The background and goal:
A couple of years ago, I might have went off the deep end a little and picked up a bunch of 90's motherboards. Long story short, I ended up getting this micro ATX board for free. This is my only micro ATX motherboard of this vintage. So I figured since I have plenty of full size ATX boards for desktops/towers, why not try and play up the smaller size?
But what exactly would be the purpose of having a smaller retro desktop? I have a bunch of old computers already, but they're all in the basement. I don't always feel like being in the basement, so I thought it'd be cool to have a retro PC upstairs. But I don't have the space upstairs for a full retro PC setup. So I thought with a SFF PC, maybe I could somehow use it with my main Windows 10 desktop. At least, share the keyboard, mouse and monitor between both PCs.
But what exactly would be the purpose of having a smaller retro desktop? I have a bunch of old computers already, but they're all in the basement. I don't always feel like being in the basement, so I thought it'd be cool to have a retro PC upstairs. But I don't have the space upstairs for a full retro PC setup. So I thought with a SFF PC, maybe I could somehow use it with my main Windows 10 desktop. At least, share the keyboard, mouse and monitor between both PCs.
The Motherboard
The motherboard is a Gigabyte GA-5SMM. It was available at retail, but Compaq also used it in a number of models. The board that I have came out of a Compaq, and has a Compaq splash screen. Although it is possible to use a retail BIOS, which is what I'll end up doing.
This is a really cool mobo. I think it can be classified as a Super Socket 7. It doesn't have an AGP slot, but I believe the on board graphics (SiS530) are connected through an AGP bus. It also has an integrated ESS SOLO-1 ES1938S audio chip. It does have PCI and ISA expansion slots, so you could always add whatever. It has some other neat features, but these are the highlights.
This motherboard supports a wide range of CPUs. But I figured for how I intend to use this PC, it would be best to try and get the best CPU I can for this, in terms of performance. Also, I have plenty of Intel builds already, it would be fun to try something different here. That said, AMD is the way to go I think. The best CPU I could get for this board would be the AMD K6-III 500 MHz, but those are expensive! In fact, all K6-III CPUs seem to be expensive. So I decided to instead get the fastest K6-2 I could, 500 MHz.
Phil's Computer Lab has a video on this exact CPU. He says it's comparable to a Pentium II 300 MHz. I think the K6-III would actually have a fairly big performance boost, but I'm just not willing to spend that kind of money on one (this is a budget build).
The K6-2 that I got was listed as tested and working, but when I got it in some of the pins were bent. It might have happened during shipping. But annoying, they seemed to have some pins bent it different directions, it was very tedious to straighten them and get it inserted into the socket. It took quite a lot of time, but I finally got it in. Barely though, so I'm not planning on taking this CPU out of the socket ever. Unless someone gifts me a free K6-III.
Another minor issue, and this is actually an issue with the mobo, is one of the tabs to mount the CPU heatsink is all chewed up.
One thing that kinda sucks about the mobo is that it has a lot of capacitors crammed around the CPU socket. Looks like someone used a screwdriver to remove the heatsink and chewed up that tab. So now a normal retention bracket does not hold on. So I just made sure to pick up the kind of HSF that has the three hooks to hold it on. This is the one I ended up getting...
Phil's Computer Lab has a video on this exact CPU. He says it's comparable to a Pentium II 300 MHz. I think the K6-III would actually have a fairly big performance boost, but I'm just not willing to spend that kind of money on one (this is a budget build).
The K6-2 that I got was listed as tested and working, but when I got it in some of the pins were bent. It might have happened during shipping. But annoying, they seemed to have some pins bent it different directions, it was very tedious to straighten them and get it inserted into the socket. It took quite a lot of time, but I finally got it in. Barely though, so I'm not planning on taking this CPU out of the socket ever. Unless someone gifts me a free K6-III.
Another minor issue, and this is actually an issue with the mobo, is one of the tabs to mount the CPU heatsink is all chewed up.
One thing that kinda sucks about the mobo is that it has a lot of capacitors crammed around the CPU socket. Looks like someone used a screwdriver to remove the heatsink and chewed up that tab. So now a normal retention bracket does not hold on. So I just made sure to pick up the kind of HSF that has the three hooks to hold it on. This is the one I ended up getting...
At first, I was thinking about making a custom case to make this as small as possible. No floppy or optical drives, just a CF or SD card instead of a HDD, the motherboard and the power supply. I thought if I did that, I could make it a decent amount smaller than a SFF case. But, I don't have the time for such a project. So, SFF it is!
I was able to find a In-Win BL631.FF300TB3F case for pretty cheap.
Everything is just sorta being test fit in there right now, this isn't necessarily how I'll leave it. Anyway, it's a pretty neat case. Although SFF is pretty straight forward. It's well built. It has a vent hole pretty much right above the CPU, so that works out. The PSU works as an exhaust fan, but there is a spot on one side of the case to fit a fan. I'm not sure if I'll install one though, I might experiment with temps first.
I was able to find a In-Win BL631.FF300TB3F case for pretty cheap.
