VOGONS


Reply 20 of 25, by raymangold

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khg0084 wrote:
Hello everybody, […]
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Hello everybody,

If somebody knows, where I could buy a PowerLeap PL-K6-III, or if somebody will sell this adapter, please send me a private message!! I would need it for an Socket 7 IBM PC.

Thanks,
KH

It took many years for me to find one and then I had to buy the K6-III separately. Try looking in Japan or Germany. Those two places keep things like this longer than the rest of the world. I don't know if the PC 750 will work well with a K6-III or not. At any rate, most of the collectors have snapped these up and everyone else has since recycled them.

feipoa wrote:

raymangold, what chipset are you using on that motherboard? And did you try a K6-III in the socket directly? If your motherboard's BIOS can be modified to accept a K6-III or II/III+, would there be any benefit to this Powerleap adapter? Jan S. modified the BIOS of my 430TX-based motherboard and it runs great with K6-III+ CPU directly in the socket. I took it up to 500 MHz (6x83) w/256 MB and it is surprisingly stable.

I didn't see this thread being resurrected--

This is a Triton II chipset, the BIOS never had to be modified to accept a K6-II, since the Y2K update added AMD CPU support. I'll just quote the sections from the manual and BIOS change log for posterity:

PC 300PL computers use IBM power-on self-test (POST) software with initialization code added for the
Intel Pentium processor with MMX technology, the Intel 82430HX core chipset, the National
Semiconductor PC87307 I/O chip, the Intel Ethernet chip, and the Matrox MGA-1164SG 3D video chip

PC 300PL computers have an Intel Pentium processor with MMX technology. This microprocessor has separate core supply (2.8 V) an […]
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PC 300PL computers have an Intel Pentium processor with MMX technology. This microprocessor has
separate core supply (2.8 V) and I/O supply (3.52 V) voltages. A voltage regulator on the system board
converts the 3.52 V provided by the power supply to the core voltage (2.8 V)
required by the
microprocessor.

Flash Changes Model 6562 6592 NMJTxxA is the flash diskette level. NMKTxxA is the flash image level. Add support for AMD 233MHz […]
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Flash Changes Model 6562 6592
NMJTxxA is the flash diskette level.
NMKTxxA is the flash image level.
Add support for AMD 233MHz processor.

This isn't a super socket 7 system, so it feeds the CPU's vcore with 2.8v. The K6-III and other CPUs operate on less voltage (2.2v and others even lower). I mean, one could try and the CPU would probably work for a few seconds before frying--or worse blowing out your VRM. The PowerLeap does need to be configured for the appropriate voltage for the corresponding CPU; and the lowest it can go is 2.2v.

I COULD modify the VRM that's present on the motherboard itself to supply the CPU with 2.2v instead of 2.8v, but I really don't want to torch this computer. Any down time on the system means I can't get my MS-DOS and VOODOO fix. Plus it's operating fine with the adapter. In the event I want to mod more systems with K6-IIIs, I would have to go down that route. I almost bought another PL-K6-III but the price just got too high to be worth it.

P.S. NE PC87307, while pretty flexible, can only address 8 GB of storage space on any given device at a time.

Reply 21 of 25, by matze79

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i got also one.. had it working on a Socket 5 SOYO Board with K6-3, but unfortunally it stopped working..
seems that one of the PAL IC's is defective 🙁

https://www.retrokits.de - blog, retro projects, hdd clicker, diy soundcards etc
https://www.retroianer.de - german retro computer board

Reply 22 of 25, by raymangold

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matze79 wrote:

i got also one.. had it working on a Socket 5 SOYO Board with K6-3, but unfortunally it stopped working..
seems that one of the PAL IC's is defective 🙁

Interesting, I was looking at the AMD PAL chips and considering dumping the PROM. Didn't actually think there would be cases where the (PROM presumably) would fail.

Reply 23 of 25, by Sphere478

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Hey raymangold, I’m looking for a interposer like what you used in this post. Would you know where I can find one or be willing to sell yours?

I know this post was five years ago, maybe you’ve gotten bored of it? Haha.

I can’t figure out how to PM you.

Last edited by Sphere478 on 2022-03-14, 01:06. Edited 2 times in total.

Sphere's PCB projects.
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Sphere’s socket 5/7 cpu collection.
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SUCCESSFUL K6-2+ to K6-3+ Full Cache Enable Mod
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Tyan S1564S to S1564D single to dual processor conversion (also s1563 and s1562)

Reply 24 of 25, by Stiletto

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Sphere478 wrote on 2021-01-13, 04:58:

I can’t figure out how to PM you.

I removed your personal phone number from your previous message, I would advise you to not give such things out on a public forum.

You have to have something like 3 times as many posts as you have right now before you can send/receive private messages.

Please also note that VOGONS is no marketplace! and sales are basically forbidden.

"I see a little silhouette-o of a man, Scaramouche, Scaramouche, will you
do the Fandango!" - Queen

Stiletto

Reply 25 of 25, by Sphere478

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The image links from the OP appear to be broken now, here is one of them still cached on google search

Attachments

Sphere's PCB projects.
-
Sphere’s socket 5/7 cpu collection.
-
SUCCESSFUL K6-2+ to K6-3+ Full Cache Enable Mod
-
Tyan S1564S to S1564D single to dual processor conversion (also s1563 and s1562)