BigBadBiologists BigBadBench
#GPUJune2 Building the Ultimate Pentium III computer (Part II: building, issues, and GPUs)
updated
youtube.com/live/F-72V5bC5P8?feature=share
This was a system that we opened up previously checked out and found massive battery damage:
youtube.com/live/i8zErBZRXS8?feature=share
Mastodon: @bigbadbiologist@bitbang.social
Threads: threads.net/@bigbadbiologist
Giveaway Rules:
1. US residents only.
2. No purchase necessary.
3. Subscribe to the channel and comment on Part I of this series to be entered.
4. Only one entry per person.
5. Winner will be randomly selected on September 19, 2022 from everyone that has commented on this video.
Part I:
youtu.be/3UhYHGfwOXE
Part II:
youtu.be/CVJrZ7asr-k
My other videos featuring a Macintosh LCIII
Explaining the overclock button:
youtu.be/OdKwft08U-A
Showing how to overclock the LCIII (25MHz) to an LCIII+ (33MHz):
youtu.be/qV3A92C_uY0
Recapping the logic board:
youtu.be/Y-V6eZ8ZxZk
youtube.com/watch?v=kQiSehbTZYo
I picked up a Ryzen 3200G system for $60 and an nVidia GTX980 for $40, but it doesn't quite fit. We'll have to make a little adjustment to the case to get this to work! This $100 beast should be a pretty awesome price to performance gaming system.
Mastodon: @bigbadbiologist@bitbang.social
youtube.com/watch?v=Sf1Nj_fSCZI
youtube.com/live/cn9Qb-Hvl_s?si=X3lVAn5EAtIL6gZC
I got a Pentium 166MMX Overdrive CPU from @trinastechnobabble , let's see if it works / works in this computer!
And a Pentium 166MMX should pair nicely with a 3DFX Voodoo 1, so let's try that out!
Mastodon: @bigbadbiologist@bitbang.social
youtube.com/live/N5OpjccioE0?feature=share
Let's see if we can make it somewhat safe and try to power it up!
Also, someone gave me this dead Integra RDC-7 AV Controller / receiver to work on. Let's see if we can figure out what's going on.
Mastodon: @bigbadbiologist@bitbang.social
Also, I need to rebuild an Apple Monitor III and see if it works.
I previously checked out this Power Computing Power Center Pro 210:
youtube.com/live/Sf1Nj_fSCZI?si=_pB5GgVkwI0-filD
Capacitor map for the Power Computing TCX-20D power supply:
drive.google.com/file/d/1H64jmlvzC6AE4PtFmT5rvKc0sdPBhQCn/view?usp=sharing
Mastodon: @bigbadbiologist@bitbang.social
First up, we'll see if a replacement 68030 from China will fix my battery-damaged Macintosh IIvx that we previously worked on (after 27 repaired traces, I was thinking the CPU was dead. when I desoldered it, 3 legs fell off):
youtube.com/live/Lb4FKJoyTN4?si=gubFZbTrTYuKvIBT
Then, my cheap eBay ultrasonic bath died. Can we figure out what went wrong?
Finally, someone gave me a Adcom GFA-1A amplifier to work on. He sent me pictures of the inside, and it had a really bad repair attempt. Can we repair this mess?
Mastodon: @bigbadbiologist@bitbang.social
youtube.com/live/i8zErBZRXS8?si=b5KaU6b_BEvEj3PZ
This is the MICRO EXPRESS, INC. ME 386SX board on the Retro Web:
theretroweb.com/motherboards/s/micro-express,-i-me-386sx-066-3.1-0889
Yesterday, we found that the board works after a cleanup:
youtube.com/live/F-72V5bC5P8?si=95-zgl4T03dmFyyj
Let's see if we can unsolder the CPU from the previously battery-damaged (but cute) Cyrix Cx486SLC2-50 processor motherboard:
youtube.com/live/KuopLmISa8o?si=kMOU-ns2FzCkvC2j
and transfer it to the 386sx board.
This is the PCCHIPS / Hsin Tech M396F v2.7 on the Retro Web:
theretroweb.com/motherboards/s/pcchips-m396f-v2.7
Benchmark links:
docs.google.com/spreadsheets/d/10n3um3QclF7b8Jz3jJnA_zFF5Bq0kLrtK6fZlYXcokQ/edit?usp=sharing
Mastodon: @bigbadbiologist@bitbang.social
-a 386SX with a little bit of corrosion
-a 286 with massive amounts of battery damage
-a 286 that had been used by a family of mice and their ancestors
I got the boards cleaned up this week, so let's see if they POST.