Everything is just sorta being test fit in there right now, this isn't necessarily how I'll leave it. Anyway, it's a pretty neat case. Although SFF is pretty straight forward. It's well built. It has a vent hole pretty much right above the CPU, so that works out. The PSU works as an exhaust fan, but there is a spot on one side of the case to fit a fan. I'm not sure if I'll install one though, I might experiment with temps first.
This case came with a wimpy modern PSU. Probably adequate for some office PC, but in addition to only having SATA connectors and no 4-pin Molex, it had really weak +3.3V and +5V rails, only 16A each. This case uses a TFX (Thin Form Factor) power supply though, so the pickings are somewhat slim. I ended up getting a Seasonic S-300TFX.
80+ Bronze, so not totally horrible. It has 20A on the +5V rail, but that's all most modern PSU have these days. Hopefully that's good enough. The K6-2 500 is a 2.2V (V core) CPU and is 12.45/20.75 typical/max Watts. The specs also say 3.3V for V I/O, I'm not sure how much the CPU takes for either or both rails. But assuming the entire load is on the +5V rail, that is about 5.6A typical and maybe 10A max. So in a max scenario, that's half the current output of the +5V rail. Once I get everything up and running, I'll take some measurements to be sure everything is OK, but I think it'll fine.
This PSU has a +12V 4-pin CPU connector, but no other GPU connector or anything extraneous like that. That's good, since there wont be a lot of room inside the case for unneeded cables. It does have one branch of SATA connectors, which I obviously wont need. And it has one branch of 4-pin Molex with a floppy / Berg connector at the end. Which I don't think I'll need any more than that. I could always remove the CPU connector, and change the SATA branch to Molex. We'll see.
80+ Bronze, so not totally horrible. It has 20A on the +5V rail, but that's all most modern PSU have these days. Hopefully that's good enough. The K6-2 500 is a 2.2V (V core) CPU and is 12.45/20.75 typical/max Watts. The specs also say 3.3V for V I/O, I'm not sure how much the CPU takes for either or both rails. But assuming the entire load is on the +5V rail, that is about 5.6A typical and maybe 10A max. So in a max scenario, that's half the current output of the +5V rail. Once I get everything up and running, I'll take some measurements to be sure everything is OK, but I think it'll fine.
This PSU has a +12V 4-pin CPU connector, but no other GPU connector or anything extraneous like that. That's good, since there wont be a lot of room inside the case for unneeded cables. It does have one branch of SATA connectors, which I obviously wont need. And it has one branch of 4-pin Molex with a floppy / Berg connector at the end. Which I don't think I'll need any more than that. I could always remove the CPU connector, and change the SATA branch to Molex. We'll see.
Since this mobo has integrated graphics and no AGP slot, I was thinking I would just use that. I think the on board SiS graphics would be perfectly fine for DOS and maybe be doable for some early-to-mid 3D games. But why settle for maybe doable? The problem though is that since I'll be using a SFF case, that limits me to low profile PCI video cards, and the pickings are slim. Right now, this is what I got...
It's a NOS GeForce 4 MX 4000, which apparently is just a renamed MX 420. I think this card would be just fine for anything Win98. Still, I'd have to convert the VGA output to HDMI (for the monitor that I'll use). So I'm thinking of maybe getting a different card. I'm looking at a GeForce FX 5200 right now, that is low profile and has a DVI output. I think that would be perfect. Unless someone has an ATI card they would recommend?
It's a NOS GeForce 4 MX 4000, which apparently is just a renamed MX 420. I think this card would be just fine for anything Win98. Still, I'd have to convert the VGA output to HDMI (for the monitor that I'll use). So I'm thinking of maybe getting a different card. I'm looking at a GeForce FX 5200 right now, that is low profile and has a DVI output. I think that would be perfect. Unless someone has an ATI card they would recommend?
To begin with, I will stick with the ESS SOLO-1 ES1938S which is integrated into the motherboard. Phil has a review of this chip, and says they are average for Windows gaming but excellent for DOS compatibility. That sounds good enough to me!
Again, since I would need a low profile PCI card, the pickings are slim! I did find the StarTech PCISOUND4LP. It's PCI and has a low profile version. And the description says it supports EAX, and also "Legacy SBPro and DOS support," but who knows what that really means. It doesn't specify which OS the driver supports. And it doesn't matter, because they aren't cheap! About $50-60 on eBay, from what I see. Maybe I'd want to spend that much if this was like a *perfect* sound card, but not a gamble.
If I'm not happy with the ESS SOLO-1, then I will re-investigate the sound card option later on.
Again, since I would need a low profile PCI card, the pickings are slim! I did find the StarTech PCISOUND4LP. It's PCI and has a low profile version. And the description says it supports EAX, and also "Legacy SBPro and DOS support," but who knows what that really means. It doesn't specify which OS the driver supports. And it doesn't matter, because they aren't cheap! About $50-60 on eBay, from what I see. Maybe I'd want to spend that much if this was like a *perfect* sound card, but not a gamble.
If I'm not happy with the ESS SOLO-1, then I will re-investigate the sound card option later on.
