P 90 upgrade... possible?

[finger51]

Hi All!

I just scored (or did I?) a Pentium 90 with 32 megs of ram and a 1.2gig scsi HD from work for $20.
I've cracked the case and the CPU sits in a "socket 5" socket with another empty socket sitting right next to it.

my ?'s:

1)what the hell is the other socket for?
2)can I find a faster CPU that will fit into that socket? Whats the fastest I can get for this socket?
3)did I just throw $20 out the window?

Thanks,
Finger

[MudMan]

Welcome to Hardware Upgrade Hell!
If you want to waste your money you can.
To upgrade this system would cost more than to build a new system. The merry-go-round runs like this, you need a new processor but are limited by the socket 5 MB so you need a new MB, but the new MB or chip needs new memory and the new stuff won't quite work with the old HD so........you get the picture. Been there and done that at least twice. Tried a WinChip but the old MB BIOS could not be updated http://www.sysopt.com/forum/frown.gif so watch yourself! The HD is at least worth the $20.

[Dash800]

Well not quite.. it all depends on the motherboard. If his motherboard supports 2.2vs, and a 2x multiplier, he could get a K6-2 400, and do 66x2 (6) or 60x2(6) and get a faster CPU either way. It all depends on the board though. And if he has a SCSI hd he most likely has the controller card, so thats not a new HD needed.

[800XL]

That sounds somewhat remarkable. I have seen A LOT of motherboards, but the only Pentium class motherboards I have seen that sport two sockets are dual processor machines. Are the sockets just alike? I have seen some of these where one socket is a LIF (black, no lever, have to pry out the CPU) and the other is a Socket 5 ZIF. Quite a few dual machines can be hard to upgrade to faster procs, so 90 may be it, but you could drop another CPU in there and have some fun with it.

Is it a name brand of computer? Something like HP or AST perhaps? If it is, look for model numbers and such. I can probably look up a lot more with a part number or model. If it looks fairly generic, look for any sort of identifying marks on the motherboard. Numbers, especially the larger more obvious ones may help. I think you have something very interesting, and worth at least $20.

[finger51]

It is an HP but I don't know what kind I'll check it out-

I have turned this machine on and it does work. the start up says that it is a pentium class 90MHz. I had to put a vid card into it (I think thats why I got it, the old one did not function and our IT guys are morons, I'm a novice and figured that one out)Its got 95 installed on it. the sockets look exactly alike, they have the lever that unhinges to let the CPU out. My buddy thinks the extra socket is for a "math co-processor" but I didn't know what he was talking about. both sockets have "socket 5" printed onto them. I'd like to use this machine to play lan games in my house but I'm afraid the P90 won't cut it for anything "fun" i.e. quake etc.

so, I'll check out the mobo and see what it says. thanks, I'll post a progress report.
-Fing

[finger51]

BTW 800xl

I'm sure its not a dual processor machine because it came from an admin's cubicle- he did mostly word processing so I can't see the company popping for a dual CPU machine just for Word .doc's

[finger51]

ALSO,
its got onboard SCSI, the only cards plugged into it are a vid card (mine) and a nic card...
odd puzzle because it has rj45 and BNC plugs coming off of the mobo too. why would it have a nic and onboard lan?

[800XL]

That sounds like a dually to me. There is absolutely no reason in a pentium class machine to have more than one socket other than for dual processors. The "Math Coprocessor" idea is something from the 486 and earlier days. That is not what you have here. If you have access to any original Pentium CPU (90-166 at least) drop it in that other socket and see what bootup shows. The bios should at least recognize two CPUs, though you may need to change a jumper on the board to set it for dual operation. HP machines have a part number that is usually something like D2745 that will point toward some detailed info. Also the model name and number would be a help. If you can get those, I'll see what I can dig up for jumper settings/info about it.

On the "what to do with it" side, you will need some kind of Operating system that can use dual CPUs. Windows NT, Beos, and Linux come to mind. It would not be outside the realm of possibility that you can get up to a P133 in there, and two of those would not be bad at all for some sort of server to play around with.

[finger51]

alright I've got some numbers.
The mother board does not have much for big lables or names, but I did see two big stickers that look OEM and have the same numbers on them-> D3084-69002 and FGOMA7

Also, the drive is a HP 1.05GB SCSI p/n ST1230N

On the case it says: HP Vectra XU 5/90C

Sorry I couldn't provide this stuff earlier, I was at work and did not want to draw too much attention to the fact I had scored a work machine. ...Boss said "Oh that thing is wasted, can't even turn it on. I'll sell it to you for beer money." he had my $20 before he finished his sentence. hehe

[800XL]

here is a quote from the technical specs:

Intel Pentium (R) 75, 90, or 120, or 133 MHz processor. Support for Intel MP Specification (MP Spec 1.1) for dual-processor technology


Here is the link to get that info.
http://www.support.vectra.hp.com:8001/vectrasupport/indexes/Document24.html
No jumper settings yet, but I may still find them. Looks like you could go dual 133s.

