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My Socket 7 "circa 1997" build

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First post, by TheMobRules

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Hello fellow Vogoners

I want to share with you some pictures of a retro build I just completed. It is a Socket 7 based build using a Pentium MMX processor, I have tried to stay period correct (~1997) where possible given the components I had available.

Some history first: back in the day, I first got a Socket 7 motherboard to replace my aging 486 around late 1996. It was the infamous PCChips "VXPro Mainboard", which I used with a Cyrix 6x86 (that was replaced by a 6x86MX about a year later). This one lasted up until around 1998-99 when I moved to Slot 1.

That board and CPUs should be somewhere in my house, as I don't remember throwing them away, but I was unable to find them so I went with a few new components that I've collected. Here are the specs:

Motherboard: ASUS SP97-V
CPU: Intel Pentium MMX @ 200 MHz
RAM: 2 x 32MB of EDO DRAM
VGA: Matrox Millennium II PCI 4MB
Sound: Creative Sound Blaster AWE64 Value
HDD: Maxtor DiamondMax 10GB IDE
FDD: 1.44MB 3.5''
ODD: Pioneer DVD-ROM
PSU: 300W ATX

As the motherboard features an ATX power connector despite being AT form factor, I decided to use an early ATX case which used to house my Athlon XP back in the day. The case supports AT motherboard mounting so it fit perfectly.

And now, some pictures! Please excuse the poor quality of the images as they were taken using my phone and I am no good at getting nice looking photos 😢

Motherboard ready to go into the case:

attsMDGm.png

Cards installed and all cables connected:

AKuBhdqm.jpg

Back of the case:

azAwwM8m.png

Ready to go!

bbXoUOim.png

If you want to check all the components here is the full album:

Socket 7 MMX build

The OS I have installed on this build is Windows 95 OSR 2.5, mostly to be in line with the "period correctness", but also because I haven't used Win95 in a while and just wanted to play a bit with it. Now all that remains is installing some nice games of that era and have some fun. 😀

As a future upgrade I'm considering adding a Voodoo 1, but for now I will be playing non-3D accelerated games such as Diablo, System Shock and some graphic adventures so no hurry.

Reply 2 of 7, by Tetrium

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Nice build!

I don't know the brand of your PSU, but the exhaust 'grill' looks very similar to the ones FSP used to use back in those Athlon XP days

Your case looks newer though, more in the lines of the early 2k's. Was this case originally part of your Athlon XP build? EDIT: Nvm, I should get me some reading glasses 😊 🤣!

And how is Win95 doing for you?

I tried W95 once, but I had all kinds of problems with it (mainly instability), though this was basically one of my first build ever, so I wouldn't at all be surprised if the problems my rig had, were due to some form of mis-matching.

PhilsComputerLab wrote:

Nice!

I'm wondering where you got that ATX shield with the AT keyboard cut-out from?

This was the very first thing that I was wondering when I looked at those pics 🤣

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Reply 3 of 7, by archsan

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Nvm, I can't find this exact one right now:
PdMtbQg.jpg

So your best bet is "blank ATX backplate" and hole-it-yourself

"Any sufficiently advanced technology is indistinguishable from magic."—Arthur C. Clarke
"No way. Installing the drivers on these things always gives me a headache."—Guybrush Threepwood (on cutting-edge voodoo technology)

Reply 4 of 7, by TheMobRules

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PhilsComputerLab wrote:

I'm wondering where you got that ATX shield with the AT keyboard cut-out from?

A while ago I got a socket 7 motherboard (FIC PT-2003) from a guy who used to own a computer repair shop, and he gave me the "AT I/O shield" along with it, though I don't think it originally came with the board as the PT-2003 is from before that transitional era. It seems not many of these I/O shields remain out there, possibly because they were only made during that short period.

I also have an even earlier ATX case which has an I/O shield with stenciled AT keyboard and AT PS/2 holes, but it seems to be a non-standard one as the shield needs to be screwed to the case. That case came with several I/O shields, the one I mentioned is labeled "AT", and it also has a couple of more common ATX plates labeled as "VENUS":

CE916DHm.png

Tetrium wrote:

I don't know the brand of your PSU, but the exhaust 'grill' looks very similar to the ones FSP used to use back in those Athlon XP days

I think you may be right, my power supply model is labeled as "ATX-300GU", under the brand "Hi-Q Power", but I googled a bit and it seems these were indeed made by FSP, there is even the same model but relabeled as "Sparkle". I have another 300W Sparkle/FSP (different model though) in my Pentium II build, are these any good?

Tetrium wrote:

And how is Win95 doing for you?

No problems so far, but I have only installed the bare OS and drivers. Let's see how it behaves with the games, my memories about Win95 are kind of fuzzy and I remember having to do a lot of reinstalls and going back to DOS/Win3.11 in anger during some periods 😁

But then again, back in those days I only had the RTM 3.5'' version that came in 13 floppies, no patches or service releases so I'm hoping this one is a bit better.

Reply 5 of 7, by shamino

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Great build. I've been in the mood for a build of this time period as well. I ran into some obstacles and fell back on a later system, but ~1996-1997 really hits the spot for me.

TheMobRules wrote:

my power supply model is labeled as "ATX-300GU", under the brand "Hi-Q Power", but I googled a bit and it seems these were indeed made by FSP, there is even the same model but relabeled as "Sparkle". I have another 300W Sparkle/FSP (different model though) in my Pentium II build, are these any good?

I think it probably is very good, but might need capacitors replaced.
I have a few FSP300-60PFN power supplies, I don't know how different those are from yours, I'm just assuming they're similar. The latter have always worked very well for me, outputting solid voltages on some fairly demanding systems from the Athlon XP era. They solved some problems for me when I got them, and they've never let me down. They did have bad caps in them though.

Tetrium wrote:

And how is Win95 doing for you?

TheMobRules wrote:

No problems so far, but I have only installed the bare OS and drivers. Let's see how it behaves with the games, my memories about Win95 are kind of fuzzy and I remember having to do a lot of reinstalls and going back to DOS/Win3.11 in anger during some periods 😁

But then again, back in those days I only had the RTM 3.5'' version that came in 13 floppies, no patches or service releases so I'm hoping this one is a bit better.

I agree, Win95 completes the feeling of a 1997 system. It's definitely an adjustment to go back to it though. I had Win95 on CD but like you it was the original release, which is especially bad. Nowadays it's nice to have FAT32 support so you can pile lots of games on it. Hopefully you now have the OSR2 version.

Reply 7 of 7, by Iris030380

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Yeah it's a nice build and the Millenium is awesome for VESA / SVGA dos gaming like Skynet or SU-27 Flanker. Really crisp Matrox 2D graphics in Windows etc. But that machine is crying out for a VooDoo card! 🤣

I5-2500K @ 4.0Ghz + R9 290 + 8GB DDR3 1333 :: I3-540 @ 4.2 GHZ + 6870 4GB DDR3 2000 :: E6300 @ 2.7 GHZ + 1950XTX 2GB DDR2 800 :: A64 3700 + 1950PRO AGP 2GB DDR400 :: K63+ @ 550MHZ + V2 SLI 256 PC133:: P200 + MYSTIQUE / 3Dfx 128 PC66

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