Thats the case I had in my first 486 computer back in 1993.
It looked just like this setup too.
except I had a ISA motherboard and Sony 2x cdrom drive.
I later upgraded the motherboard to VLB and VLB cards and Mitsumi 4x CDROM.

Your computer looks very nice for a 486 but a waste of time if you ask me because after the 486dx2-66 performance does not increase much.
So it is less expensive and better to build a 1st get pentium gaming computer.
And you can still down clock a PentiumMMX -233 to 386sx-33 speed.

But you have a very nice looking computer. Thats what I aim for too to build ascetically pleasing computers along with best performance.

This is why Intel never created a 5x86 CPU. Intel went from 486 straight to the Pentium.

Intel486dx33 wrote on 2020-05-24, 16:47:

Your computer looks very nice for a 486 but a waste of time if you ask me because after the 486dx2-66 performance does not increase much.
So it is less expensive and better to build a 1st get pentium gaming computer.
And you can still down clock a PentiumMMX -233 to 386sx-33 speed.

By that logic you could argue every build on this website is a waste of time because you can just use DOSBox.

I have a Pentium MMX build, too, and there are some games this machine can play that the Pentium MMX can't.

But the main reason I built it is because it makes me happy and that's the only thing that really matters.

Ignore the man of "dream builds".. they always end up nightmares!

Awesome build! Case looks in great condition and i see you like to split the ribbon cables to make them more manageable!

starcube wrote on 2020-05-24, 16:56:

By that logic you could argue every build on this website is a waste of time because you can just use DOSBox. […]
Show full quote

Intel486dx33 wrote on 2020-05-24, 16:47:

Your computer looks very nice for a 486 but a waste of time if you ask me because after the 486dx2-66 performance does not increase much.
So it is less expensive and better to build a 1st get pentium gaming computer.
And you can still down clock a PentiumMMX -233 to 386sx-33 speed.

By that logic you could argue every build on this website is a waste of time because you can just use DOSBox.

I have a Pentium MMX build, too, and there are some games this machine can play that the Pentium MMX can't.

But the main reason I built it is because it makes me happy and that's the only thing that really matters.

Don't get me wrong. You have a very nice looking computer. I wouId have loved to have had that back in 1993. I have a 486dx4-100 computer that I just built too that I was hoping would have been the answer to all my DOS games needs but it turn out the 486 CPU just does not have the processing power to play modern DOS games. I put allot of money into my 486 build only to wish I hadn't. That PCI motherboard is overkill for the 486 CPU.
My Pentium 133 build that I am working with right now is a Cadillac compared to the 486. It runs smooth and powerful and cost very little.

I also have an AMD 5x86-133 over clocked at 160mhz too and it can't compete with the Intel Pentium either.

Watch this video:
https://youtu.be/jISmJG8QK0A

Intel486dx33 wrote on 2020-05-24, 18:51:

I put allot of money into my 486 build only to wish I hadn't. That PCI motherboard is overkill for the 486 CPU. […]
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I put allot of money into my 486 build only to wish I hadn't. That PCI motherboard is overkill for the 486 CPU.

My Pentium 133 build that I am working with right now is a Cadillac compared to the 486. It runs smooth and powerful and cost very little.

I also have an AMD 5x86-133 over clocked at 160mhz too and it can't compete with the Intel Pentium either.

Watch this video:
https://youtu.be/jISmJG8QK0A

It really sounds like you didn't do your homework and are now a little bitter about it but that doesn't really warrant telling others their builds are "a waste of time." You don't know my motivation for building this machine and you don't know what my breadth of knowledge is, so it would help not to make assumptions. While of course a Pentium is faster and more versatile than a 486, that is completely not the point here. The point was to build the best Intel-based 486 machine possible that I could not afford back when I was young and enjoy it for what it is.

And for the record:

1. 486-class AMD chips are signficantly slower in floating point math than Intel chips.

2. PCI actually makes the 486 significantly faster over VLB, as both the IDE controller and the graphics card benefit from the much faster bus.

3. I did watch that LGR video and my 486 outperforms his upgraded machine by a large margin - my 486 gets a 237 score in TopBench for example.

Good luck on your Pentium build, it sounds like it will fit your needs and expectations much better than a 486. The good news is you can part out your 486 and sell the parts for good money which you can then put towards improving your Pentium build. You live and you learn!

