Deksor wrote:

I wonder how it compares to my DX4 […]
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creepingnet wrote:

- I upgraded the driver for the HDD controller under Windows 95, it was noticeably missing and using a generic driver, so I put the Winbond VL-EIDE driver on there found through much web surfing, Windows 95's load time has gone down considerably (<20 seconds), transferring files over the network is a LOT faster (about 14MB takes about 2 minutes - which is very fast for a 486), and disk performance is just a lot better

I wonder how it compares to my DX4

IIRC, I transfered duke nukem 3D (which due to a mistake is ~50MB instead of 23/25) and it only took me 1 minute
Though maybe your network card is a 10Mbps and not a 100Mbps like the one I use

You are correct on the network card front - I'm using a 10mbps. Part of that is because I'm limited to ISA (My FIC 486-PVT motherboard is limited to VESA Local Bus and ISA and I've never found an ISA 100MBPS LAN card....though I probably should dig through some of the cards I got from RE-PC and make sure I did not just grab something better and faster as I did grab another Linksys new in box, 2 SMCs, and I think a couple other Realteks).

PhilsComputerLab wrote:

I watched ALL of that already 😁

Black Mirror? (The first episode is kinda odd, it gets better starting from the second one)

Added a S3-Trio64V+ support to OpenFirmware. Looking for volunteers to test it.

Short driver test if my 'cheap' - 3€ 3dfx voodoo1 is working...
Also to test the V2...

(Windows 2D quality of the onboard ATI rage pro was quite bad. Maybe because of the internal drivers from Win98. The GF2-MX with the 12.41 detonator, the picture quality was good instead.)

Took my bansee and voodoo 3 2k apart. Cleaned it (the voodoo 3 had thermal glue instead paste), replaced paste and ordered 2 sets of new Cu performance coolers. 35mm hard to come by these days. Had to rewire a cooler for a proper 3 pin connector(was a 2 ųpin connector)

Finally going through and inventorying all the motherboards I've stashed. Will probably be doing some basic cleaning and tidying up as well.

Posted a video on YouTube of me playing MP3s on my 486DX4-100 build using a 486-optimized version of MPXPLAY. This was done primarily as a response to someone who posted a video back in 2011 of a DX2-66 OCed to 100MHz utterly choking on MP3s running an older (but not 486-optimized) version of MPXPLAY. MP3 playback capability aside, I imagine their system would outperform mine in benchmarks because they had WB cache whereas mine only has WT.

Video is at https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0c6OKiR2cXs

Installed GRUB4DOS so I can change the multiplier of my VIA C3 "Samuel 2" CPU with SetMul in MS-DOS before using it to boot Windows NT 4.0. My "Samuel 2" on the Abit LX6 motherboard crashes the system if I change multiplier in Windows 98SE/NT/2000/XP using SetMul (98SE only) or CrystalCPUID.

Does it stay changed with a soft boot?

The multiplier stays when running GRUB from MS-DOS and boot Windows NT from there, when rebooting the system I have to redo the procedure or else I'm only running 433MHz.

Ah, I see, you're bootstrapping through DOS.

Half retro, half modern activity today!

Been planning my next PIII build with the new parts I've recently bought, but I'm doing something a bit different. I'm going to attempt to do pure high end year 2000 retro hardware and performance, with modern PC design. It is going to be the computer I start taking to local LANs since I always find myself playing UT99/Q3A anyway, and those that attend know that half of it is about the spectacle 😉

So far I'm looking to use the following hardware:

Motherboard: ASUS CUSL2 (will replace with CUSL2-C Black Pearl if I get one)
CPU: PIII 1GHz
CPU Cooler: Possibly a Spire WhisperRock IV (SPA04B4) if I go aircooling. Otherwise Swiftech MCW372 for a waterblock.
RAM: 512MB Micron 133MHz SDRAM (2 x 256MB). Likely will get some of the Bitspower UV LED tops if I go aircooling, otherwise waterblocks.
GPU: Canopus Spectra 8800 (GeForce2 Ultra). Will stay stock.
GPU 2: 3dfx Voodoo5 5500 PCI (for that glide support). May stay stock, may watercool. I think the EK-VGA Supremacy blocks will fit.
Sound: Creative Sound Blaster Live Platinum 5.1
HDD: 2 or 4 Maxtor 40-80GB HDDs (depends on what case I end up picking).
PSU: Either my Zalman ZM1000-HP Plus or Corsair CX850M. I'd prefer to use the Corsair if I can get away with it, but I haven't put two high end GPUs together yet, so unsure if the 25/25A 3.3/5V @ 130W combined on the Corsair will suffice. It has the advantage of being a single rail design, but the Zalman has the advantage of being 40A/40A with 250W load on 3.3/5V, but I'd have to load up the 12V rails enough too.

