Retro build: Pentium 200 MMX

[ketma]

Rather than just buy an old rig already built I decided to build a retro PC from scratch and wanted this to be a DOS *only* machine, maybe running Win98 at some point in the future but for now just DOS.

I wanted it to be original to the era without using modern adapters/convertors, compact flash etc, period correct parts from around 1995 - 1997.

Deciding how retro it is could be up for debate but in the end I went for a Pentium 200 MMX.

I managed to find a motherboard that had both AT & ATX support and this was great as I could use this in a cheapo ATX case (after all there was every chance it might be DoA) and I can always move this to a more fancy case and use a better PSU.

Everything I tried to source was 'new' old stock or in excellent condition. The spec is:

cpu: Pentium 200 MMX
motherboard: Micronics Twister AT (based on the Intel TX chipset)
cooler: socket 7 copper HSF (totally over the top) (new)
80pin IDE cables (new)
floppy cable (new)
video: Matrox Millennium (4Mb)
IDE HDD (recertified)
IDE CD ROM/RW
Case/PSU (new)
RAM: SDRAM 64Mb (new)
3.5in Floppy drive
ISA sound card (SB Pro/OPL3) (new)
ps2 mouse (new)
ps2 keyboard (new)
Wavetable daughterboard S2 (MPU-401) (new, but not arrived yet)
Dell 17in LCD screen (correct aspect ratio) (new)
Floppy disks (new)

The version of MSDOS I am using is not 6.22 but v7.1 from Win98 as this is fully functional and provides Fdisk support for larger HDD's rather than the measly 8GB partitions with DOS v6.22. I used the menu created by philscomputerlab which is perfect for the various start-up options.

The BIOS unfortunately has the Int13 limitation that affects it detecting the true size of the HDD and I will rectify this by acquiring a PCI controller that support INT 13h Extensions.

I've not been able to locate any BIOS updates as Micronics was acquired by Diamond and support faded rapidly.

The motherboard has an issue whereas it will boot with 64Mb but fail to restart unless the CMOS is cleared, overcame this by removing one stick reducing the total ram to a massive 32Mb.

So far everything works and the few games I've tried have worked without issue.

As I had no boot disks in the attic (in fact I had no disks at all) the biggest headache was trying to move things off my current rig to floppy disk using an external USB FDD which I purchased specifically for this job - well it was utter rubbish and was just prone to writing disks incorrectly from an image, it would just randomly error and I really don't think it was compatible with Win10, in the end I got it sort of working by creating a VM with WinXP that seemed to work slightly better with the USB FDD but it wasn't perfect.

Once I managed to get the retro PC up and running with access to a CD drive this was easy in transferring stuff over.

Here's a couple of pics I took, just showing the build and the Speedtest program I remember from years ago.

 

[ketma]

I like seeing any retro builds, but that was my takeaway too. Either it's meant to be period correct, or it's not.

And if some parts aren't going to be period correct (e.g. Nasty 500W PSU, Startech Copper cooler, aftermarket PCI IDE controller etc), then I don't know why you would limit yourself to old IDE hard drives, rather than just using a Compact flash, or modern SSD with adapter

The board has the option to use AT and ATX psu's, I'd rather use a nasty new ATX 500w psu than a 20+ year old AT supply, the psu came with the case and I wasn't going to spend loads on a high end psu if the parts were dead. Same with the case, you can't get new AT cases anywhere, why would I use an old case when the board supports new.

The copper cooler is a socket 7 unit, perfectly acceptable, so you suggest I source a cooler from 1995 where the fan could fail at any point?

The IDE controller I have sourced is period correct, its a Promise card from the dates mentioned.

From your taking I should have got a CRT screen too.


I built this for a bit of fun....sheesh some people.

 

[ketma]

Yep, that's all it was a bit of fun during lockdown...

No, I don't mind at all - the sound card cost £26, it was new but brand no idea, it uses the OPTi chipset (82C924) and has OPL3 - looks to be a complete copy, its Soundblaster Pro compatible. I also have an ESS card on route from Russia, but got this in the event it never makes it.

The wavetable card I have ordered is modern though just to have general midi that sounds decent, no way I'm going the MT-32 route, and some of the more decent sound cards cost as much as this entire build !

Overall its cost peanuts to put it together.

 

[ketma]

Yes, but you can't use all 8 at once, various combinations are allowed.

1 isa/pci slot is shared.

It doesn't have AGP and i'm not bothered, it runs all the DOS games fine.

 

[ketma]

Thanks! I agree and it one of the reasons I went for this so I wasn't restricted to AT psu's and cases.

I managed to sort out my ram issue by flashing a later BIOS for the board and it looks to be the last, but now the full 64Mb is working fine, but like you say overkill but glad I got the issue sorted. I remember the Ark Logic and I remember the 3dfx - nice ! What score do you get in the Landmark speedtest for the Ark?

I am currently waiting for the S2 to be delivered (hope its good), I looked as the X2 but perhaps it was more than I needed, but the soundbank options are indeed great !

 

[ketma]

That looks a nice tidy build, what are the cards below the 3dfx ?

 

[ketma]

Well I thought I'd post an update. I've been tinkering about with this PC and done a few more things to it, here is a pic of the internals as I think I've added all I want to it now:



The cards are (top to bottom):

PCI:
Matrox Millennium
3dfx Voodoo2
Promise IDE controller

ISA:
Realtek NIC (8019)
Opti 924 soundcard, incl. S2 wavetable

Before anyone asks, I got the voodoo2 as it was cheap and if/when I put Win98 on its there ready, for now its idle of course.

The S2 wavetable was an excellent purchase, and the sound it produces is very good and clean.

Windows 3.11 is installed and works fine, which I'm using just for a reasonable MIDI player, the Matrox drivers work fine too and makes for a nice image quality.

Transferring files to the PC was a bit of a bind being DOS only, so that's why I got the NIC and managed to get it connected via mTCP to my main PC and XP on a VM. Works a treat and saves so much time and hassle.



I can also use this to copy the whole file structure back to my main PC as a backup too, which I can then zip up in case the HDD fails.

Everything that can be updated has been: video, BIOS & controller. Drivers all seem stable and pleased the BIOS update sorted out the RAM issue.

I'm pretty happy with it.

 

[ketma]

No, this works on my main Win10 machine and VM's, XP/Win7.

 

[ketma]

No, as I said I have not modified any SMB settings due to security. The RetroPC is the fileserver, I'm just using a client to connect to it.

 

[ketma]

@ketma Out of curiosity, where did you find that copper heatsink?

Edit- Just managed to read the badge on the front, that a startech fan370u?

Yes, that's correct, although the clip it came with was too large to fit between the two heatsinks near the socket so used a clip from another cooler.

 

[ketma]

Do do this would be slower than USB2.0. 10/100 NIC ~12.5MB/s, USB2.0 60MB/s
However no headache with drivers and disabling adapters to get things like DOS apps launching due to USB adapter conflicts.

So, install something like Filezilla or CuteFTP, set it up then connect from NIC on Win98 machine to NIC on Win 10 machine? I would need a shorter network cable, at the moment I only have a huge (30 / 50meter) Cat 6A reel of cable. I dont want to arse around making a shorter cable from it as dont have the tools. Bearing in mind the USB 2.0 adapter card was something like £7 inc delivery

I just run ethernet to a powerline adapter on the retro PC, granted its not super fast but it does the job of moving stuff about nice and easy. I either use an FTP server in DOS and connect to it from a Filezilla client on my main PC or if in Win98 use an XP VM on the same workgroup which works ok too and poses no risk to anything else.