VOGONS


Reply 20 of 58, by Almoststew1990

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I keep mine as modern as possible whilst still having the key hardware are period correct to achieve the compatibility I want. This usually means Soundcard, Graphics card and OS are period correct. For instance my Windows XP PC is a fairly new E8500 or Ivy i3 but I use an Audigy 2 ZS and GF 7950 GT PCI-E. I use SATA devices everywhere I can and a LCD 4:3 (well, 5:4) screen using DVI. I use a modern WiFi adapter.

My 486 and Slot 1 systems have modern PSUs, CF cards , LCD monitor, modern fans and heatsinks.

Ryzen 3700X | 16GB 3600MHz RAM | AMD 6800XT | 2Tb NVME SSD | Windows 10
AMD DX2-80 | 16MB RAM | STB LIghtspeed 128 | AWE32 CT3910
I have a vacancy for a main Windows 98 PC

Reply 21 of 58, by Marentis

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I use more modern components for a couple of reasons:
1) Ease of acquiring (one can easily get sd/cf cards, modern sata drives, etc...)
2) I don't want to stress some of my more rare hardware (yeah, I know, that sounds kinda silly, why own something if you're barely using it).
3) Some things are better left in the past like ball mice. Optical mice are so much nicer in my opinion.
4) Substitutes for items I wasn't able to acquire.
5) Modern power supplies can be a blessing. I'm usually buying Corsair and Seasonic PSUs and they're dead silent when their load is under 50%.

My favorite system is a Pentium 3 450 MHz Slot 1 machine and there I'm using a Promise SATA Controller because I have a sata docking station on my main system.
Thus exchanging data is extremely simple and not as limited speed wise as using a usb stick on the usb 1 ports on the Slot 1 system.
I'm also using a modern Noctua case fan because they're silent and can easily cool the system.

My 486 on the other hand is really a vintage system in the truest sense and so is my Compaq Deskpro with a Pentium 90.
But I found that I'm barely using them.

Reply 22 of 58, by dionb

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The one thing I'm unapologetically non-correct on in every system is sound. I understand and appreciate the nostalgia of the 'correct' sounds of an old build. For all of about 10 seconds before it irritates the hell out of me. So:

- replace noisy old fans with quiet new ones (Noctua Redux FTW), particularly in PSUs
- replace small heatsinks with whiny fans with big ones with slow quiet fans, or if thermally feasible no fan at all (Zalman CNPS-6000 😉 )
- replace rotating media with solid state stuff
- if sound devices are 'noisy', mute the buggers until needed on the mixer I feed everything through

Reply 23 of 58, by imi

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well fans back then weren't as noisy as they are now... bearings age, same goes for hdds, they weren't the same screaming platters they are today ^^ so it isn't even that accurate.

Reply 24 of 58, by darry

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imi wrote on 2020-07-10, 21:32:

well fans back then weren't as noisy as they are now... bearings age, same goes for hdds, they weren't the same screaming platters they are today ^^ so it isn't even that accurate.

Any hard drive made before fluid bearings (mid 2000s) became commonplace will not see the inside of one of my builds . I have zero nostalgia for worn ball bearings and anything that contains them .

Reply 25 of 58, by PTherapist

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My retro stuff all uses modern conveniences where available, the below list doesn't apply to every system:

Ethernet
CF cards
Larger HDDs
SD/microSD cards
USB memory sticks
Plasma/LCD Monitors & TVs
Gotek

Even as far as some modern hardware upgrades for my non-PC systems, ie. a modern/recent-built ULA chip replacement for my Sinclair ZX81 & a modern RAM expansion for my Amiga 1200.

Reply 26 of 58, by dionb

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imi wrote on 2020-07-10, 21:32:

well fans back then weren't as noisy as they are now... bearings age, same goes for hdds, they weren't the same screaming platters they are today ^^ so it isn't even that accurate.

