best cheap/free scores 1.1

[Dan81]

Re: best cheap/free scores 1.1

So it's one of those seemingly rare motherboards, where you can use DDR1, even when made in 2008 or the like? (And possibly AGP as well) IIRC, only Asrock made those kind.

I bet Windows 98 SE and Windows 2000 SP4 users love to get those kind of motherboards. Windows 2000 SP4 wasn't EOL until 2010 or very close to that.

DDR1 but no AGP. PCI-E only, and has a DVI-D port onboard. Also supports SATA II speeds thanks to the GF7050 chipset onboard.

[Curious.George]

Re: best cheap/free scores 1.1

Blast from the past: a tray of PC133 1G sticks. Someone must have had those squirreled away in a forgotten closet!

[stj]

Re: best cheap/free scores 1.1

those are rare!!

[momaka]

Gateway Select 650 PC find

Finally got to posting this - the old PC that I found about 2 weeks ago.

So it's the usual story: I was going to the grocery store and spotted something metal and rectangular next to a trash can, about the size of a PC case. I slowed down as I passed – it was a PC, indeed! The only reason it took me a few moments to realize that is because the PC was missing its side, and front panels, in addition to being turned upside down. I noted its location and figured I'd have another look on the way back.

That, I did… but only briefly. It was an old PC – probably Pentium 3 or 4 era, so didn't try looking too hard. Nonetheless, I noted that the HDD cage area was pretty mangled up and the HDD was missing – most likely someone (with more physical strength than brains) removed the HDD. The PSU in that PC also seemed very familiar. It didn't ring any bells initially, though. Likewise, the video card appeared as some early nVidia – most likely a GeForce 4 MX series, going by the RAM and heatsink layout.

As I didn't really care for yet another early 2000's PC, I decided to leave it overnight, hoping that someone else would take it (perhaps the metal scrappers?) If not, I'd go early in the morning, before the trash guys come (as it was trash day next day in that neighborhood) and maybe then pick it up. Reason I say maybe is because I saw some lumber thrown out a few houses down the same road and thought about picking that up. Also, I noticed there was a nylon bag next to the PC case. As I went to open it, I noticed there was something metal inside. What are the chances this is the missing PC's side and front panel? When I opened it up, indeed that is what was inside. Moreover, I spotted a beige keyboard in there too, which is what finally convinced me that I will come the next morning to at least pickup the keyboard and the lumber.

Given that this was the same neighborhood where I found my PS3 and Compaq Presario V6000 laptop about 2 years ago, I knew there was actually a high chance that no one will take the PC, as the neighborhood is a No-Outlet street (hence, no passing traffic.) Thus, when I came early in the morning, the PC was still there. So what the hell – who can say no to a free PC and/or possibly useful retro components, right? I loaded it up, along with the nylon bag with the keyboard, and drove home.

Unlike the previous day, the day I picked up the PC was very warm, bright, and pleasant – perfect for taking the PC outside and cleaning it (and also checking for rogue bugs.) The PC had some really black dust in it, but wasn't terribly dirty. I didn't find any traces of roaches, bedbugs, or any other pests either – which wasn't surprising, as just about everything I've picked up from this neighborhood (including that PS3 and laptop) has always been OK. The funny part is that the houses look small and somewhat old – certainly not where you will find “loaded” folks, (but not poor either.)

Anyways, onto the PC… this was the mess it came in:
https://www.badcaps.net/forum/attach...1&d=1554336285
https://www.badcaps.net/forum/attach...1&d=1554336285
Looks like an Intel or AMD slot machine, given the CPU. On the back of the CPU cartridge was a big AMD logo – so it IS a Slot A Athlon! Not only that, but as soon as I saw the CPU back, I also instantly recognized the motherboard with its distinct (electrolytic-less, 4-phase) CPU VRM: Gateway Kadoka. Is this another Gateway Select PC? Turning the PC around to look on the back side, the sticker confirmed it: Gateway Select 650. A-ha! So it's a 650 MHz slot A Athlon PC. Some of you may recall me mentioning one of my “file storage” PCs as a Gateway Select 750 – that's a PC I found about 9-10 years ago and still have it here next to my desk. Rarely used, but still serves its purpose. Given that I used it at one point as a secondary PC briefly, I know it inside and out very well. So no wonder why the PSU and that whole PC shown above looked so familiar to me when I saw in on the street.

