Finally got some pictures up. they dont look great, but I'll re-take them again soon.

3DFX monster rig:

MSI master L Dual socket A motherboard
2x AMD 2800+ Mp processors
2gb ECC Registered ddr-400 cas 2 Kingston Hyperx ram (ecc is off)
3DFX VOODOO 5 5500, stock settings, aftermarket coolers.
Creative Soundblaster Audigy 2
100gb hard drive + 20gb "windows drive"
gigabit ethernet

I mostly play Diablo 2 and Quake 3 based games. I LOVE ST:VOY elite force. 😁

Next system I'm building is a Dual pentium pro system. There are a lot of things still in limbo with this system. For starters, its not powerful enough to run a pair of voodoo2's, but kinda overkill for late dos/early windows games. i.e. starcraft, diablo, carmageddon. My big holdup is a proper case. The daughercard gets in the way of the hard drive cage on EVERY case I've tried. Anyway specs are as follows:

Asus P/I-P65UP5 with C-P6ND daughtercard
2x 200mhz Pentium pro processors (@ 233mhz) with 1MB cache each
512MB BEDO ram
3D Labs Permedia 2 video card (for 2d)
2x 12mb voodoo2 video cards (for 3d)
Creative Soundblaster AWE64 Gold

Last but not least is my recently finished Dos gamer
AMD 80386DX-40
Cyrix Fastmath coprocessor
32mb 60ns ram
256kb cache
Orchid Prodesigner IIs (ET4000AX chipset) 1MB ram
Soundblaster CT3600 with 2MB ram
3com 10mb Ethernet
6.4GB IDE Hard drive with Lite-on 40x CD
StarTrek phasor mouse 😁

People say that math co-processors really aren't used but I have found that Sim city does. If anyone has any ideas of how to benchmark this, my ears are open.

Tetrium wrote:

Specs? :D […]
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keropi wrote:

here are my 2 machines that I use: […]
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here are my 2 machines that I use:

1. Tualatin 1.4ghz pIII with voodoo5 and sblive :

-snip-

2. p200mmx with a riva128ZX , sb16+db50xg and a LAPC-I :

-snap-

Specs? 😁

Btw, I like both those cases!
I like ATX cases with room for a 12cm case fan and the AT case looks neat and clean 😉

😁
yeah the cases are nice (I also like the babyAT one, it is clean!) and the vento case was needed as well as a copper heatsink for the 1.4ghz p3, it was just too hot! (if you remember my other thread 🤣)

as for the specs, well not much to say, the tualatin pc has an ASUS TUSL-2C mobo, 256MB 133mhz ram, voodoo5500/agp , sblive + io backplate , a 100mbps nic and 2 hdd's: one 220GB and the other 80GB... It is running rock-steady winME and is used for 9x gaming 😊

the p200mmx machine has a via-based mobo (can't remember model/make but it has a ps2 mouseport, atx psu support and can recognize hdd's up to 128GB , I think it is MVP-3 based) , 64MB SDRAM, an ELSA AGP riva128zx card , your standard non-pnp non-hanging-notes SB16 with the DB50XG and the mandatory LAPC-I... with a 20GB HDD that runs my special DOS7 ripped from win98SE so I have one huge fat32 partition 😊

I almost forgot, I also have there an ALi-based USB2 pci card with a dos usb-stack for quink'n'easy transfers....

luckybob wrote:

Finally got some pictures up. they dont look great, but I'll re-take them again soon. […]
Show full quote

Finally got some pictures up. they dont look great, but I'll re-take them again soon.

