best cheap/free scores 1.1

[Dan81]

Re: Gateway Select 650 PC find

Got any Powork or PowMax PSUs in there?
Sounds like the gutless PSU thread may get an epic revival soon.

Nope.

Mostly Deer, Sun Pro, YX-GP (Delux branded), Yuelin, some noname OEM that uses a black PCB (yet the rest of it is worse than anorexic), KeyMouse, CWT ISO and finally an AT Macron from ~1995.

I guess I could post some of the crappy stuff when I have some time. There's a lot of them. There's also a sad 120mm PSU that has its wires cut - I think it might be one of the gutless Zumax but I don't really know.

Apart from that, I managed to save some for myself - a pretty nice Casecom (Sun Pro) unit, the Premier LC-8500BTX mentioned above, and a Frontier LC-8460BTX in which I swapped the guts from a G-Alantic (CWT ISO) unit that had a beaten case but the electronics were fine. I could post a picture of those that I fixed at this moment including that Frontier.

[momaka]

Gateway Select 650 continued (part 2)

Just sorted through the new pictures of the Gateway Select 650.

For those of you not familiar with the Kadoka motherboard, here's a view or two:



And here is that interesting CPU VRM up close that I was talking about:
https://www.badcaps.net/forum/attach...1&d=1554953251
As mentioned, there are no electrolytic capacitors here or anywhere else on the motherboard – just Tantalum caps and ceramic ones. CPU VRM is 4-phase, high-speed switching, and with soldered heatsinks close to the MOSFET's Drain tabs – now *that* is a GOOD cooling design.

Next, chipset and LPC SIO:
https://www.badcaps.net/forum/attach...1&d=1554953251

The whole motherboard cleaned up very easily as it wasn't that dusty. Shame about the broken PCI slot, though. Speaking of which, I just couldn't leave it there like that, so I removed it:
https://www.badcaps.net/forum/attach...1&d=1554953251
https://www.badcaps.net/forum/attach...1&d=1554953251
https://www.badcaps.net/forum/attach...1&d=1554953251

I suppose loosing one PCI slot is not going to be a big deal, as this mobo had five total before. Four should still be enough for everything I need (audio, LAN, maybe USB2.0… we will see. ) Of course, I do also have a broken (literally, snapped in half) Dell OptiPlex GX260 motherboard that I can pull another PCI slot from. But on that note, does anyone have any tips how to remove slots easily and without damage? I removed the above slot on the Kadoka with my 40W Radio Shack bulb desoldering iron. It was OK on the data lines but struggled on a few of the ground and power lines. Thus, I ended up melting a big ball of solder on one side of the slot pins where that happened in hopes of pulling the slot when I melted the entire solder ball. Unfortunately, that didn't work so well. The solder fell through the vias instead, cooled, and then made it even harder to try to desolder. So that's why you can see the pins on the actual connector are pulled out on one side. Does anyone reckon if hot air / a massive bottom heater will work (without melting the slot)? I might try that with the broken OptiPlex GX260 mobo. I also would like to pull the AGP slot out of that one to try putting it on another Dell board that has the holes for it, but no slot… though, that's for another silly rainy day project.

Anyways, moving on… here is the bare case after I cleaned it:
https://www.badcaps.net/forum/attach...1&d=1554953251
https://www.badcaps.net/forum/attach...1&d=1554953251
https://www.badcaps.net/forum/attach...1&d=1554953251
Finally a case that isn't rusty! It wasn't very dusty either. Nice heavy steel too, just the way I like it.

Also, let's not forget the manufacturing / model sticker:

Made in April 14 of 2000. Ha! Four more days before its 19th birthday!

All the parts that need to go back in the case:
https://www.badcaps.net/forum/attach...1&d=1554953575

But before that, I needed to fix a few things. First, the snapped supporting tabs on the top plastic piece:
https://www.badcaps.net/forum/attach...1&d=1554953575
PVC glue works great on ABS plastic! It just cures a bit too slow. It's been over a week, and I can still leave an indent on the glue. In some cases, I've had it take almost a month to become fully hardened.

This is why I often use hot glue in places where it will work fine. Speaking of which…
https://www.badcaps.net/forum/attach...1&d=1554953575
Just before installing the motherboard in the case, I found that its 3rd USB port was broken and pins inside all mangled up. If it was a dual port, I could have tried replacing it with one from another motherboard. But because this was a single triple USB port, I just un-mangled the pins so that they are not shorting to each other (or the case) and filled it with hot glue. I suppose that is not that big of a loss either, as these are USB 1.1 ports.