Fans back then less noisy? You have got to be joking. Of course they were less awful than they are after 20 years, but even if you took new, good-brand low-noise 40mm fans, they will make vastly more noise than 60 or 80mm fans with the same displacement. Read any good 1999-era review of P3 heatsinks, you'll inevitably read about Alpha-Delta combinations having the best cooling performance but making as much noise as a 747 at takeoff. There's a reason Zalman started with the CNPS-series in P3 era, that big-name vendors like Compaq and HP went out of their way to develop special cooling solutions better than OEM (usually involving passive heatsinks under fan ducts with big, slow fans pulling air over it.

Up to 486-era, HDD noise was dominant, VERY dominant, but from Pentium onwards CPU and later GPU fans were what you heard in systems. And they certainly haven't been getting louder, I'd say the last 15 years, systems have been getting quieter out-of-the-box.

Reply 27 of 58, by imi

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I specifically meant that the old fans are more noisy now than they were when they were new :p so not an accurate representation of what machines back then actually sounded like.

also I know, I had a MCX462+ with Vantec Tornado 38mm 5700RPM fan in my socket A machine :p
I remember not giving or throwing that one away, but I can't seem to find it anymore 😒

I also had a 120x38mm industrial fan in the top of my case when 120mm fans were a sight unseen in PCs still ^^

Last edited by imi on 2020-07-11, 01:23. Edited 1 time in total.

Reply 28 of 58, by EvieSigma

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darry wrote on 2020-07-10, 22:30:
imi wrote on 2020-07-10, 21:32:

well fans back then weren't as noisy as they are now... bearings age, same goes for hdds, they weren't the same screaming platters they are today ^^ so it isn't even that accurate.

Any hard drive made before fluid bearings (mid 2000s) became commonplace will not see the inside of one of my builds . I have zero nostalgia for worn ball bearings and anything that contains them .

Bearing noise is why IDE Maxtor drives don't find a home in any of my computers unless they were factory equipment and I just...haven't replaced them yet. They sound awful nowadays.

Reply 29 of 58, by darry

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EvieSigma wrote on 2020-07-11, 01:17:
darry wrote on 2020-07-10, 22:30:
imi wrote on 2020-07-10, 21:32:

well fans back then weren't as noisy as they are now... bearings age, same goes for hdds, they weren't the same screaming platters they are today ^^ so it isn't even that accurate.

Any hard drive made before fluid bearings (mid 2000s) became commonplace will not see the inside of one of my builds . I have zero nostalgia for worn ball bearings and anything that contains them .

Bearing noise is why IDE Maxtor drives don't find a home in any of my computers unless they were factory equipment and I just...haven't replaced them yet. They sound awful nowadays.

Western Digital drives with worn bearings could sound terrible too, I can guarantee that .

Reply 30 of 58, by Horun

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WOW never realized some had such a hatred for old system noise. Wonder what happens when the Fridge turns on or the AC (even new ones do make noise) 🤣
I love the sound of an old floppy doing a Seek on bootup on an old sytem. There is something magical about that at my age that is just great, of course any one below 40 probably hates that sound because they never grew up with it or cannot remember it. To each their own !

Hate posting a reply and then have to edit it because it made no sense 😁 First computer was an IBM 3270 workstation with CGA monitor. https://archive.org/details/@horun

Reply 31 of 58, by jakethompson1

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Horun wrote on 2020-07-11, 03:17:

I love the sound of an old floppy doing a Seek on bootup on an old sytem. There is something magical about that at my age that is just great, of course any one below 40 probably hates that sound because they never grew up with it or cannot remember it. To each their own !

Well, some of are below 40, haha.
Can you also tell whether it's a Phoenix, Award, or AMI bios based on the seek sound alone?

Reply 32 of 58, by darry

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Horun wrote on 2020-07-11, 03:17:

WOW never realized some had such a hatred for old system noise. Wonder what happens when the Fridge turns on or the AC (even new ones do make noise) 🤣
I love the sound of an old floppy doing a Seek on bootup on an old sytem. There is something magical about that at my age that is just great, of course any one below 40 probably hates that sound because they never grew up with it or cannot remember it. To each their own !

I actually enjoy floppy noises too, to a point, especially the seek on boot of a dual floppy system.

