VOGONS


First post, by pshipkov

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Not far ago relative gave me FIC PA-2013 2.1 SS7, AGP, ATX motherboard.
Tested it briefly - worked as expected. Overclocked well and everything.
Left it collecting dust for several weeks.
Turned it on 2 days ago to check something - very unstable - rarely finishes POST even with the most conservative FSB frequency, BIOS settings, clock multiplers, etc.
Tested it with Quadro2 Pro AGP which worked great the first time around.
At some point switched to MGA PCI - instant stability - everything back to normal.

Considered replacing the electrolytic capacitors - the usual cure.
Waiting for them to arrive since don't have that specific type.

Tonight touched with finger different components on the board and to my surprise a very compact 9435A mosfet on the right side of the AGP slot was burning hot. Left a red mark on me.
There is a diode right on top of it which may be another potential problem.
Is it normal for such a small element to be so glowing hot ?
Checked online - no such info, but data sheet hints at high temperature range - over 100C.

If somebody has such board - any chance for a cross-check ?

retro bits and bytes

Reply 2 of 14, by pshipkov

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Thank you for the link.
I remember seeing that thread before but forgot about it.
So last night I thought that I figured out the source of agp problems.
All was working fine. Snapped some pics and was thinking to post the solution, but tried 2 hours ago and thing were not fixed fixed.
So looking some more ...

retro bits and bytes

Reply 3 of 14, by Repo Man11

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Maybe you'd be best off with a PCI card? Phil's video shows that there isn't much of a performance difference between a PCI and AGP FX5500: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ia1zNRZE8Mg

"I'd rather be rich than stupid" - Jack Handey

Reply 4 of 14, by The Serpent Rider

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isn't much of a performance difference

More than 50% performance penalty in games which can utilise transformation engine.

I must be some kind of standard: the anonymous gangbanger of the 21st century.

Reply 5 of 14, by pshipkov

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Agreed.

---

In the initial post i stated revision 2.1, but it is actually 2.0

Here is what seems to have fixed, or at least improved, the AGP situation for this motherboard:

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This element gets hot as high as 80C when the AGP slot is occupied.
That temperature is a lot given the small surface area.
Don't know if it was getting that hot a month ago when i acquired and tried the mobo for a first time and everything worked fine.
Strapped a heatsink - Quadro2 Pro suddenly light up again.
Notice the fan on the right side - added it but don't know if it makes a difference.
Need to check the result more thoroughly.

retro bits and bytes

Reply 6 of 14, by igna78

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The Serpent Rider wrote on 2021-10-30, 05:14:

isn't much of a performance difference

More than 50% performance penalty in games which can utilise transformation engine.

Maybe I misunderstood the post, but I dare to say that probably a TnL video card on an SS7 system (even with a K6-III + @ 600MHz) would not be exploited adequately and I believe that games that need TnL would find their limit in the CPU even before the PCI bus at 33MHz.
Of course I agree that compared to AGP's 66MHz, without considering the rest, the 33MHz PCI bus already reduces performance, however for a system that covers DOS game and was Win98 before I think that, without getting a headache from the FIC motherboard (certainly not among the most reliable except in later reviews), a good PCI video card can do well 😉

Reply 7 of 14, by The Serpent Rider

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and I believe that games that need TnL

That includes a lot of OpenGL games though. Quake 2 can use TnL engine.

This element gets hot as high as 80C when the AGP slot is occupied.

Most likely not normal and it needs to be replaced.

I must be some kind of standard: the anonymous gangbanger of the 21st century.

Reply 8 of 14, by matze79

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I guess Quadro 2 draws too much power from the regulator ?

https://www.retrokits.de - blog, retro projects, hdd clicker, diy soundcards etc
https://www.retroianer.de - german retro computer board

Reply 9 of 14, by pshipkov

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Replacement is on the way. Will see what happens.

I thought it is the Q2Pro, so tried other AGP cards - TNT2, GF256, Permedia, S3SomethingSomething - all caused the same instability.
It is a motherboard thing for sure.

retro bits and bytes

Reply 10 of 14, by rasz_pl

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I seem to remember fixing AGP instability back in the day by connecting AGP 3.3V supply directly to ATX socket with a thick wire underneath the board.

seems this board was factory fixed in same way in later revisions Re: FIC PA-2013 Ver 2.1 and Voodoo3 3000 AGP

Open Source AT&T Globalyst/NCR/FIC 486-GAC-2 proprietary Cache Module reproduction

Reply 11 of 14, by The Serpent Rider

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2.0 and 2.1 are identical and use the same PCB - 2.0 E-O036. 2.1 is minor revision which confirms to PC99 standard (see link), while 2.0 doesn't, because ATX I/O and ATA connectors are not color coded.

I must be some kind of standard: the anonymous gangbanger of the 21st century.