Hey there, that's a really neat machine 😀. Trying to capture the feeling of our older computers that we used to own is something special indeed. 😊

If you ever get a cheap K6-III+, it'll offer a nice speed boost on that little system!

Thanks. Not going for any + CPU in this system. As I only needed to max it slightly.
Somehow the K6-2-500 means something special to me.

I might go for a + in my Asus P5A Voodoo3-3500 system.
Then I can take that K6-III-400 CPU and put it in my FIC PA-2013 instead.
(The one with the big Socket-462 cooler)

Very nice machine!

I like the choice of Matrox for Gaming. The 400 series was quite decent. We don't have to go through the pain of the driver issues, just use the latest drivers 😀

When I played around with Matrox cards I found compatibility to be excellent. Performance was also good and an amazing image quality.

I really love the G400 in this machine. The choice of this perticulair card is actually much deeper thought out.
See... It has some personal meaning to me here as well.

When I had that original machine, I went to a friend one evening, and we used an hour or so discussing how my machine could have an upgrade.
I remember clearly him saying, that I should go for the Voodoo3. He held a lan-party, and one of the paricipants just jumped in on our discussion
saying that I should not get that Voodoo3. I should get a Matrox, and he showed me what it could do.

Anyways...
I was immediatly struck by that card, and he told me that it could even drive two monitors. Wich sounded like magic to me.
Years went by, and well, gForce just was the thing to own by the time the GF4 was out.
That is why I choose the G400, as a faster sollution on this machine. Than the TNT2-Ultra. It went up from 27/2800 something.
To 3000+ in 3Dmark99, wich is not bad at all. Just had to install those AGP drivers first, to get a stable system.

This is really becomming THE personal build for me. And if I can not find any Zitech cases, then I will go for an Antec sonata 1 or 2.
Preferable the Sonata-1, as that case is build, using thick and heavy plates. No cheap alu' like codegen.

Can I just say that, for a cheap one, that case is quite decent for a retro system? It's got places to install both intake and exaust 80mm fans, a place to fit a real .8W speaker and it is possible to install AT connectors on the back. I've seen worse.

alexanrs wrote:

Can I just say that, for a cheap one, that case is quite decent for a retro system? It's got places to install both intake and exaust 80mm fans, a place to fit a real .8W speaker and it is possible to install AT connectors on the back. I've seen worse.

True...
It does have those good features, though it is made from really thin stuff. It really does not have that true feeling.
It's simply too long and too narrow. This codegen case is more suited for a P4 or Sempron system.
The original case that I had, was made from good thick metal plates. It was heavy and just had that solid feel, when
pushing the power button or something like that. Even old cheap at-cases have a more sturdy feel to them.

Very nice!

brostenen wrote:

https://dl.dropboxusercontent.com/u/13450020/ZitechRecreation/Zitech-06.jpg Now for some thermal gerease. Going for some silver […]
Show full quote

Now for some thermal gerease. Going for some silver there. Ay! 😁

I hate to be a killjoy, but I hope you removed that sticker from the CPU before clamping down the HSF. Otherwise, great job! You've got me looking at Matrox G400 cards now.

KT7AGuy wrote:

Very nice!
I hate to be a killjoy, but I hope you removed that sticker from the CPU before clamping down the HSF. Otherwise, great job! You've got me looking at Matrox G400 cards now.

Thanks for the tip, and ups. I forgot to remove that sticker. 😁 Will be removing it the first time I can get to play again.

And yes. I am absolutely astonished, that the G400 performs this well on my rig.
Lot's of people are talking about Matrox just being shit and stuff. I like it though.
As Phill is reporting. Great image quality, fast on socket Super 7 and relieable drivers.
The only issue I had, was before I installed the AGP drivers for the Motherboard.
Then the G400 was a bit unreliable and a bit unstable. Drivers sorted that out.

Is the G400 running at AGP 1x rate?

Yep, you should remove the HSF before running the PC any further. Clean the TIM from both the HSF and CPU using either 99% isopropyl alcohol or real TIM remover/cleaner. Be sure you remove that sticker and clean the CPU again. Then put a dot of TIM in the center of the CPU, about the size of a small pea. Mount the HSF squarely on the CPU and clamp it down. It should be OK.

http://www.tomshardware.com/reviews/thermal-p … eader,3600.html

swaaye wrote:

Is the G400 running at AGP 1x rate?

I think it is running at AGPx2 rate. I will check it when fired up again.

