Snagged a K6-2+ 450 and Tseng ET4000/WP32 for 50 bucks along with a ACER Mechanical AT keyboard and serial Microsoft mouse for another $40. (Mouse has the special MS dongle to convert it to PS2 or to a larger serial DB port)

Keyboard has a metal backplate and looks like its built like a tank, model number 6511-TW, reading about it its apparently a rubber dome board but none of the other 6511-tw models look like this one, none have a solid metal base or match the ID sticker on this one, this one also includes the date of manufacture of 25/06/1996.

Guess ill find out more when it arrives.

A new housing as a puzzle. One of the parts:

A classic for the C64:

New Cooler for a jungtimer project:

And a used graphic card, because I didn´t found the cooler in new:

The graphic card had a special surprise for me, because it´s a card from mushkin!

Some days ago, a board from Albatron

I got them in bad condition and invest some time for cleaning

BetaC wrote on 2022-01-06, 05:35:

Yeah, it's not going to be one of my main machines by any stretch of the imagination, but who am I to say no to something so, well, cute. It's a tiny little micro a quarter the size of my keys-missing VIC-20 that can barely function. I'll need to get a composite mod in there at some point so that I can actually use it, but researching that leads to a bunch of pictures, and few actual guides on how to actually put it together.

Watch out for the keyboard ribbon cables, they tend to disintegrate with age. Not sure if the Timex models were built a little better, but pretty much all ZX81 computers have broken ribbon cables. Some people trim them back to try and get them working again. On my ZX81 I ended up just replacing the whole keyboard with a new one, as the ribbon cables were too far gone.

Received another lot from my favorite scrap seller on Ebay. Already bought 2 lots from him, containing two Tseng cards, a Janus card (very valuable), a rare and valuable Apple GPU which I can't test, a Voodoo Banshee (sadly with damaged VRAM) and more.
This time the lot was much smaller and cheaper (less than 10€). I'm not gonna show the low value stuff this time. There was just one highlight in the lot:

GeForce2 MX400 PCI, just like I assumed. Sadly it doesn't work. After further inspection, I noticed that two small pieces in the bottom left corner are missing. C312 and C110. Hopefully Hirsch will be able to rescue it. I wanted this piece for myself, not to flip it. Last month a PCI variant was auctioned for 7€ starting bid. Sadly I missed that one. Definitely not gonna pay 50 bucks for a GF MX.
Does anyone know who produced this unit? Can't find it online and the label on the backside got ripped. Want to check if there's more missing.
At least the Radeon 4650 (passive with 1GB from MSI) works. So I won't take a loss on this.

Then I received another lot from another seller:

The Voodoo was what did catch my attention. It's missing a cap in the top right corner plus a small piece on the backside. Hiiiiiiiiirsch... ^^
Trio64 is missing one piece. FireGL 8800 is also missing two small parts. Guy removed all the heatsinks and brackets to do the potential buyer a favor. ARGH!
The 3com NIC seems to be complete, but is in a really bad shape. Looks like the stuff was hit the flood last year. Many of the parts were covered in mud. I did already wash off most of it, but they need some further cleaning.
The STB Horizon 64 seems to be complete. Let's hope it works. There is currently only one on Ebay for 80€. Are they really that valuable?

Paid 30 bucks + shipping for this lot. Given that broken Voodoos still sell for around 30 bucks, that's a good deal.
There was much more stuff, but it's mostly low end OEM shit. Among the mainboards was another highlight:

One of the very few AGP boards that eat Core 2 Duo CPUs. I even have the best CPU for this board: Core 2 Extreme X6800. The dual core one. Board doesn't work with quads.
Sadly it's also missing a small piece under the heatsink. The guy must have damaged it, when he removed the heatsink. ARGH again! Looks like Hirsch will be really busy. 😁
Interestingly someone already replaced the two thick caps to the right of the RAM slots. They're green. They should be black as well.

But I already found a replacement. A much much better one!
ASRock ALive Dual eSATA2. Pairing a FX5950 with a Phenom II, 4GB DDR2 1066MHz and SSDs(@half speed) is just insane! xD
Fuck period accuracy. Like my childhood idol used to say:

It comes as a bundle with CPU, RAM, GPU, drives and 80PLUS PSU. I don't need these, but if I sell them I'll end up at around 20€ for the board, which is very reasonable.
Hirsch already tried to bribe me, to surrender it to him. But nope! Mine! We have an agreement. If one of us finds a bargain, the other will not interfere. We don't bid against each other.

I stumbled accross a Toshiba Satellite 320CDT which I simply had to buy.
For me, this is pretty much the perfect DOS-machine:
Pentium MMX 233, 32 MB, VGA 2MB, SB-Pro compatible Sound with Yamaha OPL3
The screen is an active matrix TFT with 800x600 which is not ideal for DOS (non-integer upscaling or black bars), but I personally don't mind that.

RaiderOfLostVoodoo wrote on 2022-01-07, 11:06:

But I already found a replacement. A much much better one!
ASRock ALive Dual eSATA2.