Anyways. The unfortunate part is, like I said, that this must have been worked on by a “monkey technician” with more brawn than brains. It was indeed now clear to me that “they” (owner and/or whoever worked on this) were after removing the HDD (likely for security reasons ). And it looks like they couldn't detach the HDD cage properly (they missed removing only a single screw), so they mangled it up to get the HDD out.

... which is shocking, because the cases on the Gateway Select PCs are 1/16” (almost 1.5-2 mm) thick steel. It's not rolled on the edges, so it's not super-tough, but it is still very hard to bend. How someone bent the HDD cage like that is beyond my imagination. It's stupid too - so many ways to get yourself hurt doing that instead of taking 5 extra minutes to figure it out where the screws are.

You can also tell from the above pictures that the optical drives' front bezels were also ripped out and destroyed. Why? Because whoever tried to remove the HDD probably thought there must be a hidden screw somewhere behind the front bezel of the case (funny they didn't think to look inside the case first, as the screw is there and not *that* hidden – it isn't completely obvious, though, I give them that.) So they likely tried to remove the case's front bezel, which requires the removal of the optical drives. The screws for the optical drives were removed on one side, but not on the other. Again, whoever did this just needed to remove the other side panel to get access to those screws. But I suppose that is too complicated. Thus, they just ripped everything with brute force to get the HDD out... including the front panel button wires.

A look inside the case reveals even more bizarre chaos: bent PCI cards and ripped/cut IDE/floppy parallel cables.

But wait, there's more!
https://www.badcaps.net/forum/attach...1&d=1554336285
They bent and broke even one of the motherboard's PCI slots. For those of you who are about to dismiss this and shrug, take a junk motherboard (if you have one) and try bending the PCI slot like that with your fingers or with a card in it. Can't? Try with a screwdriver then. But I bet even that would prove rather hard. So how the person who worked on this managed to do so much damage is just absolutely mind-boggling.

Speaking of which, I am quite surprised the PCI sound card – a Creative CT5803 (Sound Blaster 16 PCI) took so little damage.
https://www.badcaps.net/forum/attach...1&d=1554336285
I haven't tested it yet, but it appears only its bracket and output connectors are bent. Probably still works, but who knows. Will have to check it.

So let's move on and focus on the “good things”, shall we?
At least the video card looks like it had somehow managed to survive all this carnage.
https://www.badcaps.net/forum/attach...1&d=1554336285

Too bad it's probably just some old outdated GPU. But then I turned it around and saw this:
https://www.badcaps.net/forum/attach...1&d=1554336285

3dfx?!
Holy crap, it's a VooDoo card!!!
Excitedly, I brought this inside and quickly looked up its model number: it was a VooDoo3 3000 AGP 2x card! x2 I've been looking to rescue/find a decent VooDoo card like that for a long time now (and not have to pay an outrageous sum for a used one, like there are on eBay, going for $50+ easily.)

My excitement extinguished a bit when I saw that two of the electrolytic caps on the card also had received some damage. But I checked them with my DMM in circuit, and they didn't appear shorted. Thus it looked like I could test the card “as is”. Then I noticed there were also two traces in the back of the card that looked damaged / cut. Luckily again, they turned out to be okay.

Thus, I proceeded to test the VooDoo 3 GPU. Unfortunately, she was sick with graphical artifacts all over the screen. Welp, there goes my excitement of trying out a VooDoo card with my old games. Upon close inspection of the card, I think that might have been induced by physical damage too – i.e. same way as the rest of the stuff. If I bend the PCB on the GPU, I can see one corner can almost lift from its BGA. With that said, if the damage is indeed on the BGA from brute force, I just hope none of the pads on the GPU chip got ripped. Otherwise, this one won't be repairable. Most likely, I will be attempting a reflow first.

