Just bought a cheap Voodoo3 AGP. Not even sure which version it is, as I only placed a rather low bid and wasn't expecting to win it at all. From the picture, it seems like a 16 MB Voodoo3 2000. I own a 3500TV already, which I have not in use. But you can't have enough Voodoo cards, can you?

derSammler wrote on 2020-01-06, 20:29:

Just bought a cheap Voodoo3 AGP. Not even sure which version it is, as I only placed a rather low bid and wasn't expecting to win it at all. From the picture, it seems like a 16 MB Voodoo3 2000. I own a 3500TV already, which I have not in use. But you can't have enough Voodoo cards, can you?

Hope you didn't buy the Matrox card in a Voodoo box (eBay 124024915068) 😉

No. I would never bid on boxed stuff anyway, as I have no use for that.

I had a Voodoo 3 3000G that I sold and I'm thinking of buying another one for my Pentium II box...

derSammler wrote on 2020-01-06, 16:16:

gex85 wrote on 2020-01-06, 15:58:

I think that it is important to show that you can find good stuff for cheap if you are patient, lucky and friendly.

So you already tested all cards and they all work? Because that's often the problem. People sell you crap even for high amounts of money. When buying whatever cards for 1€ each, I would expect that half of them are dead from the outset. If not, you're lucky, but never expect too much.

Quite honestly, for that price I'd happily take the risk. Just the fun of figuring it out and testing is well worth the EUR 1, regardless of outcome. And hey, the glass can be half full too - I'd expect maybe half of them to work 😉

dionb wrote on 2020-01-06, 13:12:

Er, that's an IBM Model F 'AT'. The "AT" part sort of indicates AT spec, indeed this was the first AT keyboard. The fact it has indicator LEDs is another give-away: the PC/XT keyboard used a unidirectional protocol and didn't support indicator LEDs. This one does so is clearly an AT part using the AT protocol. Whatever else is wrong with it, it's not being an XT device.

See: https://deskthority.net/wiki/IBM_Model_F#IBM_ … ter_AT_keyboard

Oops, thanks for the correction. I was under the impression 'XT layout' == XT keyboard. I'll edit my post (even though it's well after the fact.)

Just picked up these goodies, ordered them around Christmas so I can say they where my Christmas presents 😀

Asus Voodoo Banshee 16Mb AGP, this will fit nicely in a K6-2 "budget" '99 gaming build...

ATI Mach32 VLB 2Mb for my 486DX2-66 build...

SB PRO 2 CT1600, maybe it will go in the 386DX40 machine to replace the ESS688 + Roland SCB-7, which I'll probably use in the 486DX-66 PC...
I don't know yet, but I'm sure happy to have these cards... For 95 Euro for all the three cards, I think it's a fair price...

Very nice price, those Mach32 cards tend to go for more than that alone, and a CT1600 (which is overrated IMHO, but that just makes it more collectible) not far behind.

Not super retro. but after watching Phil's video on an Athlon 64 retro gaming machine I brought home some goodies:

Radeon X850 Pro AGP - also came with an Arctic cooler, dunno if I'll install that.

Asus A8V-VM SE (Says Ultra under the label) - bought this one by accident; wasn't paying attention to the model and didn't realize it was PCIe. All good though, turns out it had an X2 4200+ saddled on it. Also came with OCZ Platinum 1024 x 2 @ 400MHz @ 2-3-2 DDR

Asus A8V-MX- The board I actually wanted. Came with an A64 3700+ strapped on.

Giel Ultra 512MB x 2 @ 400MHz @ 2-6-3 DDR - Starting with 512, then I'll add the other stick once I get 98SE patched up. If I don't borrow the 2GB of OCZ from the other board.

Athlon 64 3200+ - got this mainly for compatability/testing in case I need it. Probably don't need it now, but it was cheap.

AOPEN AW744L II - A little Yamaha FM-ness

Turtle Beach Montego II (TB400) - A bit of Aureal Vortex 2-ness

Kingspec 16GB IDE DOM - I'll be adding some SATA drives too, but I figured I'd play it safe with an IDE option to start.