Bancho wrote on 2020-05-24, 18:19:

Ignore the man of "dream builds".. they always end up nightmares!

Awesome build! Case looks in great condition and i see you like to split the ribbon cables to make them more manageable!

Thank you! 😁 Yeah, I always split my cables for better airflow and routing.

I believe that the Vogons username "IntelPOD83" is still available as an upgrade.

Intel486dx33 wrote on 2020-05-24, 18:51:

My Pentium 133 build that I am working with right now is a Cadillac compared to the 486. It runs smooth and powerful and cost very little.

P54 builds are a waste of time. You should have gone with an MMX.

No, wait, a K6-2+.

No, wait, a C3.
/s

gdjacobs wrote on 2020-05-24, 22:16:

P54 builds are a waste of time. You should have gone with an MMX. […]
Show full quote

Intel486dx33 wrote on 2020-05-24, 18:51:

My Pentium 133 build that I am working with right now is a Cadillac compared to the 486. It runs smooth and powerful and cost very little.

P54 builds are a waste of time. You should have gone with an MMX.

No, wait, a K6-2+.

No, wait, a C3.
/s

CyIBMrix 6x86L or GTFO ^__^

gdjacobs wrote on 2020-05-24, 22:16:

P54 builds are a waste of time. You should have gone with an MMX. […]
Show full quote

Intel486dx33 wrote on 2020-05-24, 18:51:

My Pentium 133 build that I am working with right now is a Cadillac compared to the 486. It runs smooth and powerful and cost very little.

P54 builds are a waste of time. You should have gone with an MMX.

No, wait, a K6-2+.

No, wait, a C3.
/s

Nah, just go for a Microsoft AMD i11 99999GTZ Turbo OC Limited Collector Rainbow Edition and emulate all of retro reality straight away! 😜

starcube wrote on 2020-05-24, 16:56:

By that logic you could argue every build on this website is a waste of time because you can just use DOSBox. […]
Show full quote

Intel486dx33 wrote on 2020-05-24, 16:47:

Your computer looks very nice for a 486 but a waste of time if you ask me because after the 486dx2-66 performance does not increase much.
So it is less expensive and better to build a 1st get pentium gaming computer.
And you can still down clock a PentiumMMX -233 to 386sx-33 speed.

By that logic you could argue every build on this website is a waste of time because you can just use DOSBox.

I have a Pentium MMX build, too, and there are some games this machine can play that the Pentium MMX can't.

But the main reason I built it is because it makes me happy and that's the only thing that really matters.

I'm going to be reading this thread next. I already read your P3 one and I liked it 😀

I also like this rig that you build. The case is really good looking for a 486 tower I think. It even comes with a rocker instead of the button that you press and the case has one of these dummy floppy drive bezels that were quite common back in that era. No idea why those were even made but I do know I never seen a fake 5 1/4in floppy drive bezel 😜

WIsh I had an external LS-120 drive, the design was really cool even though I did find them somewhat slow compared to ZIP (though ZIP is not exactly lightning fast, but when it comes to retro, speed is always relative of course 😜 ).

I'm personally not a big fan of tie-ribs but in your case it does help with airflow a bit and you didn't tie all the cables together at least. I always want to be able to switch out and move stuff around and at one time I just omitted tie-ribs altogether xD

TEAC 5.25" floppy drive · Chinon 3.5" floppy drive

For some reason I expected the TEAC to be the 3 1/2 floppy drive and the Chinon to be the 5 1/4in floppy drive 😜
What are their model numbers?

But all in all, it looks like another solid build 😁

Tetrium wrote on 2020-05-24, 22:47:

I'm going to be reading this thread next. I already read your P3 one and I liked it :) […]
Show full quote

starcube wrote on 2020-05-24, 16:56:

By that logic you could argue every build on this website is a waste of time because you can just use DOSBox. […]
Show full quote

Intel486dx33 wrote on 2020-05-24, 16:47:

Your computer looks very nice for a 486 but a waste of time if you ask me because after the 486dx2-66 performance does not increase much.
So it is less expensive and better to build a 1st get pentium gaming computer.
And you can still down clock a PentiumMMX -233 to 386sx-33 speed.

By that logic you could argue every build on this website is a waste of time because you can just use DOSBox.

I have a Pentium MMX build, too, and there are some games this machine can play that the Pentium MMX can't.

But the main reason I built it is because it makes me happy and that's the only thing that really matters.

