Pio's new (lol) projects

[pio]

4 hours ago, Diffident said:

 

I have an Asus A7VBX if you want it.  It has an Athlon XP 2000 installed, I think it's a 2000. It has a 333mhz FSB and 2 SATA ports. It was one of the first boards with on board SATA.  I replaced a 266mhz FSB board with this just to get the SATA ports.    I'm guessing it works, but I have no idea.  The CMOS battery is probably dead.  It's about 18 years old.  Since your into  old computers.  Don't know it you have a Socket A yet....I think it's a Socket A.

 

 

 

I have two currently awaiting to be built after the 939 rig.  One board was an ECS 200MHz FSB Socket A board, with a Via chipset.  Forget the model, but it was BNIB (for old Socket A).  The other I ended up with was a NF2 400MHz FSB board, looks very VERY similar to that one actually.  A7N8x Deluxe I think was the model?  It would make a good replacement for the ECS I didn't want but was BNIB lol.  That Thermaltake Volcano 7 (right?) is actually on my list of things to buy lol.

Shoot me your offer on it.   Obviously with my Socket 939 woes, having extra motherboards on hand of good quality probably won't hurt.

 

  

13 hours ago, ENTERPRISE said:

Nice, sucks about the motherboard though Seems like they keep crapping out on you. Time for a DFI ?

 

https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/DFI-LanParty-NF4-Motherboard-AMD-Athlon-64-x2-3800-CPU-4Gb-RAM-Bundle-/203452874774?mkcid=16&mkevt=1&_trksid=p2349624.m46890.l49286&mkrid=710-127635-2958-0

I would, but do I dare? o.0  I never was a DFI fan back then, too many options in the BIOS that needed manually set otherwise things wouldn't work lol.  That does come with another x2 though, and its a much better board than the A8N-E I was looking at.  Hmmmm, payday is in a week.  I'll see what's still available on payday, and find the one with the flattest caps I think lol.  I still have a good functioning A8N32-SLI Deluxe to play with, it just doesn't work with the HD5870.

Edited October 26, 2021 by pioneerisloud

[ENTERPRISE]

3 hours ago, pioneerisloud said:

I have two currently awaiting to be built after the 939 rig.  One board was an ECS 200MHz FSB Socket A board, with a Via chipset.  Forget the model, but it was BNIB (for old Socket A).  The other I ended up with was a NF2 400MHz FSB board, looks very VERY similar to that one actually.  A7N8x Deluxe I think was the model?  It would make a good replacement for the ECS I didn't want but was BNIB lol.  That Thermaltake Volcano 7 (right?) is actually on my list of things to buy lol.

Shoot me your offer on it.   Obviously with my Socket 939 woes, having extra motherboards on hand of good quality probably won't hurt.

 

  

I would, but do I dare? o.0  I never was a DFI fan back then, too many options in the BIOS that needed manually set otherwise things wouldn't work lol.  That does come with another x2 though, and its a much better board than the A8N-E I was looking at.  Hmmmm, payday is in a week.  I'll see what's still available on payday, and find the one with the flattest caps I think lol.  I still have a good functioning A8N32-SLI Deluxe to play with, it just doesn't work with the HD5870.

I do not recall having to set up my DFI to get things running smoothly. Overclocking for sure but I found them to be like all other boards...but they did have more BIOS options that is for sure.

[pio]

So......the capture card I bought didn't work.  I think I said this earlier, but I can't find the post.  Was getting nothing but a blue screen out of the capture card on the older video cards.  Didn't test anything newer, as I needed the old rigs to work.  I bought a tripod for my phone instead.  My phone records 1080p / 60 FPS, so it seems to do an okay job capturing game footage off my monitor.  Working on optimal placements, and here in the next few days I'll start recording the FX footage.  So....game footage is coming soon!  Wanted to record the output somehow to share if its playable or not on these old rigs.

 

Not decided yet how much I want on video and how much I want on "paper" here at EXHW.  Kind of want both for those that want to read, and those that want to just watch a YT video.  Basically, I'm attempting, in a way, to archive these rigs as best as I can.  So if I'm a little slow on figuring this out, bear with me.  I've never taken on a project of this magnitude before.  Heck, I've never paid attention on how to benchmark in game footage before, so this entire experience is new to me.

