Pio's new (lol) projects

[Bones]

I know there is one I can fix for sure, another that's highly possible to fix too at the very least and the rest will depend on what I see in person.

Since it's cold weather I don't know how quickly I can turn these around, the work area I've got has no heat and I'm not freezing my butt off over it. Hate the cold and it hurts in the literal sense of it, esp in the knees and fingers in general.
However will get these done ASAP and TBH it shouldn't take very long once I get going.

[Bones]

The boards arrived safely this morning and I should get on these sometime today.

The Socket A is as expected and I can "Fix" the CPU's missing pads, I've got a few dead chips with donor pads I can use and if the chip itself is good that will take care of it and if not I'll set you up with a working chip, what you sent is an XP 2000 Pally (Palomino).
I have some good T-Breds here and if I have to replace it I'll set you up with one of those since a Pally isn't exactly the most reliable chip, kinda delicate TBH but the T-Bred's tend to do much better overall and yes, you can OC those without too much worry vs a Pally.

So far:
After a quick look-over I can tell two should be OK aside from the needed recapping, will do that and test to be sure of it. The two 32's I'll need to clean and test first and then see what I can do there.
In fact I'll clean all of them anyway and maybe if I can get three out of the four going you'll be set.

The one you say may have broken traces I'll consider as being "For Parts" (For now) and will use it for that if I have to, but if not I'll see about getting it going or at least give it a shot.
My real objective is of course to see if I can't get both running, that would be great if I can.

Good thing right now is I've got a dead DFI NF2 Infinity with the required caps that's good and can be used for the SLI board. The mfu value is a tad off (850mfu in the SLI, 1000mfu in the DFI) but those are close enough it will work and these are the right voltage (6.3v).

Once I get started I will update things as the work progresses.
May not get them ready so quickly but will proceed as time and conditions allow for, including what I run into with these as I go.

[Bones]

So far:
Looks like we've got a live one here.




I believe this is the one you said was dead but it's not.
The difference from the pics you posted is this one still has the little Asus logo plate on it's chipset cooler, the one you said was good does not.
The GPU works fine in the first slot and all that as shown here. I haven't tried it with an OS since I'm still evaluating things here but so far so good. I've also done the caps on the Premium and that was a PITA, everything came out OK but getting the replacements in was the trick. Will test fire that board after I'm done going over this one.

Then it's on to the other 32 and see what's up with it.
 

Edited December 15, 2021 by Bones

[Bones]

Update #2:

Got the Premium done, it's working AND the other 32 works too.
Both 32's do work with a card in the first slot. I did find three caps around this slot on the other 32 that looked as if someone had mashed the tops down to disguise them from being bad but I caught those and replaced them.

So, ATM all 3 939's are working and I'm moving on to the last board.
May have to finish that one tomorrow if I run out of time but it's all good.

[Bones]

Final Update:

Caps are done in the AV7, replaced the bad ones and all else looks OK with it. Unfortunately I coudn't test it because I can't find the PSU I can use with it, the power plug/header is turned the wrong way for me to use a 24 pin connector instead.
Caps are done and snuck in a little something you'll like Pio due to the questionable status of the CPU. Didn't have any dead chips to rob pads from (Just remembered I cleaned those out last year so none left to rob) so did this instead and it's an improvement over what is in it now.

@pioneerisloud Didn't get a chance to setup an OS due to time constraints but I believe they are OK, just let me know how they do when you test them yourself.

All done that I know of and will send it back to the addy on the label tomorrow.

Edited December 16, 2021 by Bones

[pio]

18 minutes ago, Bones said:

Final Update:

Caps are done in the AV7, replaced the bad ones and all else looks OK with it. Unfortunately I coudn't test it because I can't find the PSU I can use with it, the power plug/header is turned the wrong way for me to use a 24 pin connector instead.
Caps are done and snuck in a little something you'll like Pio due to the questionable status of the CPU. Didn't have any dead chips to rob pads from (Just remembered I cleaned those out last year so none left to rob) so did this instead and it's an improvement over what is in it now.

