Shponglefan wrote on 2023-11-03, 21:41:

stef80 wrote on 2023-11-03, 07:38:

Updated bios on GA-6BXC and tested some VIA C3 CPUs.

What revision is your particular board?

I've got the same board (and a GA-6BXE), and have been planning to do similar tests and set up a Via C3 system too.

r2.0

Gatteric wrote on 2023-11-04, 15:42:

BitWrangler wrote on 2023-11-04, 14:05:

I know that's a modern desktop case, but that still looks like a lot more heat than I'd trust a desktop format to deal with. I'd be gutfeel limiting it at 65W CPU and up to 130W GPU

Hi BitWrangler

Yes I was a bit concerned about heat as well but after doing multiple benchmark runs and playing a few games, temps seem to be hovering around the 35c idle and 65c under load on both the CPU & GFX Card which is pretty good. It does have 2 x 120mm Noctua fans blowing over the CPU cooler as well which I think is helping

Ah good. I see you do have another vent or place to put a fan on the PSU side if things get hairy in hot weather.

BitWrangler wrote on 2023-11-04, 20:39:

Gatteric wrote on 2023-11-04, 15:42:

BitWrangler wrote on 2023-11-04, 14:05:

I know that's a modern desktop case, but that still looks like a lot more heat than I'd trust a desktop format to deal with. I'd be gutfeel limiting it at 65W CPU and up to 130W GPU

Hi BitWrangler

Yes I was a bit concerned about heat as well but after doing multiple benchmark runs and playing a few games, temps seem to be hovering around the 35c idle and 65c under load on both the CPU & GFX Card which is pretty good. It does have 2 x 120mm Noctua fans blowing over the CPU cooler as well which I think is helping

Ah good. I see you do have another vent or place to put a fan on the PSU side if things get hairy in hot weather.

Yes it's quite adaptable I can add another 2 x 80mm fans at the rear of the case as well & as you said a 120mm on the left side next to the PSU if required.

Gatteric wrote on 2023-11-04, 12:21:

Picked up a new case which I've moved my Core 2 Win XP system into, overall I'm really happy with it and it's nice to have anoth […]
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Picked up a new case which I've moved my Core 2 Win XP system into, overall I'm really happy with it and it's nice to have another desktop case 😀

System specs are as follows

CPU - Intel Core 2 Extreme - QX6850 @ 3.6Ghz (9 x 400 FSB)
Motherboard - Asus P5Q Deluxe Socket 775
RAM - 4GB Corsair DDR2 1066Mhz (CAS 5)
GPU - 1024MB Gainward GTX 285
Soundcard - Creative Sound Blaster XFI Titanium
HDD - 480GB Crucial BX500 SSD
Case - Silverstone GDO9B
Cooler - Zalman CNPS9500AT
PSU - Corsair RM650W
OS - Windows XP Pro SP3

Chris

I think it looks fantastic, great case!

Restored an old yet factory serviced Xenon revision 360, MFR date 07/07/2006. Also added a glitch chip so I can have a custom dash to monitor the temps - look at how crispy the CPU runs on it! And that'a with new MX6 applied!

The glitch chip, a Coolrunner Rev C1, driven by a XC2C64A. (which is actually on the backside - the chip you see on there is a dummy)

A bit of a wire securing. I used transformer tape as I couldn't get Kapton tape at the moment, and neither my friend had any on hand, except this yellow transformer tape. (the same you see in ATX PSUs.)

Backside. Also applied some more tape than what is seen there, to prevent shorting inside the case (I have had it happen in the past so better safe than sorry.)

Wrapped up together. The case itself used to be white, but it was too beaten up, so I bought some (rather cheap) red and black automotive spraypaint, sanded down the DVD bezels, and went for the same colour choice found on the Resident Evil 5 limited edition, with a few design changes (HDD being black+red, power button being black instead of red, and DVD bezels being black instead of chrome.)

Boy those CPU temps are crispy alright. It seems that 80*C on the CPU is pretty normal for the early HDMI-less 360s.
Not so safe when you have a bad-underfilled GPU though.
(not the case with this one as it has been serviced somewhere in late 2008, and has had a new GPU installed with good underfill.)

Xenon boards is not worth saving. Jasper or later helps and I thank you so much for keeping X-clamps. X-clamps works extremely well.

Nidec fans from other xbox 360 is much better and quieter. Did you keep the white air duct?

Cheers,

pentiumspeed wrote on 2023-11-05, 00:23:

Xenon boards is not worth saving. Jasper or later helps and I thank you so much for keeping X-clamps. X-clamps works extremely well.

Nidec fans from other xbox 360 is much better and quieter. Did you keep the white air duct?

Cheers,

This one actually was worth saving (along with another mint unit that turned out to be Elpis) - GPU has been factory replaced with fixed GPU_Y1, part number X817791. Surprised MS didn't add a Service Date sticker on it as everything inside reads October 2008 (aside from the NAND dump which is usually unaltered on these units.)

https://xenonlibrary.com/wiki/Y1_(GPU)

As it stands currently, Elpis will not glitch (X819195) due to incompatibilities between the glitch process and SAMSUNG RAM so the Elpis one I have (serviced mid 2009) stays on stock NXE (7371 dash).

The Xenon sub-revisions to avoid are the original Taiwan GPU'd units and some of the earlier Korean refurbs (marked X02056). Any Xenon bearing X817791 or X819195 is safe from the RROD (if properly cleaned and mended, of course.)