The FX rig, Thuban (Phenom II) and Phenom rig are all installed, games, benchmarks, and they're ready to go.  FX rig is on my bench setup right now, ready to record.  I can also easily install what's missing on the two Ryzen rigs for comparison too once I get going (FX is first to get benched).

 

[pio]

Huge thank you and shoutout to @Diffident!  Shipped me a Socket A motherboard and CPU, and even a stick of RAM!  It arrived today, and I do believe this motherboard is going to make it into my T-Bird Athlon build.  It's most definitely in need of recapping though, so I'll have to address that first.  The case still needs repaired on that build too anyway, got the crack glued, but it still looks ugly.  But this motherboard is like a million times nicer than the junk ECS board I bought just because it had flat caps on it.  So stay tuned for that build too.

Been recording a little bit here and there at night while kiddo is sleeping.  I dunno why I decided to do this lol, this is a LOT of labor just to benchmark old rigs and see how they do.  BUT.....figured some of you might wanna see, so I guess I'll keep trudging on. Once I get a rig fully benched and recorded, its going to be a HUGE post per rig.  So stay tuned, might still be a few weeks till I get the first one done and videos edited.  Just wow, didn't realize how much effort and labor was going to be involved with building 7 or 8 old rigs, jeez. -_-

[Bones]

Yes guys - It's ME (Kryton from OCN) but "Bones" is my real benching name and what I prefer to go by.

And I'm keeping an eye on Pio, someone's gotta keep him straight you know.

[pio]

11 minutes ago, Bones said:

Yes guys - It's ME (Kryton from OCN) but "Bones" is my real benching name and what I prefer to go by.

And I'm keeping an eye on Pio, someone's gotta keep him straight you know.

You're going to goad me into DICE or LN2 on the Socket A and 939's aren't you?

Welcome bro.  I'll happily run any of these rigs (once they're all functional) for any bench off you want to try later on.   

[Bones]

For Socket A and 939 Ln2 isn't what you want to use unless you can control temps well, they are bad about having a CB/CBB to them.  A few of them tolerate it just fine but the vast majority have CB/CBB issues, even on DICE overall.
Good to be here and will pop in from time to time.

[Avacado]

5 hours ago, Bones said:

Yes guys - It's ME (Kryton from OCN) but "Bones" is my real benching name and what I prefer to go by.

And I'm keeping an eye on Pio, someone's gotta keep him straight you know.

Welcome to the forums Bones. GL keeping him in line, we've tried. 

[Bones]

3 hours ago, Avacado said:

Welcome to the forums Bones. GL keeping him in line, we've tried. 

Thanks for the welcome.

Between the two of us there is no keeping either in line TBH. 

 

[pio]

17 hours ago, Avacado said:

Welcome to the forums Bones. GL keeping him in line, we've tried. 

Hey, somebody has to keep the $till Legendary traditions alive.

I WILL prove that Crysis can be ran on a P2 dangit!!!

Anyhooooooo..........
------------------------------------------------

Huge thank you again goes out to @Diffident.  Not only did he send that gorgeous Socket A motherboard my way, I found a Thermaltake Volcano 7 in the mail today!  Who told you that's what I asked Santa for?  Seriously, its a gorgeous cooler, and its EXACTLY what I wanted for the Socket A builds.  So thank you very very much!  I shall include your name in credits when they're completed too.   

 

 

[pio]

Alright, fresh from customs.....Asus A8N-SLI motherboard just arrived today from Finland.  It has absolutely PERFECT caps on it.  I'd snap pictures but its actually sealed in the anti-static bag.  Going to throw that in the 939 build here in the next few days, and I "should" be able to finish it now, granted I have the time to solder and do a whole mobo swap yet again.  The A8N32-SLI Deluxe I have I'll need to inspect the caps on (doesn't work for "this build" anyway).  And the A8N-SLI Premium I had in there, is most definitely getting sent out for caps.  Somebody in this thread already knows about that though..... 

I'm not sure if I'm ever going to find the time to do the bench list I was hoping.  I started a few videos on the FX build and kind of lost interest lol.  It's more fun building them than it is benching them for me.  Either way, haven't stopped....just slowed down a little.  