@pioneerisloud Didn't get a chance to setup an OS due to time constraints but I believe they are OK, just let me know how they do when you test them yourself.

All done that I know of and will send it back to the addy on the label tomorrow.

So, the Socket A CPU......don't worry about it.    I have a 1100MHz T-Bird, and a 2500+M sitting here I intended on using.  The Palimino was an extra.  The board was the big concern on that one, as its a MUCH better board to actually use on a Socket A setup over the ECS I have sitting here of the same era.  The 1100MHz T Bird will go in that board.

The 939 boards.....

The good chipset cooler board with the Asus logo, is in fact the one I bent in half too roughly and assumed busted traces.  It had previously been capable of high FSB speeds.  I assumed bad traces because I couldn't get it to boot.  However, now after playing with this good 939 board I still have here at the house, that very well could've just been user error because this board was doing the same thing.  I had to unhook all other drives FIRST, then it'll boot.  Oops.  Sooooooo, if that board DOES in fact work, that'll actually end up being the second board that'll be in use.

 

The A8N Premium will be the other.

 

The other 32 laned board was just a happy accidental buy, it came in a case I bought without any regard for what was inside.

[Bones]

At least now you have options for what to use.
Can say you're set for whatever you want in a 939 setup, I believe any of the three can be used without alot of worry.
I did note the 32 without the Asus logo plate seemed to run hotter than the other one did, I let them sit and run for a few minutes and didn't have any problems with either one cutting off.

The Socket A board will hopefully work and do well, set brand new caps in it and included an XP-2500 chip for you. If the Pally is dead it still has two pads you can rob off of it by use of acetone, that will make them come loose and after drying out you can re-glue those onto another chip.

I'll make a shipping label and get the box ready to go sometime tomorrow.

[pio]

I can't wait.

I've been just ITCHING to put together one of the Socket A rigs even though my 939'er isn't quite complete yet lol.

[Bones]

And woudn't you just know it..... 
Now the A8N32 you wanted doesn't want to do anything. Swapped coolers on the chipsets like you wanted me to do and went to test and allow the TIM to burn in, and it's refusing to do jack.
So far I've tried different CPU's, different GPU's in both slots, different RAM sticks and even a different PSU - None of that made any difference.

I guess the thing to do here is swap those coolers back and try the other one. Since the other board (Premium) was working when boxed I'm not touching it or the Socket A. If the caps on the Socket A was the only problem it had that one should be OK as is.
Wish I could have tested it but since the PSU I have for those has vanished I wasn't able to.
 

EDIT:
And just figured out the problem with it.
Pio, you did say you "Bent" this board at one point and that's probrably what's causing the issue I was having.
The CPU itself goes in the socket just fine BUT not fully. After removing the CPU cooler to tear down the setup so I could swap chipset coolers I noted one side of the CPU wasn't all the way down or flat with the socket itself like it should be. Pressed down, it went down some more and settled in like it's supposed to so I set it all back up and now it's working again.

Letting the TIM get warm to settle it in and check temps ATM and at least I did get it going again.

Edited December 26, 2021 by Bones

[pio]

Of course the CPU wasn't seated all the way......

 

Just my luck there.

[Bones]

3 hours ago, pioneerisloud said:

Of course the CPU wasn't seated all the way......

 

Just my luck there.

At least it turned out ot be something simple to fix and not worry too much about.

[pio]

Besides my already existing boards that Bones already has in the mail for me, I have a HUGE update of new parts on their way from various ebay stores.   I should have all of my current "museum" retro rigs done by end of January.

Only thing I'm missing now not ordered is 2 fan controllers (maybe 3), some fan Y splitters, one case and fan setup, and a full K6 rig.  I'll be missing I think 2 sound and LAN cards too for the Socket A rigs, those might help, but not really "needed" to run them.  So on payday I'll be ordering fan controllers and Y splitters so I can finish what I have here ready.  It's looking like I "should" actually be able to have all these completed by April!

