Re: 386DX40 build

Posted on 2011-01-15, 09:51

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by retro games 100

in Marvin \ System Specs

in Marvin \ System Specs

Here's Speedsys, running @ /6=10mhz. Regarding oscis, I had success with them - please read my earlier post. http://lh3.ggpht.com/_Dop-eDMechk/TTFsGsBnFGI/AAAAAAAAAsA/TfJ4Of-IYjY/s800/386_6.jpg Let's double-check a few things. Jumpers for /6=10mhz settings: JP3 = On JP4 = Off JP5 = 23 JP6 = 12 Pins …

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Re: 386DX40 build

Posted on 2011-01-15, 09:03

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by retro games 100

in Marvin \ System Specs

in Marvin \ System Specs

I switch on the retro 386 PC this morning for some more testing, and it doesn't work. Nothing unusual about that! :lol: First of all, the barrel battery has croaked. I fixed that with 3x AA batteries. I just wrapped the wires around the external battery pins, on the mobo. Red goes on positive. I had …

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Re: 386DX40 build

Posted on 2011-01-14, 23:18

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by retro games 100

in Marvin \ System Specs

in Marvin \ System Specs

I've just tried changing the osciallator, and it works. I removed the 80MHz osci, and replaced it with a 66MHz unit. The 386DX-40 chip now runs at ~33MHz. I could not use the mobo at the maximum 20MHz bus speed, with this slower osci. The BIOS POST display complained about the cache being "bad". …

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Re: 386DX40 build

Posted on 2011-01-14, 22:42

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by retro games 100

in Marvin \ System Specs

in Marvin \ System Specs

I wonder if my Speedsys score is ~9.2 because I'm using this thing? I doubt it. I expect it's because I'm able to increase the bus speed successfully. BTW, I'm waiting for some of those 386s mounted on special pin packages, which we discussed earlier. As soon as they arrive, I'll retest everything, …

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Re: 386DX40 build

Posted on 2011-01-14, 22:07

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by retro games 100

in Marvin \ System Specs

in Marvin \ System Specs

Regarding the weird increase/no increase in 3DBench, with more cache. I have an idea. Try rebooting several times, or powering down then powering up again. Rerun 3DBench, and other tests. You may find the results change in an unpredictable way. I think I've probably "hit max" on this system. I have …

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Re: 386DX40 build

Posted on 2011-01-14, 21:43

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by retro games 100

in Marvin \ System Specs

in Marvin \ System Specs

I have upgraded the 386 mobo to use 256Kb of cache. This has improved my 3DBench score from 16.6 to 16.9.

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Re: 386DX40 build

Posted on 2011-01-14, 20:22

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by retro games 100

in Marvin \ System Specs

in Marvin \ System Specs

Thanks very much for the cache info! I will be able to do this tomorrow, and then I'll retest everything. I have a suggestion about your hardware. Looking at the SIMMs photo in your original post, they may be 100ns. It looks like they say "bla bla 10". I think the 10 means 100. If they are "slow as …

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Re: 386DX40 build

Posted on 2011-01-14, 19:45

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by retro games 100

in Marvin \ System Specs

in Marvin \ System Specs

Here is Speedsys, with the bus clock jumper set to "/6", which is 13.333 MHz. Edit: I found some more memory. Another 4MB. So, I've got 8MB now. 8 lots of 1MB. The other 4 lots were labelled 80, so I guess it doesn't matter if bank 0 = 70ns, and bank 1 = 80ns. The mobo seems to behave OK. Also, I …

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Re: 386DX40 build

Posted on 2011-01-14, 18:44

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by retro games 100

in Marvin \ System Specs

in Marvin \ System Specs

The 3 boards I ordered are finally in my living room. All 3 batteries show no sign of leakage! :D I'll remove those batteries later when I got a couple hours to spare :) Having fun? :happyhappy: I have just unpacked mine. I put 4 sticks of 1MB SIMMs in to it. They have 70 written on them. I guess …

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Re: AWE64 and DOS/ Win98

Posted on 2011-01-14, 16:52

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by retro games 100

in Marvin \ General Old Hardware

in Marvin \ General Old Hardware

gwb wrote: I did some more digging and found a CT3600 which appears to be another PNP card. Any low cost suggestions for cards that aren't PNP and that I could see if they work in this system? Search ebay for CT2230. Those things are quite good non-PnP SB16s.

