in-progress [Build Log] Project Nalu 1.2 (2004 Retro Build)

[Modzy]

1.2 BUILD UPDATE: 
Due to ongoing and unfixable issues with Steam, Web browsing, software & driver stability due to the lack of SSE support on the CPU. I have decided to switch to an Intel Pentium 4 platform. All parts will remain the same except for CPU & Motherboard. I have updated the list to reflect the new parts that are already in transit. Now I have done quite extensive researching into what chip northbridge/prescott etc to get. The Northwood while on average is 3-5% slower, it runs much cooler. The 3.4Ghz version I have bought is roughly 15-20% faster in gaming performance over the AMD XP 3200+. So performance numbers are still within the range of what I want.

1.2 Upgrade Perks: 
CPU Support for SSE2 - This will fix all the unforeseen issues I'm having.
Hyper Threading - Effective duel core, almost.
Support for upto 4Gb of System Ram - opposed to the 3gb limit on the AMD board.
2 SATA Raid ports - This means I can look at getting 1 or 2 Western Digital Raptor drives. (not wanting SSD's)


Background: (1.2 updated)
This project started out as an idea to build a 2nd gaming PC dedicated to run games from between the 2000-2005 era. The idea was to focus the build on 2 great icons from that era of pc gaming. The Intel P4 Northwood 3.4Ghz HT & the Nvidia Geforce 6800 ultra AGP 256mb GPU. Now I know the Intel P4 & 6800 Ultra don't align together in the hardware universe timeline perfectly. But they both had a decent crossover and both represent the end of an era.

The Twist:
I wanted to build the system in a modern case, but have it still look as retro. The Thermaltake View 27 was the perfect case for this. Its unique window design shows off the hardware perfectly and paired with their TT Riing fans it looks stunning. Chuck in a couple cold cathodes and it looks right out of 2004. 

Below are the parts I have so far obtained over the past 12 months. Most of these are near new or brand new.

In hand/In system: 
Intel Pentium 4 3.4Ghz HT Northwood.
Soltek SL-86SPE-L Intel 478 865PE Motherboard.
OCZ Platinum Edition 4x1Gb PC3200 CAS2.5. (In-transit)
Nvidia Geforce 6800 Ultra Extreme Edition 256mb AGP.
Creative Audigy 2 ZS Platinum.
M-Audio Audiophile 24/96 MIDI Card.
BFG Tech Ageia PPU PCI Card.
Western Digital 320Gb 16mb cache IDE drive.
Western Digital Raptor 10K SATA Drive. (In-transit)
Zalman CNPS9500 Copper Blue LED CPU HSF. (In-transit) (now backup)
EK Supreme Plexi/Copper Waterblock. (In-transit)
XSPC 240mm Radiator.
EK-XRES 140 DDC 3.2 PWM Elite.
Zalman Mini Rose Northbridge Cooler.

Sony External USB DVD/CD Reader.
Seasonic 500 Watt PSU.
Thermaltake View 27 Case.
Thermaltake Riing Blue LED fans.
19" 1280x1024 LG LCD 4:3.
Bitspower 30cm Blue Cold Cathode.
DFI UV Green IDE ribbon Cable.
UV Green SATA 15cm Cable.
Logitech G518 Mouse.
Razor Marauder SIlver/Blue LED Keyboard. (In-transit)

Build 1.2 Overclocking Results:
SEE POST LATER IS THREAD FOR DETAILS.


-------------------------------------------------------------------------
Retired due to lack of SSE2 extension support

Retired Build 1.0 Hardware
AMD Athlon XP 3200+ Barton.
OCZ Platinum Edition 2x1Gb PC3200 CAS2
Shuttle AN35N Ultra Motherboard.
Thermaltake Silent Boost HSF.
Apevia 520W PSU ATX-AS520W-BK.

Build 1.0 Overclocking Results:
 XP 3200+ @2.425Ghz stock voltage.
FSB @220Mhz / Multiplier @x11
OCZ Ram @440Mhz CAS2.5:3:3:5 2.7v
6800 Ultra Extreme Edition @450/1100Mhz (stock)
-------------------------------------------------------------------------


Please see replies for photos, screenshots & videos.

 

[ImperialSteele]

Love the idea! Keep the thread posted

[RS2007GOD]

Cool look forward to pics

[Modzy]

Post removed - cleaning thread of old images & info.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

[RS2007GOD]

Are you putting rgb leds in lol

[Modzy]

11 hours ago, RS2007GOD said:

Are you putting rgb leds in lol

Nope. old fashioned blue cold cathodes my friend.  


 

[Modzy]

Everyone meet Nalu... Nalu this is everyone... and she undressed herself for us all.  

 

 

[Modzy]

*Removed a couple outdated images to clean thread.

GPU test fit with now replaced hardware.

 

 

 

 

[Modzy]

Outdated images & info removed (need more upload mb's for final build XD)

 

 

 

 

 

[it_dont_work]

On 9/23/2016 at 0:31 PM, Modzy said:

A system from hardware from 2001-2004 (single core / agp era).