I also bought a couple new goodies for the existing "completed" rigs.  Just minor updates and replacing stuff that's broken.

Edited December 28, 2021 by pioneerisloud

[Avacado]

If you build it, they will come. You should open your museum and charge admission.  

[pio]

Small update ish, nothing arrived yet.....

Ordered 2x Lamptron 45w 6ch fan controllers and 12x PWM Y splitter cables.  Hopefully that'll be enough Y splitters, but we'll see.  This leaves me short 1 case and fan setup for the second Socket 939 build (SLI), and one complete K6 build.  I do have an Apevia X-Plorer case sitting here that started all this wanting of old junk, but it does need some repairs done on the front panel of it.  I might take that down with the Chieftec Dragon and see if I can find any local car body repair shops that might be willing to toss some bondo and sandpaper at my cases.  If not, I'll need to buy another case for the 939 build.

I will also be missing a couple sound cards and LAN cards, just to completely finish these builds to be ultimate builds.  But they all have onboard LAN and sound, so not a huge priority.  I'm only missing those on the two Socket A builds, since those didn't have good LAN or sound back then anyway.  The rest, onboard is fine.

Otherwise....everything is on its way here to finish all of these.

Edited December 31, 2021 by pioneerisloud

[pio]

So 3 of the 6 floppy disk drives I just bought are on their way back.  2 arrived broken (stuck button on one, the other has stuff rattling around inside).  All 3 were spray painted black, indicator LED and all, and they absolutely reek.  The rattly one looks like its from the EARLY 90's or 80's even.  They were advertised as "used" black floppy disk drives, with a listing picture of an actual regular black drive.

Yeah, not happy yet again. -_-  At least I have 3 more coming.  What is up with these shady ebay dealers.  Do they really think people that are buying vintage gear aren't going to check it?

[Bones]

On 01/01/2022 at 00:08, pioneerisloud said:

So 3 of the 6 floppy disk drives I just bought are on their way back.  2 arrived broken (stuck button on one, the other has stuff rattling around inside).  All 3 were spray painted black, indicator LED and all, and they absolutely reek.  The rattly one looks like its from the EARLY 90's or 80's even.  They were advertised as "used" black floppy disk drives, with a listing picture of an actual regular black drive.

Yeah, not happy yet again. -_-  At least I have 3 more coming.  What is up with these shady ebay dealers.  Do they really think people that are buying vintage gear aren't going to check it?

Most of the time they can get away with it because the majority of people buying it don't know stuff like we do.
I tend to check the seller's feedback AND how long they've been a member of fleabay (You'd be suprised at how many are "New" sellers) before buying or bidding on any item a seller has.

Speaking of boards, currently baking a Crosshair in the oven to dry it out for some Ln2 action later.
If this works to fix it's current issues about acting out I'll get some nice runs done. Don't worry guys - It's on the lowest setting the oven has (170f/83c) so it's not exceeding any thermal limits of the components.

Gonna just let it sit for awhile and let the heat do it's thing.

Edited January 5, 2022 by Bones

[pio]

9 minutes ago, Bones said:

Most of the time they can get away with it because the majority of people buying it don't know stuff like we do.
I tend to check the seller's feedback AND how long they've been a member of fleabay (You'd be suprised at how many are "New" sellers) before buying or bidding on any item a seller has.

Speaking of boards, currently baking a Crosshair in the oven to dry it out for some Ln2 action later.
If this works to fix it's current issues about acting out I'll get some nice runs done. Don't worry guys - It's on the lowest setting the oven has (170f/83c) so it's not exceeding any thermal limits of the components.

Gonna just let it sit for awhile and let the heat do it's thing.

Oh I do check the sellers out usually, sometimes they still try to pull a fast one though.  No worries, just got 3 more floppy drives in today that are actually black drives (and a beige one).  So no loss on my end, I'm getting a refund on those sprayed ones here in the next few days.

