Looks like a nice board. I wouldn't worry so much about 5x86 support, WB and EDO memory. It might work, but might not. Just use an IntelDX4 with WT and two sticks of 72 pin.

If you do want support for the latest and greatest I would lean more towards a pure PCI motherboard.

So yea, if the price is ok, I would get it. Looks like a decent board.

Most of my VLB boards have on board IDE/Floppy connectors. It's worth considering if you don't already have an i/o card (although they are plentiful and usually cheap)

There's a high risk it won't support 586 cpus. As a matter of fact I'm not even sure that chipset supports WB cache... To make sure it does, look for UMC or SiS chipset board from larger OEMs.

AMD DX5 is the same as 5x86

DX5-P75 is 5x86-133

As for memory, it is almost certain that you use either four 30-pin SIMMs or one, two, or three 72-pin SIMMs. I can nearly guarantee it won't work with mixed SIMMs, in any variety, or fewer than four 30-pin SIMMs. Further, it appears that only 72-pin slots 1 and 2 support double-sided memory, so if your SIMMs are all double-sides, you can only use those two slots, not slot 3.

Edit: Re-reading that chart, that's thoroughly confusing. I guess it DOES allow mix-and-match 30-pin and 72-pin! And that it only supports a 72-pin SIMM in slot 3 if you ALSO have an equal capacity of RAM in the 30-pin SIMM slots.

debs3759 wrote:

Most of my VLB boards have on board IDE/Floppy connectors. It's worth considering if you don't already have an i/o card (although they are plentiful and usually cheap)

Thanks, but I already got a VLB I/O and a Cirrus Logic 5428 video card)

i have a 486 board with 4 simms and 1 72pin installed, works great.

486 boards with onboard IDE connectors are not as common as boards with an IO Card.

What should this board cost ? I usually buy 486 mainboards WITH Ram and WITH a cpu for 15eur

Phreeze wrote:

i have a 486 board with 4 simms and 1 72pin installed, works great.

486 boards with onboard IDE connectors are not as common as boards with an IO Card.

What should this board cost ? I usually buy 486 mainboards WITH Ram and WITH a cpu for 15eur

Around 15 EUR with cache, but no RAM/CPU. This seems to be a common price for 486 motherboards in my area with barrel batteries — I'm willing to pay a bit extra for not having to deal with it. Also, I have everything I need except for motherboard itself.

Replacing a barrel battery with a cr2032 socket is fairy easy if the battery hasn't corroded the board, it's kind of fun if you like to solder.

I had a 486 board with both 72 and 30 pin simm sockets, it would use memory from both at the same time but it greatly reduced performance, it was better to use one type of the other.

Which video card are you planning to use? I've always wanted to get a 486 board with PCI to test out more video card but never found one for a reasonable price, not sure if you get much performance increase using a PCI card on a 486.. I end up using whichever adapter has the cleanest image on the LCD.

I say buy something and have some fun if it's within your means. 😀

Daviana wrote:

Replacing a barrel battery with a cr2032 socket is fairy easy if the battery hasn't corroded the board, it's kind of fun if you […]
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Replacing a barrel battery with a cr2032 socket is fairy easy if the battery hasn't corroded the board, it's kind of fun if you like to solder.

I had a 486 board with both 72 and 30 pin simm sockets, it would use memory from both at the same time but it greatly reduced performance, it was better to use one type of the other.

Which video card are you planning to use? I've always wanted to get a 486 board with PCI to test out more video card but never found one for a reasonable price, not sure if you get much performance increase using a PCI card on a 486.. I end up using whichever adapter has the cleanest image on the LCD.

I say buy something and have some fun if it's within your means. 😀

@jheronimus make sure you clip the charging diode near the battery holes (usually silk-screened D2) if you plan to use a CR2032. All boards provide 4.5 to 5v charging current trough there ( I found out the hard way). You could use a 3.6v coin cell rechargeable battery that supports that charging current (LIR2032 or LIR2450 if memory serves) instead of the CR2032 and leave said diode alone.

Most motherboards from that era also had an external battery connector to connect non chargeable batteries, in the event that the barrel battery failed.
Here is a site that provides some alternatives and tips: http://pc-restorer.com/replacing-cmos-batteries-in-old-pcs/.

kanecvr wrote:

There's a high risk it won't support 586 cpus. As a matter of fact I'm not even sure that chipset supports WB cache... To make sure it does, look for UMC or SiS chipset board from larger OEMs.

Regarding the chipset: This board uses the well known OPTi 895 chipset, for my taste the best chipset for a decent VLB built (Have it on a Shuttle HOT-419 motherboard - runs like a charm with any CPU I put in its zif socket).
The chipset supports WB caching schemes for both L1 and L2 but of course we're talking the L1 caching scheme here.
But I don't know if this (generic looking) board has WB implemented into BIOS. I think the OP has to try out.