Re: Need to Identify type of mainboard (MSI MS6119) for correct Bios

Posted on 2020-01-26, 23:32

by

by dionb

in Marvin \ General Old Hardware

in Marvin \ General Old Hardware

Does it have jumpers/dipswitches? I think I see them on this image, if so then it's not "CPU PLUG AND PLAY", so use the standard one. Also, it has a nice socketed BIOS ROM, so even if you mis-flash, it's easy enough to fix.

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Re: Centronics cable

Posted on 2020-01-26, 23:21

by

by dionb

in Marvin \ General Old Hardware

in Marvin \ General Old Hardware

Planet-Dune wrote on 2020-01-26, 22:56: [...] Well that is not very encouraging 🙁 I'll check the cable itself tomorrow and see if there is any sort of "print" on it. Maybe we can help, but we need a bit more info. What two devices are connected via this cable? Do you have brand+model of them?

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Re: Hello all and some advice please

Posted on 2020-01-25, 17:25

by

by dionb

in Marvin \ General Old Hardware

in Marvin \ General Old Hardware

Welcome :) What an impressive first post - and an equally impressive list of stuff. Couple of quick thoughts P3-450 - That P3-450 is really a bit slow for Win9x games like Unreal. It looks like a great late DOS build though. As you have more than enough faster stuff, I'd focus solely on DOS here. - …

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Re: Bought these (retro) hardware today

Posted on 2020-01-25, 17:04

by

by dionb

in Marvin \ General Old Hardware

in Marvin \ General Old Hardware

[...] Not bad! This reminds me of how I almost bought a nice case for my main PC. It was 2014, I found a local ad on a Thermaltake Shark in great condition. A kickass mid-2000s case, what could be better? :) I called the guy, it was a 15 km drive from my home, however, he said he always works late …

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Re: Gateway MBDPCI016AAWW

Posted on 2020-01-25, 16:00

by

by dionb

in Marvin \ General Old Hardware

in Marvin \ General Old Hardware

Not sure about any manuals, but the board itself can tell us a lot: https://i.ebayimg.com/images/g/~iIAAOSw5LRcgsn5/s-l640.jpg - So5, so single-voltage and possibly only 1.5/2.0 multiplier - i430FX with no visible L2 cache - that castrates an otherwise excellent chipset, this thing will crawl :( - …

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Re: Bought these (retro) hardware today

Posted on 2020-01-25, 15:49

by

by dionb

in Marvin \ General Old Hardware

in Marvin \ General Old Hardware

There's no such thing as too many spare parts/boards/CPUs..... great deal. Even if you don't like it, you could recoup your cost by selling it to buy what you want more. Nice. Easily. That Stacker was cheap even without a board in it. Only problem is that it requires an EPS PSU and I don't have one …

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Re: Bought these (retro) hardware today

Posted on 2020-01-25, 14:39

by

by dionb

in Marvin \ General Old Hardware

in Marvin \ General Old Hardware

Accidentally bought a Tyan Thunder S2912 today, with an unknown dualcore Opteron and 5GB RAM. 15799627127100.jpg Needed a bigger case for my son's PC, saw a Coolermaster Stacker advertised for a nice price nearby. While I was already driving towards it the seller messaged that there was "still a …

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Re: Socket 3 vs Socket 4 build

Posted on 2020-01-25, 13:34

by

by dionb

in Marvin \ General Old Hardware

in Marvin \ General Old Hardware

[...] There's no denying that one system is never enough. However, your approach of using an oddball set of resources is not the best way to approach multiple sound card systems as it is asking for incompatibilities. I know all too well, that's why I've backed off that approach. Also, I don't …

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Re: DOS/Win9x laptop - what specifications would be perfect for you?

Posted on 2020-01-24, 21:42

by

by dionb

in Marvin \ General Old Hardware

in Marvin \ General Old Hardware

Heh, this could go all over the place... The perfect laptop for retro-paradise will have multiple sound cards and stuff 😉 But keeping it marginally realistic, I'd go for a laptop with Yamaha ISA sound (WMF719), some nice and compatible VGA. Voodoo3 would be nice. 1024x768 TFT.

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Re: Questions about VLB video ram ?

