chrisNova777 wrote:

well i see noone seems to want to help me find a decent 486 board.......

This forum has a small number of active members across a big variety of time zones, it can sometimes take several days for somebody with the right answer to see your post and try to help you out.

Relax guy.

@squallstrife - yes.. dont mind me.. gettin a bit discouraged.. im not giving up

on the topic of first boards with USB:

here i see the Asus VX97 also has a usb header
what year is the vx97 from? one of the earliest Asus boards with a usb header that i know of

the chipset chips on the board are dated "95" that cant be right? can it?

maybe i should doublecheck the vx97 manual (the manual itself is dated january 1997!!)
the manual says literally nothing about the usb header but shows it in the diagram

I also saw the same exact USB HEADER on the Asus P/I-P55TVP4 Motherboard which shows an intel chipset dated 95
checking the manual for the P55TVP4 i see its dated december 1996!!
http://www.motherboards.org/files/manuals/1/p55tvp4-152.pdf
and it also uses a "VX" chipset

but of course those arent 486 socket 3 boards!!!!

that usb/ps2/infrared port thing
someone did a sketch on it here
http://phorums.com.au/showthread.php?93097-AT … orm-Card-Sketch

detailing the 18 pin (2x9) layout of it

just found this pic of this 5pin usb header which differs from the 6 pin (4x2) header

is there a name for these different standards

so far im only seeing this on FIC motherboards? does anyone know any more info to contribute or share with me?
could it be that this 5 pin connection is actually for the keyboard and not the mouse? i hope not!

All my i430TX and i430VX boards have usb headers.

Even AT ones.
Beware that the header pinout was not standarised back then and you can easily burn a device or the motherboard controller.

is there a prexisting list that another vogons member may have made of all the 486 motheboards that support ps2 mouse?

I don't think there is. Also, some 486 boards might have the pads for a PS/2 connector, but I'm not sure they are 100% functional. Also, remember, I wouldn't be surprised if even here at Vogons not many people have a VLB 486 board with a PS/2 mouse header.

ATX case, ATX PSU, PS/2 mouse...

You are the perfect customer for a ATX based Super Socket 7 machine 😀

With a MMX processor you can switch it into a 386DX and 486DX2 through the caches.

can any of u guys with vlb boards with ps2 mice chime in here now????

vetz.. i read that u said u had a 486SV2GX4 board!!! does the ps2 mouse work?
please.. guys.. can u help me confirme who has ps2 mice working on VLB 486 socket 3 boards?

philscomputerlab wrote:

ATX case, ATX PSU, PS/2 mouse...

You are the perfect customer for a ATX based Super Socket 7 machine 😀

With a MMX processor you can switch it into a 386DX and 486DX2 through the caches.

could u direct me to a more detailed post that details this? how its done and why it works etc??
so u are saying i can get similar performance/timing level of a 486 by buying a socket 7 pentium machine?
such as Intel TX/VX chipset board?

166, 200 MHz Introduced January 8, 1997
233 MHz Introduced June 2, 1997

i guess i would want to get a pentium 166Mhz in that case? is this what u have??
checking the info at http://www.cpu-upgrade.com/mb-ASUS/TX97-X.html
i see this is the board that takes up to a K6 https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/AMD_K6 .. i saw other people talking about using this type of cpu
to select the speed in 16 levels or increments... that was a video by you phil right?

I use form my 586 class AT mobo in description ATX case from ABIT BE6 system. all fit fine, just need too look for AT style I/O backplate shield or buy blank and mod it

alexanrs wrote:

I don't think there is. Also, some 486 boards might have the pads for a PS/2 connector, but I'm not sure they are 100% functional. Also, remember, I wouldn't be surprised if even here at Vogons not many people have a VLB 486 board with a PS/2 mouse header.

if the ps2 mouse was not working isnt it more likely a result of IRQ's + motherboard resources being allocated in a way that would prevent it from functioning?? rather then the port itself not being functional?

alexanrs wrote:

I don't think there is. Also, some 486 boards might have the pads for a PS/2 connector, but I'm not sure they are 100% functional. Also, remember, I wouldn't be surprised if even here at Vogons not many people have a VLB 486 board with a PS/2 mouse header.

if the ps2 mouse was not working isnt it more likely a result of IRQ's + motherboard resources being allocated in a way that would prevent it from functioning?? rather then the port itself not being functional?

chrisNova777 wrote:

could u direct me to a more detailed post that details this? how its done and why it works etc??
so u are saying i can get similar performance/timing level of a 486 by buying a socket 7 pentium machine?
such as Intel TX/VX chipset board?

