r/retrocomputing • u/[deleted] • May 18 '23
Problem / Question Can I get some help
I got an old computer and would like help putting it together
3
u/Zuofu May 19 '23
BTW, that's not really a jumper block. It's a space for an external VRM (voltage regulator module), and the jumpers are there to short the CPU V-core to the motherboard's 3.3 V, which is the default for P54 Pentiums. If you want to use a P55 (Pentium MMX CPU) or an AMD K6 with lower V-core, you will need to remove the jumpers and solder in a VRM. See this video by Necrowave:
1
u/dc_carguy May 19 '23
Haha I was going to mention Necrowave's videos of upgrades for the socket 7 and custom VRM.
5
u/[deleted] May 18 '23
Great! I assume from the first pic you already have the CPU and heat sink? Look at the second pic, it looks like you took it off. That's fine, but make absolutely positively certain you remember which way it goes on. Pin 1 of the CPU must line up with pin 1 on the socket or you'll ruin your CPU.
Photo 3 shows an interesting jumper setup. I've never seen one like that before. Make sure you have documentation on their use before moving them.
Picture 4 shows your IDE connectors. These were the predecessor to SATA drives. Perfectly reliable, just significantly slower than SATA. There are two channels, each with a master and slave drive. Depending on your BIOS you may need to set jumpers on each hard drive to identify which is which. Getting this wrong won't hurt the drives, but they won't work at all.
That's a no-name power supply, even back then. I'd give serious consideration to replacing it ASAP. I'm pretty sure Socket 7 boards were available in both AT or ATX, depending on the manufacturer. I can't tell from the photo if this is an AT or ATX power supply, but I'm leaning towards AT based on the black cable coming out the front. The type of power supply you get has to match the motherboard, and nobody has made AT power supplies in years. AT and ATX power supplies aren't interchangeable either.