I've fully restored Compaq Deskpro EN. Everything went under the shower to fully clean it up.

It had fried fan controller circuit in PSU and someone had bodged the fan to the constant 5V rail. Had to replace a transistor (Original was TIP115, i found TIP117 to be cheaper while really being slightly more powerful) and installed a modern XH-2.54 connector and new fan into the PSU. (Old fan was pretty busted and noisy, too.) Super quiet and when stressed, the fan speed is now controlled.

I have a Compaq S710 CRT and Compaq (Logitech) mouse for it. Unfortunately I don't have a Compaq keyboard to go with it, but I'll provide a fully cleaned beautiful KeyTronic with it.

Specs:
* CPU: Pentium 3, 866MHz
* RAM: 512MB
* GPU: Built in Riva TNT 2 Pro
* Sound: Built in
* Storage: 40GB spinning rust or 32GB industrial SSD

Back in the day I used it as a small home server. It had Windows 2000 and a bunch of servers:
* XAMPP - A web server for developing software as I had just found programming (in PHP) for myself
* Soldat Server
* TeamSpeak server
* Counter-Strike 2D server
* Websites for some downloads
* Local network share for some storage (SMB and FTP)

I actually found a bunch of old unfinished PHP projects on it - backed it all up!

Beautiful times...

tehsiggi wrote on 2026-05-12, 10:49:

Stripped my K7S8X of it's VRM FETs and all major caps - replacement coming in on monday probably.

The attachment vrm_gone.jpeg is no longer available

The attachment caps_gone.jpeg is no longer available

Is there a benefit to replacing fets?
Just caution and "coz I can" or is there some efficiency/stability to be found?

myne wrote on 2026-05-16, 07:10:

tehsiggi wrote on 2026-05-12, 10:49:

Stripped my K7S8X of it's VRM FETs and all major caps - replacement coming in on monday probably.

The attachment vrm_gone.jpeg is no longer available

The attachment caps_gone.jpeg is no longer available

Is there a benefit to replacing fets?
Just caution and "coz I can" or is there some efficiency/stability to be found?

The FETs I chose have a slightly better RDSon (so less conduction losses) than the previous ones. Granted - this can mess with the current sensing of the L6916 as it uses the RDSon to check for over-current on each phase, but the effects are negligible. Furthermore the FETs have a way lower gate charge. Meaning the current that the L6916 needs to push into the FETs gate to switch it on or off can be lower OR the gate switches faster (given the current the LD6916 is the same) - this means the L6916 has less stress.

I ordered at mouser anyways. So to make it worth it, I just grabbed new FETs as well.

Given that I plan on watercooling the CPU, anything to make the VRM section more efficient is welcome.

RetroLizard wrote on 2026-05-15, 02:35:

ubiq wrote on 2026-05-08, 17:12:

Heh yeah, my dude. I feel like that's kinda Noctua's ethos anyway with them stubbornly sticking with their ugly brown fans. Tha […]
Show full quote

RetroLizard wrote on 2026-05-08, 12:03:

Color schemes don't matter much when I'm gonna have the case closed up.

Heh yeah, my dude. I feel like that's kinda Noctua's ethos anyway with them stubbornly sticking with their ugly brown fans. That said, they're so overwhelmingly popular now that the Noctua colours as status symbol may override taste.

With Noctuas, I've read some worrying that they could potentially prioritize low noise over sufficient CFM for all applications. Regardless, proof's in the doing: I use one on my XP 2600+ and it keeps it nice and cool.

May also want to consider general airflow in your case, depending what you're working with - an extra 120mm pushing the hot out the back can do a lot of good.

What are the dimensions of your Noctua fan?

Just a standard 60mm. Noctua doesn't make any weirdo sizes, just sticking to the most common ones (to the annoyance of some people, I'm sure).

Again, Noctuas are an easy recommendation because they're high quality. But they're also arguably also overpriced to the extent that they might not be worth that premium to everyone.

That said, I do find myself using them more often than not. 🥴

ubiq wrote on 2026-05-16, 15:57:

Just a standard 60mm. Noctua doesn't make any weirdo sizes, just sticking to the most common ones (to the annoyance of some peop […]
Show full quote

RetroLizard wrote on 2026-05-15, 02:35:

ubiq wrote on 2026-05-08, 17:12:

Heh yeah, my dude. I feel like that's kinda Noctua's ethos anyway with them stubbornly sticking with their ugly brown fans. That said, they're so overwhelmingly popular now that the Noctua colours as status symbol may override taste.

With Noctuas, I've read some worrying that they could potentially prioritize low noise over sufficient CFM for all applications. Regardless, proof's in the doing: I use one on my XP 2600+ and it keeps it nice and cool.

May also want to consider general airflow in your case, depending what you're working with - an extra 120mm pushing the hot out the back can do a lot of good.

What are the dimensions of your Noctua fan?

Just a standard 60mm. Noctua doesn't make any weirdo sizes, just sticking to the most common ones (to the annoyance of some people, I'm sure).

Again, Noctuas are an easy recommendation because they're high quality. But they're also arguably also overpriced to the extent that they might not be worth that premium to everyone.

That said, I do find myself using them more often than not. 🥴

I just wanted to make sure I got the right fan. Thanks!

tehsiggi wrote on 2026-05-10, 16:34:

Things are now in motion that cannot be undone

On my way to make things happen for here: Socket A: Aiming for the Stars!!!

The attachment k7s8x_aio_build.jpeg is no longer available

How is this mounted?

smtkr wrote on 2026-05-17, 03:22:

tehsiggi wrote on 2026-05-10, 16:34:

Things are now in motion that cannot be undone

On my way to make things happen for here: Socket A: Aiming for the Stars!!!