Posted on 2020-01-24, 18:22

by

by dionb

in Marvin \ General Old Hardware

in Marvin \ General Old Hardware

One step back: *why* do you want to upgrade this particular card? GD5428 can accept 2MB, but are very limited in what you can do with it, it just gives you a few extra interlaced modes and no extra resolution or colour depth :o I've been trying to upgrade a 5428 purely for the soldering challenge of …

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Re: is the ct2890 a good sound card?

Posted on 2020-01-23, 19:47

by

by dionb

in Marvin \ Sound

in Marvin \ Sound

The CT1300 isn't an SB16, it isn't even a Sound Blaster - it's the Game Blaster with Creative Music System. If you can get that for a good price, do - it's rare, collectible and sounds pretty unique. Totally unsuited for a P75 though, this belongs in a 286 or 386. As for two of the others see: …

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Re: Socket 3 vs Socket 4 build

Posted on 2020-01-23, 19:39

by

by dionb

in Marvin \ General Old Hardware

in Marvin \ General Old Hardware

[...] To get multiple cards to play nice is not to use oddball resources that games fail to use, but rather choosing sound cards that are naturally complementary without conflicting resources, as well as cards that can be disabled whilst still installed in your system. This way, you can enable and …

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Re: Should I Upgrade from Celeron to Pentium 3?

Posted on 2020-01-23, 18:52

by

by dionb

in Marvin \ General Old Hardware

in Marvin \ General Old Hardware

Yeah, pretty much "from China" means from Aliexpress. They sell cheap caps, and I'll try to find someone with good feedback score. I've searched locally, where I live (Rome,IT), there are only a few places that you can go and buy, and all what I've tried sell cheap Chinese caps for somewhat …

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Re: Found an online store with multiple VLB ATI Mach64 cards (pricey)

Posted on 2020-01-23, 16:02

by

by dionb

in Marvin \ Video

in Marvin \ Video

Warning: Potential Security Risk Ahead Firefox detected a potential security threat and did not continue to www.tspire.com. [...] Web sites prove their identity via certificates, which are valid for a set time period. The certificate for www.tspire.com expired on 06/07/2016. Error code: SSL_ERROR_ …

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Re: Matching / Selecting sound cards for different builds

Posted on 2020-01-23, 13:53

by

by dionb

in Marvin \ General Old Hardware

in Marvin \ General Old Hardware

List those ISA cards, a lot of them are likely superior to the Creative bugginess you've posted :P And for the newer stuff, indicate DOS vs Win9x vs XP. First off I'd say you have too many similar systems. Unless you have a good reason, I'd suggest dropping the 386SX-40 and the two 486DX systems, …

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Re: Old Compaq

Posted on 2020-01-23, 13:14

by

by dionb

in Marvin \ General Old Hardware

in Marvin \ General Old Hardware

It's a perfectly acceptable Windows 2D chip as well. The period-correct way to upgrade for 3D would be to add a Voodoo 1/2.

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Re: slocket on slot 1 problems

Posted on 2020-01-23, 13:08

by

by dionb

in Marvin \ General Old Hardware

in Marvin \ General Old Hardware

Is this the MS-6905 Master? If so I have one lying around somewhere, I'll try and look at what is in that position in mine. Edit: Not even sure there should be something there... Filename 6905_23.jpg File size 13.57 KiB Views 200 views

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Re: Socket 3 vs Socket 4 build

Posted on 2020-01-23, 09:46

by

by dionb

in Marvin \ General Old Hardware

in Marvin \ General Old Hardware

If you want practical build for DOS and early Win9x, find 430TX board and use Pentium MMX. This setup is very tweakable for gaming. A PMMX can give you a smooth performance range between medium 386 and full P55c. It can take the place of a 386, 486, S4, and S5 Pentium. I'd recommend going this …

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Re: slocket on slot 1 problems

Posted on 2020-01-23, 09:27

by

by dionb

in Marvin \ General Old Hardware

in Marvin \ General Old Hardware

The slocket is "adjustable", but the MS-6905 doesn't contain its own VRM, all the jumpers do is modify the VID pins from the CPU. It's still up to the motherboard to provide the correct voltage - so check what it's actually delivering. Just googled on that board and found your earlier topic: …

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Re: Welcome to the updated VOGONS

Posted on 2020-01-22, 23:18

by

by dionb

in Milliways

in Milliways

[...] Afraid no different. Here's two screenshots, there's absolutely no difference in empty space between normal vs small line spacing, so much that even on my 1440p screen the index takes up over two full screens (where it previously comfortably fit on one): Oh. I thought you were talking about …

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