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Re: AWE64 and DOS/ Win98

Posted on 2011-01-13, 08:56

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by retro games 100

in Marvin \ General Old Hardware

in Marvin \ General Old Hardware

I went to this webpage - http://www.ibase-i.com.tw/2009/Manuals/MB80010B.pdf And on page 69, it mentions NMI. I don't know for sure if that means your AWE64 will work in it, but it looks promising.

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Re: AWE64 and DOS/ Win98

Posted on 2011-01-13, 07:26

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by retro games 100

in Marvin \ General Old Hardware

in Marvin \ General Old Hardware

gwb wrote: It's one of those industrial P4s. I knew it! Honestly, I was going to say "are you using one of those industrial mobos?!". The problem may be because it doesn't support NMI, which means Non Maskable Interupt. SB16 digital effects won't work, if the mobo doesn't support NMI.

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Re: AWE64 and DOS/ Win98

Posted on 2011-01-13, 06:49

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by retro games 100

in Marvin \ General Old Hardware

in Marvin \ General Old Hardware

@gwb, what mobo are you using?

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Re: Complete newbie advice on ISA video cards required please

Posted on 2011-01-12, 20:38

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by retro games 100

in Marvin \ General Old Hardware

in Marvin \ General Old Hardware

everyone, many thanks for the info! 😀 sliderider, please note that the ATI 8514 card is a co-processor only card. In order to get it to function, I need to use it in conjunction with a regular VGA card.

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Re: AWE64 and DOS/ Win98

Posted on 2011-01-12, 18:26

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by retro games 100

in Marvin \ General Old Hardware

in Marvin \ General Old Hardware

For Windows, try doing the "force hardware resources change", for the AWE64, inside the Device Manager area. Pick the resources that work for DOS. Eg 220/5/1/5.

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How useful or useless is a 386 SX machine?

Posted on 2011-01-12, 13:52

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by retro games 100

in Marvin \ General Old Hardware

in Marvin \ General Old Hardware

I'm always browsing ebay looking for junk. I spotted these things, and wondered how useful or useless they are? http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&item=250753376600 (386SX-33 mobo) It's got an AMD 386SX-33 CPU soldered on to the mobo's PCB. It's also got a 66MHz oscillator, which …

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Re: How to measure fps with 3dfx cards?

Posted on 2011-01-12, 10:41

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by retro games 100

in Milliways

in Milliways

A couple of suggestions: for Fraps, try toggling your V-Sync settings. I vaguely remember that Fraps doesn't like V-Sync=Off. For GLide FPS, you could try Unreal/Unreal Tournament. There's that "fly over the castle" timedemo thing you could run.

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Re: AWE64 and DOS/ Win98

Posted on 2011-01-12, 09:09

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by retro games 100

in Marvin \ General Old Hardware

in Marvin \ General Old Hardware

Just a couple of thoughts. This is what I would do, but I'm not sure if it's the best approach - Do you have a DOS HDD / CF / diskette you could boot from? If so, you could boot in to "real DOS" (not DOS 7), and run Creative's CTCU.exe. CTCU will only run in DOS 6 or an older version. Then, take a …

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Re: 386DX40 build

Posted on 2011-01-12, 08:30

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by retro games 100

in Marvin \ System Specs

in Marvin \ System Specs

Hey everyone! :happy: I appreciate everyone's commentary on this subject. @Donut King, no worries mate! I'm still trying to shake off a winter bug, so I'll be brief. I submitted an offer to buy some of these AMD 386s on ebay. The seller wanted $30 each, and I offered $20 each. My offer was accepted, …

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Re: Anyone interested in recordings of different sound cards? I've got some here for you.

Posted on 2011-01-11, 23:23

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by retro games 100

in Marvin \ General Old Hardware

in Marvin \ General Old Hardware

I found this on youtube, and thought it was quite good - http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=P4uZLIacmNc (It's titled "Sound Blaster Pro MIDI music") I think the first reggae track is the best, and features a nice clean bass sound. I wonder what CT model number this person is using?

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