Re: Socket A: Nvidia vs Via - battle of the platforms!

Posted on 2025-06-12, 08:24

by

by bloodem

in Marvin \ System Specs

in Marvin \ System Specs

Optional GPU: Voodoo2 SLI for full Glide compatibility in both DOS and Windows. Indeed! I only have a single Voodoo 2 in my Socket A rigs, because that's more than enough for old Glide only games. Games that would take advantage of SLI usually work and look great on nVIDIA cards (albeit, sometimes …

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Re: Socket A: Nvidia vs Via - battle of the platforms!

Posted on 2025-06-12, 06:36

by

by bloodem

in Marvin \ System Specs

in Marvin \ System Specs

So what do you think would be the most flexible socket A system? Keeping in mind max performance for all games 2000 - 2004. I should mention that, in my case, I only use this platform for DOS/Win98. For WinXP there are better alternatives out there. Anyway, the ideal system in terms of flexibility …

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Re: Socket A: Nvidia vs Via - battle of the platforms!

Posted on 2025-06-11, 12:04

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by bloodem

in Marvin \ System Specs

in Marvin \ System Specs

There are 3 ways to build your dream socket 462 machine: the first is to build again the same machine that you had back in the day; the second is the “best price to performance ratio” where you take easy to obtain and cheap enough components; the third is the ultimate socket 462 PC. And the fourth, …

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Re: SUCCESSFUL K6-2+ to K6-3+ Full Cache Enable Mod

Posted on 2025-06-07, 10:42

by

by bloodem

in Marvin \ General Old Hardware

in Marvin \ General Old Hardware

Apparently, all those K6-2+ 570 CPUs that were available on eBay in almost unlimited supply have since disappeared. Too bad. Glad I still have a few left that I haven't modded yet (and, at this point, I will probably keep them in their original state).

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Re: socket 370 or intel 440bx slot 1 as base for a very fast voodoo 2 rig

Posted on 2025-06-03, 06:10

by

by bloodem

in Marvin \ General Old Hardware

in Marvin \ General Old Hardware

Yes, on the borderline it can differ from board to board (and even in some cases from CPU to CPU on the dual boards). TheRetroWeb also has the definitive FAQ on that: https://theretroweb.com/motherboard/manual/the-ultimate-processor-upgrade-guide-for-all-asus-p2b-and-p3b-boards- …

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Re: socket 370 or intel 440bx slot 1 as base for a very fast voodoo 2 rig

Posted on 2025-06-02, 17:59

by

by bloodem

in Marvin \ General Old Hardware

in Marvin \ General Old Hardware

Take the Asus P3B-F - some have it, some don't. It depends on the revision. Up to revision 1.03, it can't supply less than 1.8V, from rev 1.04 it can go down to 1.3V Just saw this and wanted to point out that, while it's probably true that some have it & some don't, it's not as clear-cut as saying …

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Re: M218 turbo button discovery

Posted on 2025-05-30, 05:13

by

by bloodem

in Marvin \ General Old Hardware

in Marvin \ General Old Hardware

This combo is known to work on many motherboards from that era (286/386/486), so it's nothing new. 😀

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Re: What game are you playing now?

Posted on 2025-05-29, 06:52

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by bloodem

in Milliways

in Milliways

The first one. There's a different vibe to it compared to the other classic games. Lara is alone for the most part, rarely encountering other humans, and she's mainly dealing with wild animals and ancient puzzles/traps. There's a lot more emphasis on quiet exploration there, compared to the later …

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Re: What game are you playing now?

Posted on 2025-05-29, 06:35

by

by bloodem

in Milliways

in Milliways

Lara also looks the most natural in that game, since Shadow makes her face look too "plasticky" or something. I think so too... there's something off, unnatural about her face in SotTR. But as a whole package, I think the first game is still my favorite overall, when talking about the reboot …

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Re: What game are you playing now?

Posted on 2025-05-28, 17:37

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by bloodem

in Milliways

in Milliways

Joseph_Joestar wrote on 2025-05-26, 18:25: I had a good time replaying Rise of the Tomb Raider over the past few days. Without question, my favorite Tomb Raider game from the new trilogy. Hard to believe it’s already been 10 years… At this point, it's well on its way to becoming retro. 😅

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Re: Socket A: Nvidia vs Via - battle of the platforms!

