Kahenraz wrote on 2023-01-26, 16:53:

I don't know enough about it too be sure, but I think that the Company Deskpro that I continued to use as my personal computer i […]
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MMaximus wrote on 2023-01-26, 10:09:

That's an interesting analysis, thanks for sharing. It's true that some of us were probably still using some DX4 machines at the turn of the millenium

I don't know enough about it too be sure, but I think that the Company Deskpro that I continued to use as my personal computer in my bedroom was a 486. I don't recall exactly, because I didn't know enough about computers at the time to open it up, and I don't recall the exact model.

It was pretty basic, and may have had Windows 95 initially. I don't know if it ever had Windows 98. It never felt slow at all. Although, time went on, I did run into problems with the tiny hard drive (250MB) and the video card (256 colors only) when I bought and tried to play Age of Empires. I had to delete everything I could find on my computer, even some of the larger junk files in my Windows folder, to meet the disk space requirement. I was so excited from watching the tiny little guys walking across the progress bar during installation. It crushed me when I got a dialog informing me that it would not run without a 16-bit graphics card.

I ended up installing and playing it on the family computer, which was a Pentium 2, I think with a Rage XL.

If my computer was a 486, I think I used it up through late 2000, if I recall correctly.

I think the HDD size argues against it being a later Pentium machine, potentially something like this with a 486??? https://www.ardent-tool.com/media/PS2_MOST/AC … PAQ/2005001.PDF

I seem to recall Win98 being tight on a 400MB disk, while you could cram a 95 install without too many options on 100MB but it didn't leave you room to do much, so I'd guess it was 95 if you could clear space for an age of empires install without messing it up badly. Sounds like it would have been a dog anyway with Pentium 90 recommended.

dj_pirtu wrote on 2023-01-26, 10:55:

Bought yesterday some stuff for my upcoming 486DLC-40 -system 😎

Wouldn't you want to have at least a VLB video card?

That GUS looks nearly brand new. Nice find!

pan069 wrote on 2023-01-25, 03:22:

Another sound card, an Aztech Sound Galaxy NX Pro it seems. It think it is a SB PRO 2.0 compatible card. Anyhow, so far only cleaned (dishwasher + IPA) but not yet tested. I'll do that this weekend as we have a long one here downunder.

PXL_20230122_032112358.jpg

Managed to get this card up and running today (386DX/33) [0]. I'm using the original drivers [1] (used to set the IRQ/DMA, the base addesses is jumpers). It seems to work but I noticed that playback in some software has a kind of "crackling" noise whereas other software do not. E.g. The Waite Group Press demo by Future Crew [2] has this crackling noise but The Party 92 [3], also by Future Crew doesn't have the crackling sound/noise. Crystal Dreams 2 by Triton [4] doesn't have the crackling noise but the demo crashes shortly after the plasma scene starts (maybe an issue with binary and not related to the sound card). The card itself doesn't seem to be more noisy than a regular Sound Blaster (i.e. noise from bus activity).

Could the crackling sound/noise be a caps issue? Ideas welcome.

I havn't tried Covox and Disney Sound Source yet. Any software ideas for this also welcome.

[0] Re: Bought these (retro) hardware today
[1] http://vogonsdrivers.com/getfile.php?fileid=7 … menustate=42,37
[2] https://www.pouet.net/prod.php?which=61084
[3] https://www.pouet.net/prod.php?which=4074
[4] https://www.pouet.net/prod.php?which=462

Is it maybe a single cycle DMA bug like found on a lot of SB16 cards?

BitWrangler wrote on 2023-01-27, 03:40:

Is it maybe a single cycle DMA bug like found on a lot of SB16 cards?

Could be but its not a SB16 compatible card., its SB PRO 2 compatible. I also doubt the software I tried was using single cycle DMA, but, without 100% certainty, it could be...

Edit: I'm just checking with my own crappy self-rolled MOD player which outputs the DSP version and gives me fine control over the playback frequency and it seems that @Shponglefan was right. The DSP on this card is 3.01 which would make it a Sound Blaster Pro CT1330 compatible, not Sound Blaster Pro 2 CT1600. When I play a MOD with anything over 18Khz I hear artifacts (tiny clicks and unsynced behaviour). Now, my player only supports 8 bit mono at this time but I thought that the SB Pro supported up to 23000Hz. Interesting. I'm going to dig out my CT1330 to see if there is a difference...

Edit2: Tested with my SB Pro CT1330A. Everything plays OK, no crackling noise. However, my own crappy MOD player doesn't seem to like anything above 18Khz but IPlay plays any MOD just fine at 22Khz on both the SB Pro and the Aztech, no crackling noise on either. So, the crackling atrifacts seem to be really related to specific software. Need to do more testing.