Oh, some Socket A parts are starting to arrive too now that I ordered.  I have 4 or 5 64GB HP SSD's coming, some IDE to SATA adapters, and I think a couple more coolers?  I dunno, don't you hate it when you shop intoxicated?  

[Avacado]

Sounds cool. I just snagged an Nforce 790i Ultra SLI w/ QX6850 for these dual GTX 290's. Looking forward to going retro myself. Socket T was when I really fell in love with PC's. I know it's not socket A, but meh. 

Edited November 28, 2021 by Avacado

[pio]

10 hours ago, Avacado said:

Sounds cool. I just snagged an Nforce 790i Ultra SLI w/ QX6850 for these dual GTX 290's. Looking forward to going retro myself. Socket T was when I really fell in love with PC's. I know it's not socket A, but meh. 

It's not Socket A, no.  But it'd be an awfully close match to my Phenom + 6970 build........ 

 

To be fair, LGA 775 was a huge turning point for Intel anyway, and it really was a pretty neat way to address AMD.  It's probably on a lot of people's favorite list, and for good reason.  I really enjoyed the ones I played with.  Had I not picked all AMD just to make things easy on myself, I wouldn't mind another Socket T build.  I've still got one in storage with a BSEL modded Q9550 and GTX 750Ti in it, but I'm pretty sure its in storage for some reason or another.

[pio]

Power button, power LED, reset button, and HDD LED are all connected now.  Front USB's and audio are re-installed on the case again.  Tomorrow night (hopefully), I'll be swapping boards out on the 939 rig and with any luck......finally having it working!

Of course, I'm not an expert at soldering by ANY stretch of the imagination.....but they work.

 

 

 

 

[pio]

It's finally alive!  My first (again) Socket 939 rig!  Attempting to install Windows 10 to it right now, will settle for 7 if it doesn't work.  I definitely still need the A8N SLI Premium, the base model has no chipset controls hardly at all, and very little overclocking options.  I'll see what I can do with it though.

 

 

[pio]

Short lived success I suppose. -_-

My test bench monitor died last night.  It's now stuck at 640x480 resolution.  Yes, its most definitely the monitor.  I swapped rigs, I swapped cables, adapters, everything else I could think of.  Only thing I couldn't swap was inputs on the monitor because I lack DVI-VGA adapters.  So, my museum pieces are now actually on a pause till after Christmas.  Small packages arriving or not, since I can't actually test anything.

In the meantime, I'll use my TV for making sure the 939 rig works.  Looks like I'll be in the market for a new cheapy monitor after Christmas.  

[UltraMega]

59 minutes ago, pioneerisloud said:

Short lived success I suppose. -_-

My test bench monitor died last night.  It's now stuck at 640x480 resolution.  Yes, its most definitely the monitor.  I swapped rigs, I swapped cables, adapters, everything else I could think of.  Only thing I couldn't swap was inputs on the monitor because I lack DVI-VGA adapters.  So, my museum pieces are now actually on a pause till after Christmas.  Small packages arriving or not, since I can't actually test anything.

In the meantime, I'll use my TV for making sure the 939 rig works.  Looks like I'll be in the market for a new cheapy monitor after Christmas.  

Any good thrift stores near you? Usually the ones near me have monitors like that for pretty cheap. 

[pio]

9 hours ago, UltraMega said:

Any good thrift stores near you? Usually the ones near me have monitors like that for pretty cheap. 

Good? Bwahahaha no lol. But I'll search around after Christmas. Worst case I'll buy a used 1080p panel on eBay if I don't find anything locally. 

Update further:
The Socket 939 rig has drivers installed (GPU and wifi at least), and is currently installing updates on Windows 10.  It most definitely is alive, it was BSOD'ing because my monitor was breaking. -_-  Has an odd boot problem, the Windows 10 install flash drive must be inserted for it to boot.  But otherwise its working.

Edited December 2, 2021 by pioneerisloud

[Bones]

On 27/11/2021 at 22:48, pioneerisloud said:

Alright, fresh from customs.....Asus A8N-SLI motherboard just arrived today from Finland.  It has absolutely PERFECT caps on it.  I'd snap pictures but its actually sealed in the anti-static bag.  Going to throw that in the 939 build here in the next few days, and I "should" be able to finish it now, granted I have the time to solder and do a whole mobo swap yet again.  The A8N32-SLI Deluxe I have I'll need to inspect the caps on (doesn't work for "this build" anyway).  And the A8N-SLI Premium I had in there, is most definitely getting sent out for caps.  Somebody in this thread already knows about that though..... 

