Questions that do not deserve a thread

[CkRtech]

What software and methods do you guys like to use for creating your paper drilling templates for case mod work? Anyone?

[speedlolita]

When RGB modding a system, is kynar wire a sufficient gauge for the RGB lines? Obviously I'd use something a little more hefty for 5V/GND.

System in mind is a Duo R.

[Fudoh]

Pay attention to the diameter. AWG30 is a little thin. For video stuff AWG24/25/26 is usually recommend. You can use the same for all types of signals, RGB, Sync, GND, +5V, Audio....

[speedlolita]

Alright then, I'll go for something a little thicker. Cheers.

[Pasky]

I always use 28AWG and try to use a thicker AWG's for 5V and GND. 30 AWG is never really necessary unless you're soldering to something like a TQFP-100 or similar and even then not necessary unless you're doing a lot of pins close to each other. Another use for 30AWG is for going through via's.

[BlackStealth08]

So I recently bought a NEC READY 9753 PC for $10. I want to turn it into a Gaming PC for older pc games and such. The case has plenty of room for it's rather small size.
I'm trying to figure out what the best CPU/ video card to get. Want to beef it up as much as possible.

I am thinking about getting a 'nVIDIA GeForce4 MX440 8x' but I have no idea if I should get this card or something else. I was told that older nVIDIA cards were pretty good along with some PCI cards. No idea really.

current hardware installed
Intel Pentium MMX 233.
Integrated Video card.
128MHz SDRAM


No idea what mobo that is. here are some pictures.

Spoiler

Here is all the specs listed on the PC


MotherBoard

[Xan]

You might try and get a 3dfx card for it instead. But with that CPU you are effectively limited until 1997 or so.

[CkRtech]

As Xan pointed out, you are in the heart of the 3dfx era there. The tough thing here is that you have one of the last Pentium processors before the Pentium II was released along with the then standardized AGP slot.

I can't recall the system requirements at the time (circa 1998), but I wonder if your system could handle a 3dfx Voodoo 2? I ran a triple solution on a Pentium II at that time - I think I did a Matrox G200 AGP + 2x Diamond Monster 3D II (8 MB) in SLI.

Just make sure you have a power supply that can handle the load if you try to max out your slots. 235/250 watts was common at that time. You could probably pick up a 300 or 400 watt super efficient power supply of today and put an ATX to AT plug on it for your PS needs. It would be an easy job for it, and it would also be a heck of a lot more efficient and reliable vs. whatever is in there (if anything).

Btw - You can't use a GeForce 4 MX440 8x because you don't have an AGP slot.

[BlackStealth08]

Thanks. Are there any CPU upgrades available for this motherboard? It's a socket 7 CPU socket.

[Fudoh]

As far as I can remember Pentium 1 ended with 233MHz (or slightly above). Next best thing was a PII already.

[BlackStealth08]

So the cpu can't be upgraded? If not I'll just overclock it.

[Xan]

Your upgrade option are AMD K6 processors. Your motherboard should be new enough to support them.

Also, since it's a 430TX chipset I'd recommend pulling half of the RAM. It will run faster with 64 MB, since that's the maximum RAM size that chipset can cache.

[BlackStealth08]

Thank you for the information it helps. I have found a AMD K6-2 400 MHz Processor socket 7. This is good thank you.

Any ideas as to the video card? I might go SLI if possible.

[Xan]

Well I had the original K6 line in mind. You want one of the 66 MHz FSB models, and I'm not quite sure if your motherboard supports K6-2 CPUs (which need lower voltages).

I'd recommend a Voodoo3 PCI as video card, because there you don't get these nasty interlacing artifacts that you get with SLI. It isn't as compatible with DOS Glide games as the older 3dfx cards, however.

[BlackStealth08]

Ah okay. Well so far I've been searching online this seems to be one of the only AMD K6 processor I can find most are K6-2. I want to say this is what you were thinking about?
http://www.ebay.com/itm/COLLECTORS-Attn ... 3f3a31c0f4

[Xyga]

Anyone knows the p/n and specs of the Virtua Racing cockpit cabinet ?

All I remember is an early (curved) widescreen tube, arcade-museum says 36" 16:9 widescreen CRT (EGA) but I'd like to know more about it.

Thanks.

[Xan]

Ah okay. Well so far I've been searching online this seems to be one of the only AMD K6 processor I can find most are K6-2. I want to say this is what you were thinking about?
http://www.ebay.com/itm/COLLECTORS-Attn ... 3f3a31c0f4

That should be right, yeah. I'm not quite sure on jumper settings and such however.

[BlackStealth08]

Thanks again. I'l take a gamble on the CPU since it's not that expensive.

So for the Voodoo3 PCI is there a certain brand I should look for and can I SLI them? the mobo has 2 videocard slots I want to try and get an SLI set up going.

[Xan]

You can't SLI them, but they are as fast as Voodoo2 SLI, with higher resolutions possible and better image quality to boot.

Just saw that this K6 you bought is one of the new 2.2V models, while your current CPU takes 2.8V. I've seen claims that it will run, but it's a gamble. But even then, there is no saying that your BIOS supports the CPU... I guess I'd play it safe and cancel the transaction.

[BlackStealth08]

If it ends up not working than i'm not too worried. I was planning on changing the OS to win98 or 2000.

[Sixfortyfive]

How much lag would be induced by an XRGB-3 when simply using it to convert 480p component to VGA in B1 mode? I'm thinking of using it for a tournament setup this weekend. Are there any rock-solid sources or test results that I could reference? I'd expect it to be fine, but I'd want some hard data if it's out there.

[Fudoh]

1-2 ms. The same as with 15khz RGB sources.

[cfx]

.

[CkRtech]

Wow. Thank you, cfx!

[cfx]

.

[CkRtech]

I have actually used forstner bits on console plastic and had great success. I bought them on recommendation from Longhorn Engineer several years ago as the Atari mods he did required drilling holes in the super brittle plastic of the 2600 consoles. I really like these bits. It takes a bit longer, but you don't feel like you are going to destroy the wall of your console.

I've found other templates online (for printouts), and just used photoshop to alter them for my needs. It isn't difficult to tape them to the console for drilling, but getting each hole to be parallel with its neighbor is difficult when doing it by hand - even when using smaller drill bits. Perhaps I need to just start with a finer print line as well as a very small awl just to get the starting hole in the right place.

Usually things aren't that noticeable once you get the hardware mounted, but it would be nice if it had a professional look on the outside.

[cfx]

.

[Xan]

I was recently testing my modded SCPH-5502 when I realized controller inputs aren't registered correctly and the memory cards aren't detected either at random when trying to save. Cleaning the contacts didn't have any effect, so I took it apart and reseated both ends of the connector cable, since then fortunately everything works fine. Is that kind of maintenance often needed on those PS1s? The cable didn't look like it was improperly seated...

[bobrocks95]

Do Hi-Scan Trinitrons actually have an 853-stripe "horizontal resolution" on the grille? Is that for both 16:9 and 4:3 models, or do the 4:3 have the usual ~640 or so?

Also, am I correct in my understanding that there's no real limiting factor on vertical resolution with CRTs? The height can just continue to be compressed to a certain degree? Or is there a limited number of vertical lines that can be resolved as well?

[bobrocks95]

Anyone? Thinking about it more, I'd say the tube has the same stripe pitch, and the chassis is just a digital one that supports a higher resolution, and the CRT can reach a higher horizontal frequency (hence the Hi-Scan name). Anybody know?