In terms of case and overall design, I want it to be a mix of oldschool and modern. The first real challenge I have to overcome is deciding on a case. I'd love to use a new case, likely black with acrylic window, that has the PSU and HDDs in a separate compartment. That narrows it down to a couple of Corsair cases, some Lian Li cases or the CaseLabs Bullet BH7. There were some Cooler Master ones, but they were too over-designed for me. I think the CaseLabs Bullet case would be perfect for its intended use - compact, handles, shows off hardware very nicely, but it probably cost as much as all the hardware going into it.

Even though it's going to be in a modern case, I am placing a strong emphasis on maintaining the colours that I remember so fondly in the case modding scene from the late 90s and early 00s. I'll be using UV CCFLs or LEDs with black and UV green cable sleeving, and either blue or green fans. Acrylic cut fan grills too, of course.

I've started custom sleeving ATX and Molex cables using Darkside HD sleeving. I will also be sleeving IDE cables, which I am not sure has been done before outside of rounding the cables. I will seperate the ribbon into groups of two cables and bundle them together into groups of 4 or 8, sleeve those and attach a new IDC connector at the end. Some early experimentation worked nicely with cheap sleeving from the local electronics store, though it was slightly too large in diameter.

At the end of the day, I just want a marriage of pure late 90s/early 00s hardware and modding aesthetics, with modern design and looks... if that makes sense. Should be a fun challenge 😀

torindkflt wrote:

Posted a video on YouTube of me playing MP3s on my 486DX4-100 build using a 486-optimized version of MPXPLAY. This was done primarily as a response to someone who posted a video back in 2011 of a DX2-66 OCed to 100MHz utterly choking on MP3s running an older (but not 486-optimized) version of MPXPLAY. MP3 playback capability aside, I imagine their system would outperform mine in benchmarks because they had WB cache whereas mine only has WT.

Video is at https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0c6OKiR2cXs

I tried this before on my 486 Kingston 133 chip, and I found that the performance was mostly due to what bitrate your mp3's were you tried to play. My 486 ran flawless with 96 Kbps, 128 Kbps, and 192 Kbps mp3's, but if I tried to play one of my 320 Kbps ones it choked and stalled.

x0zm_ wrote:

Half retro, half modern activity today! […]
Show full quote

Half retro, half modern activity today!

Been planning my next PIII build with the new parts I've recently bought, but I'm doing something a bit different. I'm going to attempt to do pure high end year 2000 retro hardware and performance, with modern PC design. It is going to be the computer I start taking to local LANs since I always find myself playing UT99/Q3A anyway, and those that attend know that half of it is about the spectacle 😉

So far I'm looking to use the following hardware:

Motherboard: ASUS CUSL2 (will replace with CUSL2-C Black Pearl if I get one)
CPU: PIII 1GHz
CPU Cooler: Possibly a Spire WhisperRock IV (SPA04B4) if I go aircooling. Otherwise Swiftech MCW372 for a waterblock.
RAM: 512MB Micron 133MHz SDRAM (2 x 256MB). Likely will get some of the Bitspower UV LED tops if I go aircooling, otherwise waterblocks.
GPU: Canopus Spectra 8800 (GeForce2 Ultra). Will stay stock.
GPU 2: 3dfx Voodoo5 5500 PCI (for that glide support). May stay stock, may watercool. I think the EK-VGA Supremacy blocks will fit.
Sound: Creative Sound Blaster Live Platinum 5.1
HDD: 2 or 4 Maxtor 40-80GB HDDs (depends on what case I end up picking).
PSU: Either my Zalman ZM1000-HP Plus or Corsair CX850M. I'd prefer to use the Corsair if I can get away with it, but I haven't put two high end GPUs together yet, so unsure if the 25/25A 3.3/5V @ 130W combined on the Corsair will suffice. It has the advantage of being a single rail design, but the Zalman has the advantage of being 40A/40A with 250W load on 3.3/5V, but I'd have to load up the 12V rails enough too.

In terms of case and overall design, I want it to be a mix of oldschool and modern. The first real challenge I have to overcome is deciding on a case. I'd love to use a new case, likely black with acrylic window, that has the PSU and HDDs in a separate compartment. That narrows it down to a couple of Corsair cases, some Lian Li cases or the CaseLabs Bullet BH7. There were some Cooler Master ones, but they were too over-designed for me. I think the CaseLabs Bullet case would be perfect for its intended use - compact, handles, shows off hardware very nicely, but it probably cost as much as all the hardware going into it.