Still my main machine since ... 2010. God I'm getting old. Using the same machine for more than two years...
Bought it used back then to be able to use my still good enough AGP card but with the option to upgrade to a PCIe one when time comes.
It came and now a Radeon RX 470 waits for its neighbouring grandpa Phenom II X4 910e @3 GHz @stock Vcc (the fastest one with 65W TDP) serving her data out of the 8 GB DDR2-1000.
Can't complain about the board, always stable, never had real problems with it although there are some drawbacks. Chipset SATA is only SATA-I and the additional two SATA-ports are SATA-II but connected via a single PCIe lane maxing out at 250MB/s, theoretically. Practically any Samsung SSD I had only reached 150-190MB/s at max. But nevertheless it's still usable.
Another thing is it doesn't support the hexa-core Phenoms because it only has a single power plane for CPU core & northbridge.
This also limits the higher clocked quad core Phenoms in lowering their core voltage at lower clock speeds resulting in a higher than necessary power consumption and heat dissipation in idle.
Must have been to expensive to be sold under the ASRock label.

RaiderOfLostVoodoo wrote on 2022-01-07, 11:06:

It comes as a bundle with CPU, RAM, GPU, drives and 80PLUS PSU. I don't need these, but if I sell them I'll end up at around 20€ for the board, which is very reasonable.
Hirsch already tried to bribe me, to surrender it to him. But nope! Mine! We have an agreement. If one of us finds a bargain, the other will not interfere. We don't bid against each other.

20 € would be an insane price for the board. Have seen some boards sold for much more in the last time.

ChrisK wrote on 2022-01-07, 12:59:

Still my main machine since ... 2010. God I'm getting old. Using the same machine for more than two years...

Are you nuts? Using such a valuable retro board for modern tasks?
You could sell it and get something much better (without AGP). But I would suggest to keep it. It will only increase in value. Instead I would look out for bundles with an i5-2500K and either P67 or Z68 chipset. Those can be bought for around 50€. But not with maxed out RAM. That would get you closer to 100€.
An overclocked 2500K is still more than enough if you're limited to a 1080p@60Hz screen. 32GB of RAM will last you through the remaining lifetime of Win10. SATA6G will bring you a noticeable boost in boot/load times. And USB3 is also nice to have for external drives.

ChrisK wrote on 2022-01-07, 12:59:

Chipset SATA is only SATA-I and the additional two SATA-ports are SATA-II but connected via a single PCIe lane maxing out at 250MB/s, theoretically. Practically any Samsung SSD I had only reached 150-190MB/s at max. But nevertheless it's still usable.

What about the two SATA1 ports? Can they deliver 150MB/s at the same time?

ChrisK wrote on 2022-01-07, 12:59:

Another thing is it doesn't support the hexa-core Phenoms because it only has a single power plane for CPU core & northbridge.
This also limits the higher clocked quad core Phenoms in lowering their core voltage at lower clock speeds resulting in a higher than necessary power consumption and heat dissipation in idle.
Must have been to expensive to be sold under the ASRock label.

You mean it doesn't support Cool'n'Quiet?

ChrisK wrote on 2022-01-07, 12:59:

20 € would be an insane price for the board. Have seen some boards sold for much more in the last time.

Yeah, just have a look at the 775Dual-VSTA for example.
Here's the recent Ebay history:
03.11.: 49,00€ buy now
09.11.: 35,50€ bid (with box)
29.11.: 51,00€ bid (with box)
08.12.: 20,50€ bid
09.12.: 54,90€ buy now

Surprisingly a 4CoreDual-VSTA (the improved version) was auctioned for 23,50€ in late November. Another one can currently bought for 75€.
But they're both the version without SATA2. The SATA2 variant is probably gonna cost you a kidney.

RaiderOfLostVoodoo wrote on 2022-01-07, 14:35:

ChrisK wrote on 2022-01-07, 12:59:

Still my main machine since ... 2010. God I'm getting old. Using the same machine for more than two years...

Are you nuts? Using such a valuable retro board for modern tasks?

Just browsing the net and playing some old style games. Nothing Neuland-style. Wasn't aware it's retro already 😉

RaiderOfLostVoodoo wrote on 2022-01-07, 14:35:

You could sell it and get something much better (without AGP). But I would suggest to keep it. It will only increase in value. Instead I would look out for bundles with an i5-2500K and either P67 or Z68 chipset. Those can be bought for around 50€. But not with maxed out RAM. That would get you closer to 100€.
An overclocked 2500K is still more than enough if you're limited to a 1080p@60Hz screen. 32GB of RAM will last you through the remaining lifetime of Win10. SATA6G will bring you a noticeable boost in boot/load times. And USB3 is also nice to have for external drives.

No, I won't sell it. Again: NO, I WILL NOT SELL IT!
I already tested all options for adding USB 3. Without success. So I say: 25MB/s should be enough for everyone!
BTW: What the hell is Win10? That something to eat?

RaiderOfLostVoodoo wrote on 2022-01-07, 14:35:

ChrisK wrote on 2022-01-07, 12:59:

Chipset SATA is only SATA-I and the additional two SATA-ports are SATA-II but connected via a single PCIe lane maxing out at 250MB/s, theoretically. Practically any Samsung SSD I had only reached 150-190MB/s at max. But nevertheless it's still usable.

