Got this Socket 940 board + FX53 for $25! A new build is in the works... 😀

Artex wrote:

Got this Socket 940 board + FX53 for $25! A new build is in the works... 😀

Man, I'm still mad at AMD for what they did to socket 939/940.

I mean, they launched the pair as *the* socket(s) for the future, that would be supported with new processors for a long time... So I saved money for a while and built a rig, expecting to be able to upgrade it for a number of years... and then 6 months later they dropped it, no more new CPUs for 939/940. I was so upset. Insread of having to buy just a CPU, in order to upgrade later I had to buy CPU+motherboard+memory. Especially annoying since socket AM2 differed from 939 by just one pin. Guess they learned some tricks from Intel along the way... 487SX anyone? :p

stamasd wrote:

Artex wrote:

Got this Socket 940 board + FX53 for $25! A new build is in the works... 😀

Man, I'm still mad at AMD for what they did to socket 939/940.

I mean, they launched the pair as *the* socket(s) for the future, that would be supported with new processors for a long time... So I saved money for a while and built a rig, expecting to be able to upgrade it for a number of years... and then 6 months later they dropped it, no more new CPUs for 939/940. I was so upset. Insread of having to buy just a CPU, in order to upgrade later I had to buy CPU+motherboard+memory. Especially annoying since socket AM2 differed from 939 by just one pin. Guess they learned some tricks from Intel along the way... 487SX anyone? :p

I hear you - I was in the same boat. At least they got rid of the ECC/Registered RAM requirement when moving to the 939 socket. I was even more pissed when I found out Microsoft didn't support the Nforce3 chipset on the otherwise awesome MSI K8N Neo2 Platinum motherboard when using a combination of a dual core processor (in my case the Athlon X2 4400+) and ATI cards above the 9000 series. 😵

Great buy Artex!

I think socket 939 still has a lot of life left. With a FX-60, it's quite powerful and really challenged Intel at the time.

stamasd wrote:

Artex wrote:

Got this Socket 940 board + FX53 for $25! A new build is in the works... 😀

Man, I'm still mad at AMD for what they did to socket 939/940.

I mean, they launched the pair as *the* socket(s) for the future, that would be supported with new processors for a long time... So I saved money for a while and built a rig, expecting to be able to upgrade it for a number of years... and then 6 months later they dropped it, no more new CPUs for 939/940. I was so upset. Insread of having to buy just a CPU, in order to upgrade later I had to buy CPU+motherboard+memory. Especially annoying since socket AM2 differed from 939 by just one pin. Guess they learned some tricks from Intel along the way... 487SX anyone? :p

Both Intel and AMD have pulled that stunt - Socket 754. 939 and 940 (with 754 being fairly silly) on AMDs side, whilst Intel pulled the same stunt earlier with Socket 423, and Socket 4/5.

Lukeno94 wrote:

Socket 423

🤣 tell me about it. I am putting together a socket423 build right now, and I'll be limited to 2GHz. Unless I somehow find one of those socket423-to-478-adapter-with-builtin-voltage-converter (made from unobtainium) in which case I might reach 2.8GHz. 🙁

FWIW I still have my original socket 939 computer. Haven't used it since about 2011 when I was for a while into bitcoin mining (when it was still profitable for the little guy who stuffed 3-4 video cards in a spare computer). That machine with a couple of Radeon 5870s and a Radeon 6870 in it mined about 70 bitcoins over a year. 😉 Still have the video cards in it too.

ms mouse + splitter! works fine in doom + ultima 6 + win311...

Speaking of mice, I just fixed a cheap USB mouse. Always nice to see those old two-button mice - not something I ever really used outside of early school days though!

This nice CT2760 Sound Blaster AWE32 with extra memory. Paid 10 bucks!

Got 2 DVD drives the other day, both with a silver-colored front bezel. Been on the lookout for a couple of those to appear for a long time so I have a better color match with a couple of silver-colored cases, one of the 2 even is a burner 😁

I never was a fan of silver cases, but mostly for that reason. I hate seeing them with black or cream drives in, it looks shit. Good find.

My father used to have a machine with a metallic blue case which a local rip-off merchant built for him, it looked especially horrible with the white DVD-ROM, black CD-RW and yellowed gray floppy stuck in the front of it.

Cheers HT 😀. I wasn't even aware of the existence of silver-colored DVD drives until I came across these (though I never bothered to go find out so I would know for sure) and the silver optical drives I did came across were usually CDROM drives, most without the capability to even burn media.

