canthearu wrote on 2021-01-16, 01:57:

ok, quick update on the nforce 2 motherboard. […]
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ok, quick update on the nforce 2 motherboard.

it got through 50h of memtest86, just fine:

nforce2 - 50h.jpg

So onto prime95. Unfortunately, at first it was unstable, with prime95 reporting hardware errors.

Since I am actually overclocking the CPU, that isn't too unexpected. So I've bumped up core voltage to 1.75V (vs 1.65V stock) and it now run for 10 hours no crashes so far.

nforce2 - prime95.jpg

Now, I will leave it for the rest of the weekend, hopefully no more crashes. Then one more update and I'll stop dragging this topic off-topic.

I'm so glad you did this, because I was very tempted to do it myself. Mostly because I love my NF7-S 2.0 system and it has been rock solid for nearly 18 years... I felt like I had to defend its honor or something. 🤣

In all seriousness, I can't explain why some have had such reliability issues with nforce 2 boards while others have not. Lets all just be glad current PCs aren't like they were back in the early 2000s, at least stability wise.

I will say though, this board was a replacement. The first one had a temperature alarm issue out of the box where it would shut down with a "beedoo beedoo beedoo" at startup. I recall reading that it was a known problem with the early boards, and may have been related to overly sensitive voltage or heat protection features when overclocking (which I definitely was... and boy was I a noob). After RMAing it though (maybe twice???) they sent me one that never did that a single time, and has been perfect ever since, even with a heavily overclocked CPU.

Ozzuneoj wrote on 2021-01-16, 04:20:

In all seriousness, I can't explain why some have had such reliability issues with nforce 2 boards while others have not.

I can explain why my nforce2 board has a reliability issue. 😀

Shreddoc wrote on 2021-01-16, 05:21:

Ozzuneoj wrote on 2021-01-16, 04:20:

In all seriousness, I can't explain why some have had such reliability issues with nforce 2 boards while others have not.

I can explain why my nforce2 board has a reliability issue. 😀

20210116_181613.jpg

Mystery solved! 🤣

I did a very expensive thing. Looking forward to it!

mwdmeyer wrote on 2021-01-16, 06:44:

I did a very expensive thing. Looking forward to it!

Oh my. I spent too much time finding a low profile PCI video card for an Aptiva system last year. This has me all sweaty. What kind of system is it going into?

Pierre32 wrote on 2021-01-16, 06:56:

mwdmeyer wrote on 2021-01-16, 06:44:

I did a very expensive thing. Looking forward to it!

Oh my. I spent too much time finding a low profile PCI video card for an Aptiva system last year. This has me all sweaty. What kind of system is it going into?

Probably a small form factor compaq P3. I'm very happy about the HDMI port as I don't have space for a CRT monitor and my LCD doesn't do VGA and the adapter I have adds a lot of interference.

Sweet. I didn't even notice the HDMI. Enjoy!

Hi!

Normally I do not post in this thread (that's something I should probably change), but over the last couple years I've acquired quite a few interesting examples. This one isn't particularly special in itself, just a motherboard I need for a project.

But there is a longer story to it. What I wanted to build was a Cyrix/IBM 6x86 PR300, and originally I tried with an OEM board by Asus, the SPAX (pretty much SP-97XV, but one PCI slot less, and with onboard video and audio). It also doesn't cost an arm and a leg, unlike the SP-97. Trouble is, the plan was to use GUS in this build, and not just any kind of GUS, but Extreme. And the board just doesn't allow to disable the inbuilt audio. So what I needed was a similar chipset board (I know it worked with a Cyrix), but with no extras. This one is it. Being extremely yellow is a bonus.

Now waiting for it to arrive and holding my breath it is intact.

Nice board with a clean lay-out, thanks to the integrated south bridge. No need for a heatsink I presume?
Congrats. 😀

Ozzuneoj wrote on 2021-01-16, 04:20:

In all seriousness, I can't explain why some have had such reliability issues with nforce 2 boards while others have not. Lets all just be glad current PCs aren't like they were back in the early 2000s, at least stability wise.

Just to add to the nForce 2 debate, I've recently been putting together old gaming builds and the nForce 2 based build was my most troublesome.

Using an MSI K7N2 motherboard, it absolutely didn't like an overclocked CPU, with freezes in games. This board also did not like any AGP Radeon graphics cards, with constant crashes and weird behaviour even just trying to run 3DMark. So I had to put in an AGP GeForce FX instead.

The build now at least runs games, but a couple of specific games cause a BSOD in Windows XP after a few minutes of running, for example - Battlefield 1942 is unplayable and Halo at least caused a BSOD once. CPU doesn't seem to be overheating, everything is clean and no visible bad capacitors on the motherboard either.

I really must try running memtest for an extended period as others have been doing, as I am using dual channel. Running memtest for a short while back when I was having problems did not show up any memory errors.

Got this tank:

Murugan wrote on 2021-01-16, 12:09:

Got this tank:

Now that's a sexy case if there ever was one

PD2JK wrote on 2021-01-16, 10:36:

Nice board with a clean lay-out, thanks to the integrated south bridge. No need for a heatsink I presume?
Congrats. 😀

No idea yet, I'm still waiting for the board to arrive. Guess, we'll see when it does. But the SPAX didn't have a heatsink either, so... still no idea 😀

If this drops on you...
Never saw one like this.
I call it Blade Runner :p

oooh awesome components too :3

I think it was used as a linux workstation or so.
Only strange thing is that the SB16 (CT2290) does not output on SPK but on Line-out and I hear like CD-ROM and HD through the speakers.

mwdmeyer wrote on 2021-01-16, 06:44:

I did a very expensive thing. Looking forward to it!

Never seen this card before... What is it and where did you get it?

Edit: Nevermind, found it over here: https://www.forumzone.it/showthread.php?t=53589

Predator99 wrote on 2021-01-15, 19:08:

Already arrived. Nothing to complain here :-) I am asking myself why this 8-bit card is called "AT", there should be no reason w […]
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Predator99 wrote on 2021-01-12, 16:21:

Dont bid one this one Imi, the interesting card is one the way to me 😀 😀 😀 Including the slot bracket 😀
s-l1600 (9).jpg
s-l1600 (9).jpg

Already arrived. Nothing to complain here 😀 I am asking myself why this 8-bit card is called "AT", there should be no reason why it shouldnt run on a XT?

IMG_3255r.jpg
IMG_3256r.jpg

Also ordered these from that lot...
IMG_3257r.jpg

Wow, now THAT is an awesome scrap lot find!

Murugan wrote on 2021-01-16, 14:14:

If this drops on you...
Never saw one like this.
I call it Blade Runner :p

Beautiful. Whats inside?

foil_fresh wrote on 2021-01-16, 15:19:

Murugan wrote on 2021-01-16, 14:14:

If this drops on you...
Never saw one like this.
I call it Blade Runner :p

Beautiful. Whats inside?

Soyo 025N2 with DX2-66. Barrel battery was leaking with light damage but everything seems to work.
24MB RAM
CT2290 with issues I need to look into
Diamond Stealth Video VLB with extra RAM installed it seems (haven't removed it yet to see it in full)
VLB IO controller

mwdmeyer wrote on 2021-01-16, 06:44:

I did a very expensive thing. Looking forward to it!

OK hol' up, are we just going to let this one slip by without more people freaking out?

This is a brand new 3dfx VSA-100-based video card with hdmi out! Super cool!

If the existance of this card is common knowledge, then I guess I'm late for the party. 😀