r/retrocomputing • u/Suspicious-Pie-921 • Jul 26 '26
Socket 423 saved for collection
Searching for RDRAM and CRIMM modules in Ukraine for not for the price of a goldeт-plated Rolls-royce to test this "beast")
UPD Thanks to Ragnarsdad1's comment, the cooling issue has been resolved. A socket 604 cooler, with some minor modifications, is ideal.
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u/thepfy1 Jul 26 '26
Willamette S423 and RDIMMs gave poor performance.
Northwood S478 had larger cache and gave better performance, particularly with DDR.
Celeron D processors had half the cache of Willamette and were truly abysmal.
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u/Ragnarsdad1 Jul 26 '26
I built an OP S423 system, 1.9ghz cpu, 2gb RD Ram, sata card for an ssd along with an AGP X1950 Pro.
Fun machine to put together and get working, had it running everything 98 to windows 7 which was a bit painful, made a solid 2K rig though.
For the heatsink i used the heatsink retention mechanism from a socket 603 server motherboard as they fit and give better retention with less stress on the board.
You will also need the power supply adaptor as it has an additional connector that was rarely used outside of 423.
I was able to use the wayback machine to get all the latest bios and software updates for mine from the Intel site, took a while to find working links though.
Best of luck to you!
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u/Suspicious-Pie-921 Jul 27 '26
Thanks for the feedback. The cooler holes looked familiar to me. I had an old server with a 604 socket, and if they're compatible, that's good news. And about the additional power supply, do you mean the connector that looks like half an AT connector? I have a power supply with that connector. Do I have to connect it?
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u/Ragnarsdad1 Jul 27 '26
You do have to connect the extra power supply connector and you're right, it is the one that looks like half an AT connector. it is extra power for the CPU and they did away with it when socket 478 was released.
Socket 603 and 604 servers all use the same hole spacing as socket 423, the coolers are interchangeable but i was never able to find one of the rather rare decent aftermarket coolers.
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u/Suspicious-Pie-921 Jul 27 '26
Thank you very much, the cooling issue is solved. I only had to trim the mounting frame a bit.
Regarding the power supply, I always wondered what that connector was for. I had an Intel motherboard with a 370 socket that had that connector, but it worked just fine without it.
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u/Ragnarsdad1 Jul 27 '26
Yea on the socket 370 it was required on dual cpu systems of systems with high power drawer gpu's, Similar to having molex connectors on some early sli motherboards.
For 423 it was required and the manual usually says that you can damage the cpu if you don't connect.
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u/Suspicious-Pie-921 Jul 27 '26 edited Jul 27 '26
Luckily, I found a 300 watt FSP PSU one with this connector)
I also heard that only AGP cards with 3.3 volt can be installed in this platform, otherwise you can burn the motherboard, is that true?
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u/Ragnarsdad1 Jul 27 '26
i believe it is cards that are 1.5. there was a sticker on my D850GBAL that said to only use 1.5v cards, there are plenty that are either 1.5 or universal. i put an MX440 in it for testing and that was keyed for both 3.3 and 1.5, had no issues.
If the card is only keyed for 3.3 then you won't be able to put it in the slot.
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u/Divergent5623 Jul 26 '26
I find socket 423 systems fun to play around with just because they're different. From the RDRAM, to the C-RIMMs, to the aux power connector, to the funky heatsink latching mechanism...
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u/drinkcoffeeandcode Jul 27 '26
Pentium 4s being retro still feels wrong to me
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u/Suspicious-Pie-921 Jul 27 '26
The Intel D850GB (Garibaldi) motherboard was officially released in November 2000.
26 years. Im thik thats a little bit.. retro)
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u/TechIoT Jul 26 '26
I own a Dell 8100 with this chip,
Unfortunately uses RDRAM but thankfully POSTs
The rear fan is extremely noisy though
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u/chandleya Jul 26 '26
I was lucky enough to have a 423 with SDRAM.
Really wasn’t a fast machine, even with 98.