The Batman's Revenge has one IDE port connected to a RZ1000 PCI IDE controller chip. Unfortunately reported buggy, still have to see that with my own eyes though. The other port is connected to the ISA bus through a SMC controller chip.

Quote from the manual;

The Premiere/PCI Baby-AT motherboard offers outstanding I/O capabilities. Three PCI local bus slots provide a high bandwidth dat […]
Show full quote

The Premiere/PCI Baby-AT motherboard offers outstanding I/O capabilities. Three PCI local bus slots
provide a high bandwidth data path for data-intensive functions such as graphics and disk I/O. Integrated
peripherals include the RZ1000, which provides a PCI local bus primary IDE interface, as well as the SMC
37C665 Super I/O component, which provides floppy and secondary IDE drive interfaces, two FIFO serial
ports and an ECP-capable parallel port. Five ISA slots complete the I/O mix

About the CPU bug: FDIV.

aries-mu wrote on 2023-09-11, 20:21:

I must admit, I am surprised at the serious lack of motherboards for Pentium 60 CPUs on eBay!

My recollection is that the first-gen Pentiums were just not that popular. The subsequent year's P54Cs were much better received... but even then, Pentiums remained quite expensive and a lot of people were still getting 486s...

1st gen Pentiums are Socket 4. Good luck finding such a motherboard for cheap.

Pentium 60/66 works only in 5V boards and there is no room for upgrade, why would anyone sold those separately? its combo like 386 boards.
Bad IDE controllers (afaik corrupted with two devices on same channel, otherwise good), bad early PCI bridges (irqs set with jumpers, not every slot capable of bus mastering), bad irq routing and resource allocation (not every PCI vga works etc). This was early adopter Pentium 60/66 life.

I have a couple P66 systems, and they are OEM (one Gateway2000 and one Packard Bell). Never had a retail socket 4 motherboard since they were pricey, and I probably was still using a 386 or 486 back then.

Apart from some Compaq Proliant P60 systems I just own a single ECS Elitegroup S4 Board.
I dont remeber the exact type, but it can easily be recognized by the white ISA slots.

rasz_pl wrote on 2023-09-11, 21:50:

Pentium 60/66 works only in 5V boards and there is no room for upgrade, why would anyone sold those separately? its combo like 386 boards.
Bad IDE controllers (afaik corrupted with two devices on same channel, otherwise good), bad early PCI bridges (irqs set with jumpers, not every slot capable of bus mastering), bad irq routing and resource allocation (not every PCI vga works etc). This was early adopter Pentium 60/66 life.

Oh my gosh!!!
What a drawer you've just opened in my mind, and what mystery you have just solved!

Unfortunately I do not remember the details of the problem I had circa 1995 with my Pentium 60 PC, but I do remember very well the gist of the problem. I remember telling to myself many times that "this is the first time I have a computer problem that I was not able to solve and remained a mystery".
I even called my IT mentor, Decio, whom you can consider a walking Skynet when it comes to computers. He also couldn't do anything.

It was a problem related to a PCI Controller (Tekram DC290N) which I added when I found out about the ISA-interface of the onboard EIDE controllers of the Batman motherboard. It was behaving crazily... to the point that I had to remove it. But when I tried to go back to the onboard EIDE controllers, they weren't working anymore, then I had to put the Tekram back in... I'm so sad I don't remember the details, but it was a completely illogical and irrational behavior.

Maybe it was related to one of the problems you just mentioned!

eisapc wrote on 2023-09-12, 07:52:

Apart from some Compaq Proliant P60 systems I just own a single ECS Elitegroup S4 Board.
I dont remeber the exact type, but it can easily be recognized by the white ISA slots.

😳 "some" Compaq Proliant P60 systems???? 😳 😳 I've been drooling over the idea of an old Proliant for a decade... and could never find one.

I even created a post here on Vogons asking people where the heck did all those Proliant systems end up...

What happened to all those beautiful systems

Oh man! Could you please share some pictures I can drool over?

Would you consider selling one, if you have more than one?

Thanks!

aries-mu wrote on 2023-09-12, 08:06:

:O "some" Compaq Proliant P60 systems???? :O :O I've been drooling over the idea of an old Proliant for a decade... and could ne […]
Show full quote

😳 "some" Compaq Proliant P60 systems???? 😳 😳 I've been drooling over the idea of an old Proliant for a decade... and could never find one.

I even created a post here on Vogons asking people where the heck did all those Proliant systems end up...

What happened to all those beautiful systems

Oh man! Could you please share some pictures I can drool over?

Would you consider selling one, if you have more than one?

Thanks!

There has been incidentally quite neat ProSignia EISA/PCI server for sale locally in my country. P90, SCSI DVD, DAT and HDD, although apparently HDD is on its last legs.