Moving onto the last item: the keyboard.
https://www.badcaps.net/forum/attach...1&d=1554336285

I think this was the only thing that didn't get damaged. It looks dirty and somewhat yellowed in the above picture, but it actually cleaned up very nicely and there is no yellowing on the plastic (it's just from the picture.) The keyboard is connected to one of my PCs as I type this. It's a Gateway model G9900H with rubber domes. But it is of excellent quality - I actually replaced a mechanical with it, as this keyboard can do more than two continuous key presses at a time (which is a must, as I have it connected to a gaming PC.)

Anyways, that is all for this PC find. Cleanup is almost finished and will probably post the pictures/progress of that here too. Even though this PC is not really anything special (just a late 90's OEM PC), I really like these Gateway Select PCs, as their motherboards and PSUs are built like tanks. Plus, I like to try and restore old hardware – or in this case, make it a little less damaged / better looking than before.

[RJARRRPCGP]

Re: best cheap/free scores 1.1

Looks like a late production run of a Voodoo 3.

I remember having to get another Voodoo 3, because the one I received in April, 2001, suddenly started acting like it had a fractured solder joint, after an incident in most likely, 2005.

The other one I got, used of course, looked like an earlier production run to me, but it was OK.

For the one you got, I wouldn't be surprised if there's ripped off SMD components! That was a scarily common thing over at WinCycle, (Windsor, Vermont) (the domain should be wincycle .org, but dunno now)
before it got turned into a pre-built store! That there, made me sick! Because it looks like suddenly, people there made it clear that it no longer sells individual PC parts! Did WinCycle get sold as if it were the GE appliance division?

Edit: It looks like missing GPU SMD caps, but not 100 percent sure.

[Topcat]

Re: Gateway Select 650 PC find

Finally got to posting this - the old PC that I found about 2 weeks ago.

Very nice!!

[RJARRRPCGP]

Re: Gateway Select 650 PC find

Then I noticed there were also two traces in the back of the card that looked damaged / cut.

Where? To the southeast of the GPU back? (lower right of the GPU back)

I thought I saw two damaged traces there. (east of C510 on the back)

[ratdude747]

Re: Gateway Select 650 PC find

Very nice!!

That they are... I have the board and Athlon Slot-A CPU out of one somewhere (another Gateway Kadoka, identical to the one Momaka has two of). And the case, or what's left of it (failed attempt at making it an EATX case). I swapped the stock passive heatsink for a dual-fanned SECC 1 heatsink I came across... only to never run it again. I was hoping to goldfinger it... but those adapters are unobtainium.

Maybe I'll find it the next time I'm at my parents' house... Not that I have a use for it.

[ChaosLegionnaire]

Re: best cheap/free scores 1.1

damn i hate seeing mangled and smashed hardware! its like someone messing around with your grave and coffin after u have died! thats exactly what it looks like in there! i guess thats why ancient egyptians put curses on their tombs! i should put curses on people who smash and mangle with their computer hardware too! hehehe! now where did i put my book on witchcraft?!

[stj]

Re: best cheap/free scores 1.1

makes me want to go for walk!
there are a few open pc's on some private land covered in rubish near me, but it's well fenced - maybe i should see if the gates are locked.

[Topcat]

Re: best cheap/free scores 1.1

Free Dell Precision M6400, 3.06GHz C2D 8gb RAM (maxes @ 16gb), 250gb SSD & 1tb spinner, 1920x1200 display. Case has a few dings, but overall in good shape. Batt is toast, OS needed to be reinstalled (someone put W10 on it).

I spoke too soon about the battery....It will run for ~1hr 45min. For a Dell precision, that's stellar! This post created from it....it replaced my m6300 I've used the last ~7 years. It has a C2D extreme x9100 @ 3.06, but it will run a C2Q extreme quad core @ 2.53, which is the fastest quad core it can take....choices choices.... I will max the RAM @ 16gb and upgrade the fx2700 512mb to the x3700 1gb...all this can be done for under $100!

