StrangeD0s wrote:

PcBytes wrote:

StrangeD0s wrote:

Wow, how can you tell they are bad from this blurry photo?

Simple, I can notice the different reflection on those two as opposed to all other caps.

ASRock boards from that era tend to develop bad caps quite a lot.

So... is it worth to change the caps or better just through the whole board out? I am quite handy with a soldering iron.

If you think it's worth to replace the caps, you can go ahead and replace them, although a 848P motherboard with only 2 DDR slots doesn't sound like the best idea.

StrangeD0s wrote:

Any tips? Will a better PSU resolve the issue?

Have you tried to dedust it via compressor, compressed air or something else? These things can collect a lot of dust inside.
Other resolve: Go with a new PSU. The motherboard has the P4 power connector, so any descent modern 300W to 400W PSU can handle it.

StrangeD0s wrote:

So... is it worth to change the caps or better just through the whole board out? I am quite handy with a soldering iron.

Change the caps. These old Asrock Combo Socket Boards, like the one you have, are quite interesting and hard to find.

Poulton wrote:

StrangeD0s wrote:

So... is it worth to change the caps or better just through the whole board out? I am quite handy with a soldering iron.

Change the caps. These old Asrock Combo Socket Boards, like the one you have, are quite interesting and hard to find.

Agree, would attempt to fix if possible; these old ASRocks are very unique and worth saving, even if there are usually better options out there feature- or performance-wise if one desires certain CPU compatibility or chipset choice.

I'm slowly building a system to play early to mid 90's games. Finally found a case with turbo switch and MHz display. Still need to get MT-32 and Gravis Ultrasound.

AMD 486 DX/2 66MHz, 8Mb RAM
Sound Blaster 16 CT1740
S3 Trio64
14" ICL shadowmask display with all analog controls for older games
19" Samsung 959NF for newer games

this case is awesome 😀 i would like to find similar one.

That is indeed an awesome case, love the 90's pastel green power button. Also points gained for the period correct mitsumi CD drive.

Are you slowing the DX2 66 down for Ultima7? I found it ran too fast with all of those Mhz. System Shock on the other hand might struggle a bit at that speed?

Anyway cool system.

needs moar skeletor

oeuvre wrote:

needs moar skeletor

image is not available 🙁

Imgur has mods running the clock 24/7 looking for anything that's lewd.

badmojo wrote:

That is indeed an awesome case, love the 90's pastel green power button. Also points gained for the period correct mitsumi CD drive.

Are you slowing the DX2 66 down for Ultima7? I found it ran too fast with all of those Mhz. System Shock on the other hand might struggle a bit at that speed?

Anyway cool system.

I'm really happy I found that case. Yes that power button color is really 90's! That quad speed CD drive might be the only thing I had left from my original system from 90's. I guess you can't save everything..

U7 runs too fast. I haven't yet tried how it runs with turbo off, but before this case I disabled caches and set cpu speed low from BIOS and it worked fine. I haven't found info what that cpu setting actually does - does it really lower clock rate or add wait-states like turbo button.

SSHOCK is definitely playable with max detail and full screen. I'd guess it runs about 20fps and drops a bit when there's a lot going on.

DX2-66 too fast for U7? Isn't it supposed to run perfectly on DX2-50? Or was that Pt.2? I forget..

appiah4 wrote:

DX2-66 too fast for U7? Isn't it supposed to run perfectly on DX2-50? Or was that Pt.2? I forget..

Yes, the characters move like chipmunks on speed. A bit strange as U7 and DX2-66 were released both 92 if I remember right.

Hello there!

I really enjoy this forum and got great advice from here.

I'm trying to build a miniature 486 dx4 100, without fans. I love the biscuit pc industrial mainboards from advantech, because they are very small and you can find them easily on ebay.

So far, I have built this one, with:
- a pcm1823 mainboard boasting a dx4-s cpu, vga and 10mbps ethernet!!!!
- a 16 mb memory stick
- a 2gb transcend 44pin ide flash drive
- a sweet opl3lpt or a cvx4 depending on the mood of the day
- a poor man's case built with two pieces of acrylic, 8 small tubes and 4 screws & bolts.
- a 5v3a ext. psu

I like it a lot so here it is:

I've just bought this sound card from ebay:

I plan to improve my setup with this ess based pc104 soundcard. I might get better compatibility. Can't wait to receive it!!!

But I really LOVE my cvx4 and opl3lpt!!

My EZ-Buddie 1 with a Pentium 4@2.5ghz, 160gb HDD, 1GB Ram and a Radeon 9250.
The tiny little tower has a backlit Display in front and even lets you adjust CPU clock with a little dial.
Looks lovely in a dark room!

That looks awesome! Does the board support de-turbo?

appiah4 wrote:

DX2-66 too fast for U7? Isn't it supposed to run perfectly on DX2-50? Or was that Pt.2? I forget..

33-40Mhz on a 486 is perfect. Any faster and the world speeds up comically. De-turbo should work nicely. On my DX2-66, the system would run the equivalent of about 20Mhz when de-turboed, which worked out quite nice on U7.

mmm format C:

clueless1 wrote:

appiah4 wrote:

DX2-66 too fast for U7? Isn't it supposed to run perfectly on DX2-50? Or was that Pt.2? I forget..

33-40Mhz on a 486 is perfect. Any faster and the world speeds up comically. De-turbo should work nicely. On my DX2-66, the system would run the equivalent of about 20Mhz when de-turboed, which worked out quite nice on U7.

How would a DX33/40 do in Ultima VII Pt. 2? I guess U5SX 486-33 is probably a sweet spot CPU for both games?

oeuvre wrote:

mmm format C:

Do you format your hard drive every 6 months?

😊 🤣