I'm not sure if I'm ever going to find the time to do the bench list I was hoping.  I started a few videos on the FX build and kind of lost interest lol.  It's more fun building them than it is benching them for me.  Either way, haven't stopped....just slowed down a little.  

Oh, some Socket A parts are starting to arrive too now that I ordered.  I have 4 or 5 64GB HP SSD's coming, some IDE to SATA adapters, and I think a couple more coolers?  I dunno, don't you hate it when you shop intoxicated?  

Lemmie see some pics so I can see if I've got what I need and we can go from there.

[pio]

10 hours ago, Bones said:

Lemmie see some pics so I can see if I've got what I need and we can go from there.

Yessir, I'll have pictures of the A8N SLI Premium and the good A8N32-SLI Deluxe hopefully this evening.  Pretty sure the 32 Deluxe works fine, but going to take cap pictures anyway to check.  I was spending all my free time trying to get the one working.  Now it does.

[pio]

Huge images update (damage report):

So, the test bench monitor died.  I went ahead and went into a thrift store today, and I scored two 21.5" 1080p TN panels, one Dell and the other HP.  The 939 rig that's built is 110% functional, I had Windows 10 32bit on it for a little while and it was rock solid.  It was PAINFULLY slow though, CPU was pegged at 100% even when doing nothing.  So.....trying to get 7 on there now.

Images, I promised images.  So, its no secret now Bones said he had some cap soldering experience and even some spare caps perhaps on hand (depending).  So I went ahead and did an inventory of my leftover older boards that need attention to their caps.  Figured these are all getting built here within the next few months, might as well double check the caps before I proceed.

Socket 939 Boards:

 

Asus A8N SLI Premium:

Spoiler

Definitely needs recapped, board works but is finicky with heavier power loads

This board is supposed to be inside of the case that's peeking in and photobombing it right below.  Bad caps were causing it to act funny under certain power load conditions.
 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Asus A8N32-SLI Deluxe:

Spoiler

PLEASE LET ME KNOW IF YOU SEE BAD CAPS
I did check by hand, I didn't feel any.  I did look, I didn't see any.  I overlook things quite easily though.

This board was intended originally for the "only" 939 build.  However the HD5870 planned does NOT work in the top PCIe slot.  I couldn't stand that, and I happened to have a pair of GTS 250's on hand, so its going to be used in a second 939 build later on when I'm done with the original builds......a Socket 939 build that I intend to use somewhat regularly.

 

 

 

 

 

Asus A8N32-SLI Deluxe x2:

Spoiler

Pictured above is a second A8N32-SLI Deluxe (middle board), caps all looked / felt flat, but I assume broken traces.  So its just a spare parts board really at this point.  Did not take cap pictures or details of it since the other 32 laned board is the intended use board.

Socket A / 462 Boards:

 

ECS K7S5A Rev 5.0:

Spoiler

PLEASE LET ME KNOW IF YOU SEE BAD CAPS
I did check by hand, I didn't feel any.  I did look, I didn't see any.  I overlook things quite easily though.

 

This board I bought with the intentions of using the Athlon 1100Mhz T-Bird that's in it for a Windows 98 box in the Chieftec Dragon case.  Wasn't intending on buying an ECS board honestly, but the caps are flat and it had the CPU I wanted.  Appropriate era board too.

 

 

 

 

 

Asus A7V8X:

Spoiler

This board was donated by Diffident.  Definitely has bad caps on it, which I assumed it would so that's okay.

I would absolutely love to replace the ECS board with this one.  Much much better board for the 1100MHz Athlon.  If I can't find somebody to do it for me for a fee, I might attempt my luck at doing this one myself.  Worried about my hands being too unsteady to solder something so intricate, but I've been practicing.....

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Asus A7N8X-E Rev 1.01:

Spoiler

PLEASE LET ME KNOW IF YOU SEE BAD CAPS
I did check by hand, I didn't feel any.  I did look, I didn't see any.  I overlook things quite easily though.

