Looking forward to seeing more of that - though a 2006 CPU for W98SE seems like cheating
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Log Blacksheep's builds (Current: Jonsbo V9 Windows XP Build)
- Thread starter Analogue Blacksheep
- Start date
That Itek SMALLCOM-P was a good find, it's a new one to me.
That should work our really nicely, decent performance and a modern look - you'll have to paint it beige though!
I'd completely forgotten about round IDE cables, probably as I never owned any.
That should work our really nicely, decent performance and a modern look - you'll have to paint it beige though!
I'd completely forgotten about round IDE cables, probably as I never owned any.
That's the card that was producing a lot of noise. It's an ASUS nVidia Geforce FX5200 256MB or V9520/TD/256M.
Considering I'm using this for MS-DOS as well, I've just ordered a Hercules 3D Prophet Geforce 3 Ti 200 AGP card from eBay as it's replacement.
If it's still working, just the fan is buzzing, then it's super easy to replace a heatsink on one of those bad boys. Just check the spring / pin spacing and the clearance, you could even 'upgrade' by sticking some heatsinks on the VRAM chips
::EDIT:: You could probably even swap for a passive heatsink if you have basically any airflow around the GPU at all.
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Got sound working. Just waiting for the Geforce3 200 Ti to arrive and ordering the new case/psu tomorrow, it's a hot box right now. That said, I seem to be having more fun with older tech right now than I was with newer stuff. Not saying that I'm ignoring old tech issues (I miss my search bar from Windows 10), but things are just a bit more affordable and you can experiment a little more. Unless you want a Voodoo 5 in your machine, I ain't paying £1000+ for an old GPU.
Anyway here's the specs so far:
Edit: Been paid, parts bought. The Z39 is getting the boot, hello Noctua NH-U9B SE2.
Anyway here's the specs so far:
Edit: Been paid, parts bought. The Z39 is getting the boot, hello Noctua NH-U9B SE2.
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So yikes...
Since installing the Geforce3 card the build has become very unstable. I've only managed to get two games working fine, Full Tilt Pinball and Sonic CD. Run anything else and it crashes. I've also had quite a few blue screens as well and to top it all off I can't uninstall a game due it blue screening during the installation. It doesn't help that the case I have it in right now is an utter hotbox, while its replacement is still in Italy. I'm learning very quickly that older technology is a very different ball game to what we have now.
Edit - On second thought, I might merge what I have with my Windows XP build. On further reading I may of not gone with the best selection of parts and it might cost more money than I am willing to spend to get a working set up. I'm far more familiar with XP and I'll admit there's more games on it that I will play. I can still play DOS games on my MiSTer if it comes to it. Ultimate Windows XP Micro-ATX SFF build anyone?
Since installing the Geforce3 card the build has become very unstable. I've only managed to get two games working fine, Full Tilt Pinball and Sonic CD. Run anything else and it crashes. I've also had quite a few blue screens as well and to top it all off I can't uninstall a game due it blue screening during the installation. It doesn't help that the case I have it in right now is an utter hotbox, while its replacement is still in Italy. I'm learning very quickly that older technology is a very different ball game to what we have now.
Edit - On second thought, I might merge what I have with my Windows XP build. On further reading I may of not gone with the best selection of parts and it might cost more money than I am willing to spend to get a working set up. I'm far more familiar with XP and I'll admit there's more games on it that I will play. I can still play DOS games on my MiSTer if it comes to it. Ultimate Windows XP Micro-ATX SFF build anyone?
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So after my moment of hubris with the 98SE build, plan B seems to be going OK. I've aquired an ASUS P8H61-M LE R2.0 MicroATX Motherboard and my EVGA 550 G3 Gold has arrived. The case is still in transit but should arrive next week. The plan is to put a not-period GTX 750ti in the machine which should play almost any Windows XP game including Crysis. The larger case and more powerful PSU should also give me access to a GTX 960 if I want overkill for every XP game or a 60 FPSish in Crysis. But to be honest I'm more interested in finding out what the most powerful single slot GPU is for XP so I can free up the other PCIE x1 slot.
On the other hand, I also decided on another purpose for my XP upgrade. I've been experimenting with MiniDV cameras and have recently bought a PCIE Firewire card. I reckon XP should play far nicer with Firewire vs trying to do with it with Windows 10/11. Furthermore as the motherboard lacks a floppy or IDE connector I have decided to also buy an ICY DOCK flexiDOCK MB522SP-B. This is a dock with goes into the floppy bay and can take 2x 2.5 Sata drives. It should be fun inserting 2.5 drives into the machine like floppy drives. Also means I have a faster way of getting the camcorder footage off it and transfered over to my Windows 10 computer.
Amazing how plan B's work.
