One way to find out is to power it on, after install the RAM, CPU, and VGA card, and having a look at the BIOS string.

Probably useless info, but that mainboard looks exactly like a Micro Star International (MSI) board I used to have. But it's been so long ago, I could easily be mistaken.

I would power it on, if I knew what CPU it had last time or as long as I knew the jumper settings to set one of my CPUs, but since I don't, thats why I'm asking 😀 Won't risk destroying a DX4 with a voltage mismatch...

Reminds me a little bit of the FIC 486-VIP-IO2 and FIC PIO-3, however this board is neither of those. Maybe it is sorta copy of the 486-VIP-IO2? I thought FIC was the only manufacturer who used the VIA PCI 486 chipsets, but I guess not.

This is a Jetway motherboard. Wasn't able to determine the exact model, but I guess it's a good start.

Thanks! So, "T. W." == Jetway? In fact, could be, Jetway boards were common in Greece (think plaisio). More searching to do I guess... I'll do try to run it with a 5V cpu and fiddle with the jumpers to see if I get anywhere, at least until I find a proper manual or something like that.

edit: that one looks a bit similar indeed... at least we're getting somewhere 🤣

Well, following a visual search on Google and browsing of every single 486 board on TH99, your board is not coming up. Without a manufacturer or model number it will be impossible to identify the board unless someone recognises it.

Do you have a 5v CPU you can drop in to get the BIOS string? Worst case scenario in that instance would be that it doesn't POST and you experiment with jumpers until it does.

Can anyone comment on whether it's possible to murder a 5v socket 3 CPU by changing jumpers? Is this a low risk strategy?

If you have a eeprom reader you can dump the bios and the bios string will be in plain text at the bottom of the bios

@FaSMaN: I don't, unfortunately 🙁
@brassicGamer: Yup, not on TH99 either. In fact a 5V CPU attempt is the approach I'm going to follow later this day, let's hope I don't break anything 😜

Use 5V cpu, if it won't post, then use 3V cpu. But in any case you won't kill it. Just use a heatsink on 3V CPU. I've used 3V cpu on 5V power many times without problems.

I would use a more common processor on that motherboard, like a DX 2 66 or a DX 4 100.

Do you also have the cache chips for that board.?

psychz wrote:

"T. W." == Jetway?

I don't know about T.W., but I do know about that green "J" on the BIOS chip 😉

Oh! I see 😜

@Robin4: No, but I guess I can pull said chips off one of my other 486 boards + a tag chip?

Have a look at the areas I have highlighted for you. This should help you configure the board for the appropriate processor you want to install. Right now it appears to be configured to run an AMD processor (JRN5).

Yup, already noticed these, also I assume that the JT1-7 jumpers on the bottom left of the picture (just between the VLB slot and the regulator) are for CPU voltage selection (no pcb printed info on these), and don't know anything about the jumpers on the left of the chip just above the CPU type selector... Maybe I can find more answers after actually getting it to POST!

-There's nothing written under that QC green sticker, right?
-It looks like a socket 2 motherboard to me

I'm not sure... but I think PCI boards were all Socket 3.

Socket 2 only supports 5V but the presence of PCI or socket 3 doesn't automatically mean that 3.3V CPUs are supported. I have a socket 3 VLB-only board that won't do 3.3v.

With no overt markings for voltage settings on this board, we won't know until we see some documentation. If this is a 5v only board that would be very interesting from a technical / historical point of view.

Well I didn't try to deduce the socket type from anything, they're physically different. Look at the "key" corner: