Show off your old and retro computer parts

[jaqiefox]

Is that some kind of 8-bit ISA Intel modem? 56K?

 

That's most definitely an 8 bit ISA jumpered US robotics sportster series modem.  By its appearance I would guess 33.6k or 28.8k

 

(remember I used to work as a computer tech during that era)

[jaqiefox]

No. Just 33Mbps (1) and 66Mbps (2).

 

EDIT: Any old IDE cable should do the trick to use it.

 

incorrect.

 

ATA33/UDMA33 and lower only required the 40 wire IDE cables that had been the norm since 8 bit XT IDE was first introduced.  Anything newer required the ATA66/UDMA66 80 wire cables for noise reduction purposes.  If you use one of the old 40 wire cables the device controller will detect it and run the device(s) on it at UDMA33 speeds (or lower).

[Tech_Dreamer]

Hmmm.. i should post a picture of my current rig. :mellow:

[jaqiefox]

I really wanna get my dual tualatin 1.4ghz machine up and running now... if/when I do Ill be sure to take pics itll have my v5 5500 agp in it.

[Str_Mape]

Scavenging parts fro dead PC's at work for a new workstation.

Phenom x4 9750
Gigabyte 9800 GTX + 1GB
Some Random Foxconn board
6GB DDR2 RAM
an old 650W fully modular PSU with a power meter on the back, it's awesome.
LIAN-LI something Case

[Tr3vor]

I got a bunch of old computer software and some hardware from a friend who didn't want it, also bought a game called Castles, an Intel NIC, a 5.25" floppy holder for the older software and a couple of the games. There was A LOT more old games than what is shown here, These are just my favorites.

 

 

LOL!

 

[Gary Da Cat]

i found this and a Pentium 4 in an old school computer.

[jaqiefox]

I got a bunch of old computer software and some hardware from a friend who didn't want it, also bought a game called Castles, an Intel NIC, a 5.25" floppy holder for the older software and a couple of the games. There was A LOT more old games than what is shown here, These are just my favorites.

 

LOL!

 

Castles is fun!

 

I have a couple floppy bins, a 3.5 and 5.25 that are like that, they are unused, but ive got plenty of floppies for them.

 

I have a bag full of intel pro/100S and such cards, really handy for getting old systems on the network.  Not so many anymore, I think I am down to like...4?  I had 20 at one time, bought for $4 each.

 

I ADORE your previously posted pentium MMX setup in the AT minitower case.  That is an old Enlight case, I had one when those were new, and the case still looks awesome IMO!  I have really been wanting a few old AT minitower cases for my older systems.... Really hope to find one, or three.  Maybe even with that LED speed display you set with jumpers on the back!

[Tr3vor]

Castles is fun!

 

I have a couple floppy bins, a 3.5 and 5.25 that are like that, they are unused, but ive got plenty of floppies for them.

 

I have a bag full of intel pro/100S and such cards, really handy for getting old systems on the network.  Not so many anymore, I think I am down to like...4?  I had 20 at one time, bought for $4 each.

 

I ADORE your previously posted pentium MMX setup in the AT minitower case.  That is an old Enlight case, I had one when those were new, and the case still looks awesome IMO!  I have really been wanting a few old AT minitower cases for my older systems.... Really hope to find one, or three.  Maybe even with that LED speed display you set with jumpers on the back!

 

Yeah, I like castles, but when you try messing with the settings it asks you to look something up in the manual, but that's normal for stuff like that. It does get a bit repetitive after a while though.

 

I keep finding 3.5" floppy bins full of unused disks, and they are sweet.

 

I probably have 2 Intel Pro/100 cards in use in old computers, They are really easy to get working, That's why i instabought that unopened one for $4, hell yeahs.

 

You mean the MMX 200Mhz? That one with the speed display is may first computer, Still think its my most used old PC, I got it dual booting Win98SE and DOS 6.22 right now. I have some decent luck finding old systems like these at thrift stores, but I still havn't found one with an LED display on it. Really, the case/display might be better for a 486 though. Pentiums don't have the turbo function so the turbo button does absolutely nothing.

[jaqiefox]

Yeah, I like castles, but when you try messing with the settings it asks you to look something up in the manual, but that's normal for stuff like that. It does get a bit repetitive after a while though.

 

I keep finding 3.5" floppy bins full of unused disks, and they are sweet.

 

I probably have 2 Intel Pro/100 cards in use in old computers, They are really easy to get working, That's why i instabought that unopened one for $4, hell yeahs.

