Can't shared projects on PCB way just be ordered as bare boards? What's stopping the penny pinchers from just buying a blank PCB and a $10 socket and assembling it themselves?

Or if you're really committed, skip the socket and solder the chip directly in.
Might gain a few hz by removing that additional layer of contacts - and possibly help with thermals somewhat since it will have a direct thermal bridge to the slotket.

My choice would be to have all (passive) smd's soldered at the supplier and do the THT myself. I have a few slotkets needing new sockets anyway, so maybe I should just buy some.

wbahnassi wrote on 2026-08-15, 00:39:

I'm not knowledgeable enough to know what's the point of this setup. Can someone educate me here? The way I see it is that Socket 370 mobos are newer than Slot 1 mobos, so why go for the older ones if perf is the goal? The newer mobos have native Tualatin support and newer chipsets, and many still have ISA slots, so why stick to slot 1 for something like a Tualatin? Is it just the challenge for making something so powerful work on a mobo that wasn't really made for it?

Pardon my noob-ness, and thanks!

Hi, @wbahnassi,
I will give my point of view here, if I'm allowed by some freshly promoted moderators 😀

The socket 370 motherboards with PIII and Celeron Tualatin support are harder to find and more expensive compared to "regular"s. 370 boards without Tualatin support, especially the ones, that still have at least one ISA slot.

So, using a slot 1 i404BX based motherboard (these have at least two ISA slots) with modified slotket for Tualatin support is much cheaper and flexible option for Tualatin platform in therms of retro computer (test) rig. Also overclocked Tualatins are often on par or even better performers compared to the very first generation of P4 CPUs and not to mention the related P4 boards with the hard to find and expensive Rambus RAM. But I think, those less pricey i440BX slot 1 motherboards will not compensate for the pcb...yay overpriced production + shipping costs from China (especially with the new custom taxes regulations).

And don't get me wrong, I really like the Alex's project, but as I mentioned, in the end it will mostly remain something exotic, just because of the price for the final product.

Seems like you missed the i440BX craze back in the days, just like me - for not being a intel fan since the PMMX times.

P.S. "Free" markets "self-regulation" rules really do work, huh. Or at least the market's monopoly rules always do 😉

P.S.2 I just saw, that @rasz_pl explained very good and briefly the limited Tuaaltin support on the socket 370 motherboards.

wbahnassi wrote on 2026-08-15, 00:39:

... why stick to slot 1 for something like a Tualatin? ...

Why fiddle at all with decades old hardware @ 2026?

Because why not! 😀

Pricing might not be too bad.

That's pretty crazy when you consider the price of entire NEW LGA2011 boards.

rasz_pl wrote on 2026-08-14, 11:50:

Not sure why people are drilling sockets, you can just desolder contacts.

I had the time and felt inspired
Because it's a universal solution, so you don't need to worry about what processor to use.

zuldan wrote on 2026-08-15, 10:55:

Pricing might not be too bad.

The attachment IMG_0413.jpeg is no longer available

For context 100 EUR = $115 USD

Given the rarity of slotkeys with proper voltage regulators, that price isn't too bad for a universal slot 1 slotkey. I'm happy this project exists at all to be honest.

For the application of running a fast or overclocked Tualatin processor in a 440BX motherboard, it may make less sense. Searching on Ebay, there are P4 industrial motherboards with ISA slots that start at around that price point and can accommodate much faster processors. This is where I'm still trying to understand the value of the former versus the latter if the cost becomes equivalent.

myne wrote on 2026-08-15, 11:14:

That's pretty crazy when you consider the price of entire NEW LGA2011 boards.

Doesn't surprise me. Low volume hobby projects will always have much higher prices that mass manufactured products that take advantage of economies of scale.

zuldan wrote on 2026-08-15, 10:55:

Pricing might not be too bad.

The attachment IMG_0413.jpeg is no longer available

I still can find old slotkets for about 5 € on the local online flea markets and modify them, so there's absolutely no reason to feed the greedy Chinese from pcb...nay 😀

rasz_pl wrote on 2026-08-15, 01:12:

You have whole one of chipsets to choose from :) maybe 3 if are feeling particularly lucky and adventurous. Intel 815, VT82C694 […]
Show full quote

wbahnassi wrote on 2026-08-15, 00:39:

The newer mobos have native Tualatin support and newer chipsets

You have whole one of chipsets to choose from 😀 maybe 3 if are feeling particularly lucky and adventurous. Intel 815, VT82C694T, SiS 635T. Only the bad ones support ISA. "good" one tops out at 512MB ram.

> and many still have ISA slots

bad ones

More than 3 to choose from but personally I have never had problems with my 694T or my Serverworks Serverset III LE motherboards both with ISA. Now ones with ISA is more of a prob but if I'm running a Tualatin thats kinda over kill anyway.

rasz_pl wrote on 2026-08-14, 11:50:

Not sure why people are drilling sockets, you can just desolder contacts. […]
Show full quote

Not sure why people are drilling sockets, you can just desolder contacts.

