Purchased a can of brake cleaner fluid on amazon which will be arriving tomorrow. I will be hosing down a grimy Abit AS8-V motherboard, which will be the test subject

CMB75 wrote on 2020-05-30, 07:46:

Unfortunately I have to work this weekend switching from the multi-migrated W2K -> W2K3 -> W2K8R2 domain to a new, pristine W2K1 […]
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Unfortunately I have to work this weekend switching from the multi-migrated W2K -> W2K3 -> W2K8R2 domain to a new, pristine W2K19 domain😏. (I know I’m a little late)

Fortunately this gives me plenty of time tinkering with retro stuff instead of watching endless progress bars😀.

As mentioned before I had some problems with my Voodoo5 5500. One of the original fans is just too loud/noisy. I tried using silicone grease and sewing machine oil to no avail.
During the disassembly of the fans I noticed the noisy fan had a missing sealing rubber. As the original stickers were untouched I have to assume it was missing from the beginning.

Now, if I have to replace the fans I might as well do it properly.

I removed the original fans, the factory coolers, put on some Arctic Silver and fit some one inch copper coolers on top of the BGAs. The new fans have a voltage range of 7.5-13.8 VDC so I’ll solder in 47Ω resistors to have them run as slowly as possible while keeping them in spec.

Finally some aligned coolers on a Voodoo5 5500...

Holy moly where do you get heatsinks like that? And do they just mount on to the existing holes?

I cleaned a Sound Blaster Live (CT4620) I got from China last year. It was absolutely filthy, with some sort of grease cover. the PCB looked dull and on the back it had some sort of residue built up around all the solder joints. Gave it a good scrub with some IsoPropol, then a warm bath in soapy water followed by a thorough rinse in distilled water. After it dried a little it looked a lot better but still traces of gunk on the front PCB... Forgot to take photos...

I bought an ATX to AT adapter so that I can test AT stuff on my open bench ATX setup, but it came without a power button, just a jumper wire between the PWR_ON pins. The PSU in this setup does not have a switch on the back either, so I soldered small switch to the connector for convenience..

kolderman wrote on 2020-05-30, 09:58:

Holy moly where do you get heatsinks like that? And do they just mount on to the existing holes?

I got them from Amazon (Enzotech). Not really a bargain at 32EUR/piece ... then again - the Voodoo5 wasn't really cheap either and I wanted a solution with longevity.

Yes, they do mount into the existing holes (variable from 54.6mm to 59mm). The hole to hole distance of the Voodoo clocks in at approximately 57,15mm (probably 2 1/4 inch).

Right now, fans included I do sacrifice 2 PCI slots but that may be reduced to 1 PCI slot when using a 3D printed funnel to mount the fans from the side (horizontally/vertically, depending from your point of view).

CMB75 wrote on 2020-05-30, 12:05:

I got them from Amazon (Enzotech). Not really a bargain at 32EUR/piece ... then again - the Voodoo5 wasn't really cheap either and I wanted a solution with longevity.

Yes, they do mount into the existing holes (variable from 54.6mm to 59mm). The hole to hole distance of the Voodoo clocks in at approximately 57,15mm (probably 2 1/4 inch).

Right now, fans included I do sacrifice 2 PCI slots but that may be reduced to 1 PCI slot when using a 3D printed funnel to mount the fans from the side (horizontally/vertically, depending from your point of view).

Those things are already freaking rare and really expensive, so good call regardless of heatsink prices. Who knows if I'll ever get my hands on one of these... I have a Voodoo 3 to which I've attached an old intel stock pga478 fan to keep it cool. It is my first (and only!) working 3DFX card, so I've got to keep it functional. You might want to check the capacitors on your card in the near future, though.

TechieDude wrote on 2020-05-30, 12:28:

CMB75 wrote on 2020-05-30, 12:05:

I got them from Amazon (Enzotech). Not really a bargain at 32EUR/piece ... then again - the Voodoo5 wasn't really cheap either and I wanted a solution with longevity.

Yes, they do mount into the existing holes (variable from 54.6mm to 59mm). The hole to hole distance of the Voodoo clocks in at approximately 57,15mm (probably 2 1/4 inch).

Right now, fans included I do sacrifice 2 PCI slots but that may be reduced to 1 PCI slot when using a 3D printed funnel to mount the fans from the side (horizontally/vertically, depending from your point of view).

Those things are already freaking rare and really expensive, so good call regardless of heatsink prices. Who knows if I'll ever get my hands on one of these... I have a Voodoo 3 to which I've attached an old intel stock pga478 fan to keep it cool. It is my first (and only!) working 3DFX card, so I've got to keep it functional. You might want to check the capacitors on your card in the near future, though.

How does one put a fan on the heatsink of a video card that has nothing for screws to go into?

The heatsink in question is on a Voodoo 3 3000 PCI card, and it looks exactly like this one:

The screws go between the fins, just like with most heat sinks.

RetroLizard wrote on 2020-05-30, 12:52:

How does one put a fan on the heatsink of a video card that has nothing for screws to go into?

With zip ties, of course:

It doesn't exactly look professional, but it works, and it looks better from up close 😁

derSammler wrote on 2020-05-30, 12:54:

The screws go between the fins, just like with most heat sinks.

