X-Apparently-From: Message-ID: <041101c08a70$0484b4b0$91a63bc6@dbcooper> From: "Patrick Moran" To: Subject: System Upgrade Part II Date: Mon, 29 Jan 2001 20:50:29 -0700 MIME-Version: 1.0 Content-Type: text/plain; charset="Windows-1252" Content-Transfer-Encoding: 7bit X-Priority: 3 X-MSMail-Priority: Normal X-Mailer: Microsoft Outlook Express 5.00.3018.1300 X-MimeOLE: Produced By Microsoft MimeOLE V5.00.3018.1300 Reply-To: opendos AT delorie DOT com LeavesI currently have a very old outdated video card. it is a Diamond Stealth Vram with 1MB memory, ISA S3 card. I wanted a card that would be fast and would have plenty of memory and able to be used with my current motherboard and future motherboards. This left out AGP cards. So I wanted a PCI card and one that would work with Linux Xwindows, NT and DOS. I happen to run across an MGA millennium Matrox card with 4MB of RAM brand new and in retail box. The seller had several for sale. These were not being sold in "DUTCH" but in individual auctions. This is an older card but will screem in Linux and will do okay in NT. I got the card for about 50. Just a couple of years ago these were expensive cards and were well rated, especially for Linux. This card can be upgraded to 8MB on board. It has a small VRAM slot for upgrading to 8MB. Since I am not a gamer, I didn't see any reason to wait until I got a new MB and get an AGP card. I had not planned on getting a new MB at this time. I wanted a newer Video card and a much better monitor than this 14" 8514 tpye Samsung monitor. It's display is lousy st 800x600. Most websites now require 800x600. Even with large fonts it is lousy. I had a lot of choices, like ATI Rage, Nvidia, and many others. But the Millennium was just the perfect one for me. It will go to 1600x1200 and has (I think) 85Hz refresh rate at this density. Next I wanted a very, very good monitor. I wantwd at least a 17" monitor with .22dp. I just happen to run across a seller on ebay auctioning several Hitachi 19" ,22dp Superscan refurbished monitors with slight cosmetic defects (like scratches on case and/or yellowed cases.) (The yellowed cases don't bother me because I smoke and it would get yellowed anyway and scratches I can live with.) There is a 60 day return on these. so I bid on and got one for a little under 300 with ship. Most 17" .26dp were going for about this much, so I jumped on it and got one. These are amoung the very best 19" monitors availble and has a special sharp focusing capability that others lack. It will go to 1600x1200 at (I think) 85Hz refresh. It is a multisync monitor which is what I wanted. (No fixed rate here for me.) This is probably the best 19" monitor available. There are not very many .22dp monitors being made any more. This is actually a Gateway VX900 monitor made by Hitachi. Gateway does not even list them any more. These were sold around 1999. My current monitor is probably 10 years old (I bought it used over 8 years ago.) and the only thing I can see wrong with it is that the pin cusion on the right hand side id off a very little. Most people would not even notice it. But as a former TV tech, I notice every little flaw. Believe it or not, we still have an old 12" Apple composit monitor that still works good. I used it with my VCR for a TV for quite a while when my TV crapped out. So I figure it should last a few years. My current sound card is a genuine Sound Blast SB-16 with SCSI-II controller and ASP compression. But it only has a single 4 pin connector on it and when I priced the WAV32 daughter boards being auction off for these (about 15) and I saw a Creative/Ensonic PCI64/es1370 card being auctioned cheap, I jumped on it. It is a 64 voice legacy card. I must have legacy cards and there is a module for the es1370 in Linux and will work with DOS and NT very well. It is also DirectX capable. It's not a PnP peice of crap but a real sound card with jumpers (although it can be used as a PnP card if you remove all the jumpers.) So this card will work with any OS I wish to use. That is very important to me. It is slightly outdated, but still a very good card and since I am not a gamer, it is probably more than what I need. It does have 3-4 pin on board connects for CDROM, Modem, and if I ever wanted one