HAWK-Tua indeed
Im not that jazzed about no ground plane under half the cpu signals, but since he tested it at 150MHz FSB then who am I to argue 😀
This wont be cheap. TH soldering when assembled by fabricators is expensive, they usually charge per pin and s370 has kinda lot of those, plus either shitty enig or once again expensive hard gold. On top of that PCBWay is expensive (thus advertizes and sponsors a lot) to begin with. But if it works as advertised you will be paying for quality. Fingers crossed.

Re: ground plane:
1. Are you reviewing a schematic?
2. Is this typical in other slotkets?

smtkr wrote on 2026-08-15, 21:42:

Re: ground plane: 1. Are you reviewing a schematic? 2. Is this typical in other slotkets? […]
Show full quote

rasz_pl wrote on 2026-08-14, 11:50:

Im not that jazzed about no ground plane under half the cpu signals, but since he tested it at 150MHz FSB then who am I to argue 😀

Re: ground plane:
1. Are you reviewing a schematic?
2. Is this typical in other slotkets?

1 video showed blown up pcb view
2 no idea

Hey everyone!

So, I see one of my projects made it to a multi-page thread here. That's nice!

I want to address a few questions, concerns, and would love to continue the discussion.

Q: Why did I make the HAWK 370?
A: Because prices for Tualatin ready adapters are ridiculous and they're rare. The collector premium also hits hard.
For someone who just wants to use the fastest Pentium III in existence on Slot 1 motherboards, it is extremely difficult to do this.

Q: I can just mod an existing adapters. Why buy the HAWK 370?
A: If you can modify an existing adapters, great! I never modified one myself and there are many out there that can't do it. The HAWK 370 will be for those who want a clean and simple, drop-the-CPU-in-the-Socket-and-run solution.

Q: The Ground Plane is there?
A: The HAWK 370 uses a 4-layer PCB. Top and bottom layers are signal layers. Layer two is a full ground plane and layer three is for power delivery (mostly VTT and Vcore, but there are a few other voltages as well).

Q: Cheap ENIG PCB?
A: No! Any PCB sold through me (at PCBWay Bazaar) will be using a hard gold edge connector. I want this adapter to last for decades and survive slot insertions, give the best electrical contact, feel premium all around.

Q: Why use PCBWay?
A: Without PCBWay, the main Bits und Bolts channel sponsor, I wouldn't be able to get projects like this done. They cover part of the cost of development. Each round of prototypes costs 150 USD in PCBs (and I am using ENIG only for now).
Another reason for PCBWay is, that all my sources for Socket 370, integrated circuits, etc are all sourced in China. If I would import those items to the UAE, the adapter would just be twice as expensive due to customs and taxes. I have to fabricate in China to keep the cost as low as possible.

Q: What options will be available?
A: im planning three types.
1) Fully assembled - as mentioned, my target is below 100 EUR/110 USD. I can't share more details until I know how much one adapter will cost in fabrication.
2) DIY kit + Socket 370: this kit comes with the premium PCB (hard gold connectors), Socket 370, and three main ICs that might be hard to source.
3) DIY kit + ICs: same as kit 2, just without the Socket 370.

Options 2 and 3 is for people who want to make the adapter themselves at low cost, but still get the premium PCB finish. You can source the socket from a cheap adapter or a broken motherboard and turn it into a HAWK 370.
Of course, options 2 and 3 will be cheaper than a fully assembled HAWK 370.

Q: What's so special about the HAWK 370?
CPU support for Mendocino, Coppermine, Tualatin, VIA C3 without the need to change jumpers. There is an auto-detect section integrated that makes all those chips plug-and-play. The only jumpers you need are to select voltages and SMP if you plan on running two HAWK 370 in a dual motherboard.
The frequency jumpers are available for older boards that don't allow modifying FSB in the BIOS or via jumpers.
To my knowledge, no modified slotket supports all socket 370 chips after that have been modified for Tualatin (unless you add jumpers like shown in my video by a fellow YouTuber).
The HAWK 370 solves all this with smart trace routing.
I did go through many pages of Intel's specifications. I use the voltage clamp Intel put on their Coppermine Slot 1 CPUs for good reason (yes, you can run it without one, but you shouldn't). I added the caps as per Intel on Vref pins, VTT termination, and Vcore (none of my original adapters do this properly). Signal line length matching and solving electrical conflicts arising from Mendocino to Tualatin.
And then make everything work in SMP setups.
I am confident, that this adapter does 133 MHz in dual Slot 1 systems - and maybe even more! We will see in future content on my channel.

Q: Which boards are supported?
A: The HAWK 370 isn't a magic adapter that will solve every issue on Slot 1 boards. The EPOX dual slot board I used so far does not work at 133 MHz FSB - no chance. It was a budget workstation board for PII and early PIII.
I will go through the Slot 1 boards I have, modify them when necessary and test. Any board and its capabilities shown on my channel will be what is supported - nothing more, nothing less. Of course, others can share their experiences with their boards and we might pull off a table with compatible hardware and capabilities.