I also picked up a 3dfx Voodoo 5 5500 this week, so let's see if that works!
Mastodon: @bigbadbiologist@bitbang.social
youtube.com/live/KuopLmISa8o?si=qSDkjLtT0DnvJ3NB
I also recently picked up an IBM PS/2 Model 50 from an ewaste scrapper. It was gross. I cleaned it up a little. Let's see if it POSTs.
Also, I'll update the status of the Asus ISA-486S 486 motherboard that we looked at previously:
Part I: youtube.com/live/Ea28liiuRKs?si=V_EldYstuT6CVfxP
Part II: youtube.com/live/5oA-Her5k8U?si=odvr2LCQyRepFJN7
And I got a couple packages to finish the C64C, one of which is from @GutBombTech !
Mastodon: @bigbadbiologist@bitbang.social
youtube.com/live/2amPlB8Is2M?si=_c3ya9ZlYJzC4R2c
Let's finish its restoration! (almost- still waiting on a replacement case badge)
Also, we recently checked out this Asus ISA-486S 486 motherboard, but it was acting kind of weird:
youtube.com/live/Ea28liiuRKs?si=V_EldYstuT6CVfxP
I think it is because it was missing its tag RAM chips. I got those in, so let's see if that fixes it.
Mastodon: @bigbadbiologist@bitbang.social
youtube.com/live/2amPlB8Is2M?si=E3Xoi7GUgKmrp_Py
I've gotten the board ultrasonically cleaned. It needs a recap and probably some trace repairs.
The important thing is the DayStar PowerPC (PPC) upgrade card that was a very awesome surprise inside the computer. Will it work?
We'll also check out the Commodore 64c (C64c) board that was also encased in rust and has also been cleaned up.
Mastodon: @bigbadbiologist@bitbang.social
I also picked up this Commodore 64C a while ago and I just realized it rattles and loses rust when I move it. Let's see how bad it really is on the inside.
Mastodon: @bigbadbiologist@bitbang.social
These boards and CPUs are from the awesome lot of ewaste that I bought:
youtube.com/live/jPzA5znPha4?si=V83z4-MJ979BMI92
From that lot, we previously fixed a cute little 486 baby AT motherboard with an integrated 40MHz 486SLC CPU that was damaged by a leaky battery:
youtube.com/live/KuopLmISa8o?si=0eruMBQ-kexHGMrQ
Mastodon: @bigbadbiologist@bitbang.social
youtube.com/live/jPzA5znPha4?si=V83z4-MJ979BMI92
There was a cute little 486 baby AT motherboard with an integrated 40MHz 486SLC CPU, but it was damaged by a leaky battery. Let's see if we can fix it.
Also, there was a DFI socket 370 Via chipset motherboard with obscenely leaky caps. Let's get those replaced and see if the board POSTs. It turns out that the board is more interesting than I thought.
Link to the board on TheRetroWeb: theretroweb.com/motherboards/s/dfi-ca64-tc
Mastodon: @bigbadbiologist@bitbang.social
One of the battery bombed IIsi systems that I have purchased:
youtube.com/live/KY2XB4wPyfo?si=WI9S9YsUaSp2M9z7
I'll also do a power supply recap for one of the vintage computing community. As we know, IIsi power supplies are some of the nastiest around.
Mastodon: @bigbadbiologist@bitbang.social
Mastodon: @bigbadbiologist@bitbang.social
youtube.com/live/Ee6tiCnQDZo?si=gu_BjgYyGHHx1jLH
Now that I have the right caps, let's get it recapped, rebuilt, and tested.
And hopefully we can rebuild the potting shed 5.25" drive.
Mastodon: @bigbadbiologist@bitbang.social
Also, someone recently found me an external 5.25" floppy drive in a potting shed, so let's see if that works.
Unfortunately we didn’t get anything repaired today. Just a lot of disassembly.
Mastodon: @bigbadbiologist@bitbang.social
As a bonus, I'll check out maybe the world's worst IIsi power supply.
