Jetboard (J-Mark) 656HXA with 6x86-PR166+ cpu, 32mb ram. Do I need extra L2 cache? What about chipset drivers? \ VOGONS

Jetboard (J-Mark) 656HXA with 6x86-PR166+ cpu, 32mb ram. Do I need extra L2 cache? What about chipset drivers?

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First post, by bytestorm

Posted on 2020-09-14, 12:54

bytestorm Offline

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Finally got my oldstyle case home from ebay and it hosts a Jetboard 656HXA with Intel 430HX ("Triton II") chipset as far as I can understand.
The motherboard itself doesnt seem to support Pentium MMX cpus, while the chipset does?? (https://www.anandtech.com/show/72/5)
I have a Pentium MMX166mhz that I initially planned to use because I would love to try out quake 1 and I heard that only pentiums had a chance playing them OK.

Anyhow, I noticed that there is a slot for puttin a 256/512kb L2 cache stick 😀.. How do I know if I need one?

Lastly I have a question about old drivers and such.. Do I need to install any specific chipset drivers for the motherboard?
I was to young to remember that when we got our first 133mhz pentium 1.. but nowdays you install chipset drivers.. how did it work back in the day? 😀

My plan is now to install w95 onto the hdd and re-live a bit of my childhood gaming!

Thanks for reading!

Reply 1 of 6, by Deksor

Posted on 2020-09-14, 14:54

Deksor Offline

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That's because your board doesn't have a second voltage regulator. This is a problem on many ""socket 7"" boards. They say in the manual that split voltage support have been added to the 656HXAP
I added a bios image I found online here : http://www.win3x.org/uh19/motherboard/show/3281 (the manual should come later)

As for the chipset, since you're using windows 95, yes you'll need some, here they are http://www.win3x.org/win3board/viewtopic.php?f=8&t=18030

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Reply 2 of 6, by bytestorm

Posted on 2020-09-14, 15:10

bytestorm Offline

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Deksor wrote on 2020-09-14, 14:54:

That's because your board doesn't have a second voltage regulator. This is a problem on many ""socket 7"" boards. They say in the manual that split voltage support have been added to the 656HXAP
I added a bios image I found online here : http://www.win3x.org/uh19/motherboard/show/3281 (the manual should come later)

As for the chipset, since you're using windows 95, yes you'll need some, here they are http://www.win3x.org/win3board/viewtopic.php?f=8&t=18030

Wow thank you!! 😁 any thoughts in the "cache on a stick" L2 module? Worth getting?

Reply 3 of 6, by Deksor

Posted on 2020-09-14, 16:13

Deksor Offline

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Well you can, but imo it's not really meaningful.

More cache doesn't improve performance that much. However if you plan to install more than 64MB of ram (which is useless on a pentium system imo) you should do it. You have one of the rare intel chipset capable to cache more than 64MB

Trying to identify old hardware ? Visit The retro web - Project's thread The Retro Web project - a stason.org/TH99 alternative

Reply 4 of 6, by bytestorm

Posted on 2020-09-14, 16:50

bytestorm Offline

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Deksor wrote on 2020-09-14, 16:13:

Well you can, but imo it's not really meaningful.

More cache doesn't improve performance that much. However if you plan to install more than 64MB of ram (which is useless on a pentium system imo) you should do it. You have one of the rare intel chipset capable to cache more than 64MB

Ah I see.. hmm.. if it isnt needed then I think Ill pass.. mostly wondering if it was a *must have* for some games or something.. 😀.
Dont think I need more than 32mb for any of the games I plan on playing.

Reply 5 of 6, by rmay635703

Posted on 2020-09-14, 19:45

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More than 64mb on a pentium is far from useless

Windows 98se comes to mind

Reply 6 of 6, by Deksor

Posted on 2020-09-14, 19:57

Deksor Offline

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I've ran 98SE on a pentium with 64MB without problems. My point is : if you want to run something needing more than 64MB of RAM, you're probably looking for a more powerful computer.

Trying to identify old hardware ? Visit The retro web - Project's thread The Retro Web project - a stason.org/TH99 alternative

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