First post, by justin1985
Since I got into retro PCs I've been obsessed with getting the smallest possible systems that tick all the boxes for Win98, XP, etc. I've accumulated a few of CRD-style "little guys" - Point of Sale and industrial PCs, as well as ITX systems. But I've had an itch for a mini PC with the full set of external drives - optical and floppy.
The earliest VIA EPIA ITX systems are great as Win98 era retro PCs in most ways, but even the very first ones (that even have native SoundBlaster emulation) never had a floppy drive controller. Not the end of the world, but there are plenty of situations where you realise a boot floppy would get you out of a pickle etc. So I've been looking for ITX boards with a floppy controller - and finding that they're incredibly rare!
Most of the ITX boards listed on The Retro Web with a floppy connector are simply listed in error, but I eventually found the iBase MB896 - a Socket 479 (Pentium M) board based on the Intel 915 chipset, which has oodles of connectivity, including a 26-pin slim floppy connector! The downside is that the Intel 915 only has Win9x driver support for the core chipset functions - not for graphics (I did find a hacked driver that works for 2D desktop, but nothing 3D). So a PCI graphics card is necessary.
I'd already tracked down this little ITX case as part of a dead cheap i3 PC on eBay - it's branded for Novatech, a medium sized UK PC builder / parts retailer. What attracted me to it was the fact it had a 5.25" drive bay, which came with a bracket fitted for a 3.5" drive plus slim optical - however the slim optical fitting clearly needed a bespoke adapter/clip that wasn't supplied, so it was easier to just 3D print a new adapter. The case also has a FlexATX internal power supply, space for a full-length half-height PCI card, or a short but full height card via a riser. There's even a proper 2.5" drive cage.
As the 915 chipset Intel graphics aren't supported in Win9x (and not exactly a great performer in Win2k/XP), I was keen to add a PCI graphics card. Narrowing it down to PCI, Win9x compatibility, and half-height, it seemed like the only options are Nvidia Quadro NVS 280, and Matrox G550 / P650. I got hold of a Quadro NVS 280 quite cheaply, although it turned up really warped! It really worries me for the BGA solder joints, but it works, for now at least.
The Quadro gets really hot though, and it is passively cooled. In this case configuration, it is really tucked away with basically no airflow. With the drive cage installed, and the case cross-bar in place, the PCI card ends up basically in its own little compartment!
I figure I really should replace the passive cooler (probably not enough clearance to strap a fan onto the existing heatsink) - but I guess the fan would have to be powered from a Molex connector?
Or replace it with a Matrox card - they seem to be actively cooled - but I guess that wouldn't perform as well in games?