JK1984 wrote on 2026-01-26, 21:31:

I purchased a case for a build and this board came with it. I assume this is one of the many versions of the infamous PCChips boards with fake cache. All I see is v 1.7 on the top corner and a serial number on the bottom ISA slot.
I have someone willing to help me remove the fake chips and install sockets/cache. I assume that can be done with this board?

Any help would be greatly appreciated.

Seems like a winner... https://theretroweb.com/motherboards/s/pcchips-m912-v1.7-486

Yep, M912.

This era of fake cache is fascinating just in the efforts involved in advertising cache (silk screens, labels, stickers) and deception to exclude (traces to nowhere, modded BIOS, empty DIP shells.)

Not only is it more interesting to keep the fake cache installed as it's far less common than your typical 486 board, the memory performance with the UM8498F chipset without L2 cache (using EDO RAM) is strong enough that it can surpass other 486 mobo chipsets that have L2 cache, especially when running at higher bus speeds:

Re: Wow ISA BUS insanely overclocked and running DOOM at 35 FPS with an ISA ATI Mach32

Re: Wow ISA BUS insanely overclocked and running DOOM at 35 FPS with an ISA ATI Mach32

Thanks everyone. I have the sockets and cache on order, but now you have me wondering if I should leave it as is. 🤣