On the other hand, I also decided on another purpose for my XP upgrade. I've been experimenting with MiniDV cameras and have recently bought a PCIE Firewire card. I reckon XP should play far nicer with Firewire vs trying to do with it with Windows 10/11. Furthermore as the motherboard lacks a floppy or IDE connector I have decided to also buy an ICY DOCK flexiDOCK MB522SP-B. This is a dock with goes into the floppy bay and can take 2x 2.5 Sata drives. It should be fun inserting 2.5 drives into the machine like floppy drives. Also means I have a faster way of getting the camcorder footage off it and transfered over to my Windows 10 computer.
Amazing how plan B's work.
@rfarmer - I follow the guides from Phils Computer Lab on Youtube and I lurk on Vogons from time to time. From what I have gathered driver support goes up to the GTX 960 from the Nvidia side (no idea on AMD). I've also heard stories of people getting Titan X's working. I use Snappy Driver to handle drivers.
Because there wasn't enough plot twists here. The case arrived and it's definitly small by MATX standards. However it doesn't come with an optical drive bracket even though there is a cutout on the case and an adapter you can fit on the your drive. Not important for a Windows 10+ build, but considering that CD audio is a thing with Windows XP it's a bit rubbish. I did a build in the case nearly assembled but you need a right angle sata adapter if you want to fit a 3.5 drive. Also there are no floppy bay adapters even though in the renders on the Amazon page has cut outs for them.
Sigh, not having too much luck with these retro builds.
I'm pondering going over 20 litres and moving the build (again) over to a cheap 23 litre case with a full sized 5.25 bay. Kolink KLM-003 or AeroCool CS-104 seems like good options. I have an old IDE DVD drive with all the ports for the sound card which I can use.
If anyone knows of a sub 20 litre case which can fit full sized expansion cards, an ATX PSU and a 5.25 drive for a reasonable cost and you can get in the UK, I'm all ears. The Silverstone MATX cases seem to be heavily scalped over here right now.
Edit - Just ordered an AeroCool CS-105 for £30. It's 24 litres, but I'll take it if it means I can stick a 5.25 drive in it. Going to be a pain to switch it from the Itek case, but in the long run I think this will be a better decision.
Sigh, not having too much luck with these retro builds.
I'm pondering going over 20 litres and moving the build (again) over to a cheap 23 litre case with a full sized 5.25 bay. Kolink KLM-003 or AeroCool CS-104 seems like good options. I have an old IDE DVD drive with all the ports for the sound card which I can use.
If anyone knows of a sub 20 litre case which can fit full sized expansion cards, an ATX PSU and a 5.25 drive for a reasonable cost and you can get in the UK, I'm all ears. The Silverstone MATX cases seem to be heavily scalped over here right now.
Edit - Just ordered an AeroCool CS-105 for £30. It's 24 litres, but I'll take it if it means I can stick a 5.25 drive in it. Going to be a pain to switch it from the Itek case, but in the long run I think this will be a better decision.
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Case arrived and I transferred stuff over. I'll do a longer report another day. Still need to install Windows XP again. Anyway some quick pictures.
Oh also here's that beige you requested. There was a pre-installed RGB fan. I immediately replaced it with a 140mm beige Noctua fan. I think a new front plate is in order though.
Oh also here's that beige you requested. There was a pre-installed RGB fan. I immediately replaced it with a 140mm beige Noctua fan. I think a new front plate is in order though.
So I decided to move the Windows XP build back into a SFF case. The Metalfish S5 I ordered probably won't show up for a few weeks/months so instead I got a Jonsbo V9. Great case, makes my eBay parts look special and brings the build back under 20L.
Only thing I don't like about the case is the top panel. I don't like the small holes, but I have ideas such as getting a new one designed/made. Jonsbo also left a sticker on it which made a mess when trying to get it off.
Also seeing as it doesn't have an opitical drive slot, I found this new old-stock drive enclosure that uses a firewire 200 1394 connector. Works great as well.
Furthermore I did some upgrades, including an I7 3770K, a Sound Blaster X-FI Xtreme Music and a 1TB Crucial MX500. There's also VLP Kingston memory so the Noctua U9B SE2 cooler can have both fans.
Only upgrade I have on my mind is changing the GPU to a GTX 780 or GTX 780 Ti. I like the look of the founders cards, but I'm worried about thermals and noise.
Anyway here's some build pictures
@Arboreal - Yes. I can't confirm frame rates yet, but it's impressive how smooth it runs. Although I will confess that there is a little slow down when auto saves happen. I suspect the 4GB doesn't help.
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Also to digress but keeping with the retro hardware theme, I've recently discovered that more modern arcade setups like the Taito Type X use standard PC components. You can find M-ATX type X motherboards on eBay if you are inclined. Although you will need a deep pockets if you want one. Kind of curious to see if anyone would move the hardware into a Cerberus or something.
***
Also to digress but keeping with the retro hardware theme, I've recently discovered that more modern arcade setups like the Taito Type X use standard PC components. You can find M-ATX type X motherboards on eBay if you are inclined. Although you will need a deep pockets if you want one. Kind of curious to see if anyone would move the hardware into a Cerberus or something.
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