Microsoft Basic Optical Mouse w/PS2 - was going to go old school, but I don't like cleaning mice. This gives that classic mouse feel without the ball snagging headaches.

Chaintech FX 5900XT 256MB AGP - This card has crazy graphical artifacts, but it was super cheap so I'm going to try the ol' easy-bake trick (I've got to clean my oven anyways, so might as well take advantage of the down time). If not, I'm out a few buckeroos. *shrug*

HP L2445W - This was basically in the recycle pile at my job, but it seems to work fine so I'll try to give it a new life. 1920 x 1200 w/hardware scaling and pixel perfect options.

*** NOT PICTURED ***

AMD Athlon 64 FX-55 - Underneath that copper heatsink lies one of AMD's fastest single-core CPU's.... They wanted $200 for the FX-57, and that's just nuts. So I "settled" for the number 2 spot.

Diamond Stealth 9250 256MB PCI - Just ordered this for eight USD... need a good backup/test/PCI card.

Asus DRW-24B1ST - SATA 24x DVD-RW ... *shrug* I might swap for an IDE model so I can use the CD-Audio cable, but I figured this was a nice unit. It's black, so it'll match the case.

*Insert Keyboard Here* - Still working this one out. Need to find a good PS/2 Model. I have a Coolermaster USB Mechanical Tenkeyless hooked up right now, and it's a sloppy mess. Delayed keystrokes, disappears on reboot, fun stuff all around.

Corsair Carbide SPEC-02 - Nothing retro about this case (and it's not a "today" purchase), but it has some backstory. Four years ago yesterday, my father passed away from a heart attack. I had given him this case less than a month prior for his birthday. I rescued it from his stuff as nobody else in our family had an interest in computers. My plan is to build a kickass retro DOS/98/Maybe XP gaming system with all of the games we used to play together (yep, my dad was a hardcore PC gamer). Warcraft, Starcraft, Doom, Quake, Heretic, Hexen, Supreme Commander, Rainbow Six, Call of Duty, Halo.... the list goes on. If it was an RTS or FPS that had CO-OP play, chances are we played it together. Sad part is, he had a side business for computers and desktop publishing, and I lost tons of retro hardware when my brother threw it all away (had a storage room and shed full of stuff). So this system will be sort of a memorial to all of the good times we had. If anyone knows anyone who's kickass at airbrushing (like auto-paint quality) and loves video games, let me know. I'm looking commission one panel airbrushed with a bunch of the games/characters. There's also a window I want to do a sweet etching on. RIP, Dad *raises a glass of Dad's favorite drink, Jack Daniels*.

dionb wrote on 2020-01-07, 00:53:

Very nice price, those Mach32 cards tend to go for more than that alone, and a CT1600 (which is overrated IMHO, but that just makes it more collectible) not far behind.

These were bought locally, but on ebay prices are really high. Anyway, it's not a cheap hobby 😀

I immediately noticed the SB 2.0 and the nice looking OPTi card but I hadn't noticed the Voodoo5, nice catch!

bearking wrote on 2020-01-06, 23:19:

Just picked up these goodies, ordered them around Christmas so I can say they where my Christmas presents :-) […]
Show full quote

Just picked up these goodies, ordered them around Christmas so I can say they where my Christmas presents 😀

ASUS_AGP-V3200-16M_Voodoo_Banshee.jpg
Asus Voodoo Banshee 16Mb AGP, this will fit nicely in a K6-2 "budget" '99 gaming build...

ATI_Mach32_VLB_2Mb.jpg
ATI Mach32 VLB 2Mb for my 486DX2-66 build...

Sound_Blaster_PRO_2_CT1600.jpg
SB PRO 2 CT1600, maybe it will go in the 386DX40 machine to replace the ESS688 + Roland SCB-7, which I'll probably use in the 486DX-66 PC...
I don't know yet, but I'm sure happy to have these cards... For 95 Euro for all the three cards, I think it's a fair price...

that sb pro 2.0 is my favorite sound card, i have it in my Pentium 100 PC with WFWG 3.11/DOS currently.

Ladies and Gentleman, I present to you a book I just received , "Computer dictionary and handbook" from the dawn of the computer age (1966).

