VOGONS

Rescued from the Brink = A 486PCI system.

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First post, by maddmaxstar

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A little bit of a back story about myself: I currently work part time at a local computer store that also has a PC Recycling depot. At this depot we take old systems, scavenge them for useful parts, rebuild useful systems and recycle the rest for scrap. All drives are wiped using software similar to what the Feds use.

I've been doing alot of the used system work lately, and today while sifting through the junk pile I came across something cool.

I found a couple of 286-12's, wasn't really interested in them, though I saved a board from one... Another beat up stripped AT case had a real Gem in it, a 486 PCI motherboard+i486DX-33+2x8mb EDO. I built them into an untested system and (along with a Voodoo3 for my K6) traded them all from my Boss for a Coffee.

I've identified the board as a Lucky Star LS-486 Rev:C. I haven't done much testing, the CPU appears to be dead (or not properly set up), but swapping out for a 486DX2-66 seems to have worked, the system now POSTs OK, but I haven't yet attached any drives. I've attached a photo below.

So my main questions here are:

Has anyone heard of or had any experiences with an LS-486?

Also, I want to put my spare Am486DX-100(NV8T) chip in this board to beef it up, but I don't have a fan. I can cannibalize a Heatsink from an i486DX2-66, but I don't have a spare Heatsink+Fan. So, will a 486DX4-100 stay cool enough without a Heatsink/Fan, or with just a heatsink. Also, will an i486DX2-66 survive without a heatsink if I steal one from there?

= Phenom II X6 1090T(HD4850) =
= K7-550(V3-3000) =
= K6-2+ 500(V3-2000) =
= Pentium 75 Gold(Voodoo1) =
= Am486DX4-120(3DXpression+) =
= TI486DLC-40(T8900D) =
= i386sx-16+i387(T8900D) =

Reply 1 of 9, by luckybob

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personal experience? no. However I think you have a FAKE CACHE board. At least i've never seen any cache chips labeled "magic" before.

Also, you do need a heatsink on the 66. Anything over 50 TBH.

Once men turned their thinking over to machines in the hope that this would set them free. But that only permitted other men with machines to enslave them. - Reverend Mother Gaius Helen Mohiam

Reply 2 of 9, by SquallStrife

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All of my non-overdrive DX2-66 chips run fine without a heatsink. (The overdrive ones all have heatsinks, so I couldn't say for them).

They run pretty toasty though, if I had a heatsink for em, I'd probably use it, but it's not 100% necessary apparently.

Also, if the CPU socket has the little plastic lugs on it, you should be able to get a Socket-A cooler to fit.

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Reply 3 of 9, by Mau1wurf1977

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maddmaxstar wrote:

A little bit of a back story about myself: I currently work part time at a local computer store that also has a PC Recycling depot.

Best - job - ever 😀

Reply 4 of 9, by maddmaxstar

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luckybob wrote:

personal experience? no. However I think you have a FAKE CACHE board. At least i've never seen any cache chips labeled "magic" before.

That's true, the name 'Magic' sounds kinda funny. Once I get it up and running and time to play with it, I'll do some tests. I got DOS 6.22, Win3.11 and Wolf3D on it last night, it seems pretty fast so far. BIOS shows it has 256k installed.

SquallStrife wrote:

All of my non-overdrive DX2-66 chips run fine without a heatsink. (The overdrive ones all have heatsinks, so I couldn't say for them).

I ended up replacing my 486DX2-66's ISA/OPTI board with the PCI, and put in the Am486DX4-100, and stuck the heatsink from the 66 to the 100 with a ring of doublesided tape with thermal paste in the middle. I'll keep an eye on it for now but seems to be holding and doing the job.

Mau1wurf1977 wrote:

Best - job - ever 😀

It can be sometimes! I pick up alot of weird stuff there... just yesterday I pulled a GeForce4 Ti4200 that someone mounted a PII fan to for a replacement fan. I also got a Voodoo3 2000 AGP and an ATI Basic-16 for my collection. Really bugs my Fiancee though when I bring more computers home, 🤣.

= Phenom II X6 1090T(HD4850) =
= K7-550(V3-3000) =
= K6-2+ 500(V3-2000) =
= Pentium 75 Gold(Voodoo1) =
= Am486DX4-120(3DXpression+) =
= TI486DLC-40(T8900D) =
= i386sx-16+i387(T8900D) =

Reply 5 of 9, by maddmaxstar

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I don't have screenshots but I did some tests using Speedsys 4.78 on the new Am486DX4-100. The results were:

Turbo On: 37.25
Turbo Off: 31:54

This compared to my other big 486, En.AM486DX4-120
Turbo On: 44.67
Turbo Off: 37.44

Looking at that, performance numbers appear to be right where they should be for a CPU 83% as fast as my main 486DX4, though it's neat to see that my Big one is still faster with the turbo off than the new one with turbo on. Still, looks like those 'Magic' Cache IC's are real, unless both of my 486's numbers are low, or I'm missing something.

= Phenom II X6 1090T(HD4850) =
= K7-550(V3-3000) =
= K6-2+ 500(V3-2000) =
= Pentium 75 Gold(Voodoo1) =
= Am486DX4-120(3DXpression+) =
= TI486DLC-40(T8900D) =
= i386sx-16+i387(T8900D) =

Reply 6 of 9, by 386DX40

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I have that exact same board running a Pentium Overdrive 83MHz with 32MB of EDO memory (this board actually supports EDO). 32MB is all the board can cache with the L2 set to write-back mode. Those MAGIC cache chips are the real deal, even though they kinda look fake. I have found this board to be one of the better 486 PCI boards I have ever messed with. It is stable, quick for what it is, and supports a wide variety of CPUs and hardware. I have tried probably 10 different CPUs and countless video cards in this board and everything just 'works'.

I think you found a great board there! 😁

Reply 7 of 9, by feipoa

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maddmaxstar wrote:

... unless both of my 486's numbers are low, or I'm missing something.

Your SpeedSys numbers are right where they should be for an AMD 100NV8T and a 120SV8B with working L2 cache.

The memory graph in SpeedSys will show if your cache is working.

Plan your life wisely, you'll be dead before you know it.

Reply 8 of 9, by maddmaxstar

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386DX40 wrote:

I think you found a great board there! 😁

Thanks! Good to know the Cache chips are actually real, I was kinda worried by that earlier post. I don't think it'll replace my main 486, but it's cool to have as a backup!

feipoa wrote:
maddmaxstar wrote:

... unless both of my 486's numbers are low, or I'm missing something.

Your SpeedSys numbers are right where they should be for an AMD 100NV8T and a 120SV8B with working L2 cache.

The memory graph in SpeedSys will show if your cache is working.

Cool, I'll have to check and post screenshots once I get a chance. What does one do for screenshots? Will Speedsys run on Win3.1/Win9x in Windowed mode?

= Phenom II X6 1090T(HD4850) =
= K7-550(V3-3000) =
= K6-2+ 500(V3-2000) =
= Pentium 75 Gold(Voodoo1) =
= Am486DX4-120(3DXpression+) =
= TI486DLC-40(T8900D) =
= i386sx-16+i387(T8900D) =

Reply 9 of 9, by luckybob

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after the benchmarks are ran, there is an option to create a pcx screenshot. I think you press 'S' for save. At least thats how I remember it.

as for the cache, look for TWO steps. There will be one large drop at ~16K and a 2nd drop at 256k. If there is only one drop, the cache isnt working.

Once men turned their thinking over to machines in the hope that this would set them free. But that only permitted other men with machines to enslave them. - Reverend Mother Gaius Helen Mohiam

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