TPU's Nostalgic Hardware Club

[lexluthermiester]

For that price in the states, I can get a used workstation with a 1366 CPU and 8GB DDR3, so I would say no. It would have to be a 478 system with an Extreme Edition CPU for me to consider that price.

True and for some classic XP gaming, hell yes. But the above system is a bit of a rare Dell system and it would be worth restoring as a show piece. It would also be a very cool Windows9X retro system.

 

[Apocalypsee]

Depends. Are you collecting with the intention of restoring the system to an original(or near original) authentic state? If so, then yes that's a fair deal. If all you want to do is some classic Win9X/XP gaming then no, there are much better options out there.

I could restore it but my main intention is for XP gaming PC. So yeah, indeed there is a better deal elsewhere.

For that price in the states, I can get a used workstation with a 1366 CPU and 8GB DDR3, so I would say no. It would have to be a 478 system with an Extreme Edition CPU for me to consider that price.

Good point. The price is a bit steep. If it came complete with front panel and monitor I think it might worth that price.

Thank you both of you

 

[basco]

how about wood Mr. hat ?
i was using an old xigmatek 775 cooler on a x99\ 5960x without anytools just standing on it for over a year-but on a flat laying motherboard-dont know if yours is in a case.

 

[hat]

No woodworking tools either, though I'm not sure I would want to make such a bracket out of wood... and the system is a standard ATX full tower, so it's not quite flat like that.

 

[Chloe Price]

No woodworking tools either, though I'm not sure I would want to make such a bracket out of wood... and the system is a standard ATX full tower, so it's not quite flat like that.

Can't you just mcgyver something there?

 

[F-Zero]

Some 3DMark benches with Geforce 6800 Ultra AGP vs Radeon X850 XT

 

[Valantar]

Some 3DMark benches with Geforce 6800 Ultra AGP vs Radeon X850 XT View attachment 190215

So that's how you get a 6800 in your PC without paying scalpers or waiting for months! You've got it figured out

Joking aside, those are some sweet builds - I guess that's what the opposite of a sleeper build must be!

 

[Chloe Price]

So that's how you get a 6800 in your PC without paying scalpers or waiting for months! You've got it figured out

Joking aside, those are some sweet builds - I guess that's what the opposite of a sleeper build must be!

The fastest buyers got a 6800 XT already in 2005

 

[Valantar]

The fastest buyers got a 6800 XT already in 2005

View attachment 190227

Honestly, you would think demand and supply had leveled out over the course of 16 years ...

 

[silentbogo]

My office neighbor always has a way to surprise me. He's military, but very enthusiastic about restoring older computers and laptops that can still get some decent mileage. For him it's not a side-hustle, it's not a weekend hobby, but more of a lifestyle.
So, a few days ago he brought this into my office:

A 2009 Toshiba Satellite in better condition than my 2020 lappy. Not a scratch, not a speck of dust, brand new battery (non-original, but a near-ideal fit), and of course - perfect 17" 1600x900 display. All came bundled with an original 120W charger... Unfortunately - it's dead...
I'm usually very unenthusiastic about fixing pre-2013 laptops, and I'm even more unenthusiastic about fixing pre-Zen AMD laptops, but this thing of beauty has to live. It's going onto my operating table this week. Finding a good-quality replacement NB for this platform is a nightmare, but still doable. I'll post updates if it shows any signs of life.
I think last time I was so excited about repairing an old laptop was with Acer 9920G - a 19" monstrosity(or 20.1" according to spec), with remote control and bad-ass 2.1 speakers.

 

[Susquehannock]

The fastest buyers got a 6800 XT already in 2005

View attachment 190227

Yes, yes I did. Still have my Leadtek 6800nu. Big copper sinks on both sides of the card. Performed very well. Especially after using RivaTuner to unlock the extra pipes. Almost reached 6800GT levels but not quite.

Took the card apart and discovered height variations in the raised RAM pads resulting in uneven contact pressures, and gap over the GPU was much too wide. Being a machinist by trade thought to myself, I can improve that. Made a lapping block from solid aluminum and used micrometers to measure heights and got them all the same to match each chip. Much better contact on all areas. Now using premium paste. Card overclocked great afterward. Do not have screenshots for that anymore but do remember it was significant. Above 6800GT levels. Had my two weeks of fame being #7 on the top ten screen 3DMark 2003. Had so many e-mils asking that I made a Tripod page to show everything. Card still works today but have not opened the four pipes again. Have my 7800GS instead.