3DFX monster rig:

MSI master L Dual socket A motherboard
2x AMD 2800+ Mp processors
2gb ECC Registered ddr-400 cas 2 Kingston Hyperx ram (ecc is off)
3DFX VOODOO 5 5500, stock settings, aftermarket coolers.
Creative Soundblaster Audigy 2
100gb hard drive + 20gb "windows drive"
gigabit ethernet

-snip-

I mostly play Diablo 2 and Quake 3 based games. I LOVE ST:VOY elite force. 😁

Next system I'm building is a Dual pentium pro system. There are a lot of things still in limbo with this system. For starters, its not powerful enough to run a pair of voodoo2's, but kinda overkill for late dos/early windows games. i.e. starcraft, diablo, carmageddon. My big holdup is a proper case. The daughercard gets in the way of the hard drive cage on EVERY case I've tried. Anyway specs are as follows:

Asus P/I-P65UP5 with C-P6ND daughtercard
2x 200mhz Pentium pro processors (@ 233mhz) with 1MB cache each
512MB BEDO ram
3D Labs Permedia 2 video card (for 2d)
2x 12mb voodoo2 video cards (for 3d)
Creative Soundblaster AWE64 Gold

-snap-

Last but not least is my recently finished Dos gamer
AMD 80386DX-40
Cyrix Fastmath coprocessor
32mb 60ns ram
256kb cache
Orchid Prodesigner IIs (ET4000AX chipset) 1MB ram
Soundblaster CT3600 with 2MB ram
3com 10mb Ethernet
6.4GB IDE Hard drive with Lite-on 40x CD
StarTrek phasor mouse 😁

-snup-

People say that math co-processors really aren't used but I have found that Sim city does. If anyone has any ideas of how to benchmark this, my ears are open.

Dual powa!!

I still have a dual slot1 board laying around (supports only Katmai) and actually have 2 identical Katmai 600's installed but as the CPU's weren't correctly recognized (and I kinda hate the server case it came with) I never actually build a rig around it. Another thing is that I'd need to install some form of NT, which imo is a bit too much for anything that's sub-gig.
Still very nice you build yourself a complete dual CPU system 😉

I love your maxed out 386! 😉
I like it when AT systems look so clean, almost as if they came out of a shop just yesterday 😁
And a nice touch is the "40" in the led display thingy in the front 😜

I find this thread very nice to read, even makes me pick up my camera again! 😀
I'll post a couple more of my rigs later. Just beware...there is a story attached to every single one of them 😜

Tetrium wrote:

Dual powa!! […]
Show full quote

Dual powa!!

I still have a dual slot1 board laying around (supports only Katmai) and actually have 2 identical Katmai 600's installed but as the CPU's weren't correctly recognized (and I kinda hate the server case it came with) I never actually build a rig around it. Another thing is that I'd need to install some form of NT, which imo is a bit too much for anything that's sub-gig.
Still very nice you build yourself a complete dual CPU system 😉

I love your maxed out 386! 😉
I like it when AT systems look so clean, almost as if they came out of a shop just yesterday 😁
And a nice touch is the "40" in the led display thingy in the front 😜

I find this thread very nice to read, even makes me pick up my camera again! 😀
I'll post a couple more of my rigs later. Just beware...there is a story attached to every single one of them 😜

Oh you have NO idea. These are just complete SETUPS that I have PLANS for. I also have:

Asus P2B-DS (one day will be a dual tualatin)
Asus XG-DLS I need to get some case fans so it stops overheating.
Tyan S1686DL (dual p-pro OR slot 1 douchett p2's)
Tyan S1590 (real nice super 7)
Asus P2B-D (I have this setup as a socket 7 testbed, but thats going to change)

I REALLY would like to pickup a Tyan S2688. Dual tualatin, 66mhz/64bit pci, and DUAL CHANNEL Sdram. That or an Asus TRL-DLS which is the same thing.

So i have a "thing" for dual-cpu setups. Sue me.

luckybob wrote:

So i have a "thing" for dual-cpu setups. Sue me.

Nah! I'd rather hug you 🤣 😜

Keep up the good work! 😁

Btw, what OS's do you use on your rigs? 9x isn't made for Dual CPU's

I have both NT and 2000 so i'm covered. 2000 was probably my favorite OS. I used NT a lot in school so I know its quirks well.

luckybob, is your 386 a contaq chipset-based mobo? I bought mine from "weird stuff", on ebay. I think the manual mentions something about 80ns SIMMs, so it's possible that your ultra fast 60ns SIMMs may not be used to the fullest.