Recapping the logic board:
youtube.com/live/2Axn3BZSODc?feature=share
The initial triage of the system:
youtube.com/live/uVlMmGCxeI4?si=RZ6sTGPx6XUvJMnQ
I made a resource / map for recapping the North American 120v Mac Classic II analog board (asterisks are low ESR):
drive.google.com/file/d/1UfLTZlWfMpAezUHm71mNOb1JwwqiDptB/view?usp=sharing
Mastodon: @bigbadbiologist@bitbang.social
youtube.com/live/uVlMmGCxeI4?si=RZ6sTGPx6XUvJMnQ
It was gross, but seemed like the caps weren't too bad on the logic board. Let's recap the logic board and see if this thing works. We'll have to wait until next week to finish the restoration because the retrobrighting isn't done.
I made a resource / map for recapping the North American 120v Mac Classic II analog board:
drive.google.com/file/d/1UfLTZlWfMpAezUHm71mNOb1JwwqiDptB/view?usp=sharing
Also, we're going to pop open two Sega Game Gears to start working on them. I've never worked on these before, so it should be fun!
Mastodon: @bigbadbiologist@bitbang.social
I previously worked on this SE/30 reloaded board that had a bunch of issues:
youtube.com/live/dziZbLmWOAQ?si=KXZiDzwiIVBqH0Ce
I eventually got it working, but apparently it has more issues. Let's see if we can get it going. I also picked up 64mb of RAM for my SE/30 and one of new Garrett's Workshop ROMs, so let's get them running!
garrettsworkshop.github.io/MacIIROMSIMM/Documentation/GW4402BManual.pdf
I made a resource / map for recapping the North American 120v Mac Classic II analog board (asterisk means low ESR):
drive.google.com/file/d/1UfLTZlWfMpAezUHm71mNOb1JwwqiDptB/view?usp=sharing
Mastodon: @bigbadbiologist@bitbang.social
Towards the end of the stream a couple weeks ago, we looked at this (previously gross) Power Macintosh 6214CD:
youtube.com/live/21VyY6gKToo?si=nVABrOtD4EfuCmg3
I didn't notice that it had a really weird 3" PCMIDE interface Western Digital PhD1400 hard drive in it.
I previously recapped one of these power supplies:
youtube.com/live/A4TQklM7l2I?si=BHRscKSc0arLv9yu
I made a capacitor map for the 62xx power supply:
drive.google.com/file/d/1Li8MANEAJNgltUmVLF6rxVYEwqMpv_z9/view?usp=sharing
I previously checked out this Power Computing Power Center Pro 210:
youtube.com/live/Sf1Nj_fSCZI?si=_pB5GgVkwI0-filD
Capacitor map for the Power Computing TCX-20D power supply:
drive.google.com/file/d/1H64jmlvzC6AE4PtFmT5rvKc0sdPBhQCn/view?usp=sharing
Mastodon: @bigbadbiologist@bitbang.social
youtube.com/live/ODWbpBe5jr8?si=WIgYsS4d-K79Iq8Q
I noticed the caps are pretty nasty on the video card (also known as the VRAM expansion card) so let's see if a recap fixes it. It is #gpujune / #gpujune4 after all.
#GPUJune4 was initiated by The Major Techie who also created the awesome logo!
youtube.com/@TheMajorTechie
We'll also take a look at a Power Macintosh 6214CD that is really gross and sad. We'll see what horrors wait inside this mess.
I had previously checked out the logic board from this extremely nasty Power Macintosh 7100 from @GutBombTech .
youtube.com/live/IoIwy_EmofU?si=omrnVvAtNwQnyne4
The power supply for the Power Mac 7100 is an Astec AA16870. I made a capacitor map for it here:
drive.google.com/file/d/13tkVs3AlH5-__SgJDst3FdwGL9_k0-T6/view?usp=sharing
Mastodon: @bigbadbiologist@bitbang.social
My previous attempt:
youtube.com/live/AOq-TJuGCw8?si=8z0V49ouAU_49BGZ
Also, we'll finally finish Tech Ambrosia's Centris 610 by giving the ethernet chip its own clock and doing some mods on her board to facilitate her own overclocking adventures!
