Best MB for PIII-S 1.4Ghz 512k Cache Tualatin Socket 370 CPU?

[magicmanred]

Looking to build a Socket 370 PIII-S system for vintage gaming.
I have a PIII-S 1.4Ghz 512k Cache Tualatin 1.45v Socket 370 CPU sitting here and 3x512mb SD CL2 Ram waiting to be put to use.

As much research as I do, I always seem to run into the same patterns of "they are not officially supported" or... "you'd need an adapter".

I didn't think a processor would be so limited by the motherboards available! This is crazy... Man have things gotten easier these days...

I've looked at a lot of Asus boards... (TUV4X , TUSL2-C , CUV4X-E)
A couple of Intel's until I realized they weren't overclockable, ugh... (D815EEA, D815EFV)
A couple of ECS boards... (ECS 6S5AT) which seems sweet on paper with the DDR ram support as well as SD. (But only 2 slots of each, so I'd assume 1GB max total ram?) Also the P6IPAT.
Even glanced over some Gigabyte boards with onboard Creative sound which seemed very likable! Now if only they had built-in LAN.

My requests simplified:
I need an AGP slot. I assume the boards all have AGP 4x? So they should be fine with Voodoo Cards.
I'll be putting either my Voodoo 3500, 4500 or a 5500 in there... probably a 5500 and sell one or both of the others.

Some questions for the potential PIII-S 1.4ghz motherboard candidates:
• If the board is going to have on-board audio... Creative would be sweet! Although obviously this is not priority. Any possibilities other than gigabyte?
Otherwise, what PCI sound cards are best for that era of games? Creative SB Live? I don't remember what was best/most compatible/popular then.
• Are there any boards with native USB2.0 in that era? Seems all were still 1.1.
• Are there any boards with onboard-LAN? It doesn't seem to be common.
• Are there any boards that support UDMA-133? Or is UDMA-100 the most that was around at that time?
• Any boards with an ISA slot? Or would that be too old of a thing for them to also be compatible with the PIII-S 1.4ghz 512k chip?

At the end of the day, I'm fine with getting a separate USB 2.0 card, PCI Sound card, PCI LAN card... But if there are some acceptable boards with decent onboard audio and possible onboard lan that support this CPU, that would be nice (unless someone can tell me any possible reasons why it's best to have those separate? I recall back in those days someone mentioning that onboard audio has to be processed by the processor, as opposed to a separate sound card having it's own? Apparently a separate sound card is better performance?)

Many thanks in advance!
-M

___________________________________________________________________
I'm updating this section below for anyone that stumbles upon this in future searches.

The following have been confirmed to run the 1.4ghz PIII-S 512k Tualatin CPU:
ASUS TUSL2 (815E chipset)
ASUS TUSL2-C (815EP chipset) - This one is assumed because of the above. Apparently this has less voltage options though.
ECS P6IPAT (815EP chipset)
ASUS TUV4X (VIA Apollo Pro133T 686B chipset)

 

[don256us]

Boy does this take me back. You will generally not find Ethernet cards built in. Dial-up was still king in those days. I do not think that you will find AGP *and* ISA on the same board.

To know about any issue with the max amount of RAM, we would need to know what OS you intend to run. As I recall, Windows 98 SE really had little performance increase above 512 MB. In looking this up to test my memory, I see that Win 9x/ME had a problem with anything more than 512 MB.

You will be able to find a lot of PCI sound cards. Creative was the name brand of the day.

In terms of what is done by the card and what is done via the CPU... I think that a lot of the Sound Blaster stuff did the processing on the card. That was why their stuff tended to cost more than other brands. Cheap NICs will also want to run from the CPU. In the Win 9x days, a lot of the work was able to be off-loaded to Windows and thus the CPU. In the DOS days, each device had to do its own work.

 

[magicmanred]

Haha yes. Nothing like the early 2000's when computer hardware was accelerating at INSANE speeds...

Yes I will be running Win98se.
I MAY do a dual boot of that with XP Pro 32-bit.

When you say "a problem with anything more than 512mb"... what kind of problems are we talking about?

Yeah, I figured creative was the way to go. I'm going to research this after I get everything together since it's not really a priority.

There are indeed boards with ISA as well as AGP.
Check it out (Asus CUV4X "non-E version").
http://www.ebay.com/itm/ASUS-CUV4X-...621326?hash=item3ac09d0dce:g:qygAAOSw7FRWZ6oh

And this Intel D815EFV has AGP and on-board LAN:
http://www.ebay.com/itm/Intel-D815E...529075?hash=item3d06b4faf3:g:tfoAAOSwhcJWJ-IF

I'll keep that in mind about the LAN cards too... I'll try to eye a nice vintage 3Com or something that way I have it ready.
I currently already have a PCI LAN card in my vintage Super Socket 7 build (AMD K6 III+ 450 1.7v CPU). That's my Dos 6.22 and WFW 3.11 Rig hah! (I can run that puppy at 66fsb x 1.5 for super 486 simulation!)
I could always pull the LAN card out of there since it has an ISA 56k Dial-up US Robotics card in there for extra vintage points!