The fins are too far from each other for screws, and I would rather not try to drill into the heatsink. Zip ties on the other hand, are perfectly reversible 😉

TechieDude wrote on 2020-05-30, 13:08:

With zip ties, of course: […]
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RetroLizard wrote on 2020-05-30, 12:52:

How does one put a fan on the heatsink of a video card that has nothing for screws to go into?

With zip ties, of course:

It doesn't exactly look professional, but it works, and it looks better from up close 😁

derSammler wrote on 2020-05-30, 12:54:

The screws go between the fins, just like with most heat sinks.

The fins are too far from each other for screws, and I would rather not try to drill into the heatsink. Zip ties on the other hand, are perfectly reversible 😉

Zip ties personally just frustrate me 🤣. Maybe I could put a different heatsink on the card? (Also have a Voodoo 3 1000 card with no heatsink or fan)

RetroLizard wrote on 2020-05-30, 13:17:

Zip ties personally just frustrate me 🤣. Maybe I could put a different heatsink on the card? (Also have a Voodoo 3 1000 card with no heatsink or fan)

I don't like them either for cable management, but for non-destructive cooling mods they're just fine. As for putting a different heatsink, I can't recommend that because the heatsink is glued to the chip and you may or may not kill it, unless you know exactly how to do it with no issues. You should be able to install one on the Voodoo 3 1000. Do you mind posting a picture and the specs of it?

I can post a picture of it later, yeah. Don't have access to it right now.

maverick85 wrote on 2020-05-30, 09:37:

Purchased a can of brake cleaner fluid on amazon which will be arriving tomorrow. I will be hosing down a grimy Abit AS8-V motherboard, which will be the test subject

Whoa there, brake cleaner is nasty stuff. I'd be worried it would remove more than just dirt and grime.

evasive wrote on 2020-05-29, 20:15:

oh f*ck. […]
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oh f*ck.

at least you know 2 things now:
1) always take pictures before removing stuff
2) you'll have to order your caps online

Another question: Which brands and series should I be looking for and which ones should I avoid (other than Samwha RD, of course)?

maverick85 wrote on 2020-05-30, 09:37:

Purchased a can of brake cleaner fluid on amazon which will be arriving tomorrow. I will be hosing down a grimy Abit AS8-V motherboard, which will be the test subject

Definitely test a tiny small drop of it on some of the plastic parts before "cleaning" it all. Expansion slots, memory slots, cpu slot, etc) some brake cleaners WILL eat plastic or discolor it.
A bit overkill for most computer parts.

TechieDude wrote on 2020-05-30, 14:11:

Another question: Which brands and series should I be looking for and which ones should I avoid (other than Samwha RD, of course)?

Here is a list for what to look for in power supplies. This will give you a list of brands.
https://www.tomshardware.com/reviews/power-su … 101,4193-5.html
Now for the series, I'd have to check a few high-end boards from reputable manufacturers to see what they are using.

EDIT: my own activity for today: recapping a power supply for a Shuttle K45. 5 of the 9 caps live under a heatsink so threading some of them back in took a bit of time.
http://global.shuttle.com/main/productsGaller … ?productId=1068
It lives again. What came out: TAEPO. What went in: Rubycon MBZ and Samxon V8X series.

stoof wrote on 2020-05-30, 14:05:

maverick85 wrote on 2020-05-30, 09:37:

Purchased a can of brake cleaner fluid on amazon which will be arriving tomorrow. I will be hosing down a grimy Abit AS8-V motherboard, which will be the test subject

Whoa there, brake cleaner is nasty stuff. I'd be worried it would remove more than just dirt and grime.

I've used it for really caked boards before, immediately rinsing them off with water after it evaporated, so I don't think there's much danger there.

Brake cleaner is very, extremely aggressive chemicals on molded plastic but not for sockets which is different formulations and lung-wise doesn't go well indoor due to fumes is so choking. I rather use varsol, more milder. 99% Alcohol straight is best for final clean up.

If the mess is organic, chemical-wise will not move easily. I use distilled water and 99% alcohol 50/50 mix to do this cleaning for organic mess. This mix is what we use at work cleaning phones and tablets and computer, consoles. Safe on electronics specifically.

When we have to wash circuit boards (ultrasonic speeds up the cleaning process), due to said nature of the what phones get wet in first place by accidents by customers, after the wash then final two rinses is water (either tap water or distilled water), then final rinse by soaking in tub of; or poured over of 99% alcohol then gently heated with hot air or special low temperate up 70C hot air oven for awhile. Works great. Of course not your regular oven, please don't go that route!

Cheers,

obviously go for the brake cleaner without acetone ^^, and yeah obviously only use them outdoors.
at least my cans specifically state they're safe for rubber and plastics.

works well for boards that are caked in dirt, cleaning them off just with alcohol would take forever and you can't easily get into every little crease, unless you have a motherboard sized ultrasonic cleaner ^^ then yeah... (can I have it?)

Did some boring maintenance stuff. Updated the BIOS on my Packard Bell, tried to test out a Quantum Bigfoot drive that proved to be at least partially functional but also very annoying, and installed a Zip 100 drive in my Gateway G6-200.