This motherboard has only USB 1.1 ports, which I'm hoping will work for keyboard and mouse but they really suck for data transfers. There is an excellent unofficial USB 2.0 support for Windows 98 that let's you use USB sticks. And that being the case, and since my case has front USB ports, it would be a shame not to be able to use them.
But again, the challenge is finding a USB 2.0 PCI card that has internal headers and is low profile. And preferably something with a decent chip, that I can be reasonably sure the driver will work with. I picked up two possible fits...
One has a VIA chip, the other NEC. The VIA has an unpopulated header for a front panel connector, which I can easily install. The NEC card has a header for 1 port, so not ideal. But I could probably hack something up if I had to.
The case has four front USB ports. So in typical Ziggy fashion, I will spend way too much time thinking about this minor detail. If I use either card, the internal header will be good for just 2 front USB ports, but not all four. I wouldn't want 2 dead ports. So I thought maybe I could just get those dummy plug things, or 3D print some. Or if I wanted to be a little hacky, I could connect all four front ports to the PCI card. But what the hell do I need four front USB ports for? I really just need the one!
But again, the challenge is finding a USB 2.0 PCI card that has internal headers and is low profile. And preferably something with a decent chip, that I can be reasonably sure the driver will work with. I picked up two possible fits...
One has a VIA chip, the other NEC. The VIA has an unpopulated header for a front panel connector, which I can easily install. The NEC card has a header for 1 port, so not ideal. But I could probably hack something up if I had to.
The case has four front USB ports. So in typical Ziggy fashion, I will spend way too much time thinking about this minor detail.
If I use either card, the internal header will be good for just 2 front USB ports, but not all four. I wouldn't want 2 dead ports. So I thought maybe I could just get those dummy plug things, or 3D print some. Or if I wanted to be a little hacky, I could connect all four front ports to the PCI card. But what the hell do I need four front USB ports for? I really just need the one! This is the biggest thing I've been pondering, which has really been the one thing keeping me from starting this build proper.
The CD-ROM drive is a given. That will definitely be staying. I have put some thought into going without it, and I could just use a larger HDD, load disc images onto it and use a virtual drive. But I think I will leave the CD drive in.
The FDD I think I'm gonna remove. I had an extra black FDD, so I stuck it in there. But there's so many different ways I could go. I was thinking about going with one of those Gotek floppy drive emulators. For those that aren't familiar, the computer sees the Gotek as a real floppy drive. But you use USB sticks with it, and can load floppy image files onto the stick. So it can be more convenient to use, especially when you're sharing a desk with a modern PC that can go out to the internet and put the image files on the USB stick.
As for a HDD, I was thinking of going with an SD card to IDE adapter. SD cards are a little easier to use than CF, and they are much cheaper at this point. And if I remove the FDD, I could put a 3D printed part that fits the SD to IDE adapter. That would give me front access to the SD card, which might be convenient. For example, I could easily swap the SD card to my Windows 10 PC and image it or dump games/files to it. It would also give me the ability to swap OSes by swapping SD cards.
If I go with a front SD card thing, then I will be sacrificing the FDD, either real or Gotek emulated. I'm not sure that will matter though. Win9x games will all be CD based. The floppy would really just be for DOS games. And that being the case, could I just copy the files over for those games (do a manual install)?
I did see that someone made a 3D printed low profile bracket that fits the SD to IDE adapter. So I could still go with the SD card adapter, but have access to it in the back instead of the front. Not as convenient, but then again how many times would I need access to it? And if I have the SD card in the back, then I can have a Gotek FDD in the front. Best of both worlds?
The CD-ROM drive is a given. That will definitely be staying. I have put some thought into going without it, and I could just use a larger HDD, load disc images onto it and use a virtual drive. But I think I will leave the CD drive in.
The FDD I think I'm gonna remove. I had an extra black FDD, so I stuck it in there. But there's so many different ways I could go. I was thinking about going with one of those Gotek floppy drive emulators. For those that aren't familiar, the computer sees the Gotek as a real floppy drive. But you use USB sticks with it, and can load floppy image files onto the stick. So it can be more convenient to use, especially when you're sharing a desk with a modern PC that can go out to the internet and put the image files on the USB stick.
As for a HDD, I was thinking of going with an SD card to IDE adapter. SD cards are a little easier to use than CF, and they are much cheaper at this point. And if I remove the FDD, I could put a 3D printed part that fits the SD to IDE adapter. That would give me front access to the SD card, which might be convenient. For example, I could easily swap the SD card to my Windows 10 PC and image it or dump games/files to it. It would also give me the ability to swap OSes by swapping SD cards.
If I go with a front SD card thing, then I will be sacrificing the FDD, either real or Gotek emulated. I'm not sure that will matter though. Win9x games will all be CD based. The floppy would really just be for DOS games. And that being the case, could I just copy the files over for those games (do a manual install)?
I did see that someone made a 3D printed low profile bracket that fits the SD to IDE adapter. So I could still go with the SD card adapter, but have access to it in the back instead of the front. Not as convenient, but then again how many times would I need access to it? And if I have the SD card in the back, then I can have a Gotek FDD in the front. Best of both worlds?