The attachment k7s8x_aio_build.jpeg is no longer available

How is this mounted?

3D printed mounting bracket is on it's way

Scrolling though some ads on the local marketplace/craigslist. Then this shows up:

So if everything goes well, I can pick it up tomorrow. More pics and reveal party will follow...

PD2JK wrote on 2026-05-17, 11:09:

Scrolling though some ads on the local marketplace/craigslist. Then this shows up:

The attachment 42609.jpeg is no longer available

So if everything goes well, I can pick it up tomorrow. More pics and reveal party will follow...

Pretty sure I can see 8800GTX or even Ultras.

Took in a really old PC of a friend's who didn't want it & just had it in their attic
unfortunately the motherboard is toast, bulging capacitors. Probably fixable but I lack the equipment or skills to do so.

I'm hoping that whatever CPU in it isn't toast, at least... (unless it was a Celeron competitor, but even then I don't really want it to be dead.)

PD2JK wrote on 2026-05-17, 11:09:

Scrolling though some ads on the local marketplace/craigslist. Then this shows up:

The attachment 42609.jpeg is no longer available

So if everything goes well, I can pick it up tomorrow. More pics and reveal party will follow...

Are you getting it for the Physx card?

fosterwj03 wrote on 2026-05-17, 14:12:

Are you getting it for the Physx card?

One of the main reasons indeed, should be the PCI version.

Not much time, but I hacked a voltmod onto the K7S8X just to check if everything checks out. The poor XP 2400 thoroughbred B has to act as my guinea pig for some first tests. Tiny cooler, but it'll work for some basic tests..

Does anybody know how to set the GLX renderer to direct mode in Fedora Core 5? I've been trying to get Unreal Tournament 2004 to run.

Hopped over to my parents place, after a dentist appointment and discovered some old treasures..

I had a subscription from 2007 to 2012, until they abandoned the print-format.

If anyone is interested in anything from these magazines in that time-frame, let me know. I'll dive into them later and feel young again.

tehsiggi wrote on Yesterday, 10:48:

Hopped over to my parents place, after a dentist appointment and discovered some old treasures.. […]
Show full quote

Hopped over to my parents place, after a dentist appointment and discovered some old treasures..

The attachment magazines.jpeg is no longer available

I had a subscription from 2007 to 2012, until they abandoned the print-format.

If anyone is interested in anything from these magazines in that time-frame, let me know. I'll dive into them later and feel young again.

Nice hardware on the front pages .. QX9650, 2600K, Gtx580, really top notch at the time

This weekend I took and started installing my games onto my Dell XPS 630i XP system. Trying to install as many games that I currently own onto it. Have already run into some games that won't work on XP or they will install, but then won't start or have graphic glitches and make them unplayable. I do need to find a really good USB controller for it to make playing some of the games easier/better. Currently have another 115 or so games that I need to still install. Takes quite a while when you install and then test all of the games to make sure they work! There is just something so satisfying when installing software from physical media!

Games I installed so far (32/147):
MS Flight Simulator 2004, MS Flight Simulator X Deluxe, The Sims 3 w/ Late Night/Generations/Pets/70s,80s,90s Stuff, SimCity 2000, Professor Fuji's Sudoku Deluxe, Destruction Derby 2 (doesn't work), eGames Galaxy of Games 3001, Pro-Pinball timeshock!, Age of Mythology Gold Edition, Nascar Thunder 2004, Airport Tycoon 2, Mall tycoon 2, Monopoly Tycoon, Unreal II, Midtown Madness, Atari Arcade Hits 1 & 2, Quake III, Homeworld 2, Tropico 2 Pirate Cove (was a fight to get to install, but it does work!), Riddle of The Sphinx (doesn't work), The Omega Stone (Riddle of the Sphinx II), Clue Murder at Boddy Mansion, Atlantis Search for the Journal, Cultures, Prince of Persia The Two Thrones, Wildlife Zoo, Friday Night 3D Darts, Aquanox (doesn't work).

johnvosh wrote on Today, 00:10:

This weekend I took and started installing my games onto my Dell XPS 630i XP system. Trying to install as many games that I currently own onto it. Have already run into some games that won't work on XP or they will install, but then won't start or have graphic glitches and make them unplayable. I do need to find a really good USB controller for it to make playing some of the games easier/better. Currently have another 115 or so games that I need to still install. Takes quite a while when you install and then test all of the games to make sure they work! There is just something so satisfying when installing software from physical media!

Games I installed so far (32/147):
MS Flight Simulator 2004, MS Flight Simulator X Deluxe, The Sims 3 w/ Late Night/Generations/Pets/70s,80s,90s Stuff, SimCity 2000, Professor Fuji's Sudoku Deluxe, Destruction Derby 2 (doesn't work), eGames Galaxy of Games 3001, Pro-Pinball timeshock!, Age of Mythology Gold Edition, Nascar Thunder 2004, Airport Tycoon 2, Mall tycoon 2, Monopoly Tycoon, Unreal II, Midtown Madness, Atari Arcade Hits 1 & 2, Quake III, Homeworld 2, Tropico 2 Pirate Cove (was a fight to get to install, but it does work!), Riddle of The Sphinx (doesn't work), The Omega Stone (Riddle of the Sphinx II), Clue Murder at Boddy Mansion, Atlantis Search for the Journal, Cultures, Prince of Persia The Two Thrones, Wildlife Zoo, Friday Night 3D Darts, Aquanox (doesn't work).

that's a serious project! It'll be great when its done to spend a few minutes playing one of the games before thinking of another project 😀 😀

But actually, that'll be a nice go to machine - hoping you don't get weird conflicts due to all the games, i'm always wary of installing lots of games from the 90's and 2000's unless gog, more recent ones seem ok - but i dont have enough to cause a problem