 

[Splinterdog]

Well there's serendipity! I hadn't seen the above post when I posted this!
I remember buying this Leadtek WinFast A400 GT TDH (Nvidia 6800GT 256MB) in Spain back in 2004 and it lasted me for several years and quite a performer. Trouble is, I don't have a motherboard to test it on any more, a situation I intend to remedy. Although I have a suspicion that I was only getting desktop but no 3D when I last fired it up.
Here's a review from Hexus:

Leadtek WinFast A400 Ultra/GT TDH

The most obvious selling point of these two WinFast A400 boards is the cooling solution. Not only does it look the part, but it's quiet and extremely effective too. Both the GT and Ultra variants we've looked at have exhibited impressive overclocks, and the A400 GT is almost irresistible when...

hexus.net

More to follow.






It's got one hell of a heatsink, that's for sure and if I ever run out of copper...

 

[framebuffer]

OK, I think we should start a GeForce 6800 owners club

 

[68Olds]

OK, I think we should start a GeForce 6800 owners club

I guess I need to get the camera & dust off the 6800 Ultra.

 

[Valantar]

Yes, yes I did. Still have my Leadtek 6800nu. Big copper sinks on both sides of the card. Performed very well. Especially after using RivaTuner to unlock the extra pipes. Almost reached 6800GT levels but not quite.

Took the card apart and discovered height variations in the raised RAM pads resulting in uneven contact pressures, and gap over the GPU was much too wide. Being a machinist by trade thought to myself, I can improve that. Made a lapping block from solid aluminum and used micrometers to measure heights and got them all the same to match each chip. Much better contact on all areas. Now using premium paste. Card overclocked great afterward. Do not have screenshots for that anymore but do remember it was significant. Above 6800GT levels. Had my two weeks of fame being #7 on the top ten screen 3DMark 2003. Had so many e-mils asking that I made a Tripod page to show everything. Card still works today but have not opened the four pipes again. Have my 7800GS instead.

View attachment 190518

That offset fan mount is really weird - looks like whoever designed the heatsink and whoever designed the plastic mold didn't really communicate

 

[Apocalypsee]

I got lucky and found this new old stock Sound Blaster Digital Music for measly ~USD10!

Everything is in the box

 

[F-Zero]

Haha the surprise I had when I woke up and see all these Geforce 6800 series cards, c"mon I want to see MOAR !!!

 

[Splinterdog]

I seem to remember buying this Gainward GF3 at Overclockers UK in around 2002 and it's still going strong.


I've got my eye on one of these - Intel D865GBF, having once built a system with a D865PERL, which was a cracking motherboard and still running great in a customer PC for whom I built it.
The main difference is that the GBF has on board video and the PERLs available are asking too much.

I'm doubling posting again, but how do we opine on what's retro and what's not? I'm just about to build a system which is socket 478/AGP based, which begs the question: is 775/AM3/PCIE now retro?
Or is it a question of subjectivity?

 

[agent_x007]

100% subjective.
I think retro = cool old tech.
In my case, I made cut-off point of old and modern at AVX support (and UEFI BIOS).
Obselete is everything without intergrated IMC and SSE4.x support.
Difference between "Retro" and "Obselete" is the first one is cool in my eyes, while the obselete stuff isn't

 

[Trekkie4]

100% subjective.
I think retro = cool old tech.
In my case, I made cut-off point of old and modern at AVX support (and UEFI BIOS).
Obselete is everything without intergrated IMC and SSE4.x support.
Difference between "Retro" and "Obselete" is the first one is cool in my eyes, while the obselete stuff isn't

 

[framebuffer]

Haha the surprise I had when I woke up and see all these Geforce 6800 series cards, c"mon I want to see MOAR !!!

ooOK

ASUS V9999 GE

 

[Splinterdog]

Here's a PC Format review of the GeForce 7800GTX from August 2005, the month when HL2 was the favourite FPS, Deus Ex was the top RPG and the top HDD was the Deskstar 7K250 IDE (£92).
I'm pretty sure I was running a P4 3.2 back then.

 

[silentbogo]

Here's a PC Format review of the GeForce 7800GTX from August 2005

Lol. I did my very first re-cap and smd rework on that exact same GPU... bought it broken for $10 off some dude back in 2006 or so.
It looked like it went through a hailstorm or got "installed" into a brick wall instead of a PC, but it ran HLDM the next day just fine.

 

[framebuffer]

Here's a PC Format review of the GeForce 7800GTX from August 2005, the month when HL2 was the favourite FPS, Deus Ex was the top RPG and the top HDD was the Deskstar 7K250 IDE (£92).
I'm pretty sure I was running a P4 3.2 back then.
View attachment 190677 View attachment 190676

oh, have two of those, reference models as in this magazine; will do a proper revisit/review one day
I think in 2005 the best HDD was the WD Raptor (1st Gen. 74G)

 

[silentbogo]

I think the only reason I bought mine was because I've overheard somewhere on the internet that PS3 dev kits had those in them.
I know, it's the most ridiculous purchase validation, but it did well almost all the way 'till 2xHD3870 CF arrived at my doorstep.