Also, you've got the same ISA Siig EIDE controller as me. I like it. Also, I notice that the barrel battery is still on the mobo. Any charge left in it? There was a bit in mine, but it soon went. I found a 3 AA battery pack works well.

Tetrium wrote:

I'll post a couple more of my rigs later. Just beware...there is a story attached to every single one of them 😜

Please do, and don't spare us any detail. It's the stories that make the thread interesting. Without which, it'll just be a collection of pictures of outdated electronic appliances.

Nice Asus P/I-P65UP5 with C-P6ND daughtercard.

I had an almost identical setup, but I couldn't get my matching PPro 200-1MB chips to work in the damn thing. I had the lastest BIOS as well. I think my board revision just didn't support them. I played with the thing for weeks, and just couldn't get it to boot. So I just gave up and sold off the parts.

retro games 100 wrote:

luckybob, is your 386 a contaq chipset-based mobo? I bought mine from "weird stuff", on ebay. I think the manual mentions something about 80ns SIMMs, so it's possible that your ultra fast 60ns SIMMs may not be used to the fullest.

Also, you've got the same ISA Siig EIDE controller as me. I like it. Also, I notice that the barrel battery is still on the mobo. Any charge left in it? There was a bit in mine, but it soon went. I found a 3 AA battery pack works well.

It sure is! As for the ram, I have all the timings as tight as possible and it performs VERY well, so I really dont want to screw with it. Its a rechargeable battery, and it still works. When I first got it, It would only hold a charge for a few hours, now its up to a few days. I have an external battery if I need it but I hope I dont. As for my IDE card, it is FAST. I was considering using scsi, as I have a few 10gb 10,000rpm drives laying around but the noise factor killed that idea.

Anonymous Coward wrote:

Nice Asus P/I-P65UP5 with C-P6ND daughtercard.

I had an almost identical setup, but I couldn't get my matching PPro 200-1MB chips to work in the damn thing. I had the lastest BIOS as well. I think my board revision just didn't support them. I played with the thing for weeks, and just couldn't get it to boot. So I just gave up and sold off the parts.

I just bought a 2nd setup from a guy that claimed he could get it to work, it was just real slow. His cards were revision 1.2/1.1 and mine are 1.41/1.2 I guess thats why mine works so well. His works too, I tested it the other night. I just wish I could find a damn case for it. http://www.hardwareluxx.de/community/f204/zei … ml#post12781388

That thread shows the same motherboard but with the socket 7 daughtercard. Same problem I have, its just the heatsinks are farther apart and bigger... I'll eventually find a case, its just annoying.

I notice that IDE card is an 'Enhanced" one, which is a moniker I'm not used to seeing on ISA cards... does it offer anything other than large drive support, like faster speed modes or anything? I always thought ISA IDE cards were all pretty much the same basic PIO0 deals, I've never heard anyone call one "fast" before.

I'm not sure if this comment is relevant or significant but - the manual for that Siig 16-bit ISA EIDE controller says its secondary IDE connector is ATAPI compliant. I tested this, and it works.

Pics??? How's about an entire web page dedicated to my old retro-rig <grin> -> http://www.cmoo.com/snor/weeds/Weeds_486DX4-100.htm 😀

Unfortunately, I broke that machine down late last year... simply not enough room for it in my old shack out in the woods.

Rich those photos make it feel like 1992-5 again !!!! 🤣 🤣

swaaye wrote:

Rich those photos make it feel like 1992-5 again !!!! 🤣 🤣

Hehe, and most of them were taken in 2005 🤣! 😀

sgt76 wrote:

Tetrium wrote:

I'll post a couple more of my rigs later. Just beware...there is a story attached to every single one of them 😜

Please do, and don't spare us any detail. It's the stories that make the thread interesting. Without which, it'll just be a collection of pictures of outdated electronic appliances.

