rasz_pl wrote on 2023-05-29, 22:54:
I hope I wont offend you when I ask WHY? This is extreme budget pcchips level garbage with worst socket 370 level of performance possible with bad AGP implementation, and listed as broken at that. Why buy something like that? I fully understand collecting old high end gear, but parts that went by the millions into supermarket "deals"?
I collect also lowend stuff. The reason is, so I can compare them with midrange and high-end stuff. Motherboards and graphic cards. But I collect also celerons, which can be also considered lowend garbage. It's luck, there are also such people, because the hardware don't get scrapped. Imagine, everyone would collect ONLY highend and practical cards for retro computers (like for Glide, banshee is considered still ok, but in it's time, it just wasn't so awesome card as voodoo2).
The objected board is not lowend PCChips garbage. PCPartner is not PCChips, they made lots of graphic cards for Sapphire, later they united. There are not only top tier 1 manufacturers and rest is garbage. There are also companies that are in middle. Biostar boards , Zida Tomato Boards, etc... and among them, there is also PCPartner.
Lots of Octek boards were rebadged PCPartner, and they were considered like budget option, but not complete garbage. As I'm watching auction, Octek boards are quite fabourable, and same Zida. They always got bids. Obviously, they are liked by many. There is fanclub also for Zida boards... they even made page, for BIOSes, manuals, drivers...
You basicaly made from that board complete garbage, but I see it as avarage. I personally also avoid PCPartner. But I like Octek (many boards are the same), just because of nostalgia. They were very spread as budget option in price listings and many companies, that sold computer parts back in end 90's and early 2000. That's why I collect them. Funny thing is, I never got one Octek. I was always over bid on auction. While I won lots of Asus, Soyo, QDI, Gigabyte, I've never had lucky bid on Soltek, Zida and Octek, even when I've tried. So as you can see, they are liked by some people. I have so many Asus , QDI and MSI boards, that I am trying for variability. This is, why I would like to have also Zida or Octek, even in slot 1- socket 370 -socket A era. I had basically luck only for QDI. (I have almost every chipset QDI and I didnt was willing to take only QDI, but it was always QDI when I got something in computer, and have won low bid... Im "ill" from it. 😀 Advance 1, Advance 2, advance 5, advance 9, advance 10... all their boards, for particular chipset. I dont want to have many boards from every chipset, so QDI took my variability in collection, so I'm trying to avoid them for chipsets, that are missing yet (so I usually bid even less on them, so my all collection is not only QDI 😀 Also have those SynatciX, Brialliant-1 and Excellence (440EX chipset).
VIA Apolo Pro 133 is not very likable chipset, that's true. It came in times of BX, which dominated. First kinda "ok" was 133A and particulary 133T (for tualatins), because it contained very often ISA slot. But it's still better than first Apolo Pro and Pro+ chipsets from 1998. I don't see his board as compete garbage, and now, when prices of retro hardware is spiking into mad (particulary socket 370 boards are hard to get), I really understand his joy, and I sharing his joy, for getting even PcPartner socket 370 Via Apolo chipset board cheaply (up to 15$).