After all of this, it was time to put everything back together – and so I did


A shot of the front:

I suppose the only eye-sore is that Philips CD-RW drive. For this reason, I actually removed it before storing the case. I will eventually fix that CD-RW drive too. (Already have glued the plastic bezel together and fixed the broken door mechanism. Now I just need to figure out why it doesn't work at all – no power… but that's work for a rainy day/weekend too. )

So, after all of this cleaning and fixing – THE PC WORKS! At first, the PSU fan was a bit grind-y – sounded like a bad bearing on a car alternator or water pump. But as it warmed up, it became quieter. Still, the PSU worked without problems. Voltages were rock stable and what they should be. Leave it to Astec to design a good PSU, of course. Almost all caps inside it are Nichicon. The original CD-ROM and floppy that came with the PC also worked – read through my Windows XP SP2 CD fine. The motherboard also Mem-tested successfully.

The only bits of original hardware that I haven't tried yet are the LAN and sound card. I'm pretty sure the LAN card will work, as it was somewhat away from the motherboard carnage. But as for the sound card, we will see. That said, I did fix it up a bit, though:
https://www.badcaps.net/forum/attach...1&d=1554953575
The ports still need straightening (not really visible in the picture). But overall, it looks a lot better and actually can be installed in a slot again.

Oh, and I even managed to save the parallel IDE and floppy cables.
Before:
https://www.badcaps.net/forum/attach...1&d=1554953575

After:
https://www.badcaps.net/forum/attach...1&d=1554953575
On the IDE cable, I just cut the “ugly cut” it had. And for the floppy cable, I did the same and simply re-installed the end connector. I suppose that is one nice thing about parallel drive cables – they can be fixed (and shortened), if needed.

So there you go, folks – another old PC saved from the dump. I really have no idea what I will do with this one. But the plastics are in near mint condition – no yellowing and hardly any scratches on the outside. It looks many times better than my Select 750, which is all dinged up, a bit yellowed, and is even missing the plastic for the power button (to turn it on, I have to stick my finger in a hole on the front bezel to press the little button behind it ) Thus, at the very least, this could make a really decent-looking retro PC.

[stj]

Re: best cheap/free scores 1.1

the eyesore is the windows sticker.
and stickers on light cases are bad anyway - when they eventually peel the case will be a different shade.

[Topcat]

Re: best cheap/free scores 1.1

wow, someone did a number on that PCI slot! Very nice rebuild though. anything old & beige always has a place in my heart. Are you going to replace that PCI slot or just leave it vacant?

[Topcat]

Re: best cheap/free scores 1.1

today's scores were:

3x Dell 2010wb monitors, working
1x HP 1300n laser printer with ethernet print server module
a box of random whatnots (keyboards, mice, small routers, etc).

[Curious.George]

Re: best cheap/free scores 1.1

Tek TDS754D in good condition dropped off this morning. No probes (of course! :< ). These things have been falling out of the trees, lately (I think this is the fourth one I've received).

I'll check to make sure the attenuator board is intact and, if so, upgrade it (bandwidth plus "options") and give it a quick calibration before passing it off to the local "Maker" house.

[Dan81]

Re: best cheap/free scores 1.1

Got a Seagate ST31276A 1.2GB and a HDMI cable for my PS3 for free.

[mikay786]

Re: best cheap/free scores 1.1

Got some really good deals of the last couple of weeks.

Yesterday

• Macbook Pro Early 2015 i5 2.9Ghz / 8GB / 512GB SSD - £60

Backlite wasnt working, checked fuse which was good. But in the process of taking it apart and cleaning some connectors its all working it seems. Dont want to get too excited just yet as has only been an hour or so, will see over the next few days. Runied the pentolope screws whilst opening thinking they were star screws but cheap enough on ebay.

• Mitutoyo 293 micrometer - £10

Super accurate and pricy, measure a piece of paper down to the micron. impressed

• Xbox One console only - £20

Seems to be working fine

Last week

• Got 2 x HP 8470P Laptop - i5 3320M / 4GB RAM / 120GB SSD - £10 each

Seller had 8 of these, kicking myself for not buying them all but was thinking i should limit risk. Even for parts would have been worth more. Anyhow had to order power supplies but both working fine.


Loads of other dtuff but the above were the standouts.

[Dan81]

Re: best cheap/free scores 1.1

Bought a Core i3 3220 for $19. Was worth the upgrade from a Pentium G645.

[Topcat]

Re: best cheap/free scores 1.1

I rescued another wayward soul BP6, not working & loaded with bad caps. Cheap ebay score. I'm getting quite a collection of BP6's.....one of these days I'll start cutting them loose....working ones fetch a good price.

[brethin]

Re: best cheap/free scores 1.1

neighborhood collection time coming App 26 and I have a high amount going out to the yard this year, hate to see it go to waste but need the room for our ailing mother-in-law.

[momaka]

Re: best cheap/free scores 1.1

wow, someone did a number on that PCI slot!

They have indeed.
Like I said, I don't know how one can do so much damage. PCI slots tend to be quite tough in my experience.