Got those boards today too.  The outer box was a tad wet, thanks UPS guy for setting it in the snow.  Not that there was anywhere ELSE to put it with 2 ft of the white stuff on the ground.  I've got them back out, on the shelf for now getting back to a normal temperature.  I'll actually take them out tomorrow after they've thawed some and snap some pictures of the work you did.

Also got some more optical drives, and a couple Thermaltake Thunderblade 80mm fans too, and some generic 80mm case fans.  My Iomega ZIPCD drive came yesterday too, man that was fun to open up!

 

Once EVERYTHING new is here, I'll start building some of these up finally!

[pio]

Alright, I've got MOST of the orders in now.  I can, in theory, finish the 939 build I have going, and I can now build the second SLI 939 build.  I'm missing 24pin to 20pin ATX adapters for the Socket A rigs (should've checked that), but those are on order.  Missing 2 sound cards, one LAN card, and a 60mm to 80mm fan adapter all for the Socket A rigs.  So once those arrive, I'll get busy.  

[pio]

First of the 2 Socket 939 rigs is up and 100% functional now.

 

I'm currently trying to get the famed 3GHz stable on it right now.  Enjoying Winamp and the Xonar in it.  I think this is my new favorite machine to play music through!

 

It hasn't changed much, but here's the specs.

 

• AMD Opteron 180
• A8N SLI
• 4x1GB Corsair XMS DDR400
• Sapphire HD5870 1GB
• HP 64GB SSD
• Seagate 2TB 2.5" HDD
• eVGA BQ600 PSU
• Zalman CNPS 9500 CPU cooler
• Yate Loon fans all over it
• 6 spot fan controller from UltraMega
• Samsung DVDRW with Lightscribe
• ZIP 250
• Floppy
• Asus Xonar DG Sound Card
• TP Link Archer T4E Wireless NIC (onboard giga LAN is fine for LAN)
• Windows 7 x64 on it right now
• And of course, my Thermaltake cig lighter / ashtray / cupholder thingie
• Custom painted / windowed Rosewill Challenger case

Overclock I'm trying to get stable:

• 250 x 12 for 3GHz
• HT Link at 1250MHz (stock 1000)
• RAM at DDR400 (200MHz) because 939 defaults to 333 as fastest divider with 4 sticks
  
  EDIT:  I'm now down to HT Link at stock 1000 and RAM at 333.  This Opteron 180 isn't a great chip.  Seems to be good, but not great.

 

Edited January 18, 2022 by pioneerisloud

[pio]

So I got that rig stable at 3GHz CPU, HT Link at 1000MHz, and DDR400 @ 2.5-3-3-6-2T timing.  Took 1.52v and the CPU gets overly toasty under load, but its fine.  This particular 939 rig I wasn't intending on playing on too much anyway, its too perfect to use.  I'm going to swap the Xonar out for an X-Fi Xtreme Music here once I get the second 939 built, the other 939 build is for me to play with.....and I REALLY like that Xonar sound card.

Going to start assembling my Athlon-XP build today.  Let's see how that goes!

 

 

EDIT:
Sigh......and the build is on hold yet again.  2 reasons this time.

 

Reason 1 and the main reason, I bought the wrong stupid 24pin to 20 pin adapters.  So now I have to try to hunt a couple of those down yet again, which sucks because these were the only ones I found that were black. -_-

 

Reason 2, nearly all the front panel clips on the case are broken and I require the front panel to be mounted properly so I can line up all the external drives and fan controller.  I've already glued the clips back into place with gorilla glue, and I'll also be doing some hot glue on them after the 24 hour full cure time period is over.  I noticed when I received the case that the front panel was a little loose, I didn't realize every single clip and bolt point was snapped off except for 2. -_-

Just grrrr, its always something with these old builds.

