Re: 3DMark99 Performance on 486-class processors

Posted on 2021-09-24, 19:23

by

by bloodem

in Marvin \ General Old Hardware

in Marvin \ General Old Hardware

There could be multiple reasons for this. The biggest one is, clearly, 3DMark99's lack of optimization for older CPUs - it was probably never tested on anything weaker than a Pentium. Secondly, when it comes to the P55C, 3DMark also uses the MMX instructions to a great extent. Depending on the …

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Re: Does anyone have a GeForce 6600 AGP card to help test for a graphical glitch?

Posted on 2021-09-24, 09:40

by

by bloodem

in Marvin \ Video

in Marvin \ Video

I've had those artifacts myself on Windows 98 with a working 6800 card. If I remember correctly, the best driver for Win98 (when using these cards specifically) was either 77.72 or 71.84. So try those and see if the issue is solved. Now, what people don't realize is that GeForce 6xxx support in …

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Re: AMD K7 "goldfinger" cloning thread

Posted on 2021-09-24, 09:27

by

by bloodem

in Marvin \ General Old Hardware

in Marvin \ General Old Hardware

Which (if any) goldfinger device are you using? I'm wondering if this might be a rare (as in first documented) example of a passive one actually causing a problem, but could only test that by seeing if the board booted after setting the CPU at 850 using either a powered goldfinger or by changing …

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Re: AMD K7 "goldfinger" cloning thread

Posted on 2021-09-24, 06:58

by

by bloodem

in Marvin \ General Old Hardware

in Marvin \ General Old Hardware

switched cache to 2/5 (soldering iron...) Ugh, forgot to reply. :) I think you meant 1/3, right? Because the 800 MHz Athlon already has the 2/5 divider by default, and the cache will generally not work at 400 MHz and definitely not beyond that. Anyway, in other news, I came across a weird …

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Re: PC Chips M912 ver:1.7 absolutely HATES VLB cards but works well with ISA cards

Posted on 2021-09-21, 19:21

by

by bloodem

in Marvin \ General Old Hardware

in Marvin \ General Old Hardware

bloodem wrote on 2021-09-21, 13:00: [...] but there are actually a lot of damaged pins which are not even visible in these pics and some of them are shorting at the bottom of the slot. Ouch... 🙁 Worst of all, all 3 slots have this issue. [...] 😀

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Re: PC Chips M912 ver:1.7 absolutely HATES VLB cards but works well with ISA cards

Posted on 2021-09-21, 16:46

by

by bloodem

in Marvin \ General Old Hardware

in Marvin \ General Old Hardware

I've had too many cases of skipping ahead to the most complicated/interesting way something can break, only for it to turn out to be something dumb (e.g. 'Have you checked the fuse?'), that I'm slowly learning to check the quick and simple things first. Don't I know it... Somehow I also always go …

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Re: PC Chips M912 ver:1.7 absolutely HATES VLB cards but works well with ISA cards

Posted on 2021-09-21, 15:47

by

by bloodem

in Marvin \ General Old Hardware

in Marvin \ General Old Hardware

I don't know... I compared them with those on other VLB boards that I have, and they seem much more flimsy. But, yeah, I agree... It does seem like someone tried really hard to destroy them. 😁

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Re: Graphic cards - opinions

Posted on 2021-09-21, 14:10

by

by bloodem

in Marvin \ Video

in Marvin \ Video

Hi there, I'm having some doubts about which graphic card might fit this context. I'm planning to upgrade my graphic card for a Pentium III - 256 to 512MB Ram - currently with an ATI Rage 128 Pro. I'm mostly using it for Windows 9x games, so to say, but also for some DOS games as well. So far the …

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Re: PC Chips M912 ver:1.7 absolutely HATES VLB cards but works well with ISA cards

Posted on 2021-09-21, 13:00

by

by bloodem

in Marvin \ General Old Hardware

in Marvin \ General Old Hardware

The chipset traces are fine, it's just a bit of dirt. However... regarding the VLB extension slots, DAMN! You're absolutely right! How could I have missed it?! I must be going blind. :-D The one up top is just scratched plastic, but there are actually a lot of damaged pins which are not even visible …

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Re: PC Chips M912 ver:1.7 absolutely HATES VLB cards but works well with ISA cards

Posted on 2021-09-21, 12:20

by

by bloodem

in Marvin \ General Old Hardware

in Marvin \ General Old Hardware

Have you tried all three VLB slots? Even individually and with only one VLB device? Oh, yeah! Tried all three slots with multiple cards, even thoroughly cleaned the contacts... but... no go. Also, forgot to mention, tested various RAM modules, both SIMM 30 and 72 pin. Not that it would have …

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PC Chips M912 ver:1.7 absolutely HATES VLB cards but works well with ISA cards

Posted on 2021-09-21, 12:08

by

by bloodem

in Marvin \ General Old Hardware

in Marvin \ General Old Hardware

I found this board for what was basically the price of a cup of coffee, so I was very happy to see it working perfectly (or so I thought) when I initially tested it a few months ago. Well, I decided to play with it again a few weeks ago, and to my surprise it failed to POST, in fact the POST …

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Re: How to test BIOS chips purchased from eBay?

