First post, by 386DX40
- Rank
- Newbie
Figured I'd post my latest (and currently only) retro gaming PC that I have settled on after going through several different generations of parts/builds and never finding something that meets my particular needs. I am also on an extreme budget these days, and Socket 423 hardware can still be found very cheaply (I bought this stuff a few months ago)....and everything else is getting expensive! It's also not a common set of parts to build around, though it represents a time of interesting transition in the computer hardware industry.
Case: Some not very pretty silver mid-tower ATX that I got literally from the trash (it had a dead Athlon X2 setup in it with failed caps). The front panel was being held on by glue as several of the standoffs that allow the panel to attach to the case with screws were all broken. I spent time melting in some extra plastic and creative tie-wrap placement to strengthen/repair the stand-offs and was able to reattach the front panel with all six screws. I then fixed the wiring problems with the front panel USB connection, and lots of cleaning. I also stuck some 3M rubber feet on it since originals were long gone. It actually turned out rather well for being free. It's not super period correct, but oh well! I installed a 120mm exhaust fan in the rear that I had laying around, as well as a 92mm fan attached to the side cover blowing air at the video card (not shown - plugs into motherboard fan header). Cost = free
Power Supply: Thermaltake 400w ATX that I had in my spare parts box. It originally came from a PC that was thrown away at work many years ago. I checked it for obviously bad caps, cleaned it up, and found that it seems to work fine. Cost = free
CPU: Socket 423 Pentium 4 'Willamette' @ 1.7 GHz. Socket 423 P4s get no respect, but for Windows 98SE and most games up to 2003/2004 they are adequate. SSE2 instruction set is a nice plus as well. I wanted a faster one like a 1.8-2.0GHz but they are mostly too expensive over what I paid for the 1.7GHz and the speed-boost isn't that impressive for the extra cash. Cost = $6 + $12 for a new aftermarket heatsink/fan/mounting clips.
Motherboard: Intel D850GB OEM Gateway version. Came with a 1.3GHz P4 which I tossed in my spare parts box. Has the Intel 850 chipset, is full size ATX, and support for AGP 4X video cards. Since this was a premium product in it's day to go along with the new P4 CPU, motherboard seems very well built and has all Japanese capacitors so no worries there. I had issues with the original Gateway P06 BIOS, and the Intel P18 BIOS wouldn't install with either it's DOS or Windows based flasher. But figured out that removing the recovery jumper and booting with the DOS based P18 BIOS floppy worked and board updated to latest BIOS, solving my stability issues. Cost = $20
Memory: 512MB Samsung 800MHz RDRAM (4 x 128MB). Ahhh the infamous Rambus RAM. Memory passed memtest86 diagnostics, and really doesn't run as hot as I've heard. I have no intentions of using anything other then Windows 98SE on this system so 512MB is just right. Cost = $6
Video card: Ultra cheap Geforce 4 MX 440 64MB DDR AGP with VGA/DVI outputs so I can use a DVI to HDMI adapter connected to my 24" Samsung TV/Monitor that I also use with my primary computer. Card is actually a Quadro 4 380 XGL, but I'm using the 44.30 drivers so it's seen as Geforce 4. Card has a passive cooler and because it's a Quadro, seems very well made. At some point I may try and find a Geforce 3 or Geforce 4 Ti to have DirectX 8 pixel/vertex shaders but not a big deal to me at the moment. Cost = $17
Sound card: PCI based card with ESS Solo 1 chip. I have found these seem to have some of the best DOS support of any PCI sound card I have tried now and back in the day, learned about these cards because of helpful Vogons discussions in the past. So far every DOS game I have tried works well with this card. Cost = free (I have several of these in my spare parts box - bought years ago)
Hard / Optical drives: Samsung 7200rpm 40GB 3.5" IDE from my spare parts box and a beige Samsung DVD-ROM/CD-RW IDE optical drive (hidden behind black 5.25 door that came with case). Teac 1.44MB floppy drive was in case when I found it and after a cleaning it works fine. Cost = $15 for optical drive
I have Windows 98SE (using my old Windows 98Lite 4.7 installer to remove bloat) installed, and this thing is blazing fast (boots in around 20 seconds). Currently playing through Max Payne 2 and Unreal II / UT2004, and performance is great at 1024x768 med/high settings. I will run some benchmarks and post them here when I get more time/motivation! 😒
If you are dismayed by high ebay prices for Slot 1, Socket 370, etc parts - look at Socket 423 the red-headed stepchild of 2000-2001. RDRAM is cheap, CPUs are cheap, motherboards are cheap, and if you don't need insane power a DirectX 7 era card like the Geforce 4 MX series is a good match here. I have around 80 dollars in this system, though it helps I had many of the parts used already in my possession.
Anyone else got any Socket 423 builds?