What about the two SATA1 ports? Can they deliver 150MB/s at the same time?

Not sure. Only fiddled about with the SATA-II ports since only they can be used for hotswapping (external drives). That "no USB 3 thing".
I should have some benches somewhere but as long as anyone's life doesn't depend on it...
But as they are chipset internal ports they should!?

RaiderOfLostVoodoo wrote on 2022-01-07, 14:35:

ChrisK wrote on 2022-01-07, 12:59:

Another thing is it doesn't support the hexa-core Phenoms because it only has a single power plane for CPU core & northbridge.
This also limits the higher clocked quad core Phenoms in lowering their core voltage at lower clock speeds resulting in a higher than necessary power consumption and heat dissipation in idle.
Must have been to expensive to be sold under the ASRock label.

You mean it doesn't support Cool'n'Quiet?

It does. But the Phenom's core and northbridge can have different Vmin values at the same P-state. And at min. P-state you have to use the higher one of them which leaves some voltage headroom at the other part that could be reduced (and hence some more power saved) when there where independent voltage planes. Just the same thing as with the first MMX CPUs.
I only found out when testing a Phenom II X4 955 which was running comparatively hot to my 910e (95W to 65W), even in idle. That was because it couldn't lower its Vcc as much as it could have done on an applicable implementation.
The hexa cores don't support a combined voltage plane for core & NB, that's why they aren't supported at all on this board.

My cpu cooler finally arrived. the instructions tell me I need a 4mm flathead so I'm going to borrow one later today and get it installed. Should be quieter than the super orb and allow me to enjoy my athlon system more.

Ordered some parts for the Compaq
- Compaq/HP Screws (want to keep this thing as "original" as I can)
- Compaq 5.25" Half-Height Blanking Plate for the front (bottom drive bay)
- Compaq PS/2 Mouse

By the end of next week this thing will be buttoned up and I might start enjoying using it a bit. Thinking about picking up some Peroxide to do some RetroBrite to it this weekend or the next. so that it looks nice and new again.

Got delivery of:

one Thinkpad T21
one Victor v286p (Sirius on other markets), which is my second one (10mhz 286). Already had the 12mhz 286 but this one is in way much better shape (screen + working Rodime HDD).

T21 had XP installed on it, but i found the 98 recovery CD and so i'm installing that one now 😀

vad4r wrote on 2022-01-07, 10:39:

The graphic card had a special surprise for me, because it´s a card from mushkin!

I can't find any graphics cards from mushkin.com on the wayback machine. Any idea whether they had another url?

RaiderOfLostVoodoo wrote on 2022-01-07, 11:06:

The STB Horizon 64 seems to be complete. Let's hope it works. There is currently only one on Ebay for 80€. Are they really that valuable?

Never heard about Falcon 64 before, and STB Horizon 64 seems to be the only card based on that chipset. Compatibility with DOS games seems to be good, and not that slow either. I have to get one someday, but for definitely less than 80 EUR. 😉

I decided to get with the times and buy a tablet: a lovely HP TC1100 with Windows 7 installed. Got plans for this, which are much more likely to be fulfilled than with the iPAQ 214 I bought nine years ago at considerable price and then considerable disappointment. Does great double-duty as a hand warmer.

...

Ligend wrote on 2022-01-07, 20:32:

RaiderOfLostVoodoo wrote on 2022-01-07, 11:06:

The STB Horizon 64 seems to be complete. Let's hope it works. There is currently only one on Ebay for 80€. Are they really that valuable?

Never heard about Falcon 64 before, and STB Horizon 64 seems to be the only card based on that chipset. Compatibility with DOS games seems to be good, and not that slow either. I have to get one someday, but for definitely less than 80 EUR. 😉

Nope.
I only know an old report in German
https://www.computerbase.de/2008-01/mushkin-m … 0-gt-im-handel/
https://www.computerbase.de/preisvergleich/eu … 01-a307213.html

retrogamerguy1997 wrote on 2022-01-07, 18:04:

My cpu cooler finally arrived. the instructions tell me I need a 4mm flathead so I'm going to borrow one later today and get it […]
Show full quote

My cpu cooler finally arrived. the instructions tell me I need a 4mm flathead so I'm going to borrow one later today and get it installed. Should be quieter than the super orb and allow me to enjoy my athlon system more.

20220107_115410.jpg
20220107_115422.jpg
20220107_115656.jpg
20220107_115705.jpg

Pro tip: replace that stock fan with a 60mm Noctua and it will probably be even more quiet and definitely cool better.

vad4r wrote on 2022-01-07, 10:34:

A new housing as a puzzle. One of the parts:
Plexi (1).jpg

That looks like a Sunbeam case.

Bought a FIC VA 503+ (Rev 1.2) with K6 III 400, 256mb of ram + all port cables from the US, board looks to be in good shape but will be checking all the caps when it arrives. IIRC this was one of the best Super 7 boards of its time, I didnt need another Super 7 board 😁 but it was a great price seeing as all the other FIC boards are priced stupidly high.