 

You mean the MMX 200Mhz? That one with the speed display is may first computer, Still think its my most used old PC, I got it dual booting Win98SE and DOS 6.22 right now. I have some decent luck finding old systems like these at thrift stores, but I still havn't found one with an LED display on it. Really, the case/display might be better for a 486 though. Pentiums don't have the turbo function so the turbo button does absolutely nothing.

 

There is a version of castles without the copy protection nag out there on the net. check TPB.

I keep finding whole boxes of sealed new old stock floppies, its nice! but now Ive got like over 200, so Ive stopped buying.

Just check ebay for intel pro/100 cards and youll find tons of them, some bulk you can get for like $5 shipped for a whole big pile.  I actually got some intel dual gigabit cards like that, same price, pcix 64 bit, but most people dont realize they work in standard pci slots. Whee!

Yes, the MMX200.  I have a DOS all SCSI all non-PnP 386 system I recently built from parts, check the computer build logs forum if you wanna see it.

 

some pentiums had turbo switching!  I have one here.

[Tr3vor]

There is a version of castles without the copy protection nag out there on the net. check TPB.

I keep finding whole boxes of sealed new old stock floppies, its nice! but now Ive got like over 200, so Ive stopped buying.

Just check ebay for intel pro/100 cards and youll find tons of them, some bulk you can get for like $5 shipped for a whole big pile.  I actually got some intel dual gigabit cards like that, same price, pcix 64 bit, but most people dont realize they work in standard pci slots. Whee!

Yes, the MMX200.  I have a DOS all SCSI all non-PnP 386 system I recently built from parts, check the computer build logs forum if you wanna see it.

 

some pentiums had turbo switching!  I have one here.

 

Interesting, I didn't know that some PCI 64bit cards run in 32bit slots, I have a couple PCI 64bit cards, like some scsi raid card, but I don't do much with them. I typically don't do much parts shopping for old PCs online, people like to mark that stuff up. Only things I got from ebay are sound blasters, a 240mb Conner HDD and a 5.25" floppy drive for my 486.

 

Geez, all SCSI, that's some high end stuff. I'd love to get a 386, well a desktop 386, I already have a 386SX/25 laptop. I'll have to find your build log.

 

I haven't seen a Pentium with turbo function, that's interesting. I thought after a 486DX2 66 turbo kinda gets useless, since even that is too fast for older software. Wonder why you'd slow down a Pentium...

[jaqiefox]

Interesting, I didn't know that some PCI 64bit cards run in 32bit slots,

 

they all can (about 99%).  A few have firmware issues with it, but it's a standards-fallback thing, built into the PCIX standard.  BTW it's not "pci 64" it's PCIX.  The real interesting thing is that some PCI cards are 66MHz compliant, so if you have a PCIX system and want/need more performance out of some cards, you can get it.  IIRC the best example is the intel PRO/1000 series gigabit PCI network cards.

 

http://linustechtips.com/main/topic/149070-blast-from-the-past-almost-entirely-era-parts-top-end-all-scsi-386dx-40mhz/#entry1991566

 

^^ SCSI 386!

[WinNut]

was the cooler that loud? it even says on the box... Hear it!

Actually no, I work with a rig in school that has the 233MHz version, it's surprisingly quiet, heck even dem Seagate Medalist drives are louder. But the attached heatsink is only 10mm high, bad for OCing, I OCed it to 263MHz and once it randomly reset itself (could have been a prank, somebody was sitting by the front panel).

[darkspeedy26]

this is not really a retro computer, but still retro tech

for those who don't know what this is, its an audio recorder and player with tapes

 

its temporally assembled as one of the inner rubber belts broke after all these years. but i guess everything else still works

 

 

these meters still work if i set the monitor to display the input signal (when i hook it in parallel with my speakers)

 

edit: more things:

 

too bad this old radio doesn't work

 

edit: here are the internals (lots of tubes)

 

 

some computer parts

 

 

i guess this is an agp S3 (its fan is used for other stuff now) but i'm not sure

(im amazed by white background)

 

 

left: desktop pentium4 ---- right: laptop pentium3

 

the pentium4 had to work without a dedicated pci or agp gpu. i couldn't play most games in 2004

the mobo for the pentium4 without heatsink, drives, psu,case (i broke it when putting the base clock waaaaaay to high (i didn't know anything about FSB OCing back then )

 

 

some old IBM hard disk

 

 

 

i'm really jellous of those pre '95 computers (since i was born then + pre windows 95) i would really like an original commodore 64 or something like that

Edited May 23, 2014 by darkspeedy26

[Maxibonbits]

I really don't want to go through my storage to get a picture of a component but i do have one of these bad boys laying around.