KT7AGuy wrote:

Yep, you should remove the HSF before running the PC any further. Clean the TIM from both the HSF and CPU using either 99% isopropyl alcohol or real TIM remover/cleaner. Be sure you remove that sticker and clean the CPU again. Then put a dot of TIM in the center of the CPU, about the size of a small pea. Mount the HSF squarely on the CPU and clamp it down. It should be OK.

http://www.tomshardware.com/reviews/thermal-p … eader,3600.html

Naa... I will just be using some pure ordinary alcohol.
That's the way I have been doing it all the time.
I like to use a tiny amount and then spread it out using a cotton tip.
Or use some toilet paper on a finger. Not fan of letting the heatsink do all the job.
Have not had any issues using this technique for over 10 to 15 years.

Good luck on your case. I specially like the matching blue ATA connectors, its the small things 😉
There is something special about using the same PC as all those years ago, even if it means running some things not on the highest settings or even having a better machine its just not the same feeling

chinny22 wrote:

Good luck on your case. I specially like the matching blue ATA connectors, its the small things 😉
There is something special about using the same PC as all those years ago, even if it means running some things not on the highest settings or even having a better machine its just not the same feeling

Thanks. Yeah. Those blue ones are just all I had in my box of cables. So it is just by shere chance that they are blue.
And yes. The feeling is not the same. I only upgraded the GFX from TNT2 to Matrox.
I tend not to look at the Gold as an upgrade to the PCI-128, just like to think of it as a different type of hardware.
(Some might agree on this, some might not)

Have not cleaned that TNT2 card from dust yet. So... As the performance was a bitch. I think I will call the card:
"My dirty little bitch". 😁 (Hope not to offend anyone here)

Love the pc! Hope you have many hours of fun on it.

Thanks. First thing to replace, is going to be the Power supply, when I have sold my AWE64-Value, Radeon 9550 and the MSI-7142.
Hope to raise enough money for an decent PSU. Then later comes the old original case, or something like it.

Kick-ass machine. 😎

I actually still have my original K6-2 500MHz system, which I purchased sometimes in 2000, I think. Yeah, it was kinda late for a (Super) Socket 7 build, but I was apprehensive of some compatibility issues that P2/P3 systems may have with my much beloved legacy software. Probably wasn't justified, but at the time I didn't know better.

The motherboard, however, was replaced once or twice. The first one was some AOpen that died after <1.5 years. I wasn't so picky about motherboards then, even though I agree that it's the board that "determines" the system. Now I think it has an ASUS of some kind, I am not sure.

What hard drive do you have in the system? I remember I started with a 17GB Seagate, then added another 15GB something, and after ~2 years replaced them both with a single Hitachi/IBM Deskstar 80GB drive, which is, amazingly, still there, has 0 bad sectors (*knocks on wood*), but is about 10 times louder than any hard drive I ever owned, before or after. It literally sounds like a jet takeoff. 🤣

Thanks. Well I am using a Seagata 120gb PATA drive as of now.
The reason being, that I don't have that original 8GB drive I used back then.
It is ok, as drives are the thing that I don't absolutely have to go retro on.
The old ones have died from wear and tear.

dr_st wrote:

What hard drive do you have in the system? I remember I started with a 17GB Seagate, then added another 15GB something, and after ~2 years replaced them both with a single Hitachi/IBM Deskstar 80GB drive, which is, amazingly, still there, has 0 bad sectors (*knocks on wood*), but is about 10 times louder than any hard drive I ever owned, before or after. It literally sounds like a jet takeoff. 🤣

Yes, those hitachi 80gb drives, are really loud. Remember then so well. 🙁
I think that they purchased the old IBM harddrive devision back in 2003/2004.
As I said, I used to have an old 8gb drive in the machine.
I have one from the same line of drives, yet it is a 16gb drive.
And it is sitting in my Epox MVP3-C with a P133 and 16mb ram.

Actually found one on ebay, the type, name and size, that I had in the original machine.
The only reason that I remember it, was because of that rubber-thing surrounding the drive.

http://www.ebay.com/itm/Seagate-9M9004-002-ST … =item35d4ba4c00

brostenen wrote:

Actually found one on ebay, the type, name and size, that I had in the original machine.
The only reason that I remember it, was because of that rubber-thing surrounding the drive.

Yep, I had a couple of Seagates like that. I think my 17GB was one, and I also recall a 4.3GB drive I used in an older system with the same rubber case. Not that it was doing much to protect the drive.