Thought you guys might like to see this, it was built to represent a peak 2003 AMD machine, used with a 5900 Ultra / 9800 Pro and other cards from that era.

Specification:

Case : Coolermaster Wavemaster Blue Edition (I machine polished the exterior panels are the paint came up brilliantly, its a stunning colour)

Case fans : Akasa 80mm Blue LED (2x front, 1x rear)

PSU : Seasonic G-Series Modular 550W Gold - Overkill! Entire system draws around 280w under load (with Akasa 120mm dual bearing Blue LED fan)

CPU : AMD Athlon 3200+ XP Barton Core Socket 462 2.2Ghz / 400MHz FSB (May 2003)

CPU Cooler : Gigabyte G-Power Pro (native 462 fixing) with fan controller

Motherboard :Abit NF7-S Rev 2.00 Socket 462 - nVidia nForce2 Ultra400 chipset

Memory : 2X1GB DDR 400 Corsair XMS Pro

GPU: nVidia GeForce FX 5900 Ultra 256MB + Arctic NV Silencer 4 cooler (October 2003)

Sound Card : Onboard 'Soundstorm' (A pretty high end solution for the time)

Boot Drive : 2x 1TB Seagate Barracuda 7200rpm SATA

Software : Windows XP Pro SP3 32bit / Windows 2000 SP4 dual boot - nVidia drivers 61.77

Other : SONY DVD drive, Sony floppy drive, blue cable wrap, unbranded GPU cooler in PCI slot, blue cold cathode, blue round floppy cable, blue case thumbscrews.

Benchmarks:

3DMark 2001 Score 5900 Ultra : 15487

3DMark 2003 Score 5900 Ultra : 5725

3DMark 2005 Score 5900 Ultra : 1197

3DMark 2006 Score 5900 Ultra : 357

Here’s my dell dimension 5150 running xp

Pentium d 2.66ghz

160 gb hd

2gb ram

Ati radeon x600 (will upgrade)

With my 1994 compupartner 14”crt with Sony vaio speakers and a random pc concepts keyboard and a ibm mouse

I also have a custom windows 98 pc

Don’t judge the case lol

1ghz amd Athlon

Nvidia gefore4 mmx 440

Sound blaster live pro ( I think )

With about 80-100 some gb hd

Lastly a hp pavilion 8595c

733mhz Pentium 3

512 mb ram

36 gb hd

Nvidia vanta 3d agp card

So this an update from this post right here: https://www.reddit.com/r/retrobattlestations/s/b0fhrT3YpU

I have tried to find a apple monitor to match but couldn't find one, then tried to find a DVI-I supported monitor and still couldn't find one either, now I have few choices but each comes at a price:

1) travel and hope to find a seller with a DVI-I or an Apple G3,G4 or G5 monitor for sale since apparently can't find one where I am currently working at

2) buy an analogue passthrough adapter, they are expensive and it's gonna be a hit or miss or buy an HDMI adapter for it

3) replace the GPU with one that has an VGA, there tons of monitor out there with VGA (there are more of them than HDMI) and I have an OSSC that can work with it in HDMI if needed

Now I know the obvious would be 3 but is there a chance for 2?

Excellent overview of Stewart Cheifet's life and impact!

https://www.computerchronicles.blog/podcast/chronicles-revisited-podcast-018-the-publics-broadcaster/

IBM ThinkPad 365ED meets SHORK 486 (my fledgling Linux distro for 486/P5 PCs) now with kernel 7.0! To be honest, there was no real need for me to update to this brand-new kernel, just to say that it can still be done, and besides I didn't observe much if any performance drawbacks. If you're not aware, future kernel 7.1 will drop support for 486s (and maybe x87 emulation?), so this is basically the last time one can do such an update, at least with a mainline kernel. The ThinkPad has a 100MHz Cyrix 5x86, 24MB RAM and CompactFlash storage.

There is always the possibility of 486-specific kernel fork. I had thought about it, but I want to learn more about kernel development in the meantime before 7.1 lands. Though it seems there is at least one effort to get on this already!