Even though it's going to be in a modern case, I am placing a strong emphasis on maintaining the colours that I remember so fondly in the case modding scene from the late 90s and early 00s. I'll be using UV CCFLs or LEDs with black and UV green cable sleeving, and either blue or green fans. Acrylic cut fan grills too, of course.

I've started custom sleeving ATX and Molex cables using Darkside HD sleeving. I will also be sleeving IDE cables, which I am not sure has been done before outside of rounding the cables. I will seperate the ribbon into groups of two cables and bundle them together into groups of 4 or 8, sleeve those and attach a new IDC connector at the end. Some early experimentation worked nicely with cheap sleeving from the local electronics store, though it was slightly too large in diameter.

At the end of the day, I just want a marriage of pure late 90s/early 00s hardware and modding aesthetics, with modern design and looks... if that makes sense. Should be a fun challenge 😀

Looking forward to this 😀

Btw, if you want cool-looking RAM, you may want to look into RAMBUS. These RAM modules came stock with heatsinks and I think they look pretty cool (and retro...just keep in kind that they look cool but those heatsinks are there for a reason 🤣).

I always preferred the Sweetkiss over the Black Pearl though, it would look totally unique! ...but it's kinda harder to find matching components for pink. Black would be easier.

Tetrium wrote:

Looking forward to this 😀

Btw, if you want cool-looking RAM, you may want to look into RAMBUS. These RAM modules came stock with heatsinks and I think they look pretty cool (and retro...just keep in kind that they look cool but those heatsinks are there for a reason 🤣).

I always preferred the Sweetkiss over the Black Pearl though, it would look totally unique! ...but it's kinda harder to find matching components for pink. Black would be easier.

There were a good amount of red PCB Radeons and a few red PCB PCI audio cards came up on google. That's about as close as you'll get.

EDIT: also some red heatspreaders because i've never seen PC133 in any color but green

Got a Gateway 2000 486DX2 66 in the mail today. PSU seems to be dead. Anyways I put a paper clip in the cd drive, found gold. http://imgur.com/a/SkKdQ

The wallpapers I extracted from the CD are... well,...
http://imgur.com/a/fygei

oeuvre wrote:

Got a Gateway 2000 486DX2 66 in the mail today. PSU seems to be dead. Anyways I put a paper clip in the cd drive, found gold. http://imgur.com/a/SkKdQ

The wallpapers I extracted from the CD are... well,...
http://imgur.com/a/fygei

Those wallpapers. . .holy cow what a gold mine (heh). I died at seeing the big "uttered" cow on the motorcycle.

xplus93 wrote:

Tetrium wrote:

Looking forward to this 😀

Btw, if you want cool-looking RAM, you may want to look into RAMBUS. These RAM modules came stock with heatsinks and I think they look pretty cool (and retro...just keep in kind that they look cool but those heatsinks are there for a reason 🤣).

I always preferred the Sweetkiss over the Black Pearl though, it would look totally unique! ...but it's kinda harder to find matching components for pink. Black would be easier.

There were a good amount of red PCB Radeons and a few red PCB PCI audio cards came up on google. That's about as close as you'll get.

EDIT: also some red heatspreaders because i've never seen PC133 in any color but green

Well there was this one but it would indeed be much harder to find matching stuff.
MSI did make some red-PCB NV cards, but black is indeed easier to find and as a color it's easier to work with.

I hope you do find a black pearl and good luck with your build 😀

Iirc a member here who had a working one but I think he overclocked it to death or something 😢

So, I finally got the heart to test my $22 S370 MB + 1GHz PIII I got on ebay. It was listed as for parts, and others who bought from same seller left feedback about DOA boards, then mine arrived wrapped in bubble wrap that was the complete opposite of anti-static. So, I checked the manual, jumpers/DIPs don't match CPU, so I cleared them. First No-post, bad PS. Second no post, bad ram. Then it finally posted. 😀 Afterwards I give myself a heart attack when I put in my GF6800 and hear a loud shriek because it has no power. So now I just need a case for it, and i'll be good for 486-PIII. Probably gonna custom make an XPS B1400r eventually, but this will do for now.

oeuvre wrote:

The wallpapers I extracted from the CD are... well,...
http://imgur.com/a/fygei

Those are priceless! Gateway just became my favourite OEM, thanks for sharing.