It has been for sale like months, it started with 100€ and is now 90€:

Here is the link, so you can at least drool over the pics!:

https://www.huuto.net/kohteet/compaq-prosigni … -eisa/587018693

CharlieFoxtrot wrote on 2023-09-12, 08:39:

There has been incidentally quite neat ProSignia EISA/PCI server for sale locally in my country. P90, SCSI DVD, DAT and HDD, alt […]
Show full quote

There has been incidentally quite neat ProSignia EISA/PCI server for sale locally in my country. P90, SCSI DVD, DAT and HDD, although apparently HDD is on its last legs.

It has been for sale like months, it started with 100€ and is now 90€:

Here is the link, so you can at least drool over the pics!:

https://www.huuto.net/kohteet/compaq-prosigni … -eisa/587018693

😳 Oh my gosh! lemme see!!!! 😳

AHHHHHHHHHHHH NOOOOOOOOOOOOOO!

when I heard 90 euros...!!!!
But it's not the one I like.

I'm looking for the one with this case:

That's just personal tastes. But, generally, it's a fantastic beast for a good price! Thank you so much!!!

aries-mu wrote on 2023-09-12, 09:04:

:O Oh my gosh! lemme see!!!! :O […]
Show full quote

CharlieFoxtrot wrote on 2023-09-12, 08:39:

There has been incidentally quite neat ProSignia EISA/PCI server for sale locally in my country. P90, SCSI DVD, DAT and HDD, alt […]
Show full quote

There has been incidentally quite neat ProSignia EISA/PCI server for sale locally in my country. P90, SCSI DVD, DAT and HDD, although apparently HDD is on its last legs.

It has been for sale like months, it started with 100€ and is now 90€:

Here is the link, so you can at least drool over the pics!:

https://www.huuto.net/kohteet/compaq-prosigni … -eisa/587018693

😳 Oh my gosh! lemme see!!!! 😳

AHHHHHHHHHHHH NOOOOOOOOOOOOOO!

when I heard 90 euros...!!!!
But it's not the one I like.

I'm looking for the one with this case:

That's just personal tastes. But, generally, it's a fantastic beast for a good price! Thank you so much!!!

Ha ha, you’re welcome! If this brightens someone’s day, it was definitely worth posting 😄

aries-mu wrote on 2023-09-11, 20:21:

Alright. […]
Show full quote

Alright.

I got this nice, retro (at the time) typical Italian case (DEX) and I'm positive on what kind of components I would 'feel' more apt in it.

Pentium 60 MHz it is! (Which, btw, also gives me memories, as my 3rd PC was a Pentium 60).

I must admit, I am surprised at the serious lack of motherboards for Pentium 60 CPUs on eBay!

There are a few Intel Batman mobos, but I remember very well being extremely disappointed of the Batman mobo at those times (my PC had that), when I found out that its integrated EIDE controller is not interfaced via the PCI bus, but the ISA bus!!! I was shocked!

So, with that, I'd also need to source a 32 Bit PCI EIDE (at least PIO Mode 4, or possibly UDMA 33) controller, which is additional cost and nuisance.

Any advice on a P60 mobo?

Unless I wanna use a Socket 5 or Socket 7 adding a voltage regulator between the P60 CPU and the mobo, if that's even possible (but then, I suspect the CPU clock is forced-multiplied to at least x1.5... I would have to find a way to nullify the multiplier...mmmm)

Also, I kinda remember about a certain bug in certain P60/P66 CPUs... any tip on that? I do have a P60 CPU buried somewhere... mmm....

Thank you!

PS: If you're curious about the case:

Can you please post more photos of this case? I THINK the full tower version of this was my 486 case and I've been looking for something similar for years, any leads on the make model would be great!

VivienM wrote on 2023-09-11, 21:45:

[...]

My recollection is that the first-gen Pentiums were just not that popular. The subsequent year's P54Cs were much better received... but even then, Pentiums remained quite expensive and a lot of people were still getting 486s...

Indeed. The Socket 4 Pentiums were eye-wateringly expensive back in the day, and their day was 1993-1994 only. Early platforms were not very mature/stable and for most people, performance was not much better than a much cheaper, more mature 486DX2. The Pentium FPU was more powerful and raw memory bandwidth was higher, but the number of applications that actually benefited from that was limited.

In 1994 Intel released the P54, with lower power consumption and higher clock speeds, but still very high prices, well above the 486DX4 released around the same time. It wasn't until the i430FX chipset came out with major performance improvements (thanks to EDO support, PLB cache support and decent dual-channel PCI IDE) in 1995 and Intel dropped prices to something regular mortals were prepared to pay that Pentium systems started selling in number.

So combination of short life (1993-1994 only really, although So4 systems did get dumped at bargain prices in 1995), very high price and not equally compelling performance means that numbers sold were low. Same for the early So5 boards from 1994 and early 1995. Then in 1995 it explodes which is why you can find i430FX-based stuff everywhere.

dionb wrote on 2023-09-12, 09:39:

Indeed. The Socket 4 Pentiums were eye-wateringly expensive back in the day, and their day was 1993-1994 only. Early platforms w […]
Show full quote

VivienM wrote on 2023-09-11, 21:45:

[...]

My recollection is that the first-gen Pentiums were just not that popular. The subsequent year's P54Cs were much better received... but even then, Pentiums remained quite expensive and a lot of people were still getting 486s...