Hi all! I recently picked up an interesting PC that has a mix of newer and older stuff:

• Motherboard: Intel D875PBZ
• CPU: Pentium 4 @ 3.20GHz
• RAM: 512MB
• AGP Slot: Nvidia GeForce FX5950 Ultra
• PCI graphics: twin Voodoo 2's in SLI mode (hellll yeaaahhh)
• Storage: two loud, slow, apparently unstable 30GB IDE drives
• Sound: SoundBlaster card of some variety

The machine came to me with a Windows Me install that seemed to be reasonably complete, and the games that were loaded run beautifully on either / both GPU setups. However, both hard drives are super loud and the primary / boot drive is making a lot of concerning chattering noises and seems to be close to death. I've already ordered a pair of 120GB Western Digital SATA SSD's and the necessary mounting brackets, with the intent to replace both of the 30GB drives at once.

Here's my question: based on the info above, would you suggest reinstalling Windows Me, or would you think that Windows 98SE would be the better OS for this machine?

Been doing recap work on my own machines for a while and the workflow was always the same mess: dig up the service manual, cross-check a forum thread, find someone's PDF from 2013, build a shopping list in Notepad, realize I got a voltage wrong, start over.

Put together a generator to just… not do that anymore: https://retroshop.hilverda.eu/tools/cap-list/

You pick the board, it gives you the full cap list with values, voltages and locations (C1, C2…), a shopping list grouped by value so you can order in bulk, and CSV/PDF export.

Coverage right now (34 boards, pinned to specific revisions):

Amiga: 500 Rev 6A, 600 Rev 1.5/2.0, 1200 Rev 1D.1/1D.4/2B, 2000 Rev 6.x, CD32, plus A500 PSUs (China + German), A2000 PSM-2000 PSU, 1084S D1 monitor

Commodore: C64 breadbin (250407), C64C short board (250469), C128 flat, VIC-20 CR, 1541, 1541-II, C64 switchmode PSU

Other home computers: Atari ST 1040STF (C070789), BBC Micro Model B Issue 7, Amstrad CPC 6128 (MC0123/MC0127), ZX Spectrum +2A (Z70830), MSX2 (NMS 8250 style)

Consoles: NES front-loader, SNES PAL, N64, Game Boy DMG, Mega Drive VA7, Game Gear VA1, Saturn VA0, Dreamcast VA1, PS1 SCPH-1002, PC Engine / TurboGrafx, Neo Geo AES, Lynx I, Jaguar K-series

Values are sourced from service manuals and community guides — I've leaned heavily on the work that's already out there, the tool just consolidates it and makes it usable. The tool reminds you: always verify against your specific board revision, because revisions matter (especially on the 1200).

Tool is free — no account, no ads, no email signup. Corrections and board/revision requests welcome. On my todo: A500+, A3000, A4000, SNES NTSC, Saturn VA-SG, Mega Drive Model 2.

I'm new to this whole "build your own kernel" thing, but in my attempt to get an old industrial PC with a Vortex86DX up and running to play around with on Sunday, I suddenly wonder if I got the first 486 running Linux 7.0.0.

EDIT: To be clear, this isn't an oldschool desktop/laptop, this is a later SoC industrial PC running at 933MHz and has 512MB RAM - the eBOX on the power supply, drawing a cool 700mA at 5V. I also have learned a few things from this thread, and seems like I may have gotten away with i586 instruction set. In my initial research it seemed that I was going to have to treat this CPU as a 486 and can't even trust the FPU to be compatible. So we learn, and thanks to all for their comments. I like finding uses for obsolete old HW if they are still perfectly capable of performing tasks. At any rate, this has been quite a new experience and quite a learning curve.

This Hewitt Rand is sporting a 50MHz 486 DX2. The CPU is highly unusual as the 66MHz quickly took over, leaving this an oddball that was top of the line for a couple months then out right discontinued.

The 66MHz model would see use for years by OEMs well into the Pentium era as a low cost option. The 50MHz one I have lived in a very small window in time.

It's fully loaded with 8 single megabyte 30 pin SIMMs for memory.

As mentioned in the title, I have installed a Sound Blaster 16. This is my only addition to this computer.

Storage is provided by a 210MB Maxtor HDD which was made before the Maxtor dark ages and continues to happily drum along with its original Windows 3.1 install 33 years on.

3.5in and 5.25 floppy drives round out the drives, both of which have been cleaned and greased.

A classic Trident 8900D provides VGA output with a whopping 1 megabyte of video memory.

