Dan386DX wrote on 2024-04-26, 18:57:

I'm sorta, kinda, maybe considering buying this old mystery PC as a project. […]
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I'm sorta, kinda, maybe considering buying this old mystery PC as a project.

Anyone care to venture what the motherboard looks like from this very limited eBay listing?

Seller has no info about the PC.

I can see it's ATX, 4 dimms EDIT: Actually, looks like 2x2 different RAM kinds. (1 AGP?) 1 AMR. 5 PCI and and I think I see an ISA lurking in the shadows at the bottom.

https://theretroweb.com/motherboards/s/pcchips-m930dafulr

Mostly lines up. Probably a different revision. The notable difference is between the PCI slot and southbridge. Something's different there, but everything else looks spot on,

And now I look, even with the terrible lighting, the ram slot has a hint of blue, and the board a hint of red.

I'd expect whatever the cheapest 478 Celeron was in ~2002-3

The biggest hint that it was a hunk of junk, that led me to find that board was the Xcel southbridge (SIS with a cheap respray)

Recent pickups - G200 and G400 Max.

Unfortunately the G200 has artifacts 😭

squeeb wrote on 2024-04-29, 15:30:

Recent pickups - G200 and G400 Max. […]
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Recent pickups - G200 and G400 Max.

Unfortunately the G200 has artifacts 😭

g200.JPG

g400.JPG

But if the G400Max works, so be our work it with the G200; IIRC they're a lot more common?

[edit] Major typo 🤣 Hopefully makes sense now ...

squeeb wrote on 2024-04-29, 15:30:

Recent pickups - G200 and G400 Max. […]
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Recent pickups - G200 and G400 Max.

Unfortunately the G200 has artifacts 😭

g200.JPG

g400.JPG

Got a soldering iron?
I'd first try reflow the passives around the memory see if that works.
Then replace caps.
Then replace the ram. There is testing software that might be able to isolate the exact chip.
Then try reflow the core.

H3nrik V! wrote on 2024-04-29, 15:54:

But if the G400Max works, so be our work it with the G200; IIRC they're a lot more common?

[edit] Major typo 🤣 Hopefully makes sense now ...

Indeed, the G200 is more common so I'm not too distraught over it!

myne wrote on 2024-04-30, 04:41:

Got a soldering iron? I'd first try reflow the passives around the memory see if that works. Then replace caps. Then replace th […]
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Got a soldering iron?
I'd first try reflow the passives around the memory see if that works.
Then replace caps.
Then replace the ram. There is testing software that might be able to isolate the exact chip.
Then try reflow the core.

Thanks for the advice. My thoughts immediately went to the vram. I do have a soldering iron, perhaps I'll give some of the components [you mentioned] a reflow.

A friend sent me a new cooler for my P3-1400

oh2ftu wrote on 2024-04-29, 08:30:

Two voodoo2 and one voodoo3 agp. Untested, unknown condition. A good deal if they work. If not... well it was an auction. Don't judge me 😀

Oh my!
At least the V3-2000 and both V2 works. Well, these are just preliminary tests (Q2 timedemo works).
I had to install a new testbench, my P3-1Ghz seemed a little too much. Although it might've taken a slower celeron as well.
Now running on a GA-6PMM (via PM133 or similar) with Cel466 😀 (I don't have a 440BX mobo (yet))

Post the new S3 S27 to https://vgamuseum.info/

Jccwu wrote on 2024-04-30, 15:05:

A friend sent me a new cooler for my P3-1400

nice friend, looks good - its always nice to have such things still in display box and the use them!

demiurge wrote on 2024-04-30, 22:01:

Post the new S3 S27 to https://vgamuseum.info/

That is a unicorn!
Really though to find one.

dexvx wrote on 2017-11-08, 21:06:

Looks like OPL YMF715-S and GM YMF721-S.

I'v bought the same today, waiting to arrive.
Do you still have it? Care to share some information?
I am curious to understand why this board uses both an opl3 and opl4 chip, because in theory the 721 also has an opl3.

YMF721 is for MIDI music, and when the DAC inside YMF71x is used for the MIDI chip, OPL3 internal to YMF71x has no more output and one in YMF721 takes its place instead. It is possible to have both OPL3 as on my YMF71x card but it requires external DAC chip for YMF704/721.

Pino wrote on 2024-05-01, 20:37:

demiurge wrote on 2024-04-30, 22:01:

Post the new S3 S27 to https://vgamuseum.info/

That is a unicorn!
Really though to find one.

indeed What is the deal with S3's Chrome cards?

I have found all sorts of cool PC hardware lately (will post more at some point), but this one caught me off guard. I bought a Sound Blaster 2.0 box with most of the disks and other stuff in it, and the seller included this as a surprise freebie:

Anyone ever seen one of these? Looks like a mirror that you'd stick on the wall of your cubicle so you could know when the boss was coming. It has a sticky pad on the back that hasn't been used and it came in a little plastic bag. I'm assuming these were a common trade show table item and Creative had some made with their logo to hand out to visitors.

