First post, by OSkar000
For many of us a good Pentium MMX has been something that always has been on the list of systems that you really need to have. My retro interest started more or less with a Pentium MMX that I had as a spare/extra computer when I was about 17. My main rig at that time was a Socket A system running Windows 2000 so running DOS-games was a bit of a problem. So I found a Penitum 166MMX with a motherboard in the scrap bin in my school that I could take home and play with. It was not the greatest setup of all times, the motherboard was (is, I still have it in the pile of stuff to repair) an Asus P55SP4V with SiS chipset and integrated graphics. It did work but it was not the best performer in any way. But it could do some basic overclocking taking the 166 to 263MHz (3,5x75). Time went on and a few year later it ended up in parts in some boxes when I moved and it stayed like that for a long while.
Fast forward to somewhere around 2018. A friend of mine were clearing out their attic and found an HP Vectra with a Penitum MMX. I didn't say no to that but I think my wife regrets telling me about it. That was the start of playing with old computers again.
So, a free MMX is always nice and since it was complete with a 15" CRT I was quite happy. Some things bothered me though... it was a HP, it didn't overclock, it was a desktop, it had some crappy SiS chipset. So it ended up in storage after I got another bunch of old computers (a pile of 386s, four 486s and some more).
But I always wanted an MMX. A good one with Intel 430TX chipset and a nice case. A period correct graphics card, maybe an SB64AWE and a Voodoo 1. More or less the MMX everyone dreamed about early 1997.
So lets build one 😀
Quite recently I traded some stuff for a bunch of Socket 7 motherboards where one of them was an Aopen AP5T, a pretty standard Intel 430HX board in baby-AT format. Perfect for my build!
Oddly enough I don't have any pictures of it outside the case...
The case is another story.... It had some interesting "modifications" when I got it, but it had an MMX-sticker on it that was enough to qualify as a given candidate for this build. As seen above it has a removable mother board tray and it was really easy to work in. Good design 25+ years ago, just how I like things!
And yes, it was a MMX in it... on a not so brilliant socket 7 mother board with Via chipset...
After some cleaning it is a quite good AT case with lots of space for good airflow and many devices. I ended up with a removable hard drive, 3,5" + 5,25" 360k floppy and CD-rom. Still room for more stuff in the future!
Moveable hard drive cage and space for two 92mm fans in the back. That was quite high-end in 1997!
To be continued in next post 😀