Info about fixing the ethernet:
http://www.applefool.com/clockchipping/c610.html
My previous adventures with Tech Ambrosia's Centris 610:
youtube.com/shorts/1ymlu6STphE?si=i-x-nI9Le0uLqhLs
youtube.com/shorts/UpuBuVQhuww?si=nQEPXBdsPzE-oskE
youtube.com/live/HeYoRvEyQn8?feature=share
youtube.com/live/Ox59SQe73qY?feature=share
I've worked on Pizza Box Macintoshes like this previously:
youtube.com/live/uafvfbf8ILs?si=-ISjt0_3cjmjBLg_
youtube.com/live/6TpmHeXERXk?si=ve_TPdQEdXztOOpo
Capacitor diagrams for pizza box PSUs:
drive.google.com/file/d/1RErXP-Spsw048tGdoElnug-ifZuM1BET/view?usp=sharing
Mastodon: @bigbadbiologist@bitbang.social
youtube.com/live/IoIwy_EmofU?si=omrnVvAtNwQnyne4
It appeared that the fan in the power supply had died causing it to bake itself. I've ultrasonically cleaned it and it still looks awful. Will a recap cure what ails it?
The power supply is an Astec AA16870. I made a capacitor map for it here:
drive.google.com/file/d/13tkVs3AlH5-__SgJDst3FdwGL9_k0-T6/view?usp=sharing
Mastodon: @bigbadbiologist@bitbang.social
youtube.com/live/37Et5Ee-Oqk?si=yl1-iDA5L3Owx2K0
It supposedly had a bad headphone port. It did, and I replaced that; but I also found that one of the audio channels was inconsistent. Turns out it was cracked solder joints.
We will probably need to do this mod to make the serial ports work properly:
http://www.applefool.com/clockchipping/c650.html
My adventures with Tech Ambrosia's Centris 610:
youtube.com/live/HeYoRvEyQn8?feature=share
youtube.com/live/Ox59SQe73qY?feature=share
I've worked on Pizza Box Macintoshes like this previously:
youtube.com/live/uafvfbf8ILs?si=-ISjt0_3cjmjBLg_
youtube.com/live/6TpmHeXERXk?si=ve_TPdQEdXztOOpo
Capacitor diagrams for pizza box PSUs:
drive.google.com/file/d/1RErXP-Spsw048tGdoElnug-ifZuM1BET/view?usp=sharing
Mastodon: @bigbadbiologist@bitbang.social
One of the comments pointed out that I plugged the speaker into the LED connector. Was that the only problem? Probably not. I found broken traces too.
Previous history of the machine:
@TechAmbr tried to get this Macintosh Centris 610 system up and running previously:
youtube.com/live/mcCe_yCSas8?si=GApYL0HDbOqcnh8F
But she could use a little help, so let's see if recapping gets it running, but the power supplies can be a bit of a mess.
I've worked on Pizza Box Macintoshes like this previously:
youtube.com/live/uafvfbf8ILs?si=-ISjt0_3cjmjBLg_
youtube.com/live/6TpmHeXERXk?si=ve_TPdQEdXztOOpo
Capacitor diagrams for pizza box PSUs:
drive.google.com/file/d/1RErXP-Spsw048tGdoElnug-ifZuM1BET/view?usp=sharing
Mastodon: @bigbadbiologist@bitbang.social
youtube.com/live/HeYoRvEyQn8?si=y1LzTSG47ylmL5aJ
youtube.com/live/Ox59SQe73qY?si=k5WCDqpgfyy2cPiN
The cap juice ate several traces and vias. Getting it to do anything is a major accomplishment.
youtube.com/live/mcCe_yCSas8?si=GApYL0HDbOqcnh8F
But she could use a little help, so let's see if recapping gets it running, but the power supplies can be a bit of a mess.
I've worked on Pizza Box Macintoshes like this previously:
youtube.com/live/uafvfbf8ILs?si=-ISjt0_3cjmjBLg_
youtube.com/live/6TpmHeXERXk?si=ve_TPdQEdXztOOpo
Capacitor diagrams for pizza box PSUs:
drive.google.com/file/d/1RErXP-Spsw048tGdoElnug-ifZuM1BET/view?usp=sharing
Mastodon: @bigbadbiologist@bitbang.social
It was pretty gross. It had sand in it. I've cleaned it up, retrobrighted it. Now, let's get it reassembled. I also want to attempt to see if we can get its 68000 CPU running at 16MHz.