Thanks a LOT for your comment! 😁 😁 😁
I was kinda hoping in silence someone said something about this actually 😉
And I agree, pics without words are kinda meaningless in this case, you can get the same results if you type "retro rig" in google pics.

I went looking around a little, checking what other systems I have laying around so there is still more to come!
But unfortunately I've been having somekind of weird stomach flue or something so I'm kinda tired and cold all the time. I actually woke up about an hour ago after having fallen asleep about 5 hours ago -_-.

rfnagel wrote:

Pics??? How's about an entire web page dedicated to my old retro-rig <grin> -> http://www.cmoo.com/snor/weeds/Weeds_486DX4-100.htm 😀

Unfortunately, I broke that machine down late last year... simply not enough room for it in my old shack out in the woods.

Ah, so it was YOUR site I've found some years ago!

Sad you had to decommission it though. Sooooo...what did you replace it with? 😁

So, let me show you my small collection of retro pcs. My original motivation when I decided to collect these systems, was to have once again all the pcs I ever owned. But I ended up having a couple more. Also, thanks to the availability/good price of some parts, all of them are a bit "improved", compared to those I used to have back then.
So, I think I should start from the most recent system, and then go back.

Pentium 3

Specs:
QDI Advance 10F motherboard
Pentium III 1GHz CPU
512MB PC133 RAM
2x40GB HDDs
Hercules 3D Prophet II MX (GeForce2 MX 32MB)
2xDiamond 3D Monster II on sli
Sony DVD-ROM and LG DVD-RW drives
Sound Blaster Live!
The most important parts of this system(mobo,vga,cpu,sound card) are identical to those I used to build my pc back in 2001! This is my one and only ATX form based system. 😁

Pentium

Specs:
ECS P5TX-Bpro Motherboard
Pentium MMX 233MHz CPU
128MB PC133 RAM
3.2GB HDD
Diamond 3D 2000 4MB S3 Virge
Diamond Monster 3D 4MB Voodoo
Soundblaster AWE32 CT3990 + NEC XR385 daughterboard
Samsung 32X CD-ROM drive
As my first pentium PC was a 100MHz with 8MB RAM and a CL 1MB card, this one is a lot better and faster. Notice the heatsink/fan. It was originally on a socket370 1GHz Pentium 3 cpu. On my system it keeps the CPU REALLY cool, even when overclocked to 292MHz!

That's for now. The next part is going to follow with the older stuff.

This a picture of my current work in progress:

Some stuff is not correct for the targeted year. It will be a Q1-1999 machine.

Right stuff for the time:

Asus P2B Motherboard
Intel PIII 500MHz
Asus AGP V3400TNT/TV Riva TNT with 16MB SGRAM
SLI mode with 2 x Creative 3D Blaster Voodoo 2 12MB
Adaptec 2940U2W SCSI controller
Diamond MX300 with Yamaha DB50XG daughter board

Off spec is:

2 x Crucial PC133 CL2 128MB SDRAM
Black Cooler Master Elite 333 case
Thermaltake Purepower 360W PSU - A bit too much, but it's silent
Black 16X Samsung DVD
Seagate Barracuda 80GB 7200rpm - Looking for the right Cheetah...
Black Floppy drive

If i don't find the right missing parts it's probably end up like it is.

I want an Enlight case and if i ever find it different stuff i have will be added, like:
Creative 5X DVD-ROM
White floppy drive
White Iomega 100MB internal IDE

And it's pretty much it.

I'm already working on my next project, it will be a Q4-1994 or Q4-1995 machine, but i'm still doing research to match the components i have.

Katmai getting some love for a change. 😉

swaaye wrote:

Katmai getting some love for a change. 😉

Thanks. 😀

After messing around with lots of K6-2 i decided for this setup.

AMD will get it's love too. If not in my 1995 rig, my 2002 will be a nice DUAL Athlon machine. 😁