Also in the same magazine 🗞, there is a comparison between various processors, S.7 and Slot1, it goes from 200 to 500 MHz, a frequency that make you smile today, but at that time you were still ️ a little far from the giga hertz, I add them because if I can in the future, I would like to use the same programs, to see if I can make those scores, or if at least I can get closer to them, there is a bench with Windows NT 4.0, but I have never installed in any PC, that OS I have to make one especially for NT, in various versions just to try it and see what feeling it gives me.

I am considering , whether to continue with the tests of the VGA AGP, or keep the TNT2 M64 and continue to configure the PC, adding an HD or an SSD (with CF adapter), install Windows and then from the bench, you will understand if and how it goes.

But since I have other MB to put my paws on, and just not to get bored, I have to try soon an ASROCK with Athlon 64X2 4400, a card roughly equivalent to the Core2 Duo 775, for AMD Socket AM2 CPU, but I think it is also possible to install those AM3, BIOS permitting, let's say that kind of PC even if it is quite exploitable, today having under the eyes, the speed of the i3 and the i5, it could be not particularly fast, assuming that in the past it was.

We'll see when it's on the bench, if it works and how it will go, for the VGA PCI-E I have some, I don't remember if I have models from that period, but I guess any one is fine, except that there is a targeted use, which requires a certain VGA with minimum requirements.

Unfortunately due to the temperatures of the last few days (decidedly torrid), I did not have the opportunity to sit at the counter, and even worse ️ at the table of the Internet i3 PC, the latter is in a room where the sun shines, so for the whole summer period (should I move it to another room?), I can only use it in the evening or at night.

I recently wrote, about Windows NT4, well browsing YouTube, a video appeared to me with NT4 and the P.PRO, I guess they are more or less from the same period, certainly it would be interesting to upload it on my AST Bravo PRO, but I could also install it on one of the oldest PII I have, in memory I have a 233 or a 266 MHz, I should just look for it and configure it properly, unfortunately it will be difficult to find a disk of a few GB, even if I have some, over the years, they start to defect, and then become unusable.

At this point the alternative is quite simple an IDE-CF adapter, or there would be an adapter that I have never tried IDE-uSD (or TF), for this type of cards it is very easy to find low capacity, at a low cost, even then it is compensated with the higher cost of the adapter.

Definitely a capacity of 4 or 8 GB , is more than enough to install an OS, if there is no BIOS limitation, even one of 16 or more GB , can be used for a dual boot.

Among the MB that take dust, and that I should dust as soon as possible, there is a PCChips with Pentium 500 Slot1, it is complete with everything (including HD), only the case is missing, which years ago I wanted to use as a PC TV media center, then with the transition to DVB-T2, it was not necessary because I use a special Smart-TV.

I'm sorry that I've been absent lately, unfortunately I've had a lot of commitments (old four-wheelers), and the hot climate these days also prevents me from sitting in front of the PC, the room in which it is located is exposed to the sun (constantly) , for a few more days, I won't have enough time to dedicate to a few MB, maybe I should start doing something over the weekend.
Among the various MBs that I would like to recover, there are various S.7s, and also some 486 MBs, one of the 486s is PCI, it needs a good cleaning, and possibly removing the oxide in the larger chips (chipsets etc... ), for this you need to use a special product (probably), following the YouTube channel of a Vogons user, I saw what he uses to clean the cards, I don't know if it's also a deoxidizer???

I return to the topic of motherboard repair, in the previous discussion I mentioned a product for cleaning boards (not necessarily motherboards), therefore useful for almost all old HW, unfortunately I don't have that product, but this doesn't stop me from trying it others to perform card cleaning.
I have various cards in my hands, the oldest ones are 486, some look very good, others instead show clear signs of oxidation, with possible damaged traces, honestly I haven't tried cleaning them, because essentially I wouldn't know what to use for removing the oxide (green).
You can see this 486 board with UMC CPU, which has various places to clean, even several contacts of the ISA slots, perhaps I could try with an IPA spray, or with something else, but it depends, perhaps it would be enough to scratch the contact surface, with paper very fine abrasive?

For tomorrow, if I can find some time ⏱, you have to try a MB repaired time ⏱ ago, it is a Slot1 with Intel chipset and integrated VGA, the card is a Soyo SY-6IZM/3 and the CPU is a P2 266, in addition to the MB there are included (which I have not added), three banks of RAM for a total of at least 192 MB (two benches of 64 MB plus another of 64 or more?), and some cards including an ISA 8-bit TV, the latter now think is unusable, because the TV today only broadcasts In digital, whereas in the past it was analog.