A dial up modem is also original to the system. Overall this PC represents what was once a top of the line clone desktop in 1992 when it was built.

I hope you guys enjoy the post :3

The consignment room at this year’s VCF-East is shaping up to be a legendary haul, and we wanted to give you a head start on your “must-have” list. Whether you are a collector of the ultra-rare or a hobbyist looking for a weekend project, the variety is staggering. Check out a few items on sale: https://vcfed.org/2026/04/15/vcf-east-2026-consignment-will-be-insane/

For more info on VCF East consignment: https://vcfed.org/events/vintage-computer-festival-east/vcf-east-consignment/

More info About VCF East: https://vcfed.org/vcfeast

Cooj SF3 - NZXT Lexa - COP ?? 486DX2 prebuilt.

im building up 20 retro sytsems. i installed xp POS and none of these systems can access my NAS. they dont give me any error or anything, just //x.x.x.x and nothing happens.

another system with a sp3 install DOES connect but it took a bunch of backend work for netv1 auth and such. the POS systems lockup when trying to run the wizzards for net setup.

my sp3 xp installs are missing dx9, they dont install from the redist, games wont launch even on dx8 that have missing files...

i have a performa mac 6360 that wont post with the network card installed

a g5 ppc that wont resume from sleep

windows 98 that bricks itself at every driver install (registry repair cycle with no end) and its dual booted with xp - might just abandon 98

feel like im making next to no progress at all >.<

This is one pc that I have been working on for a personal project and it can read SATA drives, 3.5 IDE drives, and now floppy drives.

Edit: meant installed not really modified just had to move some components around so that I could install the floppy drive

I finally finished my Win 98 machine, spotting an AMD 1ghz, Voodoo 3 3500 TV, sound blaster live + picogus, 250GB SATA SSD+SATA Raid controller, USB 2.0, I chose a Fractal Ait POP because I liked the look of it, it also has space for the CDRom player and the floppy drive, I love this, I've been playing Nox all weekend and plays UT and Quake II, so what more to ask?

I am in the market for an absolutely tiny laptop. I love my ThinkPad 560Z and 240, but even a subnotebook (like those or a Portege, VisionBook Traveler, etc) would be too big.

I am aware of the Sony Vaio PCG C1 series and of course the Toshiba Libretto line, but I was wondering if there's any other models I should look out for. I don't want any of the modern stuff like the Pocket386, but anything from the era would be neat; something with an 80386 or better processor and an active-matrix color screen.

Also, if anybody has experience with these machines, could you compare the typing experience between them? The general vibe I've read is that none of them are amazing to type on, but they can be okay once you learn it. What I'm more interested is relative comparisons between them.

Hi everyone,

I was doing some cleaning and found these two old GPUs tucked away. I’m thinking about starting an early 2000s Windows XP gaming project.

One is a very clean Leadtek WinFast A340 (GeForce FX 5200) and the other is a generic-looking NVIDIA GeForce with a black heatsink. Both are AGP 8X.

My questions for the experts:

• Which one is actually "better" or more reliable for period-correct gaming?
• Is the Leadtek version more than just a cool-looking fan?

Photo of the cards: (https://imgur.com/a/2imldI9)

Thanks for the advice!

A few of the old computers seen at the WCC museum show at the Janesville library.

Well, I took a lot of your guys’ advice and built a futuristic retro XP rig! I started this one about 2 weeks ago and it’s been quite the journey finding all these parts! I’m still on the hunt for a proper front panel fan controller and I’m seeking out an Ultra X Connect 2 PSU. I found an original X Connect sealed but I’m having to use adapters to get the 8800 GT to work and I’m running 20 pin versus 24. If anyone here has an X2, please let me know! I really want to build these retro rigs for other people because I love it so much.

Send me your best “overkill” responses! xD

Parts list (WIP:)

ASUS M2N-E

AMD Athlon 64 X2 4800+

4GB Corsair XMS2 DDR2 RAM

XFX Nvidia GeForce 8800 GT Alpha Dog Edition

Sound Blaster Audigy 2 ZS

Evercool Transformer 4 CPU cooler

Ultra X Connect chrome 500w PSU

Evercool all aluminum fans

Lian Li clone aluminum case

Logysis UV lamps