Judging from the other items that the seller had, and the fact that they also sent me a handful of random 5.25" floppies, I'm guessing this isn't a recent promo item. In fact, it's such a goofy\cheap looking promo item that I would guess that it came from the Creative of the early to mid 90s, rather than the behemoth of the late 90s to early 2000s... but I can't say for sure.

Ensign Nemo wrote on 2024-04-28, 23:46:

GPU: Nvidia GeForce 8600M GT

Should indeed be a decent XP gaming system as long as it works, but I'll warn you that the GPU it has is extremely unreliable (bumpgate)

3lectr1c wrote on 2024-05-04, 02:25:

Ensign Nemo wrote on 2024-04-28, 23:46:

GPU: Nvidia GeForce 8600M GT

Should indeed be a decent XP gaming system as long as it works, but I'll warn you that the GPU it has is extremely unreliable (bumpgate)

Thanks for the heads-up. Hopefully, I'll get a bit of life out of it. Apart from the GPU, the entire laptop does get a bit toasty.

Ozzuneoj wrote on 2024-05-03, 23:33:

I have found all sorts of cool PC hardware lately (will post more at some point), but this one caught me off guard. I bought a S […]
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I have found all sorts of cool PC hardware lately (will post more at some point), but this one caught me off guard. I bought a Sound Blaster 2.0 box with most of the disks and other stuff in it, and the seller included this as a surprise freebie:

20240503_153406 (Custom).jpg

Anyone ever seen one of these? Looks like a mirror that you'd stick on the wall of your cubicle so you could know when the boss was coming. It has a sticky pad on the back that hasn't been used and it came in a little plastic bag. I'm assuming these were a common trade show table item and Creative had some made with their logo to hand out to visitors.

Judging from the other items that the seller had, and the fact that they also sent me a handful of random 5.25" floppies, I'm guessing this isn't a recent promo item. In fact, it's such a goofy\cheap looking promo item that I would guess that it came from the Creative of the early to mid 90s, rather than the behemoth of the late 90s to early 2000s... but I can't say for sure.

I'm slow tonight, spent seconds too long wondering what a punos card was (pic)

Those mirrors were usually intended to go on the bezel of a monitor I think, so you could see anyone coming up behind you or shoulder surfing your stuff. "Monitor rearview" kind of thing. Monitors usually had much wider bezels in the CRT days of course.

Ensign Nemo wrote on 2024-05-04, 03:22:

3lectr1c wrote on 2024-05-04, 02:25:

Ensign Nemo wrote on 2024-04-28, 23:46:

GPU: Nvidia GeForce 8600M GT

Should indeed be a decent XP gaming system as long as it works, but I'll warn you that the GPU it has is extremely unreliable (bumpgate)

Thanks for the heads-up. Hopefully, I'll get a bit of life out of it. Apart from the GPU, the entire laptop does get a bit toasty.

Check when was the laptop built. 8600M GTs made after sometime in 2008 have the fixed underfill that was subsequently used in Geforce 9 series.

Or, if you open it up, look at the GPU die and numbering.

The rules I know of:
- even models are defective (e.g G84-770-A2)
- odd models are fixed (e.g G84-771-A2)
- revised G84 and G86 chips should have a milky coloured underfill (have had a revised G86 from an Acer, renamed into 9300MG, actual card being a 8400MG)

PcBytes wrote on 2024-05-04, 08:48:

Check when was the laptop built. 8600M GTs made after sometime in 2008 have the fixed underfill that was subsequently used in Ge […]
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Ensign Nemo wrote on 2024-05-04, 03:22:

3lectr1c wrote on 2024-05-04, 02:25:

Should indeed be a decent XP gaming system as long as it works, but I'll warn you that the GPU it has is extremely unreliable (bumpgate)

Thanks for the heads-up. Hopefully, I'll get a bit of life out of it. Apart from the GPU, the entire laptop does get a bit toasty.

Check when was the laptop built. 8600M GTs made after sometime in 2008 have the fixed underfill that was subsequently used in Geforce 9 series.

Or, if you open it up, look at the GPU die and numbering.

The rules I know of:
- even models are defective (e.g G84-770-A2)
- odd models are fixed (e.g G84-771-A2)
- revised G84 and G86 chips should have a milky coloured underfill (have had a revised G86 from an Acer, renamed into 9300MG, actual card being a 8400MG)

Thanks for the info! I'll see if it's not too difficult to open up.

I just purchased a batch of ISA and PCI cards, among the ISA ones there is a video CL5401, I already have one, it should have 1MB of memory, beyond that there are two ISA sound cards, one is SB CT4170 and the other has a trapezoidal shape, they were normally used on HP PCs.
The other cards are LAN and modem, I don't see particularly interesting models of these, but they can still be useful, in those old AT PCs, for data transfer, via crossed cable (LAN).