Half of the book is in fact a dictionary, but the other half is a nice introduction on the then "state of the art". Not very "hard" or "ware"able, but it doesn't get more vintage than that....

Also, note the kid on a mainframe console, probably the son of the Philco CEO.

Scored these 4 for free today. Brand new. I will be using them for C64...

CrazyBernie wrote on 2020-01-07, 03:16:

Also came with OCZ Platinum 1024 x 2 @ 400MHz @ 2-3-2 DDR

Throw that OCZ ram in the trash where it belongs.

Here's an actual email from them sent to a lifelong friend of mine in regards to their memory failing in prime95.

---------- Forwarded message ----------
From: <ocztechnology@exdesk.com>
Date: Fri, Apr 23, 2010 at 5:36 PM
Subject: Status Change on Your Trouble Ticket, ID:
To:

Trouble Ticket ID:
Description: OCZ3G1600LV4GK
-------------------------------------------------------
Please be advised that the status on your trouble ticket
has been changed from Submitted to In Progress
with the following comment:
-------------------------------------------------------
Comment: prime 95 generally stresses our memory out too much what happends when you run memtest86
-------------------------------------------------------
Status changed by: Super Administrator
-------------------------------------------------------

Regards,
ocztechnology@exdesk.com

The memory being referenced in this email also failed memtest86 testing.

So did the two sets of replacement memory they sent.

So guys, i got the chance to buy a cheap Matrox G450.
I know, this is weak than G400 but will be a step-up than a g200 and maybe a tnt1/m64?

MKT_Gundam wrote on 2020-01-08, 02:30:

So guys, i got the chance to buy a cheap Matrox G450.
I know, this is weak than G400 but will be a step-up than a g200 and maybe a tnt1/m64?

Hi,

Phil(philscomputerlab youtube channel) has a video about these matrox cards. Just search on youtube...

MKT_Gundam wrote on 2020-01-08, 02:30:

So guys, i got the chance to buy a cheap Matrox G450.
I know, this is weak than G400 but will be a step-up than a g200 and maybe a tnt1/m64?

Matrox G450 is a significant step up on the G200 and also has better OpenGL drivers. It is roughly on par with a regular Riva TNT2 (15% slower than a G400 and 20% slower than a TNT2 Ultra) but has obscenely better image quality in 2D and 3D alike. I like the card, particularly its PCI version for non-AGP computers. I would say get it.

The G450 is a nice card, I'm using one in a PIII-based Compaq Deskpro running WinME. Only problem are the drivers. There seems to be exactly one driver version that fully works. It took me ages to find the one that has Direct3D enabled...

MKT_Gundam wrote on 2020-01-08, 02:30:

So guys, i got the chance to buy a cheap Matrox G450.
I know, this is weak than G400 but will be a step-up than a g200 and maybe a tnt1/m64?

If you currently have a G200 it could boost performance a bit, but where a G400 about equal a TNT2 (and the G400Max can beat a TNT2-Ultra in some benchmarks), a G450 is probably on par with TNT2-M64. Not awful, but by no means a compelling gaming card. Also, OpenGL drivers were a bit of a thing, but that was the case with the G200 too, so it doesn't get worse.

Main reasons to want a G450 are the very, very good analog image quality on both outputs (the G400 has slightly better quality on the primary, but less on the secondary), far in excess of the vast majority of same-period nVidia/ATi designs. It's not just the RAMDAC that allows high resolutions, but also the filters. If you wanted to run a really high-res desktop (say 1600x1200) in those days, you would notice the difference. I bought one to use with my Sony w900 (24" widescreen CRT). Great for films & desktop work. And of course the dualhead thing - even on OSs without native multihead support you could run two screens in various configurations, which was pretty unique in 2000-ish.

These days those advantages are less relevant - any integrated VGA can do multihead, and even if they couldn't, modern OSs can. Also with digital video interfaces, analog filters aren't a thing anymore. Then again, the performance disadvantages also aren't so huge - a G450 is a perfectly valid pairing with any late P3, early P4/Athon, even if it can't outperform a GeForce or Radeon (or even a fast TNT2). You can even hook it up via two Voodoo2s for GLide (as I did at some point back in the day 😜 ).