Old Thrashbarg wrote:

Odd looking PSU, dunno yet if a standard will fit without some hacking yet. We'll see how things go

Those Astec PSUs are pretty close to bulletproof... way overbuilt. The low amperage on the 12V line isn't that unusual for older OEM PSUs, and it does have 30A available on 5V, so it'd be a prime candidate for a badass Athlon system if it turns out either of the existing boards doesn't work.

I assumed as much. There was also an Astec PSU in a dual Slot 1 server I was gifted a couple years ago. Unfortunately that PSU seemed to be dead.
Anyhow, I never even heard of Astec before...somekind of subdivision of Antec??? With the Astec standing for server???

sgt76 wrote:

@Tetrium

That's a sweet haul! You have to keep one at least and max it out.. V2 SLI or V5500 PCI would be super in that...and pls post some pics of the final result too!

P.S wish I had the space for that in my house

Yes, will do! I got 2 of those ATX server cases but only took pics of 1 of them as they're identical cases anyway 😀
Problem is, I haven't got a clue if theres any drivers available for this server chipset for 9x. On the HP site it only mentioned drivers for NT4 and Windows 2000 server, I have no idea if 9x will even run on the thing 🙁

@Tetrium

Those are some sweet looking servers. I especially like the Netserver, built like a tank and a huge feature-rich mobo inside it. Have you measured how big it is?

I've got the innards of an older Netserver with a dual Pentium 133MHz setup (with a whopping 4 EISA slots, 3 PCI slots and 2 shared EISA/PCI slots!), but I just don't know where to put it in. Only case that might fit is a modern case with support for the HTPX form factor, but those are prohibitively expensive... 😵 Should you ever find an old Netserver case which fits the description and you don't have a use for it, please inform me. 😉

Anyhow, I never even heard of Astec before...somekind of subdivision of Antec??? With the Astec standing for server???

No, completely different company. Also completely unrelated to Bestec (which is good because Bestec is crap). I don't know much about the company history, just that Astec was one of the big names in computer PSUs during the '80s and '90s... I think they may have even been the largest manufacturer in terms of volume sold. They made most of the old Apple/Mac PSUs, and a bunch for Gateway, DEC, HP, and a few others. They must have dropped out of making PC PSUs about 10 years ago... AFAIK the company is still around, but I haven't seen any Astec PSUs made after ~2000.

Lennart wrote:

@Tetrium

Those are some sweet looking servers. I especially like the Netserver, built like a tank and a huge feature-rich mobo inside it. Have you measured how big it is?

I've got the innards of an older Netserver with a dual Pentium 133MHz setup (with a whopping 4 EISA slots, 3 PCI slots and 2 shared EISA/PCI slots!), but I just don't know where to put it in. Only case that might fit is a modern case with support for the HTPX form factor, but those are prohibitively expensive... 😵 Should you ever find an old Netserver case which fits the description and you don't have a use for it, please inform me. 😉

You mean the really BIG case? Or the ones with the CUR-DLS's inside?

Old Thrashbarg wrote:

Anyhow, I never even heard of Astec before...somekind of subdivision of Antec??? With the Astec standing for server???

No, completely different company. Also completely unrelated to Bestec (which is good because Bestec is crap). I don't know much about the company history, just that Astec was one of the big names in computer PSUs during the '80s and '90s... I think they may have even been the largest manufacturer in terms of volume sold. They made most of the old Apple/Mac PSUs, and a bunch for Gateway, DEC, HP, and a few others. They must have dropped out of making PC PSUs about 10 years ago... AFAIK the company is still around, but I haven't seen any Astec PSUs made after ~2000.

Cheers mate. all clear! 😉

I picked up an unusual Voodoo3. It looks like one from Dodge Garage. It looks like the Compaq 125mhz model without a heatsink shown here:

I can only guess that Compaq wanted to do away with the extra cost of a heatsink so they asked for an underclocked version that didn't need one so they could keep the extra cost as profit. They probably charged more for them than you would have paid for a V3 2000 from 3dfx. The tight gits. 😠

This goes nicely with the Gateway "Bonesteel" AKA Velocity 100 that I also got recently. According to Dodge Garage, the only difference between OEM cards like the Gateway and the Velocity cards was how they identified themselves to the BIOS at bootup.

Tetrium wrote:

Lennart wrote:

@Tetrium

Those are some sweet looking servers. I especially like the Netserver, built like a tank and a huge feature-rich mobo inside it. Have you measured how big it is?

You mean the really BIG case? Or the ones with the CUR-DLS's inside?

The really BIG case (the LC 2000). Looks like the case and the mobo inside it are enormous. In fact, I doubt you'll find another case to put that mobo in, so perhaps you should keep the case if you can. 😜

And you have a mobo that will fit inside this case? I'm thinking of scrapping it for parts, then doing away with the rest as I already got SOOO many cases already! Also, the case is broken (front panel is loose) and totally non-standard, meaning if something breaks, I can't repair it. Also it's too heavy to lift on my own.
The 2 HP servers with the CUR-DLS mobo's inside I will keep however. Dunno how many ATX cases I already have but if it's more then 20, I wouldn't be surprised...