Dear LTT user...Screw you for tickling my nostalgia bug and bringing me back to my teenage years and reading in pcpowerplay mags all the hardware I couldn't afford and building a system I would of loved back in the day. 

 

Keep up the good work

[Modzy]

1 hour ago, it_dont_work said:

Dear LTT user...Screw you for tickling my nostalgia bug and bringing me back to my teenage years and reading in pcpowerplay mags all the hardware I couldn't afford and building a system I would of loved back in the day. 

 

Keep up the good work

 my apologies sir 

So far the build is slow due to parting slowly arriving from overseas. Should only be a few more weeks and everything should be here ready to present the final build.

I will also do a couple videos going over the parts & gaming performance as well.

[NaLu]

That's really cool name for build : )

[Modzy]

It begins

Doing initial windows/driver install to test hardware. This is the first time any of the hardware has been used since i got it. So I've been in the dark if anything truly works or not. 
 

But all signs point to working order so far, not a single crash/bsod. *crosses fingers*

 

[Modzy]

Benchmarks from AMD XP system added to a later post for comparison, please see older post for details.

 

 

 

 

 

[Modzy]

Found a niggle with a game install. Tried to install Half Life 2. but each time i try to run it it errors and says "hl2.exe could not load "filesystem_stdio.dll". I've tried for hours to get it to work. Searched forums for answers but all seem to have failed. Until I read, some valve source games now require an SSE2 CPU to run. This seems to have happened with an update around 2014, where suddenly no one has found a fix for it since. Bit sad I was hoping to give Portal a good play through on this machine. So this mean no HL2/TF2/Portal 1 or CSS. I am attempting to try Portal 2 as its standalone and doesn't require base HL2. But the CPU may just be out of minimal spec for it to be enjoyable to play.

Im in the process of installing the following games.

Quake 4

Doom 3 + RoE Exp
FarCry
UT2004 & UT2003 non steam
Tomb Raider Legend & Anniversary
SiN Episodes: Emergence
Serious Sam 2 SE
Grid
Grand Theft Auto 3 
F.E.A.R.
NFS:Underground 2
Battlefield 1942
Battlefield 2
Plus more 

Will update with some game performance numbers later tonight.


 

[Modzy]

Old photos & info removed to clean post.
 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

[RS2007GOD]

awesome dude, great job!

[Modzy]

Update on the Valve Source engine games not working.

So after doing a ton of research into why all source engine games are refusing to work, I've managed to find the reason. This is something anyone else building a system with an AMD XP/MP cpu will have to deal with. 

After tons of forums, youtube videos & how to fix guides, I finally found an answer on (of all things) a SDK forum post regarding issues with Virtual C++ updates breaking the TF2 SDK. Turns out In 2008 & 2012 Microsoft started rolling out SSE2 as a minimal CPU requirement for parts of its Virtual C++ run time. 

As all AMD Athlon XP/MP processors only support SSE and not SSE2, any application that use/require those specific C++ run times are no longer supported. With no exact date to pin point when Valve updated this requirement, Portal 1 however still has minimal requirements still listed AMD XP processors. This is effectively now untrue if you try to use the latest version of the game.

After further reading, it turns out only TF2 got an update that "fixed" this issue back in 2008 which allowed Athlons to work, but this was broken again as game updates in 2012.

So the only way I can get any Source engine game to run is to download standalone "cracked' copies from around pre-2008/2012. As those versions don't use the updated C++ that requires SSE2.

Portal 1 & all the HL2 series were some of the main games i wanted to enjoy on this system, sadly this will not be happening. If I knew this information prior to part picking for this build, I may have been swayed to go for a Northwood P4 instead as that supports SSE2 and is from the same Era still. I may in the future upgrade the system to a P4. But for now no cake will be ate.

 

[EldarNi]

That sucks, I bought both AMD and P4 mobo's and cpu's for my retro build, luckily only P4 had working sata connectors.

Still you could download cracked games and enjoy them.

[Modzy]

So far portal is the only game I've had to download.everything else seems to works. 

[Modzy]

Hey everyone. Due to the ongoing issues I'm having with the lack of SSE support. I have decided to switch to a Pentium 4 build. Please read the now updated original post for all the info on the 1.2 update.

[Modzy]

New motherboard finally turned up today. God dam couriers delivered it to wrong address which was a vacant house and just left it outside that random house for a week. 

Anyway, this is the Motherboard i picked up. I picked this for its condition, unique rare qualities & chipset. Most people told me to buy an Asus P4P800 variant as those are the fastest boards for this platform. But thats not what this build is about. So I bought this much rarer item. 

Soltek SL-86SPE-L, sporting the Intel 865 Chipset. I think you might agree this is a visually stunning board with its Lavender Purple Flec PCB. 

This last thing I'm waiting on before I can merge over to this mobo is the Zalman CNPS9500 CPU cooler that's still in transit.

[EldarNi]

This thing is beautiful

[crosstiger]

I have the urge to watercool this monster

 

This would be kinda bizarre...

[Modzy]

34 minutes ago, crosstiger said:

I have the urge to watercool this monster

 

This would be kinda bizarre...

Your not the only one. It's something I've been looking into even before i started building it. But finding the right water blocks is proving very hard.