I'm really liking the ASUS CUV4X-E (of course, hoping it can support the PIII-S 1.4ghz 512k CPU) because it has 4 ram slots... I'd assume it can run 2GB of ram?
What was that one issue way back in the day with 32-bit operating systems and total ram limitation... was it 2GB? Would it nip away at those 2GB depending on what video memory you have? I recall only 2GB being map-able/addressable in something back then, just can't remember what...

 

[don256us]

From what I was reading, if you had anything more than 512 MB, then copied files, the OS would grab too much RAM and then if you ran a program, the OS would tell you that you do not have enough RAM. I can't say that I ever saw this bug.

Max RAM was something that seemed to be in dispute. One site said 1 GB actual RAM which would then give you up to 1 GB of virtual RAM for a total of 2 GB. That same site cited 512 KB for Win 98/SE. I don't trust my own memory on this issue.

I remember staying with ISA for as long as I could when on dial-up. The ISA modems did their own processing but the PCI didn't. An ISA USRobotics was the bomb in its day.

Good find on those MB. I would opt for the one with ISA over the NIC for processing concerns. The small slot on the first board was a CMR or other "communications" slot that came out for "soft modems" and the like.

 

[magicmanred]

Interesting...

I just grabbed a 3Com PCI 3C905C-TXM card from ebay.
That should do the trick... nothing wrong with having a backup for $13 bucks! Came with a Wake-on-Lan cable too. Nice touch.
Also an IDE UDMA-100 WD drive (80gb 7200rpm 8mb cache). I'm trying to keep it as original as possible. I know I could get Sata cards/adapters/CF Adapters/SSD's... but I want to hear that hard drive think! Haha

I only have 512mb sticks... so I'm hoping whatever board I end up getting, can support a 512mb chip. If I can only use 512mb... so be it. I have 3 of those chips to play with if need be

Only thing I really need at this point is to know which motherboard will definitely support that CPU and has the ability to do some overclocking.
I'm itching to get this thing together!

 

[magicmanred]

Just got confirmation that the ECS P6IPAT supports the PIII-S 1.4Ghz 512k chip.
Some guy on ebay was nice enough to send me a screen shot of that board with that chip posting!

I'm almost willing to say it's safe to assume the P6S5AT can do it too...

To my understanding, the P6IPAT has an Intel chipset, while the P6S5AT has SIS? I wonder what the pros/cons are... I'd imagine one is better for overclocking than the other...

 

[Mr.Scott]

TUSL2
There is no better board for overclocking Tualatins.
CUSL2 and a Lin Lin adapter would be next.

 

[magicmanred]

Sweet! So a definite confirmation on the PIII-S 1.4ghz with 512k Cache?

This is what I have available to me at the moment...
Looking for some guidance and direction...

There is a TUSL2 available on eBay right now but it has on-board graphics from Canada.
http://www.ebay.com/itm/FREE-SHIP-A...328076?hash=item1c6472c78c:g:a-AAAOSwNphWZwAZ
Is that going to be any issue? Should I grab it or wait for a better option?

There is a TUSL2-C version (that the only difference as far as I can tell is that it has no onboard audio or graphics) Oh and it's in Russia...
http://www.ebay.com/itm/ASUS-TUSL2-...213426?hash=item41a7ed2f32:g:4WUAAOSwoydWr0dp

Any feedback on the ECS boards? Or are those just blah?
http://www.ebay.com/itm/ECS-Elitegr...rd-CPU-256MB-Ram-Memory-Tested-/182042524053?

There is an Asus CUV4X-E on ebay that is quite close to me.... would probably ship quickly. Is this board a no-no? I've read confirmation on this too, but I think it was a non-E.
http://www.ebay.com/itm/Motherboard...-Socket370-Excellent-Condition-/252331156805?

I've also read confirmation on the Asus TUV4X. This one's a fair price. From Canada again.
http://www.ebay.com/itm/ASUS-TUV4X-...036890?hash=item4d34f6465a:g:qC8AAOSwu4BVnWKh

Oh and Scottie... do you have any more 5500's for sale?
Thanks!

 

[magicmanred]

This was the TUSL2-C that I missed because I wasn't sure if it could take the PIII-S 1.4Ghz 512k CPU

http://www.ebay.com/itm/USED-ASUS-T...uA8TWWkGBcvBT4k%2BB1Y%3D&orig_cvip=true&rt=nc

Note that this C version 'does' have on-board audio... but not the graphics... interesting.

