VOGONS


First post, by Bruno128

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Hey Vogoners today I present to you my recent build which focuses on the 1995-2000 time frame.

First the specs:

  • EPoX EP-61LXA-M Slot1 i440LX (1998)
  • Pentium II 300MHz SL2HA (1998)
  • 128MB PC100 CL2 Hynix HP OEM SDRAM (2000)
  • AGP Voodoo3 1000 8MB 143MHz SGRAM (2000)
  • Diamond Monster3D rev.E 4MB 50MHz (1997)
  • Sound Blaster 16 Pro MCD CT2230 (1994)
  • Promise Ultra100 TX2 IDE (2001)
  • WD WD800BB (2004)
  • Optiarc Slim DL DVD-RW AD-7540A (2007)
  • Alps DF354H FDD (2007)
  • Silverstone Grandia GD09 (2015)
  • Corsair VS550 PSU (2017)

The idea was a compatible Win98 system with the modern conveniences and packed in a compact case with decent airflow. Knowing that Voodoo1 can misbehave in 100MHz FSB systems and with faster CPUs I opted for 440LX as a rock solid 66MHz chipset which is relatively easy to find nowadays.

Purpose:
I use it to play hard copy retail games which specifically need Win9x and also late DOS / statically-linked Glide games. Direct3D7 games from about 2000 and newer I usually just run on my XP build. When it comes to older / EMS / speed-sensitive games there is a 486 I use instead.

This HTPC-style case was selected to fit in display shelf, it houses a full-size ATX board with long expansion card. The 120mm case fans are adjusted to slow speed using a modern SATA-powered 8-fan hub. The weird contraption overhanging the expansion cards is a 92mm exhaust fan fitted using a PCI fan bracket. Because the Grandia case allows installing one expansion card horizontally, together with a top cover grille this creates a nice heat removal path from the system and Voodoos in particular. This chassis only has 1x external 5.25 bay so I used Chenbro SK41202 slimODD + FDD mounting frame.

USB was an important factor because I’m using a modern one-handed gaming keyboard through a KVM switch for my computers (first person shooters, hotkeys and macros) in addition to a classic PS/2 keyboard for typing. This motherboard offers a USB controller through a PIIX4 southbridge. Because I don’t need USB 2.0 speeds but need front panel ports, and the chipset only offers two ports, I’m using an internal hub. Those are available new and are a good alternative to cards. User Sphere478 found out that add-in PCI USB 2.0 cards hit the performance on older systems. On software side I am using NUSB 3.3 because I find 3.6 to mess too much with SYSDM and other files. Many thanks for that project.

Additional Promise IDE controller was used for UDMA/100. The laptop DVD drive uses a JAE-50 to MPC analog audio connector + 40pin IDE passive convertor called TW-813. The drive is then plugged to SB16 CD-IN and onboard secondary IDE controller respectively.

On a sound side I am going with a classic non-PnP Sound Blaster 16. This model has OPL and doesn’t suffer from HNB. The Multi-CD capabilities are disabled using jumpers because finding a compatible Mitsumi/Sony/Panasonic drive in working state let alone with a matching black bezel was outside of my scope. For some reason Win98SE was insistent on putting the card to IRQ10 DMA3 HighDMA7 despite the jumper selection and BIOS legacy ISA arrangement but manually changing the settings in device manager helped eventually.

On a graphics side I am not the first to pair a Voodoo 3 with a Voodoo 1. As counterintuitive as it sounds, it is a very compatible solution. Voodoo 1 is a slow card with mediocre image quality but it does the DOS Glide work without the Voodoo 2 transitional variables. Voodoo 3 on the other hand is a fast card with crisp image quality. The 8MB version is a bit lacking but it does the job and my guess here is that more graphically demanding games should just work in XP which is whole other story. This card uses Velocity PCB of a different hue of green but has it’s own VGA BIOS, both TMU's enabled by default, faster default frequency and a PCI ID of Voodoo 3 1000.

3dfx Tools screenshot
v3 tools 143.jpg
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v3 tools 143.jpg
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40.01 KiB
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Voodoo 3 1000 8MB
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Public domain

For the CPU I’m picking top of the 1997 Klamath lineup. Unlike newer and cooler Deschutes models its multiplier is unlocked downwards that is important for some games. The cooling solution paste was replaced for Arctic MX-4 and the fan is a standard 50mm one. Thankfully Fractal Design still makes those new. Contemporary reviews describe this high-end CPU as “hot” but I’ve found out that in a modern meshed chassis a small fan does the job and the cartridge is not hot to the touch. The -M in the motherboard name stands for h/w monitoring chip installed so the relatively high +5V load is in check.