Indeed. The Socket 4 Pentiums were eye-wateringly expensive back in the day, and their day was 1993-1994 only. Early platforms were not very mature/stable and for most people, performance was not much better than a much cheaper, more mature 486DX2. The Pentium FPU was more powerful and raw memory bandwidth was higher, but the number of applications that actually benefited from that was limited.

In 1994 Intel released the P54, with lower power consumption and higher clock speeds, but still very high prices, well above the 486DX4 released around the same time. It wasn't until the i430FX chipset came out with major performance improvements (thanks to EDO support, PLB cache support and decent dual-channel PCI IDE) in 1995 and Intel dropped prices to something regular mortals were prepared to pay that Pentium systems started selling in number.

So combination of short life (1993-1994 only really, although So4 systems did get dumped at bargain prices in 1995), very high price and not equally compelling performance means that numbers sold were low. Same for the early So5 boards from 1994 and early 1995. Then in 1995 it explodes which is why you can find i430FX-based stuff everywhere.

Agree. I bought my P90 with Intel “Zappa” 430FX MB in autumn 1995 and by that point they were at the price range that wasn’t exorbitant to home users. None of my friends had Pentiums much earlier, so I don’t think I ever saw one even live during 1993-1994. We all went happily with out 386s and 486s during those years and first Pentiums were this magical new thing that no one could afford to.

As prices went down during 1995, computer stores gradually started to market Pentiums towards consumers and I remember that fast 486s really went to second tier fast as far as the marketing goes. With the decreased price and the release of W95, Pentium sales took a sharp boost.

appiah4 wrote on 2023-09-12, 09:18:

Can you please post more photos of this case? I THINK the full tower version of this was my 486 case and I've been looking for something similar for years, any leads on the make model would be great!

Sure. I will when I'm home. If by tomorrow evening I didn't, will you please remind my, by also quoting my comment?

Thanks!

CharlieFoxtrot wrote on 2023-09-12, 09:14:

Ha ha, you’re welcome! If this brightens someone’s day, it was definitely worth posting 😄

Yes indeed!!! Surely somebody will adopt it

dionb wrote on 2023-09-12, 09:39:

Indeed. The Socket 4 Pentiums were eye-wateringly expensive back in the day, and their day was 1993-1994 only. Early platforms w […]
Show full quote

VivienM wrote on 2023-09-11, 21:45:

[...]

My recollection is that the first-gen Pentiums were just not that popular. The subsequent year's P54Cs were much better received... but even then, Pentiums remained quite expensive and a lot of people were still getting 486s...

Indeed. The Socket 4 Pentiums were eye-wateringly expensive back in the day, and their day was 1993-1994 only. Early platforms were not very mature/stable and for most people, performance was not much better than a much cheaper, more mature 486DX2. The Pentium FPU was more powerful and raw memory bandwidth was higher, but the number of applications that actually benefited from that was limited.

In 1994 Intel released the P54, with lower power consumption and higher clock speeds, but still very high prices, well above the 486DX4 released around the same time. It wasn't until the i430FX chipset came out with major performance improvements (thanks to EDO support, PLB cache support and decent dual-channel PCI IDE) in 1995 and Intel dropped prices to something regular mortals were prepared to pay that Pentium systems started selling in number.

So combination of short life (1993-1994 only really, although So4 systems did get dumped at bargain prices in 1995), very high price and not equally compelling performance means that numbers sold were low. Same for the early So5 boards from 1994 and early 1995. Then in 1995 it explodes which is why you can find i430FX-based stuff everywhere.

Quake had something to do with younger people dumping 486's for Pentiums. Another Issue was Windows 95 where people needed more RAM than what you could stuff in most older 30 pin SIMM based 486 systems. The 90's were a time period where computers were going obsolete very quickly (dumping ISA for VLB then PCI and finally AGP, 30 pin SIMMS to 72 pin FPM then EDO and finally SDRAM, needing bigger and bigger HDs) so people were buying complete systems every so many years. Some people did incremental upgrades but quite a few just purchased new machines.

For me I went for the 430HX chipset when I outgrew my 486/160.

Unknown_K wrote on 2023-09-12, 18:22:

Quake had something to do with younger people dumping 486's for Pentiums. Another Issue was Windows 95 where people needed more RAM than what you could stuff in most older 30 pin SIMM based 486 systems. The 90's were a time period where computers were going obsolete very quickly (dumping ISA for VLB then PCI and finally AGP, 30 pin SIMMS to 72 pin FPM then EDO and finally SDRAM, needing bigger and bigger HDs) so people were buying complete systems every so many years. Some people did incremental upgrades but quite a few just purchased new machines.

For me I went for the 430HX chipset when I outgrew my 486/160.

486 .... 160??? 😳

appiah4 wrote on 2023-09-12, 09:18:

Can you please post more photos of this case? I THINK the full tower version of this was my 486 case and I've been looking for something similar for years, any leads on the make model would be great!

Hi man, here's more pics:

I hope this helps