This one is now fully restored and maxed out. I went with the Q9300 C2Q @ 2.53GHz, as this is the fastest quad core this can take. RAM is maxed @ 16gb, and GPU is maxed @ 3700M 1gb GPU. I also found new old stock shell pieces stupidly cheap (less than $20), so the dinged up body is brand new now! I added a second SSD, and dual booting it with W7 Pro and Mint 19.1.

[momaka]

Re: Gateway Select 650 PC find

Very nice!!

Thanks!

She's almost ready, actually. The plastics have close to zero yellowing. The thing must have been stored somewhere dark for a long time. I'm just going to wait an extra day for some of the glued plastic pieces to dry (top plastic side had all of its tabs snapped off, but I did find them in the case while dusting, so I was able to glue them back on.) After that will take pics. Don't know why it takes so long for PVC glue to dry on ABS plastic... though I suppose that answers its own question in a way.

Anyways, what's even cooler is that the PC POSTs and MEMTests fine (all 384 MB of RAM, BTW.) Original CD-ROM drive reads fine too. But the second optical drive - a Philips CD-RW that I suspect was added by the owner - is completely dead. Still haven't tested the sound and LAN cards... or the modem for that matter (but who uses modem anymore anyways! - I'll probably just chuck it in my parts bin.)

Oh, and the PSU is an Astec with all Japanese capacitors (mostly Nichicon.) Its fan needs new bearings, though. It sounded like a bad alternator / cooling pump bearing on a car when I turned it on - squeak squeak squeak After warming up for about a minute or two, it "got better".

For the one you got, I wouldn't be surprised if there's ripped off SMD components!

Ha! Not on my watch.

About half of the used video cards I get on eBay come with broken/chipped SMDs. At this point, I don't even consider it extra work - I get a "new" video card and proceed to plugging in my soldering iron as I am unboxing the thing. Most cases, it's just ripped ceramic caps on the RAM and GPU core (but occasionally also the PCI-E bus.) These are the easy fixes. The slightly more challenging ones are configuration resistors - then I'd have to look up what they are connected to in order to get an idea what they should be. But even then, I haven't had a case where I couldn't figure it out. That said, broken SMD components simply don't slide past me. I always check!

So no, there are none missing/broken on that VooDoo card.

Where? To the southeast of the GPU back? (lower right of the GPU back)

Nope.
Top-center of the back shot of the card (NW about an inch of the 3dfx logo).
They are fine, though.

And the case, or what's left of it (failed attempt at making it an EATX case).

I imagine you ran into an issue with the case being too shallow between front and back. These Gateway towers are pretty tall - about 1.5" taller than a regular ATX case... but shallow front-to-back, as mentioned (several inches shorter, IIRC.) In fact, the lowest 5.25" slots on the case is pretty much useless - at least if trying to put an optical drive there, because it will hit the motherboard.

I swapped the stock passive heatsink for a dual-fanned SECC 1 heatsink I came across...

Lol, why? I actually really like the big passive heatsink - I just put a 120 mm fan on mine set at 7V (about 700-800 RPM) and the heatsink remains stone-cold. Meanwhile, the fan is absolutely silent. If I can find an equally quiet HDD (perhaps a Seagate Baracuda ATA IV will be era-appropriate for that PC ) and fix the PSU fan, this can be turned into a silent retro PC.

only to never run it again. I was hoping to goldfinger it... but those adapters are unobtainium.

??
Are those for over-clocking??

Maybe I'll find it the next time I'm at my parents' house... Not that I have a use for it.

Same. I don't have a use for this PC... but it's old, looks OK now, works, and is built like a tank.

damn i hate seeing mangled and smashed hardware! its like someone messing around with your grave and coffin after u have died!

Which is exactly what I think happened to this PC: the dead CD-RW probably held the PC from booting, and the whole PC was deemed broken as a result. Then after sitting in some dark garage/basement for many years, it got man-handled by whoever tried to remove the HDD.

But at my places, there is still a somewhat happy afterlife for old PCs!