 

AMD K6 600MHz

 

http://www.tomshardware.com/reviews/600-mhz-socket-7,210-2.html

[ItsComrade]

Just because you're 12, doesn't mean you can't have old computer parts. I have some Core 2 Duo, and a Nvidia 8800 GTS or something like that.

 

This is the only forum I've ever found that young people are so readily accepted. I love it!

[flibberdipper]

This may not be a computer part, but it is software. Good ol' Office 97 Professional. And yes, it's mine. And it's legal.

 

[TheTechnerd]

This may not be a computer part, but it is software. Good ol' Office 97 Professional. And yes, it's mine. And it's legal.

 

Haha nice. Useful tip he had thought

[flibberdipper]

Haha nice. Useful tip he had thought

Very helpful. People back then must not have been that smart with the rise of computers in offices and stuff.

[jaqiefox]

quiz for people that mess with this old tech, what are these three TLAs and what do they mean?  For old computers, I mean.

 

ACPI

APCI

APIC

 

I know by heart! does anyone else?

[flibberdipper]

quiz for people that mess with this old tech, what are these three TLAs and what do they mean?  For old computers, I mean.

 

ACPI

APCI

APIC

 

I know by heart! does anyone else?

I vaguely remember ACPI being Advanced Configuration and Power Interface.

[jaqiefox]

quiz for people that mess with this old tech, what are these three TLAs and what do they mean?  For old computers, I mean.

 

ACPI

APCI

APIC

 

I know by heart! does anyone else?

 

ACPI - advanced computer peripheral interface

This came about as the interface between software and all sorts of new and emerging features in hardware needed an interface which was standard - it was eventually to replace APM (advanced power management) designed earlier mainly for laptops.  The standard was partly developed by intel and was quite vague so many other motherboard and component vendors filled in the blanks with their own implementations which caused a whole lot of havoc.  This is why early super socket 7 and such motherboards allowed you to turn it off, and revert to APM type control.  Things were finally settled out and the computing world was eventually much better for having adopted ACPI as much of a nightmare as it was at first.  Without this the system cannot go into "soft off" mode for example, nor can it tell the OS what battery level was in the system, and many more things.

 

APCI - application layer protocol information

I just know this TLA, it has to do with programming which I do not know very well.

 

APIC - advanced programmable interrupt controller

Without this, you were restricted to 15 IRQs in a computer, and a single CPU.  This allowed a whole bunch more advanced things which eventually became standard in computers.  Windows 7 and later will not run on machines without an APIC on (and enabled - some early boards allowed you to disable it in case of trouble with older OSes or programs written for old AT computers before APIC came out).

 

 

All of this semi useless information was learned when this stuff came out... all sorts of this stuff is bouncing around in my head to this day - things most people don't want and mostly don't need to know about PCs.  This stuff was like the "UEFI" and "gsync" of it's day.  Eventually the things you now know which are new and causing headaches (and wows) in the industry will be just more useless to know cruft in your heads as it becomes old cruft that just isn't thought of anymore because it just sits back in the back shelf of the computing world, doing it's thing silently and correctly.

[kpsl808mg]

...i know someone posted a 1st generation GeForce 256 card a few pages ago...but this little package is made of dreams, that the 'Oculus guys' wana revive so hard...

 

 

 

[DragonClaw]

Here's a real blast from the past. These are parts from my old socket A (462) PC that were just lying around, so when I had some free time I decided to put them back together, see how far I can overclock the CPU ('cause at the time I was using it I didn't know what overclocking was) and benchmark it.

 

 

Specs:

Athlon XP 2200+ Thorton core (1.8GHz) @ 2.45GHz - pretty nice overclock for that chip, I did try unlocking the extra 256KB L2 cache, but it didn't work :[

Radeon 9550

768MB of DDR RAM

AsRock K7VT6 motherboard

 

And here are some Cinebench 2003, Super PI and wPrime results:

 

 

Not that these numbers should mean anything to most people. After all it's been more than 10 years since the last socket A CPU was released.

[Bajantechnician]

Isn't this PC so old? It's a garage sale. Should I purchase it and sell it for more on the internet? Thanks