[philipg]

I sent an email to HP because there is no jumper settings on the web page..

[This message has been edited by philipg (edited 07-19-99).]

[finger51]

Thanks!!!!

I too will do some digging.
HP's site didn't say too much for what kind of mobo it has in it. did HP make the mobo for this machine?

[Petec]

Most Motherboards have all there information stamped on them.Look for a name or number to give you the manufacturer.All major computer manufacturers,Compaq,HP,Dell,IBM, do not make there own motherboards.

[800XL]

Most manufacturers of that era actually used Intel motherboards. I would bet that this is not the case here. HP has used some off the shelf boards (largely Intel at least in that era) but their dual systems are typically an in house design. I actually can't think of an Intel board design for a dual socket 5(7) motherboard off the top of my head. HP is likely going to be the only hope here, but I'll check what sources I have here for you.

[toms111]

Cool

[This message has been edited by toms111 (edited 07-20-99).]

[GarthLear]

If your lucky and the bios would support it you might be able to use one of the powerleap upgrades that work in a sock5 such as the 233mmx. check out www.powerleap.com for info but you may not want to add that much to your $20. We have sold old intergraph workstations of that vintage and you can overclock some of them with jumpers but you just have to experiment with them. good luck

[finger51]

Thanks all- I put a couple of 133's into this beast- got them up the street for $20 each. She started right up, no jumper settings- nada, just plugged them in and the bios saw them. after 4 bench mark tests I averaged 208MHz. I have pulled the NIC card out and plugged it in to my main machine. the CAT 5 is running under the carpet into the other room- this was soooooo much easier than I had expected.
Thanks to all for your help. This site rocks!!!!

[800XL]

I kinda figured it would fire up dual without a problem. If you are really into making this machine faster, you could probably get it to run dual with either Intel Pentium MMX overdrive chips, or any Pentium MMX upgrade from Powerleap, or Evergreen Technologies. It will have to be an Intel chip to run dual though. Glad to hear you got it going and doing something interesting. That would make a great machine for Linux, or maybe Beos, or NT. Anything as long as it is able to see dual procs. Stuff a passable 3d accelerator into a PCI slot, install Linux and I bet it would play Quake3 pretty well for a machine of its advanced age.

[finger51]

Thanks again, the quake thing was my first thought but since I squeezed 200MHz out of it I think my plan has changed. I've got a P200 with 196megs that runs NT- my main machine-I'm a budding 3dMAX guy and could use the extra horses for some network rendering. NT was what I put on this machine, so now I've got a network in my house (which is amazing to me considering how BROKE I am) Maybe I'll have some models in Quake 5 or 6 ?
Thanks for your input, I'm sure you'll see me in here again pleading for help.
-Finger

[etcm]

You could probably put a pair of Powerleap adapters (2x$50) and a pair or Intel 233MMX's if you wanted too. Performance is pretty good too.

[CMonster]

Is there a DIP switch on the board for bus speed setting or did the BIOS just auto sense the 133mhz chips and set up the bus speed? (Because the P90s run on a 60mhz bus and the 133s run on a 66mhz bus) I'm confused. Also, since W95 does not support dual CPUs did you install NT on the machine to do your benchmarks?

Anyway, if there are DIP switches for the bus speed, and the multiplier is 1.5x, it may be possible to run a couple of Pent233MMX chips in there even though the core voltage is 3.3 instead of 2.9; while it is true that the extra .4 volts will cause the chip to run hotter, I know of someone who has run one for 6 months that way, but using a large heat sink and an extra fan. And on my buddy's board (an older Aptiva) the 1.5x multiplier runs the chip at 233mhz - go figure!

[This message has been edited by CMonster (edited 10-05-99).]

[800XL]

The 1.5x setting for a Pentium and the 3.5x setting for a Pentium MMX are exactly the same. Call it a remap or whatever everyone calls the 6x/2x settings on newer K6-2 procs. It is exactly the same. If that box looks like I think it does, I would not recommend trying the 233s running at 3.3 volts. Space is likely a little tight and cooling would be a problem. I know some Pentium MMX chips that have run months at 3.3v, but I also have seen several that did not last through the first power up. HP machines are also very picky about having chips in them they were not built for. The bios tends to look too closely and complain when things are not quite as expected. You can't count on them working at all.

Man, revival of the old threads. /forum/wink.gif