This one is now fully restored and maxed out. I went with the Q9300 C2Q @ 2.53GHz, as this is the fastest quad core this can take. RAM is maxed @ 16gb, and GPU is maxed @ 3700M 1gb GPU. I also found new old stock shell pieces stupidly cheap (less than $20), so the dinged up body is brand new now! I added a second SSD, and dual booting it with W7 Pro and Mint 19.1.

Awesome! I think even by today's performance standards, this laptop is still relevant. At least for work and web-related stuff, it should do everything you throw at it.

[ratdude747]

Re: Gateway Select 650 PC find

Lol, why? I actually really like the big passive heatsink - I just put a 120 mm fan on mine set at 7V (about 700-800 RPM) and the heatsink remains stone-cold. Meanwhile, the fan is absolutely silent. If I can find an equally quiet HDD (perhaps a Seagate Baracuda ATA IV will be era-appropriate for that PC ) and fix the PSU fan, this can be turned into a silent retro PC.

Because I intended to (and did) move it to a different case. Originally I had a single-fan cooler that did OK... but then I came across the dual-fan one and swapped it.

??
Are those for over-clocking??

Of course!

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Athlon..._%22Classic%22

It's a device that connects to a card-edge connector on the CPU PCB. You have to cut the case open (void the warranty), but it gave multiplier access.

History lesson on the Athlon:

The gold fingers device was the first battle in the war between overclockers and AMD. Each generation of the original Athlon/Athlon XP was AMD doing things to get people to stop playing with the configuration contacts on the CPUs. The first attempt was, for thunderbird, AMD moving to socket 462/socket A, and using contacts on top of the CPU (around the die) instead of a card edge connector. In response, people shorted the pads with pencil lines, which were barely conductive enough to work. On Palomino AMD added internal resistors, which prompted people to use conductive ink (and scotch tape masking) instead of pencils. That prompted AMD (T-bred/Barton) to burn pits between the contacts which lead to the ground plane; any conductive ink used would fall in and short out the CPU, rendering the CPU bricked. People bypassed that by masking the contacts, filling the pits with super glue, and then inking over the glue. At this point AMD tossed in the towel and stopped using configuration contacts all together (Athlon 64 and Opteron).

The contacts could be used to change the multiplier... and also convert regular Athlons to Athlon MPs.

History lesson over. Class dismissed.

Same. I don't have a use for this PC... but it's old, looks OK now, works, and is built like a tank.

All of my 32 bit hardware is currently retired... including two xeon gallatin systems... for my use they're obsolete. Not trash, but no longer in service. The next one to go will by my dual Xeon Irwindale (late model netburst!), once my current Xeon Harpertown project is finally finished (and my wife's dual opteron system comes free). Not that they don't work... it's just that they don't handle high resolution monitors and modern webpages well. My usage more than anything.

[Topcat]

Re: Gateway Select 650 PC find

Awesome! I think even by today's performance standards, this laptop is still relevant. At least for work and web-related stuff, it should do everything you throw at it.

Heck, my old M6300 was up to the task....but when this M6400 was dumped on me, I diddled around with it and really took a liking to the keyboard layout over the M6300....The number pad is most useful. Of course it does perform a bit better as well. I sold the M6300 to a long-time client of mine, and got a nice amount out of it....so I completely refurbished this M6400, which is now maxed out and in mint physical condition....and I got paid to take it!

I lay in bed and web browse & prowl ebay primarily with it....

[Dan81]

Re: best cheap/free scores 1.1

Scored more PSUs and some RAM.

generic "Switching Power Supply ATX-400W P4" - looks good for 200W, no missing stuff.

Premier LC-8460BTX - looks good for ~250W - 24 pin ATX. Burnt resistor under 12v rectifier, otherwise looks fine apart from a bad cap near the 3.3 and 12v wires.

Torrent Computers LC-B400ATX - the most gutless unit in the bunch - I'm not even sure if I can take anything from it.

