Question A (project) retro build for the old AMD hardware fan in you...
Question A (project) retro build for the old AMD hardware fan in you...
More poor-quality photos of the build are available in my Google Drive.
Link one: https://drive.google.com/file/d/1lqscHis...drive_link
Link two: https://drive.google.com/file/d/16ODzrFK...drive_link
Later I’ll have some better daytime shots.
A slightly improved daytime photo: https://drive.google.com/file/d/1fjSoUOx...drive_link
This NZXT Silent case looks tidy but a bit tricky to work with. It lacks a wire basement and has a very slim gap between the back panel and the motherboard tray. I plan to take some interior photos soon; it seems acceptable given that drawback. I’m using the drive bays to manage the extra wires against the back panel, which makes accessing the catch points difficult. Overall, I appreciate the quiet construction method they’re using for the case. It feels a bit like a mullet in the world of cases—simple when closed, but lively when open.
I encountered a curious challenge with comparative testing. What tools are suitable for monitoring performance and frame counting, like Riva, on a system of this era? I tried playing a bit of Crysis 2 at 720 and noticed several dips that might have been familiar from earlier settings. I’ve discovered many crossfire-compatible games on Steam, which is the platform I plan to use. However, my built-in frame counter hasn’t worked well, and I’m unsure how to measure it accurately. The only reliable option I found is HWI, but I don’t know how to interpret its results within a game.
Looks great. I always like the design of the ghost AMD GPU's and good for you still knowing where your AMD crossfire bridge was or getting it if you didn't already have.
Now that I see the finished pictures I get what your saying with the out of the way power supply cables being tucked behind the right side door. I forgot about those days. It looks clean and tidy with the cables.
A while back I was messing around with an older system and went and got all the 3dmark tests even all the way back to 2003. There all on there site free to download and all but the latest one you also get the key to unlock the full suite not just the demo. I just looked into my 3dmark folder and I have 13 fully unlocked versions.
Darn you
punkncat
you make me feel lazy a have a pet project sitting on the side and here your not only up and built your showing great pictures of her proud and running.
I humbly give you the crown.
😀
I enjoyed the feedback. It was enjoyable to work with some items suitable for this age, and finally being able to experiment with Crossfire despite its outdated status.
I installed Crysis 2 and it runs smoothly on this system. I also added the Sniper Challenge demo from Hitman. I didn’t realize how impressive the game still looks even after all these years. I tested Ashes of the Singularity just for benchmarking purposes. It was a bit unusual when loading, as a message appeared warning that my graphics card wasn’t sufficient, but it still managed to run. Back then, resolutions were limited to 720, and most games ran smoothly in those conditions. The engine was quite basic and pixelated for titles from that era, so the system required minimal processing power. Ashes maintained around 50 frames at the lowest settings, though the other two programs didn’t display frame rates consistently. The one in Steam failed to load altogether.
I benchmarked it on the Heaven platform and let it run with various configurations. It performed well at 720/60 and generally handled graphics settings without issues. It occasionally stuttered during scenes like the dark hallway with the torch or when appearing over the hill. Notably, the GPU temperatures never reached 70°C, and the highest recorded temperature was 78°C for the CPU—still within acceptable limits. It was quite warm, especially in the office while it ran. A lot of power was being consumed by this older setup.
I listed it on Craigslist just to check if anyone would be interested. I’m not sure it will sell there unless I get lucky. This particular model is a specific Legacy AMD fan, so it’s worth targeting.
I have five Intel systems with 100 and 200 chipset boards to test. One has a good Tomahawk board with built-in wireless, another looks solid, and the rest are standard. I’m focusing on those first. The others are older and likely came from an OEM build. I don’t have any BIOS updates or documentation, just an MSI board with unclear labels. I might list one of these in a Masterbox Lite 3.1 for display purposes, which would also fit the vintage aesthetic. I’ll have plenty of quality NOS fans and lighting to enhance it. I plan to update progress on this later.
As a side note, I also own several outdated AMD and Nvidia cards—two 9600GT units (possibly with wireless) and an SLI bridge. I might experiment with those, though they’re slower than the 7770 and have less memory combined. I won’t expect much performance from them.
Thanks for following my progress.
You're aware of the specific niche market for vintage parts and completed builds, which you're currently listing on eBay as a fully working retro XP gaming machine. Many individuals from that era are now mature enough to relive those Windows XP gaming experiences.