I picked up an unusual Voodoo3. It looks like one from Dodge Garage. It looks like the Compaq 125mhz model without a heatsink shown here:

I have one of those. Even at 125mhz it runs really hot without a heatsink... the board on mine is discolored from the heat.

If you glue on a heatsink, though, it seems to be a quite nice overclocker. Mine is perfectly happy at 166mhz.

Old Thrashbarg wrote:

I picked up an unusual Voodoo3. It looks like one from Dodge Garage. It looks like the Compaq 125mhz model without a heatsink shown here:

I have one of those. Even at 125mhz it runs really hot without a heatsink... the board on mine is discolored from the heat.

If you glue on a heatsink, though, it seems to be a quite nice overclocker. Mine is perfectly happy at 166mhz.

I thought it might be able to clock higher with a decent heatsink attached. As for the Gateway, I read that you could unlock the disabled TMU in it but with only 8mb the memory is more of a limiting factor than the lack of the additional TMU. Tests I've seen with the TMU unlocked only showed a pickup of 1 or 2 frames in the games tested but a V3 2000 with 16mb runs more than twice as fast in some instances so a single TMU V3 is well matched to 8mb of memory but two TMU's really need 16mb.

- working (!!!) universal PS2-RSR232 mouse adapter
- classic ide cables

How much did that PS2-Serial adapter set you back?
And it works with mice, is that an affirmative? 😉

Tetrium wrote:

How much did that PS2-Serial adapter set you back?
And it works with mice, is that an affirmative? 😉

Speaking of that, I wonder if something like this would be bi-directional.

http://www.amazon.com/Belkin-F4A612-Serial-Ad … 6/dp/B00000J1U6

Tetrium wrote:

How much did that PS2-Serial adapter set you back?
And it works with mice, is that an affirmative? 😉

yes it works, it is a real PS2-RS232 protocol converter for mice. I have tested it myself using my KVM and my 386 with ctmouse. unfortunately very expensive (40€), but now I can access any computer using my KVM and I don't have to watch PS2 connectors on old 386/486 anymore

Interesting. But, honestly, that's not the route I would've taken, considering that you can get a decent quality KVM switch with serial ports for a lot less than €40. Often less than half that. Some of them require having both a PS/2 and a serial mouse hooked to the console, if you're using a mix of PS/2 and serial machines, but that's really not that big of a deal. And... you can even occasionally find ones that will do PS/2->serial protocol translation.

I have a 4-port PS2&DVI KVM, you can't get a proper replacement for less than 40€ 😀

I seem to have stumbled upon a bit of a treasure trove of random hardware bits tonight. Amongst the things I ordered are:

-A couple of the old style 486 heatsinks... the ones that clip to the chip itself rather than the socket. $1 each. I haven't seen these things in years. 😳
-A few old style 3.5->5.25" hard drive adapters, with the half-height faceplate and activity light. Also $1 each. Unfortunately they're only available in beige, but some black vinyl dye should take care of color matching one to my XT.
-Some pre-made external CMOS battery holders, for using AA/AAA cells on the external battery header. I'd been rigging things up before, but at $0.41 each, I'll take the easy route.
-CD caddies. $1 each. Now I can finally use the damn CD drive in my 660AV. (Although, knowing my luck, it probably doesn't even work. 😅 )
-A set of MFM/RLL hard drive cables. I don't even currently have an MFM hard drive, but for 52 cents, what the hell... 🤣
-5.25" disk storage boxes. $0.42 each.
-An HDI30->CN50 SCSI adapter for my G3 Powerbook. A lot of assholes on eBay seem to thing the damn things are worth $30 or more, and... well... screw that. I think $2 is much more reasonable. 😁
-And finally, not quite computer related, but I've been needing an SNES A/V cable for awhile now, and it was $1.40.

I also picked up some non-retro stuff from 'em too, but I'm not gonna bother listing all of it off. The place has all sorts of random shit, though, especially in their clearance section. Shipping isn't bad either, it was about $11 for my entire order.

Got a hold of a Genoa V-Raptor with 4mb RAM, but still looking for a 8mb AGP V2200 part...

About 1min ago i have bought an acer magic s20 soundcard.

Because i needed it for its opl3, wavetable, pc-speaker input. Ierlier i had an aztech sound card, but couldnt find the correct drivers for it.. i38-mmsn824. The chips where taped. I tought it will be an OEM card.. I pealed the sticker / tape off then i saw an packard bell logo and name.. Then pealed this one also off. The chip says Aztech AZT 2316. I thought it will be an Sound galaxy PRO16 II.. I have tested it with those drivers, but the soundcard couldnt be detected, but i its working so i looked further, but cant find them at all. So thinking of throwing it away.. I hate manufacturers that dont support there old products..

But i have found drivers for de acer magic s20! i hope they will work..

Can you post a picture please? I have pics and discussion of my Acer Magic S20 here Opti 82C929A - DOS driver anyone please?

I had trouble getting drivers to work with it, the ones I ended up using are in that thread. Also I never got sound in Doom engined games working, for some odd reason.

bushwack wrote:

Got a hold of a Genoa V-Raptor with 4mb RAM, but still looking for a 8mb AGP V2200 part...

Nice find!
I got a couple of those Renditions, but all made by Diamond 🤣! -_-