Posted on 2021-09-20, 16:39

by

by bloodem

in Milliways

in Milliways

The process is very straightforward with a programmer such as the TL866II Plus. You simply open its software (Xgpro), select the IC type (i.e. : Winbond W27C512) and click "Verify". 😀

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Re: Dual (SLI) Voodoo2 1000 worth it?

Posted on 2021-09-20, 05:58

by

by bloodem

in Marvin \ Video

in Marvin \ Video

How does the Radeon 7xxx series fair with DOS game compatibility? 99% of games will work just fine. :) I tested cards like the Radeon 7500, 8500 & 9800PRO and they're actually very compatible and fast in DOS. They don't usually have scrolling issues (well... except for some Commander Keen games …

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Re: Games that specifically need a 486 (not faster/not slower) to run properly

Posted on 2021-09-20, 05:35

by

by bloodem

in Marvin \ Software

in Marvin \ Software

One Must Fall 2097 works best on a 486. You can adjust the game speed in the menu to compensate for the overly fast gameplay on a Pentium, but that only works to a certain degree. I see! Never played this game either. I just checked the gameplay on Youtube and... nope, doesn't ring a bell. :-) …

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Games that specifically need a 486 (not faster/not slower) to run properly

Posted on 2021-09-19, 14:53

by

by bloodem

in Marvin \ Software

in Marvin \ Software

I've been meaning to ask this question for a long time now: are there actually any games that don't work properly / have issues with a faster system like, say... a Pentium 100/133, while also being too slow/unplayable on a 386DX-33 / DX-40? I have between 50 - 100 favorite DOS games that I play, and …

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Re: Any sound card expert? Sound Blaster AWE32+SCB-7 and Guillemot MAXI SOUND 64 (SC8600 V2.0)

Posted on 2021-09-19, 14:23

by

by bloodem

in Marvin \ Sound

in Marvin \ Sound

The DOS support on ESS AudioDrive cards isn't lackluster, the SB Pro support on the ESS AudioDrive is excellent. This was meant only for 16-bit mixing support on DOS. ;) Ah, OK, I misunderstood what you wrote! :-) Indeed, 16-bit support is indeed lackluster on the Audiodrives (but it's not …

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Re: Any sound card expert? Sound Blaster AWE32+SCB-7 and Guillemot MAXI SOUND 64 (SC8600 V2.0)

Posted on 2021-09-19, 13:47

by

by bloodem

in Marvin \ Sound

in Marvin \ Sound

[...] but the support in DOS is lackluster compared to the SB16. Can you explain why you think that DOS support is lackluster on ESS AudioDrive cards? Based on my experience, you can say a lot of things about these ESS cards (like the fact that many had subpar sound quality because they were …

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Re: Dual (SLI) Voodoo2 1000 worth it?

Posted on 2021-09-19, 09:52

by

by bloodem

in Marvin \ Video

in Marvin \ Video

SLI allows using higher Resolution. Anything that will benefit from higher resolutions will also perform great (better) on newer nVIDIA (or even ATI) cards. Yes, even Unreal (the latest version). :-) Let's face it, a Voodoo 2 SLI build doesn't make any sense if we're solely looking for performance. …

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Re: Dual (SLI) Voodoo2 1000 worth it?

Posted on 2021-09-19, 06:27

by

by bloodem

in Marvin \ Video

in Marvin \ Video

Voodoo 2 cards work great when paired with AGP cards. Just for fun, I even paired them with GeForce FX 5900 / ATI Radeon 9800 PRO and have had no issues. A Pentium 3 450 can usually be easily overclocked to 504 MHz (112 FSB - if your motherboard supports it) and it will work very well when paired …

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Re: Dual (SLI) Voodoo2 1000 worth it?

Posted on 2021-09-19, 06:13

by

by bloodem

in Marvin \ Video

in Marvin \ Video

It really depends if it's 'worth it' for you. :) You haven't mentioned anything about your build, so I'll assume that you have a Slot 1/i440BX PC or similar. If you're only doing it for performance reasons, then I would say that no, it's not worth it (2 x Voodoo 2s in SLI have about the same …

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