That being said, I think the VooDoo3 graphics card is very likely FUBAR. What I thought was a small scratch on one of the RAM chips is actually a crack, I think. The way I checked: I used a screw driver to scratch the RAM chip in a direction perpendicular to the scratch, and I kept "feeling" the scratch no matter how deeper I went. If that's the case... only remedy would be to find some old SDRAM sticks with 16 Mbit chips... which I have NONE at all. Might put a post up in the "looking to buy" forum when I get to it and confirm if that RAM chips is bad or not. If it is, it's going to be a RAM chip replacement job + who knows what else. But for a VooDoo3 card, I think it's worthwhile.

*sigh* monkey technicians at their finest.

Very nice rebuild though. anything old & beige always has a place in my heart.

Same here.
Some years back, I'd grunt when I saw beige cases, thinking "old and useless". But now that I've seen what modern PCs are built like, I never skip a chance to get any beige cases.

Are you going to replace that PCI slot or just leave it vacant?

Will replace it if I can salvage one without damaging it. Already have a few donor boards too.

neighborhood collection time coming App 26 and I have a high amount going out to the yard this year, hate to see it go to waste but need the room for our ailing mother-in-law.

Over here, I just put stuff in front of the driveway with a "FREE" sign several days before trash collection accompanied with a Craigslist "curb alert" post. More often than not, almost anything I put gets taken within an hour or two.

I rescued another wayward soul BP6, not working & loaded with bad caps. Cheap ebay score. I'm getting quite a collection of BP6's.....one of these days I'll start cutting them loose....working ones fetch a good price.

That sounds like me collecting old AGP video cards, thinking I could fix them up nicely and sell them... but I usually end up hoarding them instead (or rather, put in some old PC, which is not such a bad thing either, I suppose. )

Bought a Core i3 3220 for $19. Was worth the upgrade from a Pentium G645.

Nice. Finally onto a more modern rig, eh?
I wonder how that Core i3 stacks up against the older Core 2 Quad and Athlon II X4 CPUs, granted it's a dual core chip with HT (but with much more efficient/optimized performance per clock/core.)

I just ran a test the other day, and it seems that even mid-range Core 2 Duo CPUs are getting a bit outdated now to run YouTube @ 720p@60Hz - without a good GPU to off-load decoding, at least.

[Dan81]

Re: best cheap/free scores 1.1

Scored a satin blue PS2 model SCPH-50004 with a matching controller and a matching car for free from a friend.

Also scored a 4GB DDR3 stick (not working sadly ), and a DFI K6BV3+/66 that doesn't POST. Probably has something to do with the green TEAPO caps all over the board.

[TechGeek]

Re: best cheap/free scores 1.1

Teapo = Cheapo

[Dan81]

Re: best cheap/free scores 1.1

Teapo = Cheapo

Yeah, figured that out a lot of times with MSI

Recapped it with 2007 datecode OSTs from a discarded ASRock board but still no dice. It still doesn't POST and it's emitting a high pitched squeal from the ATX plug (this has happened before I recapped the whole board as well).

I used a ceramic Pentium 166 non-MMX and even a 133, no POST or anything.

[ratdude747]

Re: best cheap/free scores 1.1

Last week I scored an FRP'd Samsung Tab E 8.0 for $30 from the Tennessee pawn shop.

Took a couple of days of fiddling with it to finally bypass the FRP lock... and since it's an ATT unit with a locked bootloader, no ROMs or Root. It did make a good easter gift for my parents though.

[Curious.George]

Re: best cheap/free scores 1.1

Just about 1T of ECC DRAM sticks (16x32G, 64x4G, 16x8G). Time to take an inventory of currently installed memory to see which machines will benefit from this windfall...

And, another Smart-UPS with the inevitable bad batteries. But, I really had to WORK on this one!

[Cripes, you'd think they could sense when they're cooking the batteries like this and shutdown the charger!!!]

[Topcat]

Re: best cheap/free scores 1.1

A wee bit melted!

[TechGeek]

Re: best cheap/free scores 1.1

Just about 1T of ECC DRAM sticks (16x32G, 64x4G, 16x8G). Time to take an inventory of currently installed memory to see which machines will benefit from this windfall...

And, another Smart-UPS with the inevitable bad batteries. But, I really had to WORK on this one!

[Cripes, you'd think they could sense when they're cooking the batteries like this and shutdown the charger!!!]

bzzzzt

[brethin]

Re: best cheap/free scores 1.1

neighborhood collection time coming App 26 and I have a high amount going out to the yard this year, hate to see it go to waste but need the room for our ailing mother-in-law.

Neighborhood collection is the 27th so if anyone wants literally everything I have bring $500 and you take it all. I'd guess it's $5000 worth of stuff based on eBay prices at half of what it sells for. Most all working, some new in box lots of rare things. It might all fit in a long bed pickup truck, maybe. Ailing Mother in Law taking my computer room and I closed all my storage units. Time to let it all go. The reason I say $500 is I can get that just taking it to scrapyard. Let me know soon.