As for noisy hard drives, I have dealt with a couple when they were still relatively new (less than 5 years old, but spinning 24/7 , so worn already). I don't miss those .

Reply 33 of 58, by Horun

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jakethompson1 wrote on 2020-07-11, 03:24:
Horun wrote on 2020-07-11, 03:17:

I love the sound of an old floppy doing a Seek on bootup on an old sytem. There is something magical about that at my age that is just great, of course any one below 40 probably hates that sound because they never grew up with it or cannot remember it. To each their own !

Well, some of are below 40, haha.
Can you also tell whether it's a Phoenix, Award, or AMI bios based on the seek sound alone?

Actually now that you mention it: sometimes. Most early AMI have a single seek, later versions and most Award had a double seek sound. Do not think I ever thought about Phoenix BIOS as I always disliked them until Award merged them.

darry wrote on 2020-07-11, 03:28:

I actually enjoy floppy noises too, to a point, especially the seek on boot of a dual floppy system.

As for noisy hard drives, I have dealt with a couple when they were still relatively new (less than 5 years old, but spinning 24/7 , so worn already). I don't miss those .

Ohh the sound of 7200 or 10k SCSI drives winding up to speed was like a jet plane going to take off. 🤣 yes that is a bit excessive but when dealing with old stuff is expected. 😀

Hate posting a reply and then have to edit it because it made no sense 😁 First computer was an IBM 3270 workstation with CGA monitor. https://archive.org/details/@horun

Reply 34 of 58, by aha2940

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Horun wrote on 2020-07-11, 03:47:
darry wrote on 2020-07-11, 03:28:

I actually enjoy floppy noises too, to a point, especially the seek on boot of a dual floppy system.

As for noisy hard drives, I have dealt with a couple when they were still relatively new (less than 5 years old, but spinning 24/7 , so worn already). I don't miss those .

Ohh the sound of 7200 or 10k SCSI drives winding up to speed was like a jet plane going to take off. 🤣 yes that is a bit excessive but when dealing with old stuff is expected. 😀

I still remember the noise of Seagate 15k RPM SCSI hard drives. I worked at a place that had several racks filled with servers filled with those drives. It could drive you mad. fortunatey hardly ever I had to go into the server room.

Back on topic, I am not obsessed with period-correct stuff, however I do not mix hardware that are too many years apart, except for using LCD displays with all my desktop computers. Most extreme hardware mix I have age-wise, may be the pentium MMX using a voodoo3 PCI card.

Reply 35 of 58, by PcBytes

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dionb wrote on 2020-07-10, 00:44:

- a dual P3-933 system with U160 SCSI and other period-correct hardware including two Thermaltake Golden Orb HSFs but with a multi-card reader on the front. Oh and all of that in a 2005-era transparant acrylic case 😜

I have a Voodoo 3 3000 build w/ a P3-650 (slot1, SL3KV) that resides in a 2004-2005 cheap case w/ a plexiglass sidepanel.

Oh, and add the RGB meme to it, since both front panel has 2 color changing RGB leds (w/ cyan,magenta and orange too) and the sidepanel fan is a RGBY (RGB + Yellow) LED fan.

"Enter at your own peril, past the bolted door..."
Main PC: i5 3470, GB B75M-D3H, 16GB RAM, 2x1TB
98SE : P3 650, Soyo SY-6BA+IV, 384MB RAM, 80GB

Reply 36 of 58, by Cobra42898

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Some things i feel we need to be able to compromise, like PSU units. if you can't solder, a modern good quality PSU is a necessary investment.

I love HDD noise. Don't understand wanting to do single core computing without it.

The only thing that annoyed me noise wise, was when CD-ROMS exceeded 24x and they spin at max rpm all the time. Thats mainly because it was loud enough to drown out the speakers unless I cranked them up loud enough to anger the rest of the house.

I'm not dead crazy about period correctness, but i think we build PCshere, on average, that run far better than they ever did originally.
I try to run ram levels that are roughly period correct. A 233mhz P2 with 512mb of ram never happened unless you were Richie Rich.
64-128mb was much more likely.
Hdd churning of swap files was a huge part of computing, and while it would be more correct to be short on ram and let it churn, it's very abusive on the equipment. There's a sweet spot I try to find.
I don't run a TSR virus scan on mine either, and their drag on a system was significant, IMO.

