First post, by swampfox
- Rank
- Newbie
Alright, 'bout time I actually put a system up on VOGONS!
Truth be told, although building PCs is one of my top hobbies, its not really a hobby I put money into.
All components I have are either hand-me-downs, surplus items from school/work, dumpster dive finds, etc.
That being said, I have yet to build a dream rig, or been able to find (or replicate) my childhood PC, a Gateway2000 P5-100.
Getting close though! The main reason I built this rig is because A) I got fed up with my Socket 7 WIP, and B) I acquired tons of Slot 1 CPUs and mobos!
Anyway, first, system specs:
CPU: Intel Pentium II-400 Deschutes. Actually overclocked to 450 (4.5 x 100). However, Windows reads this as 337MHz for some reason. Something to do with the Rain software, perhaps?
Mobo: Slot-1 Asus P2B (440BX) [3 ISA, 4 PCI, 1 AGP, 3 DIMM)
RAM: 1 x 256MB Micron PC100 SDRAM
Video: 16MB 3Dfx Voodoo 3 3000 AGP (Has both VGA and S-Video Out, but its not the TV board)
Audio: ISA Labway/Yamaha OPL3-SAx
Optical: 16x Jetway IDE DVD-ROM
HDD: 20GB WD Caviar IDE 7200rpm
FDD: NEC 3.5" Floppy
OS: Windows 98 Second Edition, stripped down with 98lite Pro 2.0 (98micro, kept DirectX)
I built this system a couple weeks ago. However, when I turned it on today, it was having its share of problems.
Apparently, the sound card I had originally installed, an AWE64, was the culprit. Dunno why, it was working fine before.
Tried reinstalling drivers, different drivers, reseating, different slot, manual IRQ config, nothing.
Decided screw it, slap in a new card. Was going to place the ESS AudioDrive I had picked up in, but noticed it lacked the 4-pin CD-Audio header on the card.
I could be recalling incorrectly, but I believe some games won't due CD Audio correctly in DOS (e.g. Quake) if this is missing. Could be wrong.
So decided to slap in an SB compatible card that also had a real OPL chip on it. Man, this OPL3-SAx is a kickass card. Good quality output. SB16 settings seem to work for some games, others need SB Pro. But all works. Even has "3D Audio" under Windows. Not A3D or EAX though, so I don't really know what it does, but cool nonetheless I suppose.
THE GUTS:
OH MAN, IS THAT DUCT TAPE?
Yes, it is. Hopefully you don't cringe too badly.
Got to be honest. All of the screws I had the fit the case, made the whole thing rattle badly.
This is actually a decent solution, despite the appearance. Strong hold, keeps quiet. Good enough for me.
POST:
You may notice it says Hardware Monitor error. This particular motherboard has a "Hardware Monitor" feature for things like temperature sensors and the like.
I have disabled it with a jumper setting. The reason is because the Hardware Monitor works on the ISA bus, and I didn't want any possible IRQ/DMA conflictions, especially when it came to soundcards. Also, I've got tons of fans, its not getting hot. And with the case closed, its still pretty quiet. A little bit ago I replaced the thermal compound on the heatsink of the Voodoo card with some decent Antec stuff. Also applied a fan? Maybe I should overclock it a little? 😈
Sorry for the blurry image, I had a hard time keeping still at the time.
I wasn't terribly certain what kind of benchmarks I should run. So I went with two standards for 3D.
Final Reality 1.01
3DMark99 MAX
Man, I need a new desk. Its the Gateway case.
Its the only ATX case I have that is both beige and matte. I have one other case that is beige, but its glossy.
All of the Baby AT cases I have are beige.
Looks cramped, no? Is actually quite comfy, I assure you.
Any questions, comments, or requests, let me know.
I'm going to update the BIOS and test out some of the other CPUs. I actually have a few Pentium IIIs as well.
I have a 1.3GHz PIII-S Tualatin on a Slotket. That would be cool to get working.
Also, some ideas for next project:
*Drive on with Socket 7 build
*Socket 370 build
*Slot A build
*Socket A build (yawn)
*Look harder for Socket 2 486DX2-66 or higher (have mobo)
*Look harder for multiprocessor Slot 1/2 mobo
Swampfox's Computing - Google+ and YouTube: https://plus.google.com/108854180391399268575