in about 01-07. In commercial environments like banks, cash registers and kiosks it survived into the 2010s, as it was considered more stable and mature than XP.

But in homes, 98SE was succeeded by XP (mostly SP1/2) because it was followed by the boom of broadband and computers being much cheaper.

Win2000 only had a short shelf life in the mind of OS marketing and i've preferred that in the pre-SP3 XP days because it wasn't so bloated with the things no one asked for. Dropped it only for LBA reasons and Steam, and Win2000 would still be period correct here as XP reluctancy was very much a thing. 😀

Wurenji wrote on 2025-05-19, 23:47:

Thank you for your reply! These PSUs were decommissioned from net cafes and most of them are reliable after years of use. I brok […]
Show full quote

Tiido wrote on 2025-05-19, 17:52:

There is one thing that sticks out to me in this build, which is the power supply. Everything else looks to be pretty nice but the PSU is looking like one of those really cheap things... I do see the warranty sticker being broken so I guess it has new capacitors in it and probably will serve well.

The rest is definitely nice ~

Thank you for your reply! These PSUs were decommissioned from net cafes and most of them are reliable after years of use. I broke the warranty sticker to replace the fan years ago because the original one is too loud and dusty.

DudeFace wrote on 2025-05-19, 18:00:

cool build! im interested in the 45nm patch for your bios as im also dealing with the same thing on a couple of MSI boards ive got, one with a P4M800 chipset and one with a P4M900, i updated the microcode for for the last core2/quads with the 1067 cpuid, as i was planning on using an E8600, but since the boards are 1066FSB and an E8600 is 1333FSB so not possible, so the E5800 is the best option.

anyway i've got an E5400 which i got working after updating the microcode, problem is the cpu is running with a multiplier stuck at x6, vcore at 1.0v, and cpu running at 1200mhz, apparently this is known as the speedstep bug according to a user on bios-mods, someone had a similar board to mine and he disassembled some code and made a patch to activate SpeedStep on 45-nm CPUs.

do you know how this fix is applied, or did you get your bios already fixed?

I had the same problem when I first tried to replace the uCode. It is caused by the mismatching CPU initialization code inside the BIOS. If you plan to run XP or later you can use ThrottleStop to circumvent this temporarily.

I got the modded BIOS from bios-mods forum, you can upload your board's info and BIOS file to apply for a modded one for free. You're on VIA which is what I'm not so familiar with, but at least for Intel chipsets, if Conroe works, Wolfdale will work.

Thanks for the reply 😀 ill look into throttle stop and see how it goes, i could do with a permanent solution as i plan on running 98 to win10,
the bios you've got was probably modded by the same person on bios-mods as the fixed bios i mentioned, thats probably the only person who knows the solution to the problem.
also theres a thread on here where many users are having the same issue, i havent seen anyone on here mention a permanent bios fix so others might not be aware there is one.

i wasnt sure if that user was still active on bios-mods, so didnt want to bother them with help on a board thats nearly 20years old but its an option i'll keep in mind,
for the time being i'll just make do with xeon 3070 that came with the board. ive been having a read of the asrock 775dual thread on the best options for cpu, as the boards are a somewhat similar spec i might find another option.

I recall back in the day that I used to use Windows 2000 Advanced Server at home. I got it from MSDN at work. I seem to recall it being lighter than Windows 2000 Pro if you disable the "server" stuff that's enabled on it by default and enable the quality of life features that a home user needs. Maybe the improvement was placebo effect though. Haha.

Wurenji wrote on 2025-05-19, 15:07:

- CPU: Intel Pentium Dual-Core E5800 @ 3.20 GHz
- Graphics: UNIKA Radeon X800 XT AGP
- Audio: Sound Blaster Audigy 2 ZS

Hi, what are you planning to do with this?
I built something almost the same.
- E8400
- X800 GTO 16SP
- Aureal Vortex 2 audiocard
- Win2K
But the strategies of 1998 finally went to 60 FPS. After all, 3 GHz and 6 MB cache. BUT Aureal drivers know nothing about Simultaneous MultiThreading and go crazy - at two active cores A3D sound is twice as slow.

OK. Replaced by
- Audigy 4
- Windows XP
And... very slow. Because X800 is not for advanced games of late XP.

Disabling 1 core in Core 2 DUO is a pity. Install Celeron 440 and try to overclock it to 3.6 GHz? But it only has 1 MB of cache...

shevalier wrote on 2025-05-22, 17:11:

Disabling 1 core in Core 2 DUO is a pity. Install Celeron 440 and try to overclock it to 3.6 GHz? But it only has 1 MB of cache...

Celeron 440 has only 512 Kb of cache, although in games before 2005 this should be enough (Northwood P4 has the same). And for later games x800 will be weak regardless of CPU.

shevalier wrote on 2025-05-22, 17:11:

Hi, what are you planning to do with this? I built something almost the same. - E8400 - X800 GTO 16SP - Aureal Vortex 2 audiocar […]
Show full quote

Wurenji wrote on 2025-05-19, 15:07:

- CPU: Intel Pentium Dual-Core E5800 @ 3.20 GHz
- Graphics: UNIKA Radeon X800 XT AGP
- Audio: Sound Blaster Audigy 2 ZS

Hi, what are you planning to do with this?
I built something almost the same.
- E8400
- X800 GTO 16SP
- Aureal Vortex 2 audiocard
- Win2K
But the strategies of 1998 finally went to 60 FPS. After all, 3 GHz and 6 MB cache. BUT Aureal drivers know nothing about Simultaneous MultiThreading and go crazy - at two active cores A3D sound is twice as slow.

OK. Replaced by
- Audigy 4
- Windows XP
And... very slow. Because X800 is not for advanced games of late XP.

Disabling 1 core in Core 2 DUO is a pity. Install Celeron 440 and try to overclock it to 3.6 GHz? But it only has 1 MB of cache...

I'm playing games mainly under Win2000, and I had no issue.
For later XP gaming it's always suggested to grab a PCIe mainboard (e.g. G41) and a newer graphics card with unified shaders.
I have another 775 system, Dell Vostro 230s with E8400/G41/HD8570, mainly for some earlier Linux tasks, not gaming, but it should work fine with games.
E8400 is perfectly fine with most titles of its time, but if you want to be extreme you can get a Sandy Bridge or Ivy Bridge.

leileilol wrote on 2025-05-20, 05:39:

Win2000 only had a short shelf life in the mind of OS marketing and i've preferred that in the pre-SP3 XP days because it wasn't so bloated with the things no one asked for. Dropped it only for LBA reasons and Steam, and Win2000 would still be period correct here as XP reluctancy was very much a thing. 😀

In my mind it lived for a long time. For the LBA48 problem, you can modify the install image using nLite to enable it by default.
I'm using an modified ISO from "Infinite Unknown", it has LBA48 enabled and slipstreamed with updates and storage and network drivers until Aug 2008. I installed this onto a Seagate 500GB and the full capacity can be recognized at installation. However it is only available in Chinese.