I don't put anything on a retro PC that I don't have backed up, or can't afford to lose.

I like CRTs but they take up a lot of real estate. I have multiple monitors soni can run more than one at a time, but a kvm is definitely on my list. LCDs aren't a deal breaker at all.

Ethernet is something I try to build in, if it isn't built in. its a dream of mine to build a vast network of simultaneous PCs all together. I have a big switch, so it's possible with enough time.

Searching for Epson Actiontower 3000 486 PC.

Reply 37 of 58, by 386SX

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I don't own many AT cases so if I've to build one old machine like my latest 386DX one and I found a very similar case like I had in my first x86 pc (classic slim one with riser card) I like to keep at least the computer (not the monitor) enough period correct or at least the fastest/modern one compatible in those times. So I found for a cheap price a 520MB Seagate disk when I could go for the IDE to SD adapter for similar price just cause it feels having more sense. But if I had another case to build a similar config I'd go for the exact opposite, SD adapter, floppy emulator, dvd, whaveter to make it "modern". I mean I like the idea of both type of builds even if some things may be a problem like the AT psu. They can be period correct but most are seriously old nowdays and I've seen AT psu gone badly. So it's the only thing that scares me into building retro period correct config. Maybe you spend a lot in components and time and then a PSU may ruin everything just for who knows which components may fail and whatever may result at the end of its connectors (voltage peaks, ripples, whatever..).
Another thing that's difficult to keep period correct I found being the CD-ROM drive. Most seems to not read modern cd, at least the few brands still found around in shops, so considering cd is the fastest way imho to copy data to these old machines without writing into the hd itself, when I've to write a cd with apps or files to install older drives can't easily read modern ones. So I went for a more modern CD 52X reader slowed down to 2X.
For the monitors, I'm using an old 26" TV for both modern pc and retro pc cause it was good on working with analog inputs, I repaired it and I got it since 2005 so it's nice is still useful. I wish I had one of those early Eizo LCD's like I had years ago with the 4:3 format and not more than 1024x768 resolution. I'll probably look for similar monitor cause I don't trust CRT remaining lifetime not to mention the space that it takes.

Reply 38 of 58, by lordmogul

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I slapped USB 2.0 and 100 mbps network into my P3 build for convenience, and a more than neccesary fan setup and a fairly recent PSU for ease of mind that it doesn't blow up.
Personally I'm generally somewhere between "only period-correct hardware" and "if it works it's fine": Everything that makes the machine more comfortable to use, less likely to fail is fine, but besides that, there is a reason I set up the old machine to begin with. Like, floppies are nice and the original experience, but when you have to hand over hundreds of MB you really enjoy doing it over network. And while the old fans might be as intended, they tend to be faily noisy, especially after 20 years. My hard drives tend to be bigger than they probably should be, but then I tend to keep stuff around, so even for an old build that would be period correct "for me"

P3 933EB @1035 (7x148) | CUSL2-C | GF3Ti200 | 256M PC133cl3 @148cl3 | 98SE & XP Pro SP3
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Reply 39 of 58, by Joseph_Joestar

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Modern PSUs are generally awesome, unless you have an AthlonXP build which expects at least 30A on the 5V rail. Good luck finding that on a PSU made during the last decade.

I'm currently looking for something like that, but it looks like I'll have to settle for a used 2004 LC Power PSU. Not my preferred choice, but I need those amperes.

PC#1: Pentium MMX 166 / Soyo SY-5BT / S3 Trio64V+ / Voodoo1 / YMF719 / AWE64 Gold / SC-155
PC#2: AthlonXP 2100+ / ECS K7VTA3 / Voodoo3 / Audigy2 / Vortex2
PC#3: Athlon64 3400+ / Asus K8V-MX / 5900XT / Audigy2
PC#4: i5-3570K / MSI Z77A-G43 / GTX 970 / X-Fi