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Post by Tom Maneiro on Oct 20, 2006 11:04:26 GMT -5
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Post by paulpsomiadis on Oct 20, 2006 16:09:52 GMT -5
True, but that is why me and @tom have decided to renovate our old 386 machines! We don't really need them - but it's a great challenge to find parts for them! ;D (also, the 386 I have was my first PC - so it's kinda' cool to see what I "could" have had with a suitcase full of cash back in 1994...) @tom - Wow! That's a whole LOT of RAM - unfortunately it's also a whole LOT of cash... ==EDIT== @tom - I found you a 387 co-processor. It's cheap so I can easily get it! I need to know the following from you... 1. Does your 386SX mainboard have an empty 387SX socket? (I'm assuming it does, as most boards did) 2. Does it have an empty 'crystal' socket for the 387SX? (then again it may already have a crystal 'soldered' to the board) 3. Is the crystal for your 33MHz AM386SX a 66MHz crystal? (I can supply you with 66MHz [33MHz CPU] or 80MHz [40MHz CPU] crystals to use with your 386SX) Please let me know and I'll snag the 387SX for you... Here's the link... cgi.ebay.co.uk/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&rd=1&item=290039652127&ssPageName=STRK:MEWA:IT&ih=019(you'll need to copy/paste as the forum doesn't like eBay links!)
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Post by Tom Maneiro on Oct 20, 2006 18:16:24 GMT -5
Yes, i have the socket for the 387SX, the crystal is soldered, and yes, it's an 66MHz crystal.
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Post by paulpsomiadis on Oct 20, 2006 19:38:37 GMT -5
Kewl! I'll try my best to win the 387SX for you...
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Post by Tom Maneiro on Oct 20, 2006 20:38:57 GMT -5
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Post by paulpsomiadis on Oct 21, 2006 13:49:33 GMT -5
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Post by paulpsomiadis on Oct 21, 2006 14:48:49 GMT -5
KEWL! I won the 387SX FPU on eBay. ;D After a bit more research, I found out that there's a difference between the one I have and this 'new' one. The one currently in my 386SX is an MPU, whereas this one is an FPU. This means that this one has the ability to process Floating Point numbers, whilst the older one (currently in my 386SX) only does complex maths. Anyhow, providing that they both work - I might hang on to the new one for testing - and send you (@tom) my old MPU that has already been fully tested (then at least you know it will work) Bearing in mind though - it'll take at least 2 weeks for the new FPU to reach the U.K. from the U.S.A.!
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Post by Tom Maneiro on Oct 21, 2006 15:15:07 GMT -5
387 is 387, it does math and floating point. The only thing about 387 clones (like your IIT 3C87's) is that they don't support asynchronous operation from the CPU, they always run at the CPU speed. AFAIK there are no "stripped-down" 387s.
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Post by paulpsomiadis on Oct 21, 2006 16:38:54 GMT -5
Hrm....ookay! Anyhow, I do know that the one I'm currently using is ONLY for 386SX's Whilst the 'new' one is for either 386SX or the 486SLC (a special 486 that has the pinout of a 386) At any rate, it should help with compiling as it will take a load off your 386SX! ;D @tom - I'll let you know when it arrives in the U.K. - no point sending me a PM with your address till then...
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Post by Tom Maneiro on Oct 27, 2006 17:53:58 GMT -5
I'm back from a travel to my personal junkyard (actually, it's a friend with LOTS of parts), and i've found some interesting things: - A Crystal CX4237B-XQ3-based soundcard (model FSSC-CS2.1), complete with 3D sound, SRS, and a IDE controller! Not bad for being an ISA card, eh? And it works nicely on my 386 box! (after hunting for drivers). However, the SRS thing needs careful tunning or your music would sound too much distorted On the good side, DOOM sounds awesome! - A spare Samsung 3GB HD (sane), reserved for experiments on the IBM box - Another CD drive for the collection: a Toshiba XM-5302 (4X, not 2X as suggested by the model name), dated June 95, seems to be OK. Needs cleanup and tesing. This drive is odd: just see a pic, and notice the shape of the back side, where the IDE connector is located. This one is pretty easy to take apart, although the insides are very weird . - Assorted PCI cards: a SoundBlaster Live, a couple of old videocards (one Trident 9440, and a SIS 6212 (anyone have drivers for it?), and a Cirrus Logic modem (it has a BIG chip, so it may not be a winmodem). Also, got an AGP TNT2 (16MB?)... - Another Cirrus Logic modem, this one is a 8-bit isa. Since it's a 14.4, i will not bother with it (my Archtek 14.4 still works fine) - And more parts in the way, pending for a second visit (including a full P200 testbox) ...However, i had to trade this time, and that's what i have to give in exchange: - A Maxtor 2B020H1 20GB HD (bad sectors): rescued from a old PIII-800 box, where it was swapped with a nice slim Samsung 40GB. Full of music and p0rn, this harddrive is NOISY, and it's quite nasty sometimes (it must have TWO partitions if you want to install Windows there, or the installer will crash). Since my pal needed a HD for his Athlon 64 box (running with a 3GB Samsung), i give it, and left running SpinRite on it for restoration. - a "faulty" ATX PSU: i've read that you must short green wire with one of the black ones (PS_ON->GND) by a very short while to turn on the PSU, or it will fry. This one need the bridge to keep it on (it behaves more like an AT PSU). Fault or feature? I have no experience with ATX PSUs... In resume: now i have a soundcard on my 386 box (not a SoundBlaster, but it's 3D, and it does the job), and a new testbox in the way for do more wacky experiments...