I'm going to be reading this thread next. I already read your P3 one and I liked it 😀

I also like this rig that you build. The case is really good looking for a 486 tower I think. It even comes with a rocker instead of the button that you press and the case has one of these dummy floppy drive bezels that were quite common back in that era. No idea why those were even made but I do know I never seen a fake 5 1/4in floppy drive bezel 😜

WIsh I had an external LS-120 drive, the design was really cool even though I did find them somewhat slow compared to ZIP (though ZIP is not exactly lightning fast, but when it comes to retro, speed is always relative of course 😜 ).

I'm personally not a big fan of tie-ribs but in your case it does help with airflow a bit and you didn't tie all the cables together at least. I always want to be able to switch out and move stuff around and at one time I just omitted tie-ribs altogether xD

TEAC 5.25" floppy drive · Chinon 3.5" floppy drive

For some reason I expected the TEAC to be the 3 1/2 floppy drive and the Chinon to be the 5 1/4in floppy drive 😜
What are their model numbers?

But all in all, it looks like another solid build 😁

Thank you for the kind words! I take pride in attention to detail and doing my homework picking out a well-matched configuration.

The TEAC is the super-ubiquitous 55GFR and the Chinon is the 357 of Amiga fame.

Normally I'm against using super fast CD-ROM drives in older systems because they have super ugly front bezels, but this one is great! It matches the grey floppy drives really well. What's the model number and where did you get it?

The case has a nice bezel too. My friends father had one exactly like that on his work computer (a 486SX-33).

I like my 486dx4-100 computer. I can clock it down to a 286 and 386 computer speeds. So it does have a purpose in playing old DOS games.
It is just not very good at playing modern DOS games.
486 Multimedia dream build ( 1993/94 )

It runs like a Cadillac too for a 486 computer.

What benchmarks do you get with your 486dx4-100 computer ?
Speedsys and topbench and drystone ?

starcube wrote on 2020-05-24, 15:43:

This is my dream 486 build. Plays all of my early DOS games up to 1995 perfectly. 😎
8><CUT

Very nice !!
I did not know that these cases came with woodgrain covers too.

Intel486dx33 wrote on 2020-05-25, 08:53:

I like my 486dx4-100 computer.

Pfft waste of time.

Great machine OP! The DX4 is a bit of a beast - definitely a noticeable improvement over a DX2 in DOOM which is, of course, the first game that should be installed on any retro system 😋

I've updated all my AT machines to use new Startech PSUs over the years and feel good about it - I don't think they make them anymore but they're a good unit.

Anonymous Coward wrote on 2020-05-25, 06:38:

Normally I'm against using super fast CD-ROM drives in older systems because they have super ugly front bezels, but this one is great! It matches the grey floppy drives really well. What's the model number and where did you get it?

The case has a nice bezel too. My friends father had one exactly like that on his work computer (a 486SX-33).

Thanks! I'm all for utility over period-correctness. I'd go insane using a 2x or a 4x drive. Mine is a Mitsumi 48x and I got it on eBay.

Intel486dx33 wrote on 2020-05-25, 08:53:

I like my 486dx4-100 computer. I can clock it down to a 286 and 386 computer speeds. So it does have a purpose in playing old DO […]
Show full quote

I like my 486dx4-100 computer. I can clock it down to a 286 and 386 computer speeds. So it does have a purpose in playing old DOS games.
It is just not very good at playing modern DOS games.
486 Multimedia dream build ( 1993/94 )

It runs like a Cadillac too for a 486 computer.

What benchmarks do you get with your 486dx4-100 computer ?
Speedsys and topbench and drystone ?

If you actually read my replies to your posts you would have seen it scores 237 in TopBench, but I guess reading is a waste of time.

Here's SpeedSys:

starcube wrote on 2020-05-25, 12:10:

Anonymous Coward wrote on 2020-05-25, 06:38:

Normally I'm against using super fast CD-ROM drives in older systems because they have super ugly front bezels, but this one is great! It matches the grey floppy drives really well. What's the model number and where did you get it?

The case has a nice bezel too. My friends father had one exactly like that on his work computer (a 486SX-33).

Thanks! I'm all for utility over period-correctness. I'd go insane using a 2x or a 4x drive. Mine is a Mitsumi 48x and I got it on eBay.

2X drives can be frustrating, but 4X should be a fairly tolerable experience on a 486.