Recapped the PSU of my Philips NMS9100 (=Philips P3105) and installed a new battery. It showed more life after that, but still no image. After trying a different video card I got it to POST! So the video card might be dead. Now I need to get a new connector to make a proper cable for the video, I need a DB9 to DIN. I hacked one together for now, but is is missing wires in the DIN connector so it won't sync properly.

Playing with the newest RetroOrangePI (4.1) for one of my OrangePI boards. So far it is looking like an awesome release.
Putting it through stress test, as I am adding large number of games and scraping at the same time.
So far it is looking like a more stable release than the previous version 3.

found this from a few years ago

I installed Doom II on my Socket 370 system, and my computer keeps lagging for some reason. Mouse doesn't work, and frames drop dramatically. What's the issue here?

... that about sums up my day. Whoever assembled this used waaaay too much TIM.

Thankfully it doesn't seem like I bent any pins, but I'm still trying to work out how to separate the CPU from that HSF without damaging either. Any suggestions?

SW-SSG wrote:

IMG_7459b.jpg

... that about sums up my day. Whoever assembled this used waaaay too much TIM.

Thankfully it doesn't seem like I bent any pins, but I'm still trying to work out how to separate the CPU from that HSF without damaging either. Any suggestions?

Use a hairdryer to warm it?

Soak in alcohol and periodically try getting a modelling knife inbetween?

SW-SSG wrote:

IMG_7459b.jpg

... that about sums up my day. Whoever assembled this used waaaay too much TIM.

Thankfully it doesn't seem like I bent any pins, but I'm still trying to work out how to separate the CPU from that HSF without damaging either. Any suggestions?

Woah, did they think it was modelling clay... thats insane!

Qjimbo wrote:

Woah, did they think it was modelling clay... thats insane!

It's frosting. All you need is a big glass of milk.

cliffclaven wrote:

Qjimbo wrote:

Woah, did they think it was modelling clay... thats insane!

It's frosting. All you need is a big glass of milk.

LMAO. Everytime I see this its an AMD. Did those Athlons just put out so much heat they turned thermal paste into cement?

TheAbandonwareGuy wrote:

cliffclaven wrote:

Qjimbo wrote:

Woah, did they think it was modelling clay... thats insane!

It's frosting. All you need is a big glass of milk.

LMAO. Everytime I see this its an AMD. Did those Athlons just put out so much heat they turned thermal paste into cement?

They did not run hotter than things like Pentium EE for sure its just a case of terrible thermal compounds.

Started building a Pentium 133 MHz system, which I wanted to do for quite some time. Got a very nice AT mini tower lately, so now I have all parts to do it. 😀 Today I started by disassembling and washing the tower case. Looks like new now. 😎

SW-SSG wrote:

IMG_7459b.jpg

... that about sums up my day. Whoever assembled this used waaaay too much TIM.

Thankfully it doesn't seem like I bent any pins, but I'm still trying to work out how to separate the CPU from that HSF without damaging either. Any suggestions?

I have encountered situations like this quite often when I scrap old Dells. I just pry the CPUs off with plastic bars. I don't think people would use adhesive paste to hold CPU and heatsink together in modern days.

SW-SSG wrote:

IMG_7459b.jpg

... that about sums up my day. Whoever assembled this used waaaay too much TIM.

Thankfully it doesn't seem like I bent any pins, but I'm still trying to work out how to separate the CPU from that HSF without damaging either. Any suggestions?

I'm surprised the pins are still attached and intact. I had that happen once, and broke 2 pins off (AM2+ board lost a cap, as well as the CPU). The Arctic 5 Silver thermal compound is amazing, yet a PITA to remove the CPU without ripping out the CPU.

Stiletto wrote:

accidentally dropped my 2010 smartphone in the sink so it's drying out in a sack of rice until I pick up some silica gel stuff. So far so good 😁

Completely back to normal 😁

Pfft, I've had this exact thing happen numerous times at work, usually with Dell Precision class workstations. They use a thick gray thermal compound that eventually hardens to about the equivalent of caulk, and as soon as you try to remove the heatsink it tears the CPU right out of the ZIF socket. It's yet to damage a pin, but it can be a bit of a challenge to get the CPU off carefully.

Exotic thermal compounds may conduct heat a little better, but I prefer good old fashioned silicone based stuff for the simple reason I'll never need to fight with it later.

EDIT: I just noticed @lazibayer said the same thing about old Dells. Small world...

bjwil1991 wrote:

I'm surprised the pins are still attached and intact. I had that happen once, and broke 2 pins off (AM2+ board lost a cap, as well as the CPU). The Arctic 5 Silver thermal compound is amazing, yet a PITA to remove the CPU without ripping out the CPU.

That's why it's always a good idea to twist before pulling.

Perhaps. Although in many cases the mounting mechanism limits or prevents torsional movement of the heatsink, making it impossible to twist before pulling.

Munx wrote:

That's why it's always a good idea to twist before pulling.

derSammler wrote:

Started building a Pentium 133 MHz system, which I wanted to do for quite some time. Got a very nice AT mini tower lately, so now I have all parts to do it. 😀 Today I started by disassembling and washing the tower case. Looks like new now. 😎

Ooh I built the P133 in my sig thia month so please do tell ehat went into it.

SW-SSG wrote:

IMG_7459b.jpg
... that about sums up my day. Whoever assembled this used waaaay too much TIM.

Thankfully it doesn't seem like I bent any pins, but I'm still trying to work out how to separate the CPU from that HSF without damaging either. Any suggestions?

FesterBlatz wrote:

Pfft, I've had this exact thing happen numerous times at work, usually with Dell Precision class workstations. They use a thick gray thermal compound that eventually hardens to about the equivalent of caulk, and as soon as you try to remove the heatsink it tears the CPU right out of the ZIF socket. It's yet to damage a pin, but it can be a bit of a challenge to get the CPU off carefully.

Exotic thermal compounds may conduct heat a little better, but I prefer good old fashioned silicone based stuff for the simple reason I'll never need to fight with it later.

EDIT: I just noticed @lazibayer said the same thing about old Dells. Small world...

Not surprised about the mention of Dells on the subject of the CPU sticking to the heatsink. I once had that same thing happen to my Dell Optiplex GX260, A few pins broke on the 2.8GHz Pentium 4 that was in it at the time. I ended up ordering two different P4 CPUs because the first one turned out to use an 800 MHz FSB which didn't work due to the i845G chipset predating that standard, I ended up using a 2.4GHz one which is only 400 MHz slower than the one that broke.

In case it helps anyone else, I ended up ordering some monoprice midi cables advertised as

"MIDI Cable with 5 Pin DIN Plugs - Black (5 lengths available) - Monoprice - 3Ft"

And they work perfectly (wired correctly) as AT keyboard extensions for my mechanical KVM switch.