Some time ago I replaced all the swollen capacitors, and the others are the same, even if visually they were good, theoretically it should be fine, and I hope I can see the BIOS screen on the video, all in all it is a motherboard not very common, at the time the cards were poorly integrated, at most there was audio, even if those with the video integrated, were used for very cheap PCs, you could save the purchase of an AGP VGA, which in those days were not so cheap

A little while ago I completed the first tests on the MB Soyo, taking advantage of the relative cool morning, unfortunately in the evening hours, the weather is quite hot and therefore, it does not entice you to stay in front of the bench, you immediately feel the flow of hot air, the CPU and the power supply, and it is quite annoying.

Returning to the Soyo SY-6IZM/3, I had the almost certainty that it could work, usually the failure of the capacitors, it is solved by replacing them, and in fact in this case it was so.

The card shows error codes (POST) at startup, strangely they stop at some point on 0b, but from a led a certain activity is visible, the BIOS screen will soon appear on the video.

The RAM count, is very slow and is repeated at least three times, the quantity is 192 MB, not too many for Windows, but also too many for DOS.

There is an error that is reported, and strangely the CPU, goes to only 133 MHz, initially I thought of a jumper setting error, and maybe it will be so too, or it could be the FSB mistakenly set to 33 MHz, instead of 66, the CPU I remember that it is a 266 MHz, and right now it works at half frequency.

We will see in the next few days to solve these setting problems, the PC apart from the low frequency, it only needs a lubricated to the CPU fan, the rest I have to evaluate later, currently I can only do the usual DOS benches, and see what results I get.

Maybe I've already figured out why it goes at only 133 MHz, unlike the next PII, with a fixed multiplier, that is, locked both up and down, this at 266 MHz, it should only be locked at the top, so beyond the 4X you could not go, it is also true that the Celeron equal frequency can be easily raised to 400, but in this case the multiplier remains 4X, while the FSB goes from 66 to 100 .

On the first screen, entering the BIOS, called SOYO COMBO SETUP, you can select the CPU speed, currently there is 233 MHz selected, I will try to put 266 MHz, I don't know if the error message will disappear, maybe yes.

Using the usual CF adapter and memory card, I ran the benches of QTPRO and Speedsys, later I will see to make more, at the moment I can only run DOS programs, for those Windows you have to connect a disk with Windows OS, I think Windows 98 is suitable for such a PC.

I did as I said before, I entered the BIOS, and I selected the correct frequency (266), if you wanted you could choose frequencies with FSB 66 or even 100 , but this would be useful if in the future, I will change CPU with a P2 or a P3, I think the maximum supported by the BIOS is 650/100, of course I don't have a 650 Slot1 CPU, and I can't do the update, except that in the future, I get one between my paws.

The error reported in the first video of the BIOS, has disappeared and remains to speed up the RAM count, because it takes a little too long for my taste, it is not a problem if the PC always stays on, but starting it for a few minutes, and doing some reboots, you waste too much time, also because the RAM is OK, I think you have to go back into the BIOS, and disable the control of the RAM at startup, in memory I don't remember what to look for, alternatively you could press ESC and leave it like this, but in my opinion it is better to shorten the boot time, acting as as BIOS.

Since it now works at 266 MHz, I remade the benches, and it was not taken for granted that the values would improve, to see the results the improvement is quite clear, it would have been interesting to see the results of other programs, maybe later I can put it back to 133, and make a comparison at 266.

Now after a change to the BIOS, the PC starts up quickly, I disabled the memory count, although I actually enabled the fast memory count, to make a long story short, in a few seconds the PC switches from the home screen to the secondary screen, and then the DOS starts booting, or other operating systems if they were present.

In this way, if a reboot is needed, you don't have to wait a long time ⏱, the RAM is detected entirely and immediately, you don't waste time with the (triple) count, and the PC is all in all quite fast to boot, or at least the boot speed is quite normal.

Unfortunately in this memory card, I don't have many loaded programs, some are there but they don't work, I have to try to recover a couple of cards, which I don't know why they don't start anymore.

Among the programs that work, there are some very old, and that don't recognize the Pentium, they see it as a fast 486, I'll try to load other DOS programs, some may have been updated.

One thing I didn't check, it's the built-in audio, will it work???

To know it you need to load something like DOOM or something like that, the one on board, it doesn't look bad at all, there is a Yamaha chip, the integrated video part is an 8MB ATI RAGE PRO Turbo AGP, it is not possible to change video card, because there is no AGP slot, can you add an accelerator card, or a second VGA PCI?

Out of curiosity and for further details, on the Soyo SY-6IZM/3 motherboard, I downloaded a pdf manual.