Q: Will the HAWK 370 be open source?
A: Eventually, but there is no fixed date. I want to offer this project for a reasonable price that is affordable, but also rewards the hard work I've put into this project.
As I mentioned before, this won't be an adapter I'll cut corners. It will have all the bells and whistles of a premium product.
This makes it also risky for me because I have to order a largee quantity of PCBs and assembly to benefit from economy of scale - which benefits everyone, but i carry the risk for now.
However, I'm confident that this adapter will do well and many would want to own one, two, or even more.

Q: Why not use a more modern chipset?
A: You can, no need for a Slot 1 adapter. But the 440BX and Slot 1 are legendary! I am here to revive memories and create new ones! Imagine getting a HAWK 370 back in the day to run a Tualatin on your old motherboard and smoke the brand new P4 of your friend!
The real answer would probably be: Because we can!

If you have any questions or I didn't answer something specific, please let me know.

P.S. I'm listening to the comments and plan on adding mounting holes for coolers, and integrate a variation of the Throttle Blaster directly on the PCB (the original Throttle Blaster will also still be supported).

Im currently traveling and will continue with the HAWK 370 at the beginning of September.

BitsUndBolts wrote on 2026-08-17, 18:13:

Q: The Ground Plane is there?
A: The HAWK 370 uses a 4-layer PCB. Top and bottom layers are signal layers. Layer two is a full ground plane and layer three is for power delivery (mostly VTT and Vcore, but there are a few other voltages as well).

Yes. That means only one side with high speed signals has solid ground plane. Look at pcbway 4 layer stackup, one internal ground plane 1.4 mm away from top signals simply doesnt do anything. In 4 layer high speed stackups ideally you want SIG - GND - GND - SIG, 2 internal ground layers with external layers sharing signal with power.

AGTL/+ bus is terminated to Vtt and referenced against Vref (and you still would have to stitch a bunch of caps everywhere you switch reference planes). Vcc is not a reference and does nothing for signal integrity. Power plane split between Vtt, Vref and Vcc is simply terrible for return paths.

1 [LIVE] How to Achieve Proper Grounding - Rick Hartley - Expert Live Training (US) Altium https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ySuUZEjARPY Whole thing is treasure trove, @1:10 is particularly on point for slotket. also @1:20 @1:30 @1:33
2 "Ground planes in a PCB layout with 30 years of experience: The ultimate guide" by Hans Rosenberg https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EEb_0dja8tE&l … yrz0Jc0xw8kH4zQ
3 Some of my ramblings about outdated routing practices https://github.com/raszpl/CL-GD542X_ISA particularly flood fill ground making thin noodles and not enough stitching.
4 Havent seen PCB, but on video it looked like there might be neat rows of VIAs. My advice is to pull them apart Re: Compaq (197005-001) cache module - open source reproduction Re: Compaq (197005-001) cache module - open source reproduction
5 Dont flood fill signal layers with ground without stitching that ground densely, you are just making little antennas coupling more noise.
6 When switching reverence planes (if you really have to) Intel advises:
"For signals going from a ground reference to a power reference, add capacitors between ground and power near the vias to provide an AC return path. One capacitor should be used for every three signal lines that change reference layers. Capacitor requirements are as follows: C=100nF, ESR=80mΩ, ESL=0.6nH. Refer to Figure 25 for an example of switching reference layers. "
In your case you are routing crossing multiple power planes = you should link those power planes with caps - Rick Hartley shows how effective that is @1:20 and @1:33

7 Of course best best course of action would be 6 layer board 😀 Many cons some pros. As I mentioned earlier PCBWay is way more expensive. This is why they sponsor you 😀 jump from 4 to 6 is quite significant with them. JLCPCB 6 layer boards are barely noticeably more expensive, perks of bigger volume and not pumping money into ads. Then there is the question of how the mobo side looks like? You can have best slotket in the world being plugged into lazy routed mobo making all that effort wasted for nothing 😐

BUT since you demonstrated CPUs already running at 150MHz fsb clearly it isnt such a critical issue for Intel AGTL bus, aka she'll be right.

rasz_pl wrote on 2026-08-18, 01:31:

aka she'll be right.

The proof of the pudding is in the eating.

I'm sure it would suffer greatly at 200+mhz, but try finding a Slot1 board, chipset, RAM and locked CPU capable of doing that.

Btw, are you aussie, mate?

BitsUndBolts wrote on 2026-08-17, 18:13:

... Q: Why not use a more modern chipset?
A: You can, no need for a Slot 1 adapter. But the 440BX and Slot 1 are legendary! I am here to revive memories and create new ones! Imagine getting a HAWK 370 back in the day to run a Tualatin on your old motherboard and smoke the brand new P4 of your friend!
The real answer would probably be: Because we can! ...

Here! Here! 👍 👍 👍

I have 2 Celerons 1.4Ghz engineering samples waiting...

rasz_pl wrote on 2026-08-14, 22:52:

Shponglefan wrote on 2026-08-14, 15:50:

Current price of 370 Pin socket is about $10 USD from what I've seen not including shipping, tax, etc.

afaik PCBWay charges $0.05 per tht wave soldered pin = ~$20 just for soldering the socket

this is a sponsored product so likely there is a discount here