Adventures of the 939 build

[Jetster]

I'm running W7 64 on my 939 Athlon 62 X2 4200+
The drivers were a pain but it works fine
Still looking for a beige dvd drive

 

[FreedomEclipse]

Well at least BIOStar makes a correct of actually painting their I/O black which looks neat since most cases are black anyway

I could care less. I see the front and left hand side of my case 99% of the time not the rear I/O

 

[candle_86]

I'm running W7 64 on my 939 Athlon 62 X2 4200+
The drivers were a pain but it works fine
Still looking for a beige dvd drive

I've switched to using snappy driver installer on my retro rigs, it removes slot of the pain.

 

[theFOoL]

Why not try Driver Booster? Been using it for 1 year and no issues

 

[Melvis]

I forgot about this Video I did almost 10yrs ago on my old 939 System showing how it could run this game maxed out even on a single core CPU/Old hardware

 

[Jetster]

I forgot about this Video I did almost 10yrs ago on my old 939 System showing how it could run this game maxed out even on a single core CPU/Old hardware

That reminds me of a video I made to test my Nvidia 8800GTX on Heaven 4.0, everything maxed of course 371

 

[delshay]

No man's sky works on the 939 platform, but not sure if it's even playable. I will post screenshots with FPS as soon as I can along with Warhammer 4000.
I should have listed that Doom 2016 also works & is more than playable.

Now some bad news.

The following Vulkan games do not work, Wolfenstein Colossus & Youngblood.
I'm not sure what's going on here, but these errors also appear on more modern computers, ie something about "unable to write crash dump". Both games does not even start.

Rage 2 also does not work. Task Manager shows the game is running but there is no game start-up menu.

 

[delshay]

The Talos Principle is working (very fast) & Detroit Become Human does not work. Detroit Become Human needs SSE4.1 & I think Red Dead Redemption needs SSE4.2 (not sure).

Here are some screenshots Warhammer FPS is top left.

 

[freeagent]

Pretty cool thread, lots of good hardware. The good old days. P4 owners were never impressed, and if they were they bought one

Ill have to get a new AMD sometime soon.

 

[delshay]

(non Vulkan) 2019 Games + Windows 10 games only:

"Close To The Sun" is the first windows 10 only game I have tested to work on windows 7. To make this more impressive it's working on the 939 platform. I can't guarantee the game is 100% compatible as I have not completed this game. Below are two screenshots from the game using an FX-60 (not overclocked). The in-game GFX settings are maxed out @1080p. This game is playable. I also have more 2019 games here including RE2 which is working.

I will be moving back to hardware modifications to understand better why MOSFETS, modified CPU 8 pin power connector improved lower voltage to the CPU when overclocked.

 

[Rob94hawk]

I still have my AMD FX-53, socket 939 motherboard, old ATI X800XT, and a raptor HD.

The motherboard supports 4 GB of DDR400 too. Wonder if I can find some one ebay. I sold all my Corsair LED ram.

Reading through ATM to see if Windows 10 would work.

Hmm...

 

[delshay]

I still have my AMD FX-53, socket 939 motherboard, old ATI X800XT, and a raptor HD.

The motherboard supports 4 GB of DDR400 too. Wonder if I can find some one ebay. I sold all my Corsair LED ram.

Reading through ATM to see if Windows 10 would work.

Hmm...

Windows 10 "32 bit" should work, but there is only 64 bit drivers for todays modern games. I have the fastest 1GB "low latency" DDR1 in the world. This is the only reason i'm still using it today for modern gaming.

I have more screenshots of "Close To The Sun" & i'm at chapter 8 of this game (80% Complete). So i will say this game is compatible with windows 7 even thou it is marked as windows 10 only.

EDIT:

4GB VRAM @1080p is dead when it comes to max settings. A small number of games including Close To The Sun crashed due to lack of VRAM. Turning GFX settings down fixed the problem.

 

[Rob94hawk]

Windows 10 "32 bit" should work, but there is only 64 bit drivers for todays modern games. I have the fastest 1GB "low latency" DDR1 in the world. This is the only reason i'm still using it today for modern gaming.

I have more screenshots of "Close To The Sun" & i'm at chapter 8 of this game (80% Complete). So i will say this game is compatible with windows 7 even thou it is marked as windows 10 only.

EDIT:

4GB VRAM @1080p is dead when it comes to max settings. A small number of games including Close To The Sun crashed due to lack of VRAM. Turning GFX settings down fixed the problem.

What RAM are you using if you don't mind.

 

[delshay]

What RAM are you using if you don't mind.

EXCLUSIVE TO TECHPOWERUP

Can't reveal too much about my DDR1 memory modules. Below is a screenshot.


SPD PROGRAMMING

You will see some strange timings all over the SPD. Pay particular attention to byte 32 to byte 38. Under any circumstances do not copy these timings to any DDR1 memory module you will encounter crosstalk.


CL1.5 & CL1

With all the controversy surrounding CL1.5, it does work, but i have only found that it works only on the ASUS motherboard. DFI motherboard it does not work but this is down to the BIOS incorrectly programmed even thou it shows CL1.5.

CL1.5 only works in three slots nearest to the CPU & i'm still working/fixing the problem with the fourth DIMM slot.

CL1.0 is not working at this time.