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Post by paulpsomiadis on Oct 28, 2006 10:25:15 GMT -5
GOOD NEWS ========= The IIT XC87SLC 33 arrived today... BAD NEWS ======== It's either broken or TOTALLY incompatible with AM386SX processors! I tested it in my AM386SX 40 and the system refused to boot! Here's what CPUCollection.de says about the chip... Yeah, I think we can ignore the last sentence (unless it's a Cyrix 386SX). Anyhow, I'll keep on the lookout for you @tom - maybe another one that WORKS will show up sometime!
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Post by Tom Maneiro on Oct 28, 2006 20:32:16 GMT -5
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Post by paulpsomiadis on Oct 29, 2006 15:52:54 GMT -5
Actually, the 387 I bought was sold "as-is" and untested...so it wasn't what you'd call a scam... Err...sorry I've been busy and I missed your post about that other 387... I'll keep looking though!
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Post by Tom Maneiro on Nov 3, 2006 11:51:02 GMT -5
Updates! This was the week of more crazy experiments: i tested several motherboards and parts that i have over there... and got some new stuff too! - Got a P¢¢HIPS M535/8 v1.3 Pentium motherboard, 1996, in the transtion from SIMMs to DIMMs, and from serial/parallel to USB. The board uses an Intel Triton i430VX chipset and a Award BIOS (odd for PCCHIPS boards), has problems with serial mouses (do not work, even using extra I/O cards!), had to replace the RTC module (came with a dead-battery Houston Tech HT12888, replaced with a Dallas DS12887), but aside of that issues, everything works fine, powered by a P200 MMX. Anyone have BIOS updates for it? My BIOS ID string is "10/18/96 i430VX-10031996C-00", and i need the updates to enable CDROM detection, large HD support, and maybe, fix the serial mouse issue. - Did anyone remember that i got a no-name 486 board from one of these "big-brand" boxes? I hooked the thing, and it still works! It resulted to be an IBM (recognized by the POST screens, similar to the ones of my IBM testbox). This one came with a AMD 486DX2-50, no riser card, and the BIOS date differs between the boot screens and the BIOS chip label ("12/16/93" vs "01/02/94"). The chipset is a FTD 82C348x. The thing don't support PCI bus, and even with some corrosion in the video chip, it still boots! RedHat Linux 7 boots fine there, but i can't run X. The videochip is a Cirrus Logic GD5424, with 512K of VRAM (and no expansion socket). - My AcerPAC motherboard suddenly died after gathering too much dust on the window.. Too bad, i had more tests planned for it. - I got a SiS 6215 PCI videocard, and it's best used with... a trashcan! The card works, but is not supported under Linux. Why i would use that crap when we have two good generic cards such as the Trident TGUI9440 and the S3 Trio? - The SoundBlaster Live! card is on good shape, works fine under Linux. - Got a couple of Cirrus Logic PCI modems... or "winmodems". Since winmodems are not modems, i have no use for these. Maybe i will destroy them someday... unless somebody can give me some ideas of what to do with these suckers. - On to the optical storage dept: + The Toshiba 4X drive seems to be damaged, since the PC did not recognized it... Too bad. This drive has an odd jumper arrangement: aside of the classic "master/slave/cs" jumper, it has a second set with these labels: "T0 - T1 - PRV/ ". What do these? I tried changing these, but drive was not detected. + This week i got two DVD drives for repair: a LiteOn LTN-12something 12X drive (defective electronics? does not detect discs), and a JVC-LiteOn 16X drive (a pretty small JLMS XJ-HD166S), that sometimes refuses to read discs, and sometimes give errors on long runs (like Linux installs). The laser of the DVD drives is damn strong! i can see it even with a CD covering it. Likely unsafe, eh? The latter was used to install RH7 Linux on the M535 board, and several attempts were required to do it. A stupid aficionado messed with both drives before i got them: the 16X drive seemed to have a dead laser, but instead it has a piece of plastic tape covering the pickup flex cable contacts! As told by my friend, this was a sort of "revenge" done due to personal fights. After removing that tape (and several whacks later) the drive was back on service. Unfortunately the 12X drive had the same problem of my old Samsung 52X drive: sane laser, sane startup procedure, but no disc is recognized (it overspeeds or spins the disc backwards sometimes, but that's all) - No interesting parts for the 386 were found this week. Maybe i would test the DVD drive there... ;D
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Post by paulpsomiadis on Nov 6, 2006 22:09:14 GMT -5
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