Obviously, I have performed all the tests and modifications, without looking at it, after all it is not that there is much different, compared to similar MB, and apart from a few particular jumpers, there is not much to set.

Consulting the manual, I found that there is the possibility of disabling the integrated VGA, but it says that you have to use as an alternative, a VGA PCI or an ISA (!!!), surely those who have a Voodoo 3 PCI between their legs, could try it, I think it would not be so bad, maybe a CPU of more than 600 MHz helps, and in this regard I read that there is the possibility to select 8X as multi.

Other details can be seen in the images I am attaching, if you find something interesting, which maybe escapes me, update me (thanks).

So, it will be a strange coincidence, but on the bench I have another Slot1 motherboard, in addition to the Soyo SY-6IZM/3 there is an ASUS P2B98-XV, both with Intel chipset and both without AGP slots, both with integrated VGA ATI, differs only the model of the graphics chip, in the Soyo there is the Turbo, but roughly it is very similar (if not almost the same), I point out that the ASUS is a model intended for HP PCs, and the format is ATX, thanks to this, a greater number of PCI and ISA slots are available (4+2 of which one shared).

In the ASUS board the CPU is an Intel Celeron 333, which maybe I put, exactly I don't remember, even this motherboard should allow interesting overclocking , unfortunately the HP BIOS is quite simplified, although it is possible to update the BIOS with that of the ASUS, for the moment that of the HP is fine, in the future if necessary we will see if to update it.

I go back to the two motherboards without AGP slots, in the Soyo there is the possibility to disable the integrated VGA, but the only possibility to replace it is to find a PCI card, of a certain level, there are also GF FX VGA for PCI slots, for a P3-P2 it could also be a little too powerful, but there are less powerful models, such as the GF MX or others from different manufacturers, more or less equivalent.

For the ASUS instead, the AGP slot is not there, but perhaps with the right skill, it could be put, because the board is predisposed, maybe there is a somewhat higher model, that the AGP slot is there (it is present).

I imagine there is the possibility, to disable the integrated video chip, here too it could be replaced with a VGA PCI of a certain level, but the most fascinating solution , would be the addition of the AGP slot, and the installation of an AGP video card, although I believe it works at most at 2X, would theoretically be a better upgrade, than the simple VGA PCI.

I point out that it would be possible to use an ISA VGA in both cards, but there are no better models than the integrated ATI Rage chip (unless I know), and then the ISA slot could be useful for other cards, such as audio or others.

PCChips with Intel VX and switching controllers, the minimum VCore is 2.5V, so I took an AMD K6-2 400 and replaced it to the P200MMX, but I have a couple of problems to solve, one is the L2 cache that goes wrong, that's why I have to do a check with the microscope , in case there is a broken trace .

The other is that with Windows 95 it doesn't work at 400 MHz, you need a special file to solve the problem, I lowered the FSB to 60, and it works at 360 MHz, nothing exceptional but still enough for normal home office use.

Supplied is a few cards, which I had put in, a VGA PCI CL GD5446, an Audio ISA Vibra 16, a PCI LAN, and even a PCI Post Card, which I didn't remember was there.

Finally there is a 512MB CF card, in which there should be Windows 95, and some DOS programs, if I remember correctly.

In the next few days I hope to get on our feet and make some progress, it would be a nice step forward if the L2 cache, it will work again, I hope it is something that is not visible to the naked eye 👁.

Speaking of S.7 motherboards with COAST module socket (cache L2), I have a couple of cards between my legs, which I will try as soon as possible, a Siemens and a SOYO, both with Intel chipset, let's start with Siemens:

The motherboard is in ATX format, it has an integrated VGA (expandable RAM), the chipset is HX, and therefore the installable memories are only 72 PIN, looking at the MB, I don't see any L2 cache chip, this means you have to add a COAST module to have it available, and gain speed.

The SOYO is in AT (Baby) format, it does not have integrated VGA, and the chipset is Intel VX, here you can choose whether to use 72 PIN RAM or those with 168 PIN (SDRAM), I don't think it is possible to use them together, in any case on this one I will use the SDRAM directly, because they are more easily available, and have higher capacity (usually), it remains to be understood if the modules with a capacity of more than 32 MB are read entirely, in any case already with two of 32 MB, I would have in total 64 MB, more than enough quantity for DOS and enough for Windows 95 or 98. Here the chip caches are there, and there is also the socket for the COAST additional module, obviously already having an L2 cache, adding more will not make much difference in speed (of the system).