Spent an hour or so testing a new acquisition.
Kramer VP-8x8 8x8 VGA/UXGA Matrix Switcher and a Kramer VP-719XL Presentation Switcher/Scaler.

They do seem to work pretty well together. I think having played about with them I will be getting a couple of VGA patch cables to link the VGA outputs from the VP-719XL to the VGA inputs of the VP8x8 so I can control all the outputs from the came software...
Will be nice to have any computer go to any screen, or play my Gamecube on a CRT

I repaired a CompactFlash card today that I had managed to damage internally through a faulty insertion.

See here for a summary and more photos:

Repairing a damaged CompactFlash card with broken internal connectors

Pickup up a little something for my Digital Venturis 575 which I am giving a Creative touch; sound card and optical drives are both from Creative Labs - so why not add joystick?

It looks like a QuickShot Warrior 5 but had the adjustment sliders in the bottom blinded off

Sadly I haven't been able to find the exact name of the model. It may not be the best joystick in the world, and it does not have the right colour to the computer, but at least it is Creative 😉

More motherboard testing. Unfortunately this particular board (EFA P54CNPCI) won't POST. CPU doesn't even get warm.

Will need to double check the BIOS chip and start testing voltages...

Shponglefan wrote on 2023-11-06, 18:35:

More motherboard testing. Unfortunately this particular board (EFA P54CNPCI) won't POST. CPU doesn't even get warm.

Will need to double check the BIOS chip and start testing voltages...

Low hanging fruit would be to check for broken traces and to feel if any of the chips get hot to the touch, possibly indicative of a short circuit. Testing for a short in this way is how I diagnosed a problem in my Midiman MPU401:

Diagnosing a broken Midiman MPU401

Shponglefan wrote on 2023-11-06, 18:35:

More motherboard testing. Unfortunately this particular board (EFA P54CNPCI) won't POST. CPU doesn't even get warm.

Will need to double check the BIOS chip and start testing voltages...

To me it looks like someone removed the cpu regulator, LT2.

andrea wrote on 2023-11-06, 19:05:

Shponglefan wrote on 2023-11-06, 18:35:

More motherboard testing. Unfortunately this particular board (EFA P54CNPCI) won't POST. CPU doesn't even get warm.

Will need to double check the BIOS chip and start testing voltages...

To me it looks like someone removed the cpu regulator, LT2.

Andrea makes a good point. The voltage regulators on these old boards are quite large and difficult to miss. I wonder where this one has wandered off to. Even with a replacement, you'll want to find yourself a beefy heatsink to go along with it, or else it will just burn itself up.

andrea wrote on 2023-11-06, 19:05:

To me it looks like someone removed the cpu regulator, LT2.

Well spotted! After a slightly closer inspection, yes, it's definitely missing that vital voltage regulator. 😀

I guess someone cannibalized it for the metal heatsink, snipping off the voltage regulator in the process.

Interestingly, looks like the board was designed for one of three potential regulators, with the one installed being an LT1084.

Kahenraz wrote on 2023-11-06, 19:08:

Andrea makes a good point. The voltage regulators on these old boards are quite large and difficult to miss. I wonder where this one has wandered off to. Even with a replacement, you'll want to find yourself a beefy heatsink to go along with it, or else it will just burn itself up.

Yup, definitely don't want to exclude the heatsink. Now it's just a matter of finding one that will fit the space.

I do have an LT1084 with heatsink on another non-working motherboard, but unfortunately its heatsink is too large to fit this board.

How convenient of them to lists the part number on the board. I don't think I've ever met a motherboard silk screen quite so polite as this one. You even have a choice of options!

Kahenraz wrote on 2023-11-06, 21:43:

How convenient of them to lists the part number on the board. I don't think I've ever met a motherboard silk screen quite so polite as this one. You even have a choice of options!

Super convenient of them. 😁

And as luck would have it, I remembered I have an STB Velocity 128 on the way, which may have the exact heatsink I would need for this particular motherboard.

Once that video card arrives, I can replace the heatsink (which I was going to do anyway) and reuse it on that motherboard.

I'd still use a bigger heatsink if I could. With a Pentium 100 (your P75 seems jumpered to run at 100, as they all did) the regulator it's dissipating about 5W as heat. A Pentium 100 is about 10W, and if you think at the size of a typical Pentium sink, using that STB cooler for 5W seems a little weak.

Restored this Gericom Masterpiece 25360XL (ECS Green G732) to its former glory.

Quick specs:

- 1400x1050 15 inch LCD
- 60GB Toshiba HDD (might have to swap it out in the future though...)
- 1.25GB RAM (1x 1GB Kingston + 1x 256MB Samsung) DDR333 I think
- desktop Pentium 4 2.53GHz Northwood
- Quanta DVDROM drive
- 2k SP4 + XP SP3 dualboot
- SiS 645DX chipset
- Radeon Mobility 9000 64MB GPU

Issues fixed:

- RAM - one of the 256MB sticks it originally shipped with was dead
- HDD - had none when I bought it, took the 60GB out of my donor unit (Gericom Masterpiece 2540XL - i845 SDR)
- palmrest - also came from the 2540 as the original one was corroded and speakers were gone as a result.
- drivers - quite tough on the chipset and audio side as it was all SiS. The Radeon uses Omega drivers so not much to worry about.

btw this thing competes with a "OG XBOX HUEG" in terms of weight. I'm not even kidding, it's heavy as heck.