The main reason why I opted for black drives in my silver-cased builds is mostly because imo the white ones look really out-of-place in them (especially if they have yellowed a bit as well) and because black ones in the silver cases I have don't look "too" bad imo, but I'd still prefer a matching color 😀.

The main problem I have with silver cases is that most of them aren't really of good build quality (very thin metal and tend to vibrate easily).

stamasd wrote:

🤣 tell me about it. I am putting together a socket423 build right now, and I'll be limited to 2GHz. Unless I somehow find one of those socket423-to-478-adapter-with-builtin-voltage-converter (made from unobtainium) in which case I might reach 2.8GHz. 🙁

Never heart about converter with voltage regulation. I own clean converter from 478 to 423 but you still limited by Willamete core so cant use NW to it.

Cyrix200+ wrote:

This nice CT2760 Sound Blaster AWE32 with extra memory. Paid 10 bucks! […]
Show full quote

This nice CT2760 Sound Blaster AWE32 with extra memory. Paid 10 bucks!

NICE! Need to get me a few of those.

2760 and 3900 are the best of 32's, and there are 1 or 2 models more amoungst the top tier. (The downside of them two, are the price)
They are perfect in MS-Dos-6.22, though running Win98, I usually go for an YMF-724 or AWE64.

Tetrium wrote:

Cheers HT 😀. I wasn't even aware of the existence of silver-colored DVD drives until I came across these (though I never bothered to go find out so I would know for sure) and the silver optical drives I did came across were usually CDROM drives, most without the capability to even burn media.

The main reason why I opted for black drives in my silver-cased builds is mostly because imo the white ones look really out-of-place in them (especially if they have yellowed a bit as well) and because black ones in the silver cases I have don't look "too" bad imo, but I'd still prefer a matching color 😀.

The main problem I have with silver cases is that most of them aren't really of good build quality (very thin metal and tend to vibrate easily).

That surprises me - I've had a silver DVD burner for years, although it has never been in a silver cased machine! (It's in my PIII HP Vectra right now). The one silver cased machine I had used black optical drives, but as those were hidden away behind drop-down doors, it wasn't that big a deal.

Lukeno94 wrote:

Tetrium wrote:

Cheers HT 😀. I wasn't even aware of the existence of silver-colored DVD drives until I came across these (though I never bothered to go find out so I would know for sure) and the silver optical drives I did came across were usually CDROM drives, most without the capability to even burn media.

The main reason why I opted for black drives in my silver-cased builds is mostly because imo the white ones look really out-of-place in them (especially if they have yellowed a bit as well) and because black ones in the silver cases I have don't look "too" bad imo, but I'd still prefer a matching color 😀.

The main problem I have with silver cases is that most of them aren't really of good build quality (very thin metal and tend to vibrate easily).

That surprises me - I've had a silver DVD burner for years, although it has never been in a silver cased machine! (It's in my PIII HP Vectra right now). The one silver cased machine I had used black optical drives, but as those were hidden away behind drop-down doors, it wasn't that big a deal.

There were always optical drives offered in thrift stores, but most were either black or white and the few silvery optical drives were mostly CDROM drives.
I don't always take a look at the optical drives as I'm well stocked (and if I did, it was more to see if there were any SCSI ones amongst them) and looking for silvery ones online I never bothered with (shipping costs and I didn't really want them that much).

I just picked this interesting little guy up for less than $9 shipped:

http://www.ebay.com/itm/Vintage-Packard-Bell- … =p2047675.l2557

As far as I can tell, it is a Packard Bell branded 8-bit ISA Aztech Sound Galaxy BXII sound card. It isn't in perfect condition, but they don't seem terribly common, and it makes a nice cheap addition to my collection. This would be only the third 8bit sound card I have come across (along with my CT1350B and Midiman MM401). The volume knob and the YM3812-F OPL2 chip are pretty cool. 😎

Does anyone know anything else about these? I can't find much information on them, other than that some have had success installing CT1350B drivers for them (which, incidentally, I have original floppies of). I know the SB 2.0 doesn't do MIDI over its Gameport, but would these cards be capable of doing it? Are there any 8-bit midi+pcm cards that can? Its just something I've been curious about...

I picked up one of those Aztech Sound Galaxy BXII recently too - they don't need any drivers (in DOS), they just work like the a real SB2.0. Set jumpers and off it goes.

I'm not sure about the MPU-401 thing, I'd be surprised if it had one. It does have a working line-in though which is a win over a SB2.0. My world was not rocked by the sound if it - the OPL2 is nice but the FX are somewhat "muddy". It doesn't crackle and pop like a CT1350b though.

Does it do Covox and DSS?