Bought this board to use with the Athlon XP 2500+M that's in there too.  Was the absolute perfect combo purchase for the era.  This is the next build coming I'm pretty sure.  Unless somebody spots bad caps on it, which I hope not.

 

 

 

 

 

Edited December 4, 2021 by pioneerisloud

[Bones]

I have a bag full of 3.6V 3300mfu caps and that's useful for the Socket A boards. Two I'm seeing definitely need some caps replaced, one doesn't look bad but then again I'm not there looking at them.

The SLI has three I'm seeing in need (6.3V 850mfu) and I believe I got those here. The 32 SLI doesn't look to have any that's bad but again, I'm not there in person to look.

As long as a cap looks flat I'm not bothering it but if it even has a hint of swelling, may as well deal and be done with it.

As for the board you say has broken traces, I can look at that and if it's not too bad I can take a crack at that one and see if I can't "Frankenstein" it for you. 
No promises but at this point with it's condition I don't see why not.

[pio]

1 minute ago, Bones said:

I have a bag full of 3.6V 3300mfu caps and that's useful for the Socket A boards. Two I'm seeing definitely need some caps replaced, one doesn't look bad but then again I'm not there looking at them.

The SLI has three I'm seeing in need (6.3V 850mfu) and I believe I got those here. The 32 SLI doesn't look to have any that's bad but again, I'm not there in person to look.

As long as a cap looks flat I'm not bothering it but if it even has a hint of swelling, may as well deal and be done with it.

As for the board you say has broken traces, I can look at that and if it's not too bad I can take a crack at that one and see if I can't "Frankenstein" it for you. 
No promises but at this point with it's condition I don't see why not.

 

We can work out the details in private, but yeah sounds like a plan.  Would love to just know that the board isn't a problem anymore on these old ones.  I've been burned by too many bad capped boards already lol.  The joys of trying to buy 15+ year old gear.  You are awesome! 

[Bones]

8 minutes ago, pioneerisloud said:

 

We can work out the details in private, but yeah sounds like a plan.  Would love to just know that the board isn't a problem anymore on these old ones.  I've been burned by too many bad capped boards already lol.  The joys of trying to buy 15+ year old gear.  You are awesome! 

Just let me know when and we'll go from there.

[pio]

My Socket 939 rig that's functional now has Windows 7 on it, and I feel like a complete idiot.  This good A8N SLI board was showing the same exact signs of failure as the A8N32 SLI Deluxe, and the same as the A8N SLI Premium.  I figured out the problem, was PEBKAC.  Apparently, the good old trick of ONLY having your drive plugged in that you intend to install Windows to......that was the trick to making these work.  Any other drives connected (especially IDE when using SATA drives too), the machine won't boot from USB and install proper.  To get Windows / any OS to install via USB, you HAVE to have just the USB stick plugged in and your destination drive.  ALL other drives MUST be disconnected, otherwise it won't write the boot.ini properly or something (won't boot).  I knew this was a "thing" back then, but honestly I forgot it was a thing on 939.  I honestly didn't think I would run into these kinds of silly BIOS glitches till Socket A.

The machine DID function just fine on Windows 10 32bit, which was a surprise.  However, sadly, Windows 10 does NOT function very well on a dual core at all.  With all the background processes going on, the poor CPU was at 100% load 24/7 and it was an absolute nightmare to even try to use it to web browse because of that.  If this were a dual Socket 940 rig with 2 dual cores installed instead of just one, it would operate perfectly and probably be a wonderful daily driver.  Luckily Windows 7 doesn't exhibit those same problems.  I was just hoping that all of my "multicore" systems could run it, but nope....not duallies.

The ZIP250 drive I have installed in the 939 rig is also broken.  Too bad its outside of the 30 day warranty ebay allows as it most definitely arrived broken. -_-  Oh well......

It's now 110% alive, functioning, overclocked to 2.90GHz, and I even played Killing Floor and Left 4 Dead on the 939 rig last night.  Made me very happy.   The 4 questionable boards are being sent out to Bones this week (thank you again Bones, seriously).  He's going to take a whack at trying to recover these things before I go and blow more money on old worthless junk.