And I hit 1024 subscribers, so we're going to give this Mac Plus away!
Giveaway Rules:
1. Comment on this video to be entered (and hit a like up there if possible).
2. No purchase necessary.
3. Open only to countries where giveaways are allowed and that I can currently ship.
4. Only one entry per person.
5. Winner will be randomly selected on June 1, 2024 from everyone that has commented on this video.
6. If you are outside of the United States of America, I will pay up to $50 towards shipping, but you will need to pay the remainder (this could get expensive!). Additionally, If there are any custom fees, duties, import fees, etc. that I do not pay in advance, the winner is responsible for these fees.
Mastodon: @bigbadbiologist@bitbang.social
Also, someone gave me a NAD audio receiver to repair, so let's see what's up with that.
Mastodon: @bigbadbiologist@bitbang.social
youtube.com/live/LVS05Y-dGaQ?si=Fu_fmcsAA4iHM0X5
I've cleaned it up this week, so let's reassemble it and see if it still works. Also, we need to get the Rifa out of that power supply.
Also, I got an extremely nasty Power Macintosh 7100 from @GutBombTech . I cleaned up the logic board this week, but the PSU is still a mess. There will be nasty pictures of this thing and more nastiness as we dig into the power supply... which looks really similar to a Macintosh IIci power supply... which has 6 Rifas.
The power supply wound up being an Astec AA16870. I made a capacitor map for it here:
drive.google.com/file/d/13tkVs3AlH5-__SgJDst3FdwGL9_k0-T6/view?usp=sharing
Mastodon: @bigbadbiologist@bitbang.social
I'm also going to start the restoration of an Apple II plus because it's #aprilapples (previously known as #appril2)!
We also had time to check out a Macintosh Plus and Mac Classic. They were great examples of why you should never just power up a compact Mac.
And I reviewed some of my experiences from VCF East.
During part II of working on my single board 486 with a case out of a single barn board, we assembled the case a bit and cut some glass. The glass cutting was a lot of fun!
youtube.com/live/fm9wRjKsqiY?si=kIGiz3JaUjwYB0Hx
Check out Part I here where we did a bunch of soldering and did a little testing:
youtube.com/live/v0tXhGYf7Jg?feature=share
Everyone knows @LGR 's woodgrain 486 PC. It's basically at the center of the retro computing universe! Well, it's time to make an actual wood 486. I picked up this 486 single board computer a while ago and have been figuring out what to do with it. I found out a while ago, that you don't need a backplane to boot it:
youtube.com/shorts/QbQlJmWT4Yo?si=iwoKHemkCmYwk3LG
But I really want to add a sound card so this can be a viable retro gaming computer. So we're going to need to wire up some ISA connectors and see if we can make a sound card work!
This is the SBC:
theretroweb.com/motherboards/s/protech-pc-410
Some of my 486 benchmarking data:
docs.google.com/spreadsheets/d/10n3um3QclF7b8Jz3jJnA_zFF5Bq0kLrtK6fZlYXcokQ/edit?usp=sharing
Mastodon: @bigbadbiologist@bitbang.social
youtube.com/live/v0tXhGYf7Jg?si=zJ5fecwsfCGF2Izv
and yesterday I learned how to cut glass on stream:
youtube.com/live/fm9wRjKsqiY?si=fhq4GXcSxY4HV5rM
The idea was to use a single board computer (SBC) and make a case for it out of a single barn board. Oh yeah, and we did some silly custom ISA wiring so that we could have a sound card.
Specifications:
Kingston TurboChip AMD 5x86 133MHz
32mb EDO RAM
Protech PC-410 486/5x86 single board computer
512meg CF drive
Mean Well RQ-50B
Music playing: Starshine by Purple Motion
modarchive.org/index.php?request=view_by_moduleid&query=60693
Check out Part I here where we did a bunch of soldering and did a little testing:
youtube.com/live/v0tXhGYf7Jg?feature=share
Everyone knows @LGR 's woodgrain 486 PC. It's basically at the center of the retro computing universe! Well, it's time to make an actual wood 486. I picked up this 486 single board computer a while ago and have been figuring out what to do with it. I found out a while ago, that you don't need a backplane to boot it:
youtube.com/shorts/QbQlJmWT4Yo?si=iwoKHemkCmYwk3LG
But I really want to add a sound card so this can be a viable retro gaming computer. So we're going to need to wire up some ISA connectors and see if we can make a sound card work!