 

[Mr.Scott]

There were many different versions of the TUSL2 and CUSL2 boards. They came with or without audio and with or without onboard graphics. Bottom line is, the support and overclocking features are the same on all of the variants. I have a CUSL2-C and I'm pretty sure I still have a TUSL2 here too. I've benched on both of them. The CUSL2-C is my goto 370 board. It's pretty bullet proof.

No more Voodoo's for sale BTW. That was my only duplicate.

What's you're other user name? I know I know you, but not by that name.

 

[magicmanred]

Nice

I went ahead and ordered the $55 dollar TUSL2 (non-c) from Canada. Free shipping!

My friend just sent me this link about how the "c" version has less voltage options than it's "non c" version.
http://www.anandtech.com/show/806/2

So I figure when I get the board in, I'll just disable onboard video and audio and pop in the voodoo + sound blaster and be done with it.

I'm not much of a forum guy, but my friend is. In fact, he was the one emailing you back and forth for me about that voodoo 5500 you had listed on ebay @ $130 BIN.
I've never spent toooo much time on forums other than reading. I rarely register. But this recent project demanded I create a post haha.

My socket 7 build is doing well. It's the one you gave me advice on for getting the voodoo 3500 for. (GA-5AX with K6 III+ 450 CPU).
I use it as a DOS pc even though it runs 98se nicely. CPU leaves a bit to be desired for any games over 640x480. I run it at 550mhz (100fsb). Haven't tinkered with OC much.

For this PIII-S build, all I have left to find is a case, and a sound card.

Question about this TUSL2: How much ram can it hold total? I have 512mb chips... can I populate all three for 1.5gb?

Thanks all for all of the help!
Feel free to leave any other confirmed boards for future vintage builders

 

[Mr.Scott]

I know who you are now.

Total system memory is 512. You'll not find much better than that on 370 unless you go to a dual board or server setup, in which case you'll lose overclocking ability.

Make sure you put the X86 Secret bios on that board.

 

[magicmanred]

X86 secret bios?

Links please! :-D

 

[Silver_Pharaoh]

I know who you are now.

Total system memory is 512. You'll not find much better than that on 370 unless you go to a dual board or server setup, in which case you'll lose overclocking ability.

Make sure you put the X86 Secret bios on that board.

Oooooh the good stuff. A nice BIOS to play in!

Probably don't need more than 512Mb RAM anyway for a vintage gamer

 

[Mr.Scott]

X86 secret bios?

Links please! :-D

http://www.x86-secret.com/articles/tweak/i815twken.htm

 

[magicmanred]

Fantastic Scott... Looks like I'll be flashing that bad boy after I get all the parts in and load her up with W98se.
I shall go with the final version unless you feel I could benefit from the beta in any way.

I'm still dumbfounded by the fact that the motherboard will only recognize 512mb of ram even if all 3 are populated with 512mb chips.
Crazy that my socket 7 build has 3x256mb and sees all 768mb ram in Win98se.

Am I going to have any problems with the Asus board reading a 512mb chip? Should have I gotten 2x256mb?

Random update:
Ended up purchasing a Sound Blaster Live! PCI. Hoping I can find the Win98 drivers... Apparently they are hard to come across even on their website. They only show driver updates and not actual drivers for some of their legacy products.

- - - Updated - - -

Just noticed the link for "Asus Bios Updater 3.28.06e" is broken.

Any ideas where I can find that windows flashing utility?
majorgeeks has a newer version that isn't compatible with W98, and all other searches lead me to Russian websites...

 

[Mr.Scott]

I use the latest betas without a problem.
Flash old school. Use a floppy and DOS.

 

[magicmanred]

I definitely prefer old school, but not when my only available floppies have a plethora of bad clusters

I suppose I'll copy the data over via external USB HD in w98 then boot up in a dos environment and flash via command line

Any comments on what I mentioned above about the ram?

 

[Mr.Scott]

I know a 512 stick works.
I've never tried more than one.

 

[JCLW]

i815 (both A and B step) support only 512MB, high or low density. As Mr. Scott said, you can put more in but you'll never get it to recognize more then 512.

If you want more the older i440BX boards support 1025MB, but low density only. They also only support 100FSB officially, but the good ones were built with the /4 PCI divider so they are fine at 133FSB.

That's a great board - there is a TUSL2-C sitting right beside me at the moment. What version Soundblaster? It'll have SB#### or CT#### printed on the card.

I've got a P2B-DS (v1.06 D03), two UpgradeWare Slot-T (v1.1) slockets, and 4x 256MB of Micron PC133 CL2 waiting for a couple of PIII-1400-S chips myself. Have not decided on video yet but keeping an eye out for the all but non-existant 6800 cards that are keyed for/support AGP 2x (3.3v signalling).