What's your plans for the Quadro's Phil?

borgie83 wrote:

What's your plans for the Quadro's Phil?

I want to test them with Splinter Cell Pandora Tomorrow. But got no time currently 😵

Mau1wurf1977 wrote:

borgie83 wrote:

What's your plans for the Quadro's Phil?

I want to test them with Splinter Cell Pandora Tomorrow. But got no time currently 😵

Cool 😀 Should weld some interesting results given that workstation cards arn't optimised for gaming. If your results come up showing that the Quadro FX 2000 (I'm assuming that's what they are) isn't too far behind just say the FX5800 in FPS then it would show that we should possibly start considering workstation cards in retro builds. This way our windows performance would be increased without losing out on gaming performance.

I got two Quadro4 980 XGL recently and they work perfectly with Splinter Cell 😀 They are the Quadro versions of the GeForce 4600 AGP 8x.

The FX 2000 is the Quadro version of the regular FX 5800 and I'm confident that the card will work just as well.

You can always force the driver as a GeForce but it might not be needed at all.

I might get a FX 3000 as well, but there is no rush.

I like how well built the Quadro cards are. They are also usually very clean and looked after.

Mau1wurf1977 wrote:

I got two Quadro4 980 XGL recently and they work perfectly with Splinter Cell :) They are the Quadro versions of the GeForce 460 […]
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I got two Quadro4 980 XGL recently and they work perfectly with Splinter Cell 😀 They are the Quadro versions of the GeForce 4600 AGP 8x.

The FX 2000 is the Quadro version of the regular FX 5800 and I'm confident that the card will work just as well.

You can always force the driver as a GeForce but it might not be needed at all.

I might get a FX 3000 as well, but there is no rush.

I like how well built the Quadro cards are. They are also usually very clean and looked after.

I think I remember briefly seeing a thread you started on your testing. Could you please post the link for me?

Regarding build quality, the other plus would be that the ones for sale most likely haven't been overclocked or used in several systems etc. They're probably just taken out of a bunch of office computers and put straight up for sale. Most pc gamers don't think to use workstation cards in their builds.

YT Video: Building a retro gaming PC for Splinter Cell!

I wouldn't expect the FX 2000 to do much worse than a 5800; when Tom's has done more modern comparisons (like FX 4800 vs GTX 280) they usually end up pretty close for DirectX. If you get a chance to benchmark them I've got the 5800 Ultra for comparison, but no Vanilla 5800 (I don't know if my Ultra would like being massively underclocked - I remember trying something like that on a 9600 Pro (to take it down to "normal 9600" levels) a few years ago and it had problems with it). Agreed about pro cards tending to come in great shape - both of my 3DLabs cards have looked almost new on arrival. I'm guessing, though, if I had spent $2000-$3000 on a single card, I'd probably keep it looking pristine too. 🤣

A Matrox Rainbow Runner extension board.
I really don't know what to do with it yet. 😁

Solarstorm wrote:

A Matrox Rainbow Runner extension board.
I really don't know what to do with it yet. 😁

Now that is something I haven't seen before 😀 I wish it could accelerate flash 😁

Creative SoundBlaster awe64 gold CT4390
.

Orchid SoundWave 32
.
SoundWave 32 is interesting that it has removable rom chips and several versions of the rom released, which can be changed manually. The latest version was called "InVision". There are roms with numbers "820-...", in the internet also some photos with "810-" roms. What is the difference - is not clear.

Difficult to identify the exact version of this board. This,of course, "SoundWave 32", but differs from those "SoundWave 32" photo which posted online:
1. Different jumpers position for port/dma (port on left, dma on right)
2. Missing jumper 512/1M, to select the rom chips size.

Documentation on SW32 and SW32 Pro contains identical board pictures, where port/dma jumpers is installed contrary and has 512/1M jumper. (But, for the economy, documentation could take single picture for different cards)
Board Revision is 835-0139-1/A, while the photos on the internet has 835-0139-1/B or -1/C. Maybe it's just early version of SW32?

My 6 PIII-era project laptops arrived today. Trying to carry their 25-30kg box back to my flat was a bad idea... They cost £16, plus £8 P&P (all devoid of hard drives and chargers).

First is this Compaq Armada M700. I think it's the only laptop of the six with a metal top cover, and it is also the oldest, with its Windows 98 CoA. It's in good shape, apart from some polystyrene (I think) has fallen into one of the fans, and the screws look battered - I think one of the lock latches may be missing as well, but I'm not sure. It also needs a new keyboard, as the membrane is damaged near the missing key. Seems to power on fine, but didn't really want to let me into the BIOS setup. The backlight started out being a little uneven, but slowly sorted itself out. It also bizarrely appears to have two power buttons - one on the left, and a switch on the right!

Next are a pair of Dell Inspiron laptops, an 8000, and an 8100. The 8000 (first pictured) was in good shape bar the missing PCMCIA slot covers and a horrible feeling trackpoint, but unfortunately the 8100 needs a new screen cable (graphics output was a bit fuzzy on the TFT, but looked fine on an external monitor) I believe, and is also a PCMCIA slot cover short. These laptops both shipped new with Windows Mistake Edition, and both let me into the BIOS setup just fine - I'm struggling to tell the two apart based on anything other than the model number, as both have the same 1GHZ PIII CPU, 256 MB of RAM, and the same graphics chip. Both have hinges that are a little loose, but still sturdy. The 8000 was originally shipped on 6/6/2001, if I remember correctly from looking up its service tag.