I return to the topic of the two S.7 with COAST socket (L2 cache), the one that can be tested first, is the SOYO with Intel VX chipset, because it already has an L2 cache on board, and therefore the performance is adequate, perhaps slightly lower than cards with 512 KB of L2 cache, but still managing to find a compatible COAST module, it is possible to double the current quantity (256 KB), and for that kind of PC it is the maximum, at least from what I know, there are no FX VX HX and TX with 1MB L2 cache, the difference however makes it if The cache is present, if it is absent instead, as in the Siemens MB, the performance is lower, I don't know exactly how much, but I imagine it can slow down by at least 25% (or more?).

Going back to the SOYO, you can install single voltage, or dual voltage CPUs, I have several CPUs available among those in my collection, I will start with a Pentium P54, from 100 or 133 MHz, it should be useful to highlight any operating problems, but usually a CPU like this, does not produce too much heat to dissipate, from the linear regulator heat sink, while a 200 or higher frequencies, begin to heat up a lot.

In the short time I have available, I have gathered the necessary HW for the SOYO SY-5VA2 motherboard, at least I think this is the model, because it is written on a label 🏷 in the ISA slot.

The BIOS is originally AWARD, I don't know which version is installed, but for the boot test it's not important, it could also be the first version, since for the moment I use a 100 MHz Pentium P54, which has its support with heatsink and fan, on the MB there is no FAN CPU socket, I think they were used later, this MB has several tantalum capacitors, and I know they can create problems (after many years), I'll see to pin all the values, in the unfortunate event that one doesn't work, or that it can be damaged making it unreadable Values, if there were any problem, I would hypothesize that one or more tantalum capacitors may be suspicious.

I have three 128 MB RAMs between my legs, they probably don't work well on this motherboard, but two of these RAMs look like PC 66 or at the PC100 limit, theoretically they could be read in part or half, in case they were not read in full.

Let's say that if the motherboard starts, I can change both the CPU and the cards used for the test, the initial VGA is an ISA, the final one will be a 2-4 MB PCI, something like S3 or CL.

Still ️ on the SOYO, I found a couple of SD cards still ️ in its original packaging, they were not used because they are SD format, and for me it is more comfortable to use the uSD, which I can use almost everywhere.

So these SD memory cards, are ideal for PC use, with IDE 40PIN SD adapter, the capacity is perhaps a little high especially for pre Pentium PCs, but possibly for those, if they can't read them, I have other cards of lower capacity and some of various MB, at the limit I should just empty them, and put everything in a pendrive, which should probably be more reliable, about this, in the past I had a couple of SD or uSD cards, which lost the content, in a case or two, you lost everything that It was stored, and the use of incorrect recovery software, recovered only 2GB of what was present, let's say that CF cards, as far as I understand, are as better reliability.

I hope that in the SOYO VX, the 8 GB SD card can be recognized, it is not said, it depends on the limit of the BIOS, at the limit an update will be necessary to solve this problem.

As an OS to load, I would go to Windows 98SE, if I'm not mistaken there is an unofficial service pack, but possibly it is not indispensable, I will not navigate it anyway, and usually the service packs, burden the system, so a minimal and essential installation, maybe it would be lighter and faster, so the only things to load, are programs for bench and diagnostics, so no Office or Photoshop or Corel Draw!

Still on the SOYO 5VA2, I downloaded the manual, from where you can see the jumper settings (maybe there are even secret ones), I ignored those of the L2 cache, because there are 256 KB on board, and I don't think it's worth bringing it to 512 KB, with a COAST cache module, which I think is also difficult to find, in the sense that not all can be suitable, in this regard I would like to know which module is compatible, and identify the right one, then maybe if it doesn't cost much, I could seriously think about buying it!!!

In the pages I photographed, you can see the layout of the MB, and the jumpers for the VCORE, there are not many combinations, but only fixed combinations, the minimum seems to be 2.5V, and I already have in mind a K6-2 2.2V slightly in overvolt at 2.5V, the problem is the linear regulator that over 200 would heat up a lot, so forget the 400 MHz even if possible, and maybe even the 300 MHz, because I don't think you can set a multi higher than 3.5X, at least without a mod. HW

So, after a search I found a SOYO motherboard, with an L2 COAST cache module, in which the type of chip is quite visible, so an equal one should work, as an expansion of the cache already present in the MB.

But it is not said that other modules, quite similar can be used, and that work, unfortunately unlike RAM, there could be differences in PINs between one module and another, which could even damage the motherboard.

Currently I haven't seen if there are COAST modules for sale and at what price, I'll see if I can find one that doesn't cost much, but only after trying the motherboard, and that works.

For the first start, I could use 72 PIN RAM, and then switch to 168 PIN SDRAM, I will try to find a 32 MB module, then I will see if higher capacity modules are correctly detected, one of 64 or 128 MB would be ideal.