Well that could be a P5A, but tbh any ATX board pre PC99 without sound would look like this, so it could be anything from Intel OEM So7 to early i440BX. Given it's running XP I'd assume the latter is more likely, particularly given that Ensoniq PCI card with colour coded outputs - that's more 1998 than 1996.

As for AGP, could be anything, SiS, Intel or Riva128 just as likely as S3.

Given that it works, it's a very decent deal regardless, the Voodoo alone would more than recoup the price, the rest is just bonus.

I'd say there's a small but non-zero chance you're wrong about not touched, and maybe CPU and RAM have been thoroughly upgraded to get XP to run smoothly - maybe a late P3 via slocket and 512MB of SDRAM or so.

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dionb wrote on 2022-01-29, 21:26:

Well that could be a P5A, but tbh any ATX board pre PC99 without sound would look like this, so it could be anything from Intel […]
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Well that could be a P5A, but tbh any ATX board pre PC99 without sound would look like this, so it could be anything from Intel OEM So7 to early i440BX. Given it's running XP I'd assume the latter is more likely, particularly given that Ensoniq PCI card with colour coded outputs - that's more 1998 than 1996.

As for AGP, could be anything, SiS, Intel or Riva128 just as likely as S3.

Given that it works, it's a very decent deal regardless, the Voodoo alone would more than recoup the price, the rest is just bonus.

I'd say there's a small but non-zero chance you're wrong about not touched, and maybe CPU and RAM have been thoroughly upgraded to get XP to run smoothly - maybe a late P3 via slocket and 512MB of SDRAM or so.

This machine did not come with XP installed. By the time XP came out, all motherboards had PC'99 color coding. It may have received a memory upgrade to support XP, but XP ran nicely on older CPUs. My guess is that this machine is from late 1998 or 1999.

Anders- wrote on 2022-01-29, 21:31:

BX-board, a not-too-fast PII with 66MHz fsb, 160MB ram (upgraded from 128), Virge GX graphics and a Maxtor harddrive.

If you get the computer running, would you mind sharing the wallpaper? Looks pretty neat.

I have never seen a 440BX machine that was originally fitted with a 66MHz FSB processor (except for Celeron 300A, with the intent to run at 450). The LX chipset was much cheaper, offering the exact same features.
I think this is a stock WinXP wallpaper. Otherwise, I will ask the seller if I can make a copy of it; my policy is to immediately wipe any machine I receive (for privacy reasons).

Some BX boards already had the mouse/keyboard color-coded. Not all, but some. For instance, later revisions of the Abit BH6.

Hmm. That stylish tower definitely contains:

a FIC MVP3 chipset motherboard with 2MB of L3 cache
K6-3 at 450
256MB of RAM
12MB Voodoo2
4MB Rage Pro
Ensoniq/Creative AudioPCI
A D-Link "I Can't Believe It's not 3Com" ethernet card
And a whiny 20GB IBM Deskstar that the dude purchased in 2002 when he upgraded to XP.

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Oh the AudioPCI is definitely correct.

There was some early ATX with 430HX, socket 7, probably a 233MMX on them... (Because cheapskates stayed AT) ... I'll say it's got a Rage in the AGP slot a Diamond Monster II 8mb, ESS soundcard, 128MB of EDO SIMMs, just to make a complete and different guess (Or to jinx you depending how you see it when it gets there 🤣 )

edit: BTW, reason I'm guessing early ATX is because of complete lack of color coding on the ports.

I just returned from picking up the computer.
So far I have resisted the temptation of ripping it open and looking inside (is this just savoring the moment, or am I a masochist?).
The seller did give me some background story:

• The seller was the original/sole owner of this system.
• The PC was bought around in year 2000 (more on that later, his memory was slightly fuzzy here)
• The PC was custom built to his budget and computing needs, by a local computer shop. (the shop name is printed on the keyboard, so that checks out)
• He payed ƒ4500 (~$2500 USD) at the time for the whole system (including monitor, speakers, keyboard and mouse). He was very sure of it, I believe him.
• I received all the original accessories (keyboard, mouse, speakers, monitor)
• The only upgrade ever made was the ethernet card.
• The power supply was never repaired according to the seller.
• The monitor is an Iiyama Vision Master Pro 400. Production date: October 1998.
• According to the seller, the power supply is still the original; it was never repaired
• Only the S, W, E and down arrow on the keyboard show signs of wear. I can understand W,S and down for gaming and internet browsing (no scroll wheel on the mouse), the E key is a mystery to me...

I think the system is older than the seller remembers. As clunky as these CRT's are, I do not believe that stores/distributors kept a year's worth of these in stock. So my guess is still that that the system was purchased in 1999.
The power supply clearly states "Intel Pentium 4 - AMD K7 - certify". I do not believe P4 was on the radar yet in 1999 (right?). So I do believe it has been repaired.

Given the high budget for the machine I expect to find the following:

• Intel 440BX motherboard (asus) with Pentium-II 400
• 128MB PC100 SDRAM
• Diamond Monster 3D II 12MB
• Matrox Millenium
• 12GB Maxtor harddrive
• A power supply that has been replaced 😉
• Still a Rockwell 56K6 modem
• Still an Ensoniq based Soundblaster PCI

Update your bets 😉 I cannot hold back much longer 😁

Maybe 192MB RAM. A 64MB stick of PC100 and a 128MB one of PC133. 😀

So, here it is. Drumrollll please....

