It's the first time I'm seeing a computer with 4 serial ports instead of just 2 (or less) and the option in the BIOS to configure 2 more. Could it be that those were used to control the packaging hardware?
devius wrote on 2025-12-24, 16:57:It's the first time I'm seeing a computer with 4 serial ports instead of just 2 (or less) and the option in the BIOS to configure 2 more. Could it be that those were used to control the packaging hardware?
I'd bet that is right yes. Although COM4 is apparently shared with the touchscreen, not sure if that would impact this kind of usage?
When I collected the seller (who also had all kinds of old oscilloscopes, hifi equipment etc) had a second one of these. That had a custom connector that looked like a 8 pin version of the green pluggable screw terminal things, in place of the audio connectors. Obviously I wanted the audio! But I guess those were for an even more bespoke industrial connection?
Nothing major, just a couple of components for my 386 overkill machine. The Ti 486DLC-40 chip should arrive later today. I doubt I paid a fantastic price for it, but $60 US shipped didn't seem too bad.
The Cyrix 83D87-40 I ordered should arrive early next week. Again, nothing special to report on the price ($58 US shipped).
I'm looking forward to plugging in the co-processor first to get a baseline with the current AMD 386DX-40. I'll then replace the AMD chip with the Ti chip for a performance comparison. None of this is groundbreaking, but I'm just having a ton of fun playing around with an old school 386 platform again.
I'm really looling forward to eventually getting everything I want for a reverse sleeper build. I already have the case. I still need to get 32 MB of FPM RAM, a 3D printed SD-to-IDE mount and ATX back plate, a PicoGUS, and a network card. All in good time.
I occasionally buy a mundane part that doubles as a secret weapon.
The one that arrived today is a (pre-Intellimouse) Microsoft mouse with extra-heavy steel ball that had a reputation for rolling a tiny bit too far. These were not the best for hitting menu items on a high-resolution CAD workstation, and they were not the most popular with gamers either - but I loved them for the exact same feature that caused others to look away.
The way I played First Person Shooters (i.e. Quake3) was to only rarely stop my 360 rotations, and those 360 rotations were achieved by flicking a ball mouse off of its surface. One quick wrist flick would make the mouse airborne and the ball inside would keep spinning. That meant my in-game character would keep spinning. I'd either slam the mouse down to stop spinning (because I had locked onto my target), or flick again to continue spinning (because I'm scanning for threats).
An optical mouse can't do that - no moving parts to carry inertia. Boomslang gaming mouse can't do it well either - it's smaller lighter extra-precise ball quickly stops moving when airborne. Later Intellimouse with ball - usable. Some trackballs - usable. But, heavy balls of steel - that was me.
I'd practice against configured UT bots. I remember one in particular: 10 speed. 10 accuracy. Preferred headshots. Preferred sniper rifle. Duels against that bot were about one thing only: How long I could survive, and with a ball mouse I lasted longer than with any optical mouse. I used to hunt heavier balls and trying different balls in different mouses. I broke one unbranded OEM mouse during gameplay by slamming it down too hard - a plastic spindle snapped. Microsoft mouses generally survived longer.
I remember LAN gamers rejecting my method some time after Y2K and just refusing to play against me, but here’s the thing: FPS games were designed and tested in the 1990s under ball mouse input physics and under that constraint, what I call “Continuous Ball Spin” was a mechanically correct technique. Optical consumer mice did not exist when Quake and Unreal launched—that’s simply the historical record!
I’d go further and argue that "Continuous Ball Spin" made the game more visceral and immersive because no real world combatant can instantly freeze their bodily motion the way an optical mouse freezes input. Imagine Mike Tyson locking into perfect stillness - it would be cheating reality! I lost this argument after Y2K (I suspect because already sold beige office mouses were not sponsoring new tournaments) but history is on my side, physical reality is on my side, biology is on my side, and esport assumptions changed after the competition began.
I’ll be pairing this ball mouse with a 3Dfx Voodoo and some FPS games 😄
Hope everyone had a great Christmas!
The time off finally allowed me to have a good look at an Asus A8N32-SLI Deluxe that I won from an eBay auction.
It's in reasonable condition; a few blemishes here and there. Working well though; after redoing the paste/pads I broke out the 7950GTs to test SLI.
The voltage readout in the bios is reading the 12v rail incorrectly. Given the board otherwise works flawlessly I assume this is either a bios glitch or sensor issue. I confirmed the PSU was outputting the correct voltage with a multimeter.
Very pleased all in all.
TheIpex wrote on Yesterday, 08:40:Hope everyone had a great Christmas! […]
Hope everyone had a great Christmas!
The time off finally allowed me to have a good look at an Asus A8N32-SLI Deluxe that I won from an eBay auction.
It's in reasonable condition; a few blemishes here and there. Working well though; after redoing the paste/pads I broke out the 7950GTs to test SLI.
The voltage readout in the bios is reading the 12v rail incorrectly. Given the board otherwise works flawlessly I assume this is either a bios glitch or sensor issue. I confirmed the PSU was outputting the correct voltage with a multimeter.
Very pleased all in all.
If it stops while booting to report the voltage error you can probably select that voltage in the monitor and hit + or - to set it to ignore.
Otherwise have fun!
pete8475 wrote on Yesterday, 18:26:If it stops while booting to report the voltage error you can probably select that voltage in the monitor and hit + or - to set it to ignore.
Otherwise have fun!
Thanks, oddly enough no errors are reported during boot.