Benchmarking info:

  • Quake3 demo "four dm_68" normal quality 640x480: 25.2fps
  • 3DMark99Max / 800x600 triple buffer: 2221pts., 2893CPU pts.
    3dm99-v3-8-2tmu-p2-300-128sdrcl2.jpg
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    3dm99-v3-8-2tmu-p2-300-128sdrcl2.jpg
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    154.99 KiB
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    851 views
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    3DMark 99
    File license
    Public domain

Thanks for reading your feedback is welcome.

Front view
Silverstone front.JPG
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Silverstone front.JPG
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732.78 KiB
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GD09 Front
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Public domain
Back view
Silverstone back.JPG
Filename
Silverstone back.JPG
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1.2 MiB
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851 views
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GD09 Back
File license
Public domain
Cable management
Silverstone inside.JPG
Filename
Silverstone inside.JPG
File size
1.57 MiB
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851 views
File comment
GD09 cable management
File license
Public domain

[My VLB 486]
[VIA 0 bytes AGP memory bug]
[SBEMU compatibility reports]

Reply 1 of 6, by bZbZbZ

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Nice system! I have the same case (but I'm not using it for a retro system) and I like it a lot.

Great use of the 5.25" combo bay... I have been looking for something similar myself but haven't found one at a cheap price.

Very interesting use of the internal hub to bring USB 1.1 to the front ports... reminds me of the early USB 3.0 cases used when motherboards had USB 3.0 on the I/O panel but not internally.

Minor question... is it necessary to use the wire fan grill on the 80mm exhaust fan? I see you've managed your cables away from the blades and presumably you wouldn't be sticking your fingers in there while it's running...

Reply 2 of 6, by Bruno128

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bZbZbZ wrote on 2023-02-25, 08:39:

Minor question... is it necessary to use the wire fan grill on the 80mm exhaust fan? I see you've managed your cables away from the blades and presumably you wouldn't be sticking your fingers in there while it's running...

Hi thanks for the feedback! Strictly speaking the fan grille is not necessary, at some point I thought of zip-tying a cable to it but found a better way to do it eventually (using a cable guide running across the chassis). I reckon it doesn't have detrimental effect on the airflow.

[My VLB 486]
[VIA 0 bytes AGP memory bug]
[SBEMU compatibility reports]

Reply 3 of 6, by kolderman

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I do wonder if a C3 CPU would not serve you better for DOS games. A 1ghz Ezra probably comes about the same as a 300mhz p3, but will slow down much better, and be cooler overall (good for htpc setup).

Reply 4 of 6, by Bruno128

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kolderman wrote on 2023-02-25, 12:36:

A 1ghz Ezra probably comes about the same

Hi thanks for the feedback. That’s an interesting thought however heat production is not an issue with this build. Otherwise there is not much incentive for going C3. For starters, I have a Voodoo1 compatibility concern about something running at 1GHz even if it could be throttled. Second, it is a 100MHz bus CPU you mention while this board has a max multi value of x5 at a 66MHz FSB (LX). It’s hard to say if it will work as good as P2-300 at all. Then, Pentiums are much more available in my regio. Finally, I find slotkets a bit janky looking.

[My VLB 486]
[VIA 0 bytes AGP memory bug]
[SBEMU compatibility reports]

Reply 5 of 6, by ATi_Loyalist

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Neat build! Thanks for the explanation on dual Voodoos, I was wondering the rationale there.

P4/XP Rig: P4C800 | P4 3.4 | Radeon X850 Pro
A64/XP Rig : A8V | A64 X2 4400+ | X1950 Pro
Ancient Rig: Pentium 166 W | S3 Trio

Reply 6 of 6, by Bruno128

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ATi_Loyalist wrote on 2023-03-19, 15:08:

dual Voodoos

Hi thanks for the feedback! Yes the games default to Voodoo3 so I copy a number of Voodoo1-related files from the driver redistributable to the DOS game folder so it picks up the proper card.
Recent example where I had to do it is The Elder Scrolls Adventures: Redguard. Before I did it it defaulted to run on Voodoo3 (which has subpar compatibility with this DOS game, namely font and texture corruption).

Files are GLIDE2X.DLL, GLIDE2X.OVL, FXMEMMAP.VXD.

[My VLB 486]
[VIA 0 bytes AGP memory bug]
[SBEMU compatibility reports]