Opening up the case:

First daylight in a long time.
Clearly a Voodoo2 inside (there's my money's worth 😀)
It is a P2B so Asus with intel 440BX chipset

Gutted 😈

And for the centerfold, the naked motherboard 😉

So this is what we have:

• Asus P2B (i440BX)
• Intel Pentium II 350Mhz
• 64MB PC100 RAM (Windows XP must have run so poorly)
• Diamond Viper V550 (16MB Riva TNT)
• Diamond Monster 3D II 8MB (weird combo)
• Creative Sound Blaster PCI 128 (CT4700)
• Quantum Fireball EX 6.4GB
• No name Cirrus Logic 56K6 modem
• TP Link Realtek 1Gbps ethernet card (Windows 8 logo on the box, how long have they used this PC)

Stickers on the RAM and GPUs are dated 1998, the ram is labeled October-1998. So this is definitively a late 1998/early 1999 machine.

Why configure a new system in 1998 with both Riva TNT and voodoo2 (it appears to be original, similar dates, same screws, no wear on the V550 VGA connector)?

No way the PSU is original, it is labeled ATX 2.03 and ATX 12V, so it is 2003 or younger.

Why bother with the ethernet card (after 2012) and leave the RAM at 64MB for windows XP... This would be unbrowseable 😖

I like the voodoo (was hoping for a 12MB though), the monitor, the case. Hell even the Viper V550 and the fireball.
To bad it is a thirteen-a-dozen pentium 2.

All in all, I am left satisfied and smiling 😀 how about you?

With a proper slotket, you could be running a 1-1.2GHz Tualatin in there. I did back in the day on my Abit BH6. 😀

OR

you could keep it as-is and install win98. Keep the modem in there too for laughs.

Very enjoyable thread! 😃Read the OP yesterday, didn't have time to reply but came back for the conclusion.
Thumbs up!👍👍

Nice, motherboard is a couple of levels nicer than I was expecting... 64MB though, what masochists run XP on 64MB???

If I was gonna minimally upgrade it, it would get a PIII 600 and two sticks 128MB, and a wipe and 98SE install.

Now I WANT to do a XP build with a PII-350 and 64MB of RAM, just for the pain of it. 🤣

If I even have a 64MB DIMM.

stamasd wrote on 2022-01-30, 14:52:

Now I WANT to do a XP build with a PII-350 and 64MB of RAM, just for the pain of it. 🤣

Just edit boot.ini to have /maxmem=64

Gabriel-LG wrote on 2022-01-29, 21:47:

[...]

This machine did not come with XP installed. By the time XP came out, all motherboards had PC'99 color coding. It may have received a memory upgrade to support XP, but XP ran nicely on older CPUs.

Beg to differ there. Back in 2002 or so I built a system for a cash-strapped student association. P2B-LS motherboard, P2-400 CPU, 192MB RAM and some half-decent 7200rpm SCSI drive. They were only doing MS Office work and internet browsing, but insisted on XP because they didn't know how to use anything else (students of history, unfortunately not computer history 😉 )

After a few months the apologetically handed it back as it was too slow to be usable according to them.

Gabriel-LG wrote on 2022-01-30, 12:09:

[...]

Why configure a new system in 1998 with both Riva TNT and voodoo2 (it appears to be original, similar dates, same screws, no wear on the V550 VGA connector)?

Because Voodoo for GLide games and TNT for Direct3D and 32b colour. If you had too much money to spare, this config would make sense.

[...]

Why bother with the ethernet card (after 2012) and leave the RAM at 64MB for windows XP... This would be unbrowseable 😖

Yeah, by 2012 you could get SDRAM essentially for free, this thing would fly with 768MB or so.

[...]

All in all, I am left satisfied and smiling 😀 how about you?

Could have been a lot worse.

What revision is the P2B? 1.10 or over and you may have lots of options.

dionb wrote on 2022-01-30, 16:54:

[...] Beg to differ there. Back in 2002 or so I built a system for a cash-strapped student association. P2B-LS motherboard, P2-4 […]
Show full quote

[...]
Beg to differ there. Back in 2002 or so I built a system for a cash-strapped student association. P2B-LS motherboard, P2-400 CPU, 192MB RAM and some half-decent 7200rpm SCSI drive. They were only doing MS Office work and internet browsing, but insisted on XP because they didn't know how to use anything else (students of history, unfortunately not computer history 😉 )
After a few months the apologetically handed it back as it was too slow to be usable according to them.
[...]
Yeah, by 2012 you could get SDRAM essentially for free, this thing would fly with 768MB or so.
[...]
What revision is the P2B? 1.10 or over and you may have lots of options.

I will go check out the Windows XP experience, first with 64MB and then with 256MB, just to see how it runs. Ultimately, I will of course install Win98SE.
From the seller, I got the impression that the ethernet card was installed by a computer store... They could have upgraded the RAM just as a free service...

With regards to upgrading memory, adding too much RAM will cripple some Pentium-II systems, as they can cache only up to 512MB (I believe it only affects 66Mhz FSB models).

It is a P2B rev 1.02, so no (official) coppermine support, I believe it is a VRM limitation.

I will replace the NIC with a proper 3Com/intel card, upgrade the RAM and maybe upgrade the CPU to a Pentium-II 450. I do like the idea of this machine being a tribute to 1998.
I am afraid I will need to sell a system; for space and (hobby)budget reasons. So not sure if I will keep this system on (the monitor is staying btw).

Gabriel-LG wrote on 2022-01-30, 17:22:

From the seller, I got the impression that the ethernet card was installed by a computer store... They could have upgraded the RAM just as a free service...

They might have thrown in the PSU then as a better used one they had lying around.... or the trainee trapped a wire putting the cover back on, blew the PSU and they switched a new one in and didn't say anything 🤣 ... if you wanna Sherlock Holmes that, check for any traces of what might be a burn mark, maybe well cleaned off, around the edges of where the case cover fits.