BOOTING

These DIMMS will boot to the fastest timings currently 2-2-2-5, somehow CL1.5 is not auto detected on the ASUS motherboard. NOTE: My preferred motherboard is the "ASROCK" as shown in screenshot.

This is my main gaming computer operating in a non overclocked state "undervolt".

 

[delshay]

Some more Vulkan games working.

Serious Sam Fusion 2017

Forsaken Remastered ..This game has some kickass music.

X4: Foundation

Geocore (not working)

Ballistic Overkill .. Why is this game listed to have Vulkan API. Can't see anything in the game menu that says Vulkan API is active. This game should be removed from this page Vulkan (API) - Wikipedia & replaced with Zombie Army 4: Dead War.

 

[delshay]

Zombie Army 4: Dead War

This "Vulkan" game works on the 939 platform & is playable. Max GFX settings 1080p.

 

[Melvis]

I had CS:GO running on my FX-57 and 9600 GT.

 

[delshay]

I had CS:GO running on my FX-57 and 9600 GT.

If you have a in-game screenshot that will be nice to upload to this thread.

 

[harm9963]

939 was a lot of fun ,floppy raids to set up,switches to play with, also had a laptop with 939, used a Desk top CPU ,i installed in my laptop ,at this time in history it was one of the highest clock ,even change the HDD to a desktop 7200 RPM HDD .

 

[Melvis]

If you have a in-game screenshot that will be nice to upload to this thread.

Oh gezzz I might of yrs ago but not on me right now, I would have to set it up and run it again to do that Id say.

 

[Palladium]

I dabbled in semi-retro HW around 2 years ago, the oldest platform I can get reliably working is AM2, the K7 and S939 ones just have too much bad capacitors.

 

[delshay]

I will no longer delay the latest upgrade to my main gaming motherboard in this thread. This will be one of the biggest & most dangerous modification ever to a motherboard & something never done before. I will upload photos in the ghetto thread. Your gonner see something never done before with capacitor's.

Before I do the very high risk modification the following Vulkan games are working.

Blood fresh supply:

Path of Exile: I don't know how playable this game is as you need to login. This game is "free" on steam.

Hardware news:

For the first time in history ( Exclusive To TPU ) you can see my DDR memory running at their native speed. The processor is underclock for now as this is a system stability memory error check. ..Zombie Army 4: Dead War is the first game tested at this speed & all games from now on will be tested at this speed.

NOTE: TRCD timing. This is what makes these 1GB stick "Ultra Special", because it's rare for a 1GB stick to have this timing matching that of CL. But these stick have another exclusive feature never seen before on DDR. This feature is yet to be revealed & is a strange feature for DDR1. No other DDR1 memory module will have this, it's exclusive & unique to these DDR's only.

 

[agent_x007]

So... what bandwidth/latency are you pushing there ?

 

[delshay]

So... what bandwidth/latency are you pushing there ?

Sorry I don't have such a program installed to test, but I can tell you what effect TRCD has. It removes stutter in games, there's still a little bit of stutter left, so I need to get the DDR's closer to 240Mhz.

Overclock is running in-sync so it effects everything PCI-e & SATA. The best thing here is games load faster & some games are buttery smooth even at 4K using VSR & Vsync together with max settings even thou the FPS is not high into triple figures.
I'm taking around 30 - 50 FPS.

Motherboard modification has started, it has not gone well, but I have made a recovery & change the arrangements of the capacitors behind the CPU.

 

[delshay]

MOTHERBOARD MODIFICATION UPDATE.

I said I will try something new never done before so I am posting with an update of the capacitors modification behind the CPU. First is the capacitors, it's mostly "Tantalum" there are only two ceramics behind the CPU which I now think is an error but I can't remove them without breaking some tantalum. It's a pity as I wanted this to be the first motherboard in the world to have an all Tantalum capacitors behind the CPU. This is one of two tricks.

SECOND TRICK:

Most of the original solder pads for the ceramics is still not used, but there is more capacitors here than the original, so there is still a massive gap for more capacitors. I'm still not sure which direction to go as to putting in the old ceramics or go for an all out Tantalum. I need to do more test to see which is the right direction.

PERFORMANCE:

At first performance seems worse, but this is false. What the Tantalums are doing is giving me a direct cut off point when overclocking, in other words overclocking errors is more in your face, so you spend less time dealing with overclocking errors. Errors are down on the address & data lines & will continue to improve not just with capacitors but with other hidden modifications not yet revealed. Overclocking is up by 2MHz with a massive gap of capacitors still missing.

The CPU also seems like it can withstand more temperature before it encounters an error. In short, I have less errors at higher temperature. I think but I'm not sure if it's down to Tantalums sitting behind the CPU.

To round things off I do have a pictures of the modification but I will get flamed for what looks like poor soldering, but it's very hard to get so many capacitors in there without using most of the original solder pads. If I was to show photo you will see the second modification which has never been done before. I should also point out the CPU behaviour is slightly different, something has changed this.

LASTLY ON THE GAMES FRONT:

Games in this thread that I said that is not playable has come alive, ie AOTS, Metro Exodust & a few others the stuttering has disappeared when using a Radeon R7. So there is a hardware or software problem somewhere that is causing excessive stuttering & pauses for no reason whatsoever. So I have to track this down to find where the problem is.

DOOM Eternal another Vulkan game is not working on the 939 platform.