Posted on 2025-05-27, 17:29

by

by bloodem

in Marvin \ System Specs

in Marvin \ System Specs

The closest to being usable is the Asrock board, but only with very early nfoce drivers and limiting the GPU to 128MB of vram (tested with an FX5600 XT). My 6800GT causes bluescreen when loading the nvidia drivers and X1950 Pro has stability issues. The X1950 doesn't have Win9x drivers, so it …

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Re: Are these KZG caps bulging from the bottom? - Asus P5GD1 Pentium 4 socket 775 board

Posted on 2025-05-26, 05:21

by

by bloodem

in Marvin \ General Old Hardware

in Marvin \ General Old Hardware

Do you think I can use a hair dryer for this? This doesn't feel like it would require the precision of a proper hot air station, so maybe I can get away with a hair dryer and a narrow nozzle? Plus a hot air station would be another £60-80... If you have a very powerful hair dryer it might help, but …

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Re: Are these KZG caps bulging from the bottom? - Asus P5GD1 Pentium 4 socket 775 board

Posted on 2025-05-25, 20:30

by

by bloodem

in Marvin \ General Old Hardware

in Marvin \ General Old Hardware

For the large ground / power planes, I recommend helping your soldering iron with a hot air station or preheater, otherwise all that copper will quickly absorb the heat, even if you go above 400C.

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Re: Asus TUV4X and Pentium iii SL6BY 1.4GHz (SOLVED)

Posted on 2025-05-23, 08:21

by

by bloodem

in Marvin \ General Old Hardware

in Marvin \ General Old Hardware

What that setting does is reduce latency for consecutive CPU -> memory transactions. The memory controller allows the CPU to start a new memory transaction immediately after the previous one, without inserting idle cycles (a sort of "0 wait states" for consecutive memory access chains). Stability …

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Re: Help Request: Max CPU upgrade on Biostar M6TBA Ver. 1.4

Posted on 2025-05-23, 05:20

by

by bloodem

in Marvin \ General Old Hardware

in Marvin \ General Old Hardware

I appreciate both of you. That may be beyond my abilities at the moment. What do you suppose the highest I could go without replacing that component would be? Would a slot 1 850MHz Pentium III work without trouble? Very hard to say. Trial and error is the only way to know for sure (as long as you …

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Re: Help Request: Max CPU upgrade on Biostar M6TBA Ver. 1.4

Posted on 2025-05-20, 13:12

by

by bloodem

in Marvin \ General Old Hardware

in Marvin \ General Old Hardware

There is one aspect that could be causing problems with this sort of set up. The high-end Coppermines and Tualatins may draw more power (in amps) than what the 8.4 vrm of the motherboard can handle. You can read about it in the second part of this article: http://www.duhvoodooman.com/powrleap/LFL/ …

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Re: Here's a cheap alternative for FX5900XT aftermarket cooling

Posted on 2025-05-13, 10:51

by

by bloodem

in Marvin \ Video

in Marvin \ Video

I prefer the Arctic Cooling NV Silencer 3. Some years ago, there was a seller in Europe who had a lot of ATI & NV Silencers in stock for as little as $5 a piece. So I obviously bought quite a few back then. Nowadays, they seem to be more rare and quite expensive (almost as expensive as some of the …

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Re: Asus TUV4X and Pentium iii SL6BY 1.4GHz (SOLVED)

Posted on 2025-05-13, 04:09

by

by bloodem

in Marvin \ General Old Hardware

in Marvin \ General Old Hardware

Kittyboy wrote on 2025-05-13, 03:56: haha, its such a tiny trace I can hardly see it, even with magnification. If I did attempt, I would need to purchase a new iron tip and a mounted magnifier, guess its worth a shot... You most likely don’t need a new iron tip. Even a large one will work fine for …

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Re: Are these KZG caps bulging from the bottom? - Asus P5GD1 Pentium 4 socket 775 board

Posted on 2025-05-12, 16:09

by

by bloodem

in Marvin \ General Old Hardware

in Marvin \ General Old Hardware

mockingbird wrote on 2025-05-12, 10:48: Yes, use this -- it's 5000 hour as opposed to 2000 hour rated. It should be noted that even the 2000 hour caps will most likely outlive us all, so... no need to be very picky. 😅

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Re: Are these KZG caps bulging from the bottom? - Asus P5GD1 Pentium 4 socket 775 board

Posted on 2025-05-11, 04:57

by

by bloodem

in Marvin \ General Old Hardware

in Marvin \ General Old Hardware

What electrolytics lack for in ripple suppression capability, they make up for in endurance rating and price. Why use a 2000-hour polymer cap which runs for $1-$2/piece to filter a USB port when you can get a 5000-10,000 hour electrolytic cap for 30 cents. Chemi-Con PSG series would like to have a …

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