Just bought a Gigabyte GA-6VTXE-A for my Windows 98 machine. My biggest investment so far for retro build (around 75 euro's), but I decided to go with it as they don't appear too often for sale in my country. Can't wait till it arrives to test it out! The picture included is not the one I bought but one from the Internet to give an impression.

picture upload

pan069 wrote on 2023-01-26, 20:06:

dj_pirtu wrote on 2023-01-26, 10:55:

Bought yesterday some stuff for my upcoming 486DLC-40 -system 😎

Wouldn't you want to have at least a VLB video card?

That GUS looks nearly brand new. Nice find!

486DLC so 386 ISA motherboard, MG-38606 with 256KB cache.

I do have two 486-systems, one with VLB and one with PCI.

ET4000 is quite fast, FastDoom runs quite well with it, especially in VGA 13h mode (fdoom13h.exe).

bassix6 wrote on 2023-01-27, 10:43:

Just bought a Gigabyte GA-6VTXE-A for my Windows 98 machine. My biggest investment so far for retro build (around 75 euro's), bu […]
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Just bought a Gigabyte GA-6VTXE-A for my Windows 98 machine. My biggest investment so far for retro build (around 75 euro's), but I decided to go with it as they don't appear too often for sale in my country. Can't wait till it arrives to test it out! The picture included is not the one I bought but one from the Internet to give an impression.

picture upload

One of the first Pentium 3 boards I got, its a solid choice for a really nice Tually/CUmine 98se/DOS box the other nice board is the Gigabyte Technology GA-6OXT but it doesn't have an ISA slot but its a damn fine board for a 1.4s Tualatin setup which you wouldn't really be using for a DOS box so lack of ISA isn't a huge issue. The 60XT is also damn fast for a Tually board almost as fast as a DDR SiS 635t board.

pan069 wrote on 2023-01-27, 06:05:

Could be but its not a SB16 compatible card., its SB PRO 2 compatible. I also doubt the software I tried was using single cycle […]
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BitWrangler wrote on 2023-01-27, 03:40:

Is it maybe a single cycle DMA bug like found on a lot of SB16 cards?

Could be but its not a SB16 compatible card., its SB PRO 2 compatible. I also doubt the software I tried was using single cycle DMA, but, without 100% certainty, it could be...

Edit: I'm just checking with my own crappy self-rolled MOD player which outputs the DSP version and gives me fine control over the playback frequency and it seems that @Shponglefan was right. The DSP on this card is 3.01 which would make it a Sound Blaster Pro CT1330 compatible, not Sound Blaster Pro 2 CT1600. When I play a MOD with anything over 18Khz I hear artifacts (tiny clicks and unsynced behaviour). Now, my player only supports 8 bit mono at this time but I thought that the SB Pro supported up to 23000Hz. Interesting. I'm going to dig out my CT1330 to see if there is a difference...

sbdsp.jpg

Edit2: Tested with my SB Pro CT1330A. Everything plays OK, no crackling noise. However, my own crappy MOD player doesn't seem to like anything above 18Khz but IPlay plays any MOD just fine at 22Khz on both the SB Pro and the Aztech, no crackling noise on either. So, the crackling atrifacts seem to be really related to specific software. Need to do more testing.

Curiouser and curiouser... the pro vs pro 2 thing, is software going to need to read a different BLASTER environment string, T2 instead of T4 or something? Not sure how many games need that vs doing their own DSP version probing.

I got two packets today. The first was a batch of ISA(?)-cards. I usually try to avoid buying stuff that I don't have an immediate need for (to avoid hoarding) but the price was so low that I was scared a scrapper would buy it - that's my excuse anyway.

It's a network card (DCA), ram card (AST Fastram) and an SBC/CPU-Card (Alps X0 CPU II E)? the ad said 286 Wyse card w/o cpu but i don't know. There is one for sale on ebay but that ad did not have any more info. Anyway, I hope someone knows if this is generic stuff or if it's proprietary to some system. Hopefully it isn't junk.

The second package was a little more interesting. Two midi modules without power supplies. One was sold as defective and the other one was sold as untested (because of it missing the PSU). It turned out that both worked fine. Both use 9V AC and have the same plug size so i don't know why the seller didn't try the one he already had. Oh well, the price was ok but I was actually a little disappointed as I was looking forward to repairing it. The Gman-module is interesting because it apparently has the Dream / Crystal CS9233 with stolen samples from Roland. Note the GS logo at the front. I bought the EMU module because I was so disappointed in the default piano sounds in my cheapo Roland E-20 synth. The EMU sounds fantastic.

Proprietary to some system, yes. All three cards must had came out of this computer. Need the propietary backplane or ideally rest of this computer, I consider this waste of money.
But if you are using the parts from these cards, sure.

You need LCC CPU 286 (missing) like this:
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Intel_80286#/me … CLCC_Bottom.jpg
Also missing is a heatsink clip, looks like a metal plate with 4 pins that clasps into this socket to put pressure on the CPU, again propietary to specific LCC sockets.