This is the SBC:
theretroweb.com/motherboards/s/protech-pc-410
Some of my 486 benchmarking data:
docs.google.com/spreadsheets/d/10n3um3QclF7b8Jz3jJnA_zFF5Bq0kLrtK6fZlYXcokQ/edit?usp=sharing
Mastodon: @bigbadbiologist@bitbang.social
youtube.com/live/dziZbLmWOAQ?feature=share
But I've made some progress! So I'll do some updates.
I also have been working on restoring a converted 128k/512k Mac Plus that I need to put back together, so let's do that.
And I picked up a Mac 512k last weekend that I really want to open up and check out the insides before we power it up.
Mastodon: @bigbadbiologist@bitbang.social
This Macintosh SE/30 Reloaded board was given to me by @GutBombTech because he couldn't figure out why it wasn't working (it was only giving simasimac). It was part of a group buy organized by @ThisDoesNotCompute . It turns out that the PCB manufacturer might have put the wrong components on the logic board as discovered by @THEtechknight :
youtu.be/J4LZcV3gaH4?si=chpmqw2sWRIvpRM1
I fought with it a bit a few moths ago and might have broken it more, so I put it away. Let's get it back out and see if I can get it working!
Mastodon: @bigbadbiologist@bitbang.social
We're only working on high voltage stuff today!
I got this Powerbook 540C from @iiidiy , but it has a bad power supply. Let's see if it just needs a recap.
I also have an Apple m1212 Trinitron CRT that is basically dead. I've been wanting to work on it, so I'll use #marchintosh as an excuse to electrocute myself. Have I mentioned that I hate working on CRTs?
Mastodon: @bigbadbiologist@bitbang.social
The official description for this item is a variable speed reciprocating saw, but most people refer to them as sawzalls.
Mastodon: @bigbadbiologist@bitbang.social
#MARCHintosh2024
Two weeks ago (against my better judgement), we powered up a Mac Classic II without opening it first. It booted, we opened it up, found nastiness, cleaned it a little, recapped it, and .... it stopped booting.
youtube.com/live/AOSlA3h9jco?si=UpIOEXvzg32gAdIe
We got it booting last week after the ultrasonic bath and recapping the analog board:
youtube.com/live/Ar321kBpINo?feature=share
I made a resource / map for recapping the North American 120v Mac Classic II analog board (asterisk means low ESR):
drive.google.com/file/d/1UfLTZlWfMpAezUHm71mNOb1JwwqiDptB/view?usp=sharing
We also played with changing the crystal oscillator in a Macintosh Plus and found that it could boot with a 17.5MHz crystal (up from the original 15.6672MHz).
Mastodon: @bigbadbiologist@bitbang.social
What made me buy this is that it has what looks to be a dual slot PDS riser and some unidentified card. I'm really curious to know what's in there.
Mastodon: @bigbadbiologist@bitbang.social
youtube.com/live/AOSlA3h9jco?si=UpIOEXvzg32gAdIe
Can we get it booting this week?
We'll recap the analog board. I made a resource / map for recapping the North American 120v Mac Classic II analog board:
drive.google.com/file/d/1P7biqNTMVu2Q7zKRoCdtMt3jPhTlGATk/view?usp=sharing
We also will unsolder the original 68000 CPU from a Macintosh Plus, install a socket, and try a 68010 processor in it. This might be the foundation of future shenanigans...
Mastodon: @bigbadbiologist@bitbang.social
"Powers on and boots into Mac OS. Very clean on the inside. Was told the batteries on the circuit board can explode so I removed it. Minimal corrosion.
I don’t have the mouse or keyboard so I can’t see if there’s anything interesting on the hard drive"
Yeah. To start #MARCHintosh let's review why you should ALWAYS recap a Macintosh Classic or Classic II.
Mastodon: @bigbadbiologist@bitbang.social
youtube.com/watch?v=Sf1Nj_fSCZI
It was pretty gross and didn't seem to want to POST. I've disassembled it and cleaned it up, so let's rebuild it and test it out. Hopefully we can do some benchmarking and see how far we can upgrade this thing.
Mastodon: @bigbadbiologist@bitbang.social