Ordered appropriate 24pin adapters.  Waiting on Corsair to email me back about running extra molex leads off these PSU's instead of the SATA plugs, and asked them for extra molex cables.  Figured better safe than sorry since everything in this rig runs off molex.  Really don't think its safe to run everything off just one cable.

Edited January 23, 2022 by pioneerisloud

[Bones]

8 hours ago, pioneerisloud said:

So I got that rig stable at 3GHz CPU, HT Link at 1000MHz, and DDR400 @ 2.5-3-3-6-2T timing.  Took 1.52v and the CPU gets overly toasty under load, but its fine.  This particular 939 rig I wasn't intending on playing on too much anyway, its too perfect to use.  I'm going to swap the Xonar out for an X-Fi Xtreme Music here once I get the second 939 built, the other 939 build is for me to play with.....and I REALLY like that Xonar sound card.

Going to start assembling my Athlon-XP build today.  Let's see how that goes!

 

 

EDIT:
Sigh......and the build is on hold yet again.  2 reasons this time.

 

Reason 1 and the main reason, I bought the wrong stupid 24pin to 20 pin adapters.  So now I have to try to hunt a couple of those down yet again, which sucks because these were the only ones I found that were black. -_-

 

 

Quick question - I'm not clear whether you mean a 20 pin ATX plug to a 24 pin power header OR a 24 pin ATX plug to a 20 pin power header.

I know sometimes you can plug a 24 pin ATX plug into a 20 pin power header by letting the extra 4 pins simply "Hang" over to the side -  It will still plug in and the system will work.
However that can only work if you have the room next to the plug, some boards have components where the extra 4 pins would be making it impossible to plug it into the power header.

Good call on the extra Molex cables.

 

Edited January 23, 2022 by Bones

[pio]

27 minutes ago, Bones said:

Quick question - I'm not clear whether you mean a 20 pin ATX plug to a 24 pin power header OR a 24 pin ATX plug to a 20 pin power header.

I know sometimes you can plug a 24 pin ATX plug into a 20 pin power header by letting the extra 4 pins simply "Hang" over to the side -  It will still plug in and the system will work.
However that can only work if you have the room next to the plug, some boards have components where the extra 4 pins would be making it impossible to plug it into the power header.

Good call on the extra Molex cables.

 

It's a Corsair RMX 550w PSU with ONLY a 24pin ATX power connector coming off the PSU.  I need a 20 pin on the motherboard.  The 24 pin will not plug in at all, I've tried lol.  Thought I ordered the right adapters previously, but they were male to male, and obviously I need female 24 pin to male 20 pin (or 20+4).  Found some extensions by Raidmax that'll do the job, they're on order now.  I also found the additional molex cables, apparently I need "Type 4", but I'm waiting to hear back from Corsair first.  They might have a better price than ebay does.

[Bones]

Not AMD related but is to soldering - The carnage from my latest livestream with Ln2 in use.
Luckily it can be fixed since the PCB didn't get toasted.

You could say this is a wittle project of my own I'll be working on.

Edited February 1, 2022 by Bones

[pio]

Youch. 

 

Looking like I should be able to get these done in the next few days finally. I just need to get off my butt and build them. 

[pio]

Small update:
Got the Creative X-Fi XtremeMusic installed in the finished 939 rig.  Yeah, I definitely like the Xonar DG much better, this Sound Blaster just sounds flat and bleh.  Honestly my regular USB audio out on my main rig sounds better.  But......this means that 939 rig is now complete and I can start on another.  The Socket A Athlon-XP is next on my list, or the other 939 rig.  I already have the Socket A rig mostly built so I'll probably finish that one first.  Stay tuned everyone, they're being finished as quickly as I can.  My kiddo has 5 hours of school to do at home everyday too which is obviously taking a lot of my time.

 

EDIT:
And Raidmax apparently can't read an order form correctly.  Ordered 20+4 pin extensions from them on ebay, and they sent me regular 24pin extensions. -_-  Sooooooo still can't start on the Socket A rigs. 

Edited February 1, 2022 by pioneerisloud