Hot on the heels of the Inspirons was this Latitude C600. It's a little rougher cosmetically (the Dell logo on the top is a mess, some of the plastic casing is loose, one PCMCIA slot cover is missing), the trackpoint top is missing, and the laptop is in need of an optical drive faceplate (or probably a new drive, since it flew out of its mounting at me when I picked it up!). It has some odd behaviour caused by its dead battery (when the charger is connected, it flashes orange, orange, then green, and cycles that) but otherwise appears to be in fully working order. It also has a 1 GHz Pentium III CPU, it shipped new with Windows 2000 Professional, and has very little play in its hinges.

The penultimate laptop is my favourite - a Sony Vaio PCG-FX601. This has a 1.1 GHz AMD Duron CPU, and is in fantastic shape, with really tight hinges, very few scratches/scuffs and all of its panel covers - the only obvious issue is that I can't figure out how to properly reattach the power button faceplate! However, the best bit about the laptop is that the battery is clearly charging, and able to hold at least some of a charge; no idea how much, but it's pretty incredible that it is able to run off its battery with no issues. It shipped new with Windows XP Home, and I couldn't seem to get it to go into its BIOS setup screen.

Finally is this Toshiba Satellite 1800-712. It featured a 1.1 GHz Intel Celeron CPU, and shows signs of its battery taking a charge - not sure if it is taking much of one, or how well it will last yet. It's in almost as good a condition as the Vaio is cosmetically, although it isn't as clean and smells a little odd (not faulty electrics odd!). It didn't seem to want to go into BIOS setup, although I did get it to go there once - I do know, however, that it has a good optical drive (on at least the CD lens), as there was a disc left in it that it attempted to check for any potential to boot from. Like the Vaio, it shipped new with XP Home.

Chap, that is a lot of laptops!!!! What is the plan with this lot then? Did you get anywhere with the Advent you have?
Best,
Chris

BSA Starfire wrote:

Chap, that is a lot of laptops!!!! What is the plan with this lot then? Did you get anywhere with the Advent you have?
Best,
Chris

The Advent is waiting for the end of my exams, just like these six are. The Vaio may well take the Advent's intended role of being a portable Windows 98/XP machine, whilst the other 5 will definitely be fixed up and sold on again (much like the Powerbook G3 I showed before, and like the Advent will be if I do keep the Vaio) as fully working systems, with fresh OS installs and everything.

Got a SC-55 today. Need to reset factory settings. 😀

Clean that puppy up! I like the finger greeeeze around the knob. ;P

Came across a nice lot of old commodore and tandy stuff. This haul will keep me busy for a while 🤣. I also picked up some atari and other tandy gear a little while ago. More and more I am realizing my affinity to commodore and old atari st systems. I never got into amiga that much but I think I have a amiga 500 kicking around somewhere...its hard to pry me from traditional pc's for the most part but there is a lot of nostalgia in these alternative computers for me since most of my friends had them and I always found it interesting how some had different versions of the same pc games I had when I was younger. I'm looking forward to having some fun with these systems...I have a whole bunch of peripherals and random games for all these units in the form of cassettes and low density floppies...I'm hoping to try some out soon when I get some time.

easy_john wrote:

Creative SoundBlaster awe64 gold CT4390 http://kawai.spb.ru/photo/d/123047-2/ISA_Creative_SoundBlaster_awe64_gold_CT4390_f.JPG. […]
Show full quote

Creative SoundBlaster awe64 gold CT4390
.

Orchid SoundWave 32
.
SoundWave 32 is interesting that it has removable rom chips and several versions of the rom released, which can be changed manually. The latest version was called "InVision". There are roms with numbers "820-...", in the internet also some photos with "810-" roms. What is the difference - is not clear.

Difficult to identify the exact version of this board. This,of course, "SoundWave 32", but differs from those "SoundWave 32" photo which posted online:
1. Different jumpers position for port/dma (port on left, dma on right)
2. Missing jumper 512/1M, to select the rom chips size.

Documentation on SW32 and SW32 Pro contains identical board pictures, where port/dma jumpers is installed contrary and has 512/1M jumper. (But, for the economy, documentation could take single picture for different cards)
Board Revision is 835-0139-1/A, while the photos on the internet has 835-0139-1/B or -1/C. Maybe it's just early version of SW32?

Great find! I own an SW32 with 1M ROMS and it is a very good sound card as far as I can tell. I tried it on 386 at first, yet it was a little too slow for it. What this card shines at is MT-32 emulation mode enabled by loading MT-32 bank provided with the driver.

RacoonRider wrote:

Great find! I own an SW32 with 1M ROMS and it is a very good sound card as far as I can tell. I tried it on 386 at first, yet it was a little too slow for it. What this card shines at is MT-32 emulation mode enabled by loading MT-32 bank provided with the driver.

Do you have any information about rom revisions? How do they differ? What size? Right now I see on photos "810-", "820-" and "821-" versions.
Maybe somewhere there dumps of latest rom revision, named "InVision"?

I will clean it up this weekend. 😀