JNC LC-B350ATX - not as gutless as the B400ATX but not much better either. At least this one can be rebuilt into a safe 250W unit quite easily

Deer DR-B300ATX PFC - the best unit in the bunch - real 35 size trafo, PFC. Only one bad cap to my surprise, as well as all caps being Capxon (Deer usually loves using Yang Chun, not Capxon.)

2x 4GB Crucial - one stick doesn't POST, anybody know why? The other works fine.

[Dan81]

Re: best cheap/free scores 1.1

Back with a epic sized score: 120 PSUS!!!!!!!!

Deer, SunPro, CWT ISO, Yuelin mostly,a 400W Delta and a Macron 200W AT (P8 and P9 connectors). Wattages vary from "400"W to "500W" mostly for the ATX ones.

Guess I can make a throne out of them?

[stj]

Re: best cheap/free scores 1.1

Back with a epic sized score: 120 PSUS!!!!!!!!

Deer, SunPro, CWT ISO, Yuelin mostly,a 400W Delta and a Macron 200W AT (P8 and P9 connectors). Wattages vary from "400"W to "500W" mostly for the ATX ones.

Guess I can make a throne out of them?

lol
some people make a "power-wall", your making a "psu-wall"
but it does raise a question - where the hell do you store them all?

i have maybe 15-20 and dont have space for more!

[Dan81]

Re: best cheap/free scores 1.1

lol
some people make a "power-wall", your making a "psu-wall"
but it does raise a question - where the hell do you store them all?

i have maybe 15-20 and dont have space for more!

I have 4 old travel bags so I stored the PSUs in them.

[Dan81]

Re: best cheap/free scores 1.1

Took one PSU from the 120 that I got yesterday. It's a Premier LC-8500BTX.

Here's what I found:

-TT2194 switchers - TO-220 package


-EI-33 transformer - I think I have a good SPI/FSP ERL-35 transformer that might work - will need to check up


-3.3 uses SBL2045CT rectifier, 5v uses 2x SBL2045CT in parallel, 12v has (what I presume is) a MUR3060PT or something close to it - it's in a TO-247 package and it's blocked by a plastic sheet that separates it from touching the output torroid (which by the way is beefy as hell)


-caps are radioactive green Yang Chun (what are the chances Anodia = Yang Chun?), none bulged.


-fuse is 6A 250v (not 6.3 as usual) - may hunt down a 8 or 10A just in case


-fan is a sleeve bearing Globe Fan, although I suppose this is a higher grade one as it seems similar to those used in Jou Jye


Overall, it looks pretty beefy for a PSU. The only thing I'm not really happy with would be the small transformers (although the main one wouldn't be a problem if I can swap the FSP one in) and the choice of caps (although Yang Chun aren't really crappy in most cases - if you don't run a power hungry machine, that is.), otherwise, it looks pretty nice.

[momaka]

Re: Gateway Select 650 PC find

so I completely refurbished this M6400, which is now maxed out and in mint physical condition....and I got paid to take it!

I lay in bed and web browse & prowl ebay primarily with it....

Hehe. The spoils of technology abundance these days...

Back with a epic sized score: 120 PSUS!!!!!!!!

...
Guess I can make a throne out of them?

Deer King Dan81...
Sorry, I couldn't resist the joke!

Got any Powork or PowMax PSUs in there?
Sounds like the gutless PSU thread may get an epic revival soon.

lol
some people make a "power-wall", your making a "psu-wall"

Or he just wants to steal the "PSU king" title from these threads:
https://www.badcaps.net/forum/showthread.php?t=37586
https://www.badcaps.net/forum/showthread.php?t=73842

It's a device that connects to a card-edge connector on the CPU PCB. You have to cut the case open (void the warranty), but it gave multiplier access.

Ah, I see.
But still, I think those Athlon classic chips had much the same limitations as the early Pentium 3 Katmai CPUs - particularly, you could only overclock them so far, mainly due to the limitation of speed on the SECC cache chips (unless you overclock the CPU core only and not the cache... but the gains aren't that big, then.)

History lesson on the Athlon:...

Thanks. Been a while since I read the Wiki article, so this was a good quick refresher on the mind.