Very nice case indeed - although I can't help feeling that it should have handles, and rocker switches, and maybe some VU meters...you know, really get the mad scientist vibe going!

I've never seen or heard of Video 7 - but that card looks interesting. It looks Cirrus based, yes? And can those really be swapped for other parts? Or what?

obobskivich wrote:

Very nice case indeed - although I can't help feeling that it should have handles, and rocker switches, and maybe some VU meters...you know, really get the mad scientist vibe going!

I've never seen or heard of Video 7 - but that card looks interesting. It looks Cirrus based, yes? And can those really be swapped for other parts? Or what?

VU meters would be nice 😀

The Video Seven Vega card uses Cirrus Logic CL-GD420 and CL-GD410.
The card supports VGA, EGA and CGA and has both a normal 15 pin analog connector and a 9 pin EGA connector.
You set the card to VGA, EGA or CGA mode with dip switches.

The card is very slow though and I felt like playing Stunts so I installed a Tseng 4000 card in the system.

8-bit VGA cards are indeed much slower. You should save it for an XT system.

Anonymous Coward wrote:

8-bit VGA cards are indeed much slower. You should save it for an XT system.

I agree, that card is quite a gem. I actually would like to find a card like that. I guess Cirrus Logic 410-420 or even 510-520 are very good for CGA compatibility.

Nice machine!

I too have a Video 7 card.

This thread comes to mind about that card:

CGA Compatibility Tester vs. VGA cards

the driver has recently been uploaded to Vogonsdrivers.

The ET4000 is probably a bit overkill for a 286 but if you have no other spare 16-bit cards and no other use for the ET4000 it certainly makes sense to use it.
I'd just use a SB16 for the time being, as long as it's not PnP it should just work, even if not era-correct.

idspispopd wrote:

The ET4000 is probably a bit overkill for a 286 but if you have no other spare 16-bit cards and no other use for the ET4000 it certainly makes sense to use it.
I'd just use a SB16 for the time being, as long as it's not PnP it should just work, even if not era-correct.

The ET4000 is the only 16 bit ISA (S)VGA card I own, just as you guessed.
Stunts ran fine in "MCGA" mode with all graphics options enabled 😀

When it comes to the sound cards most of my spare ISA Creative cards are Soundblaster 16 PNP, Vibra PNP or Soundblaster 32/64 PNP. I have a really noisy non PNP Soundblaster 16 somewhere and a nice AWE 32 CT2760 saved up for another build. I am tempted to use the CT2760 until I stumble on a Soundblaster Pro 2.0.

Love the Floppy logo on the Game card. Whats with the 2 Game ports though? Can it support 2 joysticks?

This is so much older then anything I'm overly familiar with. Was thinking whatever with all the ports mentioned then saw how each was actually a full card not just a header on a motherboard and it all made sense.

Is the rack mount case original? Would be interesting to think what it did in a past life, Netware print server or something many years ago?
Very cool PC though 😀

Ummm...are those hairs on that Harris 286 or is the ceramic cracked?

"You know it's the Harris where you see the hair is"

Seriously, it is quite easy to accidentally leave pencil-like marks on the surface. Even if it is a crack, it can work for quite a while. (Talking from experience.)

chinny22 wrote:

Love the Floppy logo on the Game card. Whats with the 2 Game ports though? Can it support 2 joysticks? […]
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Love the Floppy logo on the Game card. Whats with the 2 Game ports though? Can it support 2 joysticks?

This is so much older then anything I'm overly familiar with. Was thinking whatever with all the ports mentioned then saw how each was actually a full card not just a header on a motherboard and it all made sense.

Is the rack mount case original? Would be interesting to think what it did in a past life, Netware print server or something many years ago?
Very cool PC though 😀

Its possible to connect two joysticks.

I think everything in the system is original except for the game port card and the 3.5" floppy. The computer was probably retired from its original purpose late 1994. Someone took it home and installed DOS 6.2, the game port card and the 3.5" floppy only to never used the system again. At least there were no traces of any use later than late 1994 on the HDD.

As you can see in the picture there were missing screws and disconnected cables so I think the last thing the last user of this computer did was tinkering and moving the cards around. The person I got the system from never used it or even knew what it was. I figure the system has been in someones garage since the 90s then trashed during a clean out. The person I bought the system from probably has access to a recycling center or something like that.

sliderider wrote:

Ummm...are those hairs on that Harris 286 or is the ceramic cracked?

Jolaes76 wrote:

"You know it's the Harris where you see the hair is"

Seriously, it is quite easy to accidentally leave pencil-like marks on the surface. Even if it is a crack, it can work for quite a while. (Talking from experience.)

I know from the high res pictures that the cracks are what appears to be pubes, they came with the system.

The Harris is in one piece!