Like this, but this is not compatible with yours either PLCC or LCC socket.
https://www.ebay.ca/itm/185284835181?hash=ite … ABk9SR77c48a-YQ

Another option is replace the socket with PGA or PLCC socket and suitable CPU. All of this is obtainable from ebay.

I had few 286 boards like this using LCC 286 CPU back then.

Cheers,

pentiumspeed wrote on 2023-01-27, 18:14:

Proprietary to some system, yes. All three cards must had came out of this computer. Need the propietary backplane or ideall […]
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Proprietary to some system, yes. All three cards must had came out of this computer. Need the propietary backplane or ideally rest of this computer, I consider this waste of money.
But if you are using the parts from these cards, sure.

You need LCC CPU 286 (missing) like this:
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Intel_80286#/me … CLCC_Bottom.jpg
Also missing is a heatsink clip, looks like a metal plate with 4 pins that clasps into this socket to put pressure on the CPU, again propietary to specific LCC sockets.

Like this, but this is not compatible with yours either PLCC or LCC socket.
https://www.ebay.ca/itm/185284835181?hash=ite … ABk9SR77c48a-YQ

Another option is replace the socket with PGA or PLCC socket and suitable CPU. All of this is obtainable from ebay.

I had few 286 boards like this using LCC 286 CPU back then.

Cheers,

Well you win some and you lose some. They will get a new home in the back of the storage. Thanks for the clarification!

I think the AST fastram is worth reserving for early 286 systems if you get one, they maybe don't have SIMM or SIPP and only enough sockets for 1MB on board.

edit: Oh crap nevermind, it's the AST specific one with the extra edge connector, missed that first glance, went in an AST Premium 386 or something like that.

editII: on that CPU card what's the ceramic DIP next to the PGA, is that actually the CPU?

editIII: no it's the 287 co pro... I gotta stop shooting from the hip, 🤣 ... in other news some dreamer on eBay wants $1425 for this board.

BitWrangler wrote on 2023-01-27, 18:28:

I think the AST fastram is worth reserving for early 286 systems if you get one, they maybe don't have SIMM or SIPP and only eno […]
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I think the AST fastram is worth reserving for early 286 systems if you get one, they maybe don't have SIMM or SIPP and only enough sockets for 1MB on board.

edit: Oh crap nevermind, it's the AST specific one with the extra edge connector, missed that first glance, went in an AST Premium 386 or something like that.

editII: on that CPU card what's the ceramic DIP next to the PGA, is that actually the CPU?

editIII: no it's the 287 co pro... I gotta stop shooting from the hip, 🤣 ... in other news some dreamer on eBay wants $1425 for this board.

The seller is now also selling an ALPS 386 motherboard, maybe it fits that one but im guessing everything from the HDD controller to the power supply will be proprietary. But i think i'll pass. It was so cheap that it was worth taking a chance.

Baleog wrote on 2023-01-27, 20:19:

BitWrangler wrote on 2023-01-27, 18:28:

I think the AST fastram is worth reserving for early 286 systems if you get one, they maybe don't have SIMM or SIPP and only eno […]
Show full quote

I think the AST fastram is worth reserving for early 286 systems if you get one, they maybe don't have SIMM or SIPP and only enough sockets for 1MB on board.

edit: Oh crap nevermind, it's the AST specific one with the extra edge connector, missed that first glance, went in an AST Premium 386 or something like that.

editII: on that CPU card what's the ceramic DIP next to the PGA, is that actually the CPU?

editIII: no it's the 287 co pro... I gotta stop shooting from the hip, 🤣 ... in other news some dreamer on eBay wants $1425 for this board.

The seller is now also selling an ALPS 386 motherboard, maybe it fits that one but im guessing everything from the HDD controller to the power supply will be proprietary. But i think i'll pass. It was so cheap that it was worth taking a chance.

You can PM me the seller auction link for this 386 board, so I can see what he got.

Cheers,

7600GS AGP. Not sure what system I will build with it but could not pass it up for £10

I bought a pc for €20, and I found this inside, not bad, it's not retro but it's pretty good hardware. The plate did not start and after a wash it works perfectly.

SrFenix wrote on 2023-01-28, 14:32:

I bought a pc for €20, and I found this inside, not bad, it's not retro but it's pretty good hardware. The plate did not start a […]
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I bought a pc for €20, and I found this inside, not bad, it's not retro but it's pretty good hardware. The plate did not start and after a wash it works perfectly.

I would throw the OCZ ram directly into the trash where it belongs. Otherwise good stuff.

why throw away the ocz ram? I always had ocz as good hardware.

LewisRaz wrote on 2023-01-28, 10:42:

7600GS AGP. Not sure what system I will build with it but could not pass it up for £10

Ooo, nice... I'm hoping for something like that to turn up to go in a 754/AGP board.