Video Card: SPEA/V7 VLB
Case: Peacock or ESCOM

The Terratec Maestro 32/96 would be a better sound card imho. The Base-1 really isn't good.
Highscreen cases would be really iconic to German 90s PCs. Especially if you can find one of the cases Luigi Colani (rest in peace) designed.
Targa or Peacock are also popular German PC brands of the 90s that have labelled cases
ELSA was a well known German brand for various cards, they made some pretty decent VLB graphics cards as well.
TI had at least IC fabrication in Germany in the 90s but I don't know wether they made any 486 chips there.

What about CPU ?
Should I use Intel or AMD ?

Escom or Vobis tower and as much ELSA as possible.

What about motherboard cache ?

You can also throw in parts from Robotron/VEB, if the theme includes former East Germany, too! 😁

https://de.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kombinat_Robotron

https://www.robotrontechnik.de/index.htm?/htm … puter/a7150.htm
https://www.robotrontechnik.de/index.htm?/htm … uter/ec1834.htm

Seriously, though, their 16-Bit PCs didn't use ISA - Normally, the default bus system was MMS16, I believe.
https://www.robotrontechnik.de/html/standards/mms16.htm

Except for the export models of the ES1834, maybe, which used DIN 4162-96pin connectors (EBS-GO 4007).
The ES1834 bus was electrically like ISA, but had a mechanically different interface.

Anyway, at the core, the GDR version of DOS, the Disc Control Program (DCP), did run on any IBM PC compatible..
So if DOS v3.3 is good enough, you can still run that on your 486 PC. The language is very German, too! 😉

What a wonderful thread which is totally able to be achieved by our resident 1990s Silicone Valley computer technician.

I'm sure it will be as successful as the "Made in USA PC" thread.

Graphics Card: Elsa / Spea / Miro
Sound Card: Terratec / Miro / Spea
RAM: Siemens
Housing: Escom / Vobis (Highscreen) / Peacock / Nixdorf
CPU: no german CPU, but would take AMD because their Fab in Dresden in late 199x
Board: i only know Nixdorf and Siemens for 486, but they had no standard AT boards, later would fit the brand Fujitsu
HDD and floppy: Don‘t know any made or developed in germany

In best case for 486 you take a complete Nixdorf PC, if you want to have the feeling of german engineering.

If a Nixdorf case is too difficult to source, any Aldi case will give you the warm, welcoming feeling corporate Germany is so well known for.

Unfortunately, Infineon was founded 1999, so there's no FPM RAM for 486 to be expected from them.

PC-Engineer wrote on 2021-05-02, 06:59:

Graphics Card: Elsa / Spea / Miro Sound Card: Terratec / Miro / Spea RAM: Siemens Housing: Escom / Vobis (Highscreen) / Peacock […]
Show full quote

Graphics Card: Elsa / Spea / Miro
Sound Card: Terratec / Miro / Spea
RAM: Siemens
Housing: Escom / Vobis (Highscreen) / Peacock / Nixdorf
CPU: no german CPU, but would take AMD because their Fab in Dresden in late 199x
Board: i only know Nixdorf and Siemens for 486, but they had no standard AT boards, later would fit the brand Fujitsu
HDD and floppy: Don‘t know any made or developed in germany

In best case for 486 you take a complete Nixdorf PC, if you want to have the feeling of german engineering.

I think I am going to stick with components sold for computer builders.
I am not going to use German computer company refurbished components.

I will see what I can gather up.
But I may just use cards with the same chipsets as the German cards because its hard to find these
Components in USA and its expensive. What I really want is good gamer with German audio cards , Video cards and chipsets used.

Spea was a german company but was overtake from V7 1993, so this is actually a US card:

vad4r wrote on 2021-05-02, 12:04:

Spea was a german company but was overtake from V7 1993, so this is actually a US card:
SPEA V7-Mirage VL a.jpgSPEA V7-Mirage VL b.jpg

Yes, I remember seeing some of these components being sold in computer stores in Silicon Valley.

miro has the more bautiful cards anyways ^^, their harsh contrast two-tone PCBs are gorgeous

if you want a german 486 board siemens is probably the only way to go.

for ram you could go Topless 😉

imi wrote on 2021-05-02, 12:33:

if you want a german 486 board siemens is probably the only way to go.

Yes, Siemens produced some x86 chips..
My 286 PC had a Siemens 80286-12 CPU, for example.
And a Schneider BIOS, too. It was a Phoenix derivative.
- In the 1980s, there was Schneider Rundfunkwerke AG, which developed/produced computers at some point.
Well, maybe they made no chips themselves, but proprietary PCBs, PALs/GALs, PC cases and interfaces (like that floppy interface).

Not sure if they made ISA expansion cards, though.

imi wrote on 2021-05-02, 12:33:

[..] for ram you could go Topless 😉

RAM. Huge. Topless.
🤤

Topless is often bad ram, i would not purchase it.

The Plastic Blob slowly get loose from PCB so you can even see if it got Bad if there is a brighter Spot on Backside.

I've amassed quite a few of them by now ^^ they do look kinda sexy - pun intended.

Intel486dx33 wrote on 2021-05-01, 15:28:

What about CPU ?
Should I use Intel or AMD ?

I'd say AMD despite that the 486 CPU's were made in Austin, Texas. Since '98 AMD is also located in Dresden so that makes a nice connection to a German themed PC.

There also was a German company named Triumph-Adler AG, which made bureau (office) equipment.
You likely remember it for their "Alphatronic PC".
The company also made IBM compatibles, however.