Or that motherboard was installed in a very flat case, perhaps some machinery or so.

SodaSuccubus wrote on 2020-03-10, 22:55:

YYYYYESSSSS! […]
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YYYYYESSSSS!

I managed to get some help from a steady-handed relative and we managed to separate out the shorted legs just enough.
Card seems to work fine now, just waiting for the SLI bridge 😁

(witness my cheap testbench. A unused table in the living room 😜)

Nice! Excellent result!

That fan/heatsink combo looks like it is designed to cool the CPU using air from outside the case, thus keeping it cooler?

aha2940 wrote on 2020-03-11, 05:08:

Good guess, in fact it seems to be made to allow using full-size PCI cards, however since I'm not gonna use any with this motherboard, I ordered a regulat heatsink with fan on top, because I trust them more (used them since many years ago) and also because when I tested the board, I noticed the part of the heatsink over the CPU was very hot, whereas the part over the fan was not. Also, the fan is so thin (it's a 40x40x6mm one) and you can barely feel it moves the air. That seems to suggest the heatsink is not that good at dissipating heat, so I'd rather not risk the CPU.

It's still a curious heat sink/fan combo. I noticed the placement of the CPU relative to the other components is similar to the Tyan S1590. It's a great motherboard, but tricky to install longer cards in a few slots as a result. Having a cooler like that would be great if it were more effective. Noctua makes 40mm fans, which may dissipate heat better. Thermal transfer from the area above the CPU to the extended part of the heat sink still sounds like an issue even with a better fan, but I'd certainly be willing to experiment with an oddball cooler like that considering that I continually need to compromise on one of my sound cards.

Also, the parts of the heat sink that curve around capacitors look very clean, so I'm thinking that it came with the motherboard by default. Does the motherboard have any overheating protection in the BIOS? That Tyan board I mentioned does and the temperature monitoring seems accurate. For cramped motherboards like these that could end up in lower airflow situations such features sound essential.

my dolch pac has almost the same heatsink, so probably from a luggable computer, drive bay is obstructing part of the space above the cpu in that case, and yes they also used a lot of full length cards.

appiah4 wrote on 2020-03-11, 06:29:

The Ensoniq card? Amazing find.

SPEA Media FX, a terrible card. Had one but sold it years ago. Should it still work (most die due to EEPROM failure), don't expect too much. Small sample ROM, sounds very dry (no effects), no OPL3 or FM at all, and very limited SB compatibility.

derSammler wrote on 2020-03-11, 12:29:

appiah4 wrote on 2020-03-11, 06:29:

The Ensoniq card? Amazing find.

SPEA Media FX, a terrible card. Had one but sold it years ago. Should it still work (most die due to EEPROM failure), don't expect too much. Small sample ROM, sounds very dry (no effects), no OPL3 or FM at all, and very limited SB compatibility.

It's a rare card nonetheless and regardless of quality I am always a fan of exotic stuff.

It's not a rare card. And it's not even worth much. Three days ago one was sold on ebay for just 35€ (274300411928) and there's another one listed just now.

The original Ensoniq Soundscape S-2000 would be a nice find, as that is not as easy to find as the SPEA-branded one.

derSammler wrote on 2020-03-11, 12:54:

And it's not even worth much. Three days ago one was sold on ebay for just 35€ (274300411928)

So 35€ for a card considered common and not good is "not much"? 😆 Wow, I should start selling my "bad" cards then!

derSammler wrote on 2020-03-11, 12:54:

It's not a rare card. And it's not even worth much. Three days ago one was sold on ebay for just 35€ (274300411928) and there's another one listed just now.

The original Ensoniq Soundscape S-2000 would be a nice find, as that is not as easy to find as the SPEA-branded one.

35€ is not a 'cheap' card in my book but everyone's budget for these things is different so price tiers are also relative..

every isa soundcard that is somewhat interesting is worth saving imo regardless if the sound is great or not :p

That discussion is rather boring. I like the design of the card and its missing in my collection. Already own the original ss. Dont care about Sound quality will not use it anyway.
Compare the serial of the card on my Photo and the one of the 35 EUR auction...not the normal price i think.

Received another Fat PS2 (39004) with network adapter, hard disk, and HD Advance 2.1 today. The network adapter will go with a "new" hard disk into my 50004, since that is in better condition and also has a mod chip.

This one:

AlessandroB wrote on 2020-03-11, 14:38:

This one:

Those glue marks. Could that be a factory heatsink removed?

cyclone3d wrote on 2020-03-11, 04:11:

Horun wrote on 2020-03-11, 02:32:

luckybob wrote on 2020-03-10, 20:22:

i get scared every single time you (predator99) post something, I might just see another hidden jewel of a part that I haven't seen in the US for years...

Yes ! His hoarding skills are killing me !

You all would kill me if you saw some of the stuff I have been able to get for cheap. 😁

I know you are a Ramaddict and seem to find piles of it for cheap ! 🤣

imi wrote on 2020-03-11, 13:59:

every isa soundcard that is somewhat interesting is worth saving imo regardless if the sound is great or not :p

Agree ! I obtained an old Media Vision Thunder card, edit I mean Pro Audio original 8bit ISA, not the greatest audio wise but is an interesting card.

Stopped at the local SA, it was 50% off Wednesday and finally found two vintage parts plus one so-so non-vintage. Total cost after 50% off was $20.50 for everything !!!
Vintage: Media Vision Basic 8bit, in a brown box, in anti-static bag, untested yet. MS Intellimouse serial / ps2, clean looks almost new and works.
Non Vintage: Thermaltake Red AMD Tower with Asus M5A99X mobo, AMD FX-4100, 8GB ram, Asus ENGTX550 Ti DC/DI/1GD5 vid card, Corsair HX750 PSU, WD 1TB black. Cost was $16.50 after discount. Runs just fine ! The mouse and sound card were $2 each....

The non-vintage AMD tower. BTW have picked up many 2007+ computers for around $20 each lately but no Pentium, P2 or P3 for a year or better.
Yes this is not vintage yet but will be in 5-10 years... maybe...

Horun wrote on 2020-03-12, 03:33:

Stopped at the local SA, it was 50% off Wednesday and finally found two vintage parts plus one so-so non-vintage. Total cost after 50% off was $20.50 for everything !!!
Vintage: Media Vision Basic 8bit, in a brown box, in anti-static bag, untested yet. MS Intellimouse serial / ps2, clean looks almost new and works.
Non Vintage: Thermaltake Red AMD Tower with Asus M5A99X mobo, AMD FX-4100, 8GB ram, Asus ENGTX550 Ti DC/DI/1GD5 vid card, Corsair HX750 PSU, WD 1TB black. Cost was $16.50 after discount. Runs just fine ! The mouse and sound card were $2 each....

A PAS-8 at the Salvation Army? And for $2.... That has got to be the find of the decade at least!

I bought one back in January for $100. They almost never show up for sale and usually go for a lot more than that. I though I was super lucky to score one for $100.