Yes!

I did this project not too long ago. It's using a different processor, but the principle is the same:

Too many Retro PCs? Let's build a 4 in 1 Retro Gaming PC! 386, 486, Pentium...

There are slight differences in what "slowed down" machine you get depending on the motherboard, processor and BIOS settings, but I can give you rough estimates if you let me know what processor you are going to use.

Beware, though, that the reason to use a pre-PCI system was never that you needed 486 levels of performance to begin with, but rather jitter issues with PCI graphics cards. That being the case you should see if someone with a S7/SS7 system could run a few tests for you, basically:

• Jitter using PCI/AGP graphics card
• Jitter using an ISA graphics card

If using an ISA graphics card is enough to eliminate jitter issues, then yes, any S7/SS7 system you can assemble can be used here - maybe you don't even have to hunt for a K6+ processor if your software isn't speed sensitive, any Pentium or K6-2 will do. If not, then you'll need to go back to an ISA/VLB 486 system.

I wouldn't get to hung up on having a MB with a PS/2 mouse port. sure its a nice convenience but your limiting your options and making your search more difficult. is it nice to use a more modern laser mouse on a 486? yes. is it needed? no

serial mice have worked fine for me. If your dead set on a 486 with a PS/2 port your probably better off getting a OEM system that will have 2 PS/2 ports. Other then that set in for the wait game and daily search Ebay for a board at a good deal.

and there's Phil spreading his heresy again....😀 Sure you can take the easy route with a SS7 but you'll miss the experience of a real 486 and the coolness factor.

yes theres something special about the 486.. i remember.. i used to build dx2 66mhz everyday - my first job ever was as a computer tech
this was in 1992/1993 i was like 15/16 years old.... so long ago.. i knew everything about them then, and i ran a BBS at home on my 9600 baud modem, which i upgraded to a 14.4 😀 it seems like another lifetime ago now.. another dimension

and yes re: PCI.. like i said previously in this thread.. im trying to see if PCI had an effect on midi timing + jitter.. which is why i wanted to get a 486 in the first place.. and maybe u are right. maybe im getting caught up worryin about stupid things.. re: ps2 mouse support.

soviet conscript wrote:

and there's Phil spreading his heresy again....😀 Sure you can take the easy route with a SS7 but you'll miss the experience of a real 486 and the coolness factor.

I found the opposite 😊 Buying a complete 386 or 486 is easy, might cost you a bit, but it's not hard.

SS7 time machine with ATX case, ATX PSU, USB ports, SATA drive, PS/2 mouse, at least to me, is way cooler 🤣

But all this talk makes me want to do a project with 386 or 486 again. I love working with that gear, it's a lot simpler in a many ways, especially because I tend to go DOS only, no need to configure MS-DOS mode.

486 boards with no PCI slots!!!

VL/I-486SV2GX4
VL/I-486SV2G
ISA-486SV2 (some with VLB, some without)

with these i will have to buy new parts especially for it; which will only work with it;
ie: serial mouse, AT Case, ISA/VLB io Controller, ISA/VLB Graphic
all of these things wil be sold SEPERATELY by people on ebay because they are money hungry opportunists
mouse 20-25$
AT CASE 50$-100$
isa/vlb io controller 50$
isa/vlb graphics 50$
here im estimating an additional 225$ in costs NOT INCLUDING SHIPPING
and NOT INCLUDING THE PRICE OF THE FREAKING BOARD ITSELF
which can be put up to 200$ by gougers on eBay..
so the cost of this is up to 500$

im afraid im going to have to abandon this idea. theres no way im spending 500$ to build a 486 computer in 2015..
as much as i want to.

Why the hell would you pay US$100 on a case? Baby AT boards can be mounted on ATX cases, you'll just have a lot of empty space Oo And with a cheap adapter and a cheap latched switch you can even use a new PSU with it.
And why are you estimating so much in shipping? Buying overseas?!