a Radio/TV card. (stupid waste of money as far as I am concerned.) (As far as I know they will only work with WINDOZE anyway.) There is also a PCI128, but I am not sure if it will work with Linux and probably would not be that much use to me anyway as I am not a gamer and have no base boom box and other such dumb things. The PCI64 will produce quad sound it I ever want it. (I might for MP3s.) The card is just the bare card and I got it for less than 20, so I called Creative Labs and ordered a CD and Manual for it for about 25. I don't need the SB SCSI contoller as I have a PCI SCSI-III wide controller. So my upgraded system will consist of this: K6-III+ 450Mhz with 100MHz FSB and 256MB RAM (PC-133 DIMMs) Matrox Millennium PCI 4MB video card, 64 voice PCI sound card, 56K ZOOM ISA modem, PCI SCSI-III wide controller, 10mbs el cheapo ISA ethernet card, 19" .22dp monitor, 2.9 GB SCSI-II fast HD, 250MB SCSI tape drive, 345MB IDE HD, 256MB SCSI Syquest removable cartridge drive, 4X SCSI CDROM drive, 1.44 and 1.2 floppy drives. This system can also be used as a file server as well. This system will rival many slower Pentium-III systems due to the K6-3's internal cache capabilities. This upgraded system will rival many internet servers. If I they ever get DSL here at a reasonable price or possibly a decent cable internet system, I will probably use it as an internet server with Apache under Linux. By that time I should have 80mbs hard drives and controller and 100mbs 3-COM LAN card. Who knows by the time they get around to it here 160mbs drives and controller may be cheap! When you look at a map of the US and look at New Mexico for internet access, it's just a black hole! I think tin cans and string would be faster! DSL around here will cost ne 70 bucks a month for a lousy 256k connect!!!!! I have seen 768K in other parts of the country for 40 and over 1MB for 50. We don't even have DSL capability where I live and cable here sucks (Although since Comcast has taken over it is better and they are talking about going Digital, but by the time it gets here, we will probably be celebrating the new millennium!!!!! It is even worse for the Indian Nations, some of them do not even have phone service. (They probably still have to use smoke signals!!!!) (I wonder what their baud rate is!!!!) I may be very lucky to get even a 33K connect from a 56K modem. They just patch wires here and they are using multiplexed lines. (They ran out of spare pairs here and refuse to invest in new phone cables.) At least our Governor plans on doing somethimg about this internet mess we have here. Total cost: MB+ CPU FAN Used 113 2-PC-133 128MB DIMMS New 90 K6-3 450Mhz CPU New 54 PCI-64 Sound Card Used 18 Matrox Millennium 4MB video New 51 ZOOM 56K Modem New 54 ------------------------------------------------- Total 380 All components will work with DOS, Linux, NT/2000, WINDOZE 9x, Solaris, OS/2 and any other OS. This system should scream. (Note WINDOZE 2000 server needs 256MB RAM) Next I'll get a new printer (probably fast Inkjet) and 80mbs disk system and a 5.2GB DVD RAM. I'll eliminte the Syquest and IDE drives and after the DVD RAM drive, the tape drive and CDROM. I'll probably also get one of those dual 3-1/2 5-1/4 floppy drives and put the 360K floppy back in and still have space for 4 full height or 8 1/2 height hard drives in this AT full height case. I can still use the tape drive as I got it with the external case and power supply. I removed it from the case and installed it internally because my SB SCSI-II controller did not have an external connector. It did come with an external terminator that connects to the daisy chain port. I also bought a bare Ditto 800 TR-1 external tape drive so that I can swap large files with my brother's computer. he has a Jumbo QIC-80 tape drive and the Ditto 800 will read and write to the QIC-80 tapes. It connects to the parallel printer port. I have to pick up a cable and plugin power supply for it. I probably have a power supply lying around that will work with it. It cost me a whole 16 with delivery! It's amazing what deals I can find on these auctions! Pat _________________________________________________________ Do You Yahoo!? Get your free @yahoo.com address at http://mail.yahoo.com