Category Archives: PC hardware

OPL3 Copies

Posted on July 10, 2015 by Michal Necasek

A while ago, a reader commented that in certain circles, it’s well known that there were “fake” OPL3 chips. This does not appear to be widespread knowledge. After a bit of digging, an interesting chapter in the history of PC … Continue reading →

Posted in PC hardware, PC history, Sound, Yamaha | 15 Comments

Broken Spigot

Posted on June 18, 2015 by Michal Necasek

While searching for an unrelated piece of hardware, I came across an old video capture board. Alarm bells started going off when I heard something rattling in the anti-static wrap. Sure enough, one of the large capacitors fell off… because … Continue reading →

Posted in Graphics, PC hardware, PC history | 3 Comments

Bad Month for Laptop Disks

Posted on June 4, 2015 by Michal Necasek

Instead of writing new articles, I recently spent a lot of time fighting laptop hard disks going bad. The first was a Seagate ST1000LM14 (apparently originally a Samsung design), a hybrid 1TB 5,400rpm disk with 8GB flash. The disk was … Continue reading →

Posted in PC hardware | 8 Comments

Do You Know This Sound Card?

Posted on May 22, 2015 by Michal Necasek

The guessing game is back, this time with a twist: I don’t know the correct answer. A generic-looking 1997 vintage sound card recently showed up: This is what I call a high-end low-end card… it’s a standard low-end sound card, … Continue reading →

Posted in PC hardware, Sound | 13 Comments

Sound Blaster 1.0 or 1.5?

Posted on May 16, 2015 by Michal Necasek

According to some sources, a Sound Blaster model CT-1320C is a Sound Blaster 1.5. But according to Creative’s own reference materials (which do contain many inaccuracies and cannot be taken as gospel), the only difference between a Sound Blaster 1.0 … Continue reading →

Posted in Creative Labs, PC hardware, PC history, Sound Blaster | 19 Comments

Intel 420TX Chipset

Posted on May 9, 2015 by Michal Necasek

The OS/2 Museum recently obtained a somewhat unusual board: A 1993 vintage 486 PCI/ISA board equipped with the Intel 420TX chipset. The 420TX chipset, codenamed Saturn, was probably Intel’s first PCI chipset available to customers. It was probably first sold … Continue reading →

Posted in 486, Intel, PC hardware, PCI | 43 Comments

Sound Blaster: The French Connection

Posted on May 1, 2015 by Michal Necasek

Ever been wondering why there are chips labeled MHS on many Sound Blaster cards, and why there usually was some chip with a © Intel marking? For example this one, on a Sound Blaster 1.5 (1991): Or this one, on … Continue reading →

Posted in Intel, PC hardware, Sound Blaster | 16 Comments

The DOS 4.0 Shell Mouse Mystery

Posted on March 21, 2015 by Michal Necasek

Several years ago, I noticed that in some virtual and physical environments, the DOS Shell in both IBM’s and Microsoft’s DOS 4.0x has a very odd glitch: the mouse pointer moves, but does not register any clicks… except on scroll … Continue reading →

Posted in DOS, IBM, PC hardware, PC history | 28 Comments

What Is DXP44Q?

Posted on March 14, 2015 by Michal Necasek

Today I came across a random 1996 vintage ISA sound card (no name, made in China). The only two chips worth noting on the board are an OPTi 82C930A chip and a mysterious DXP44Q—a square chip center left, to the … Continue reading →

Posted in PC hardware, Sound | 12 Comments

Demented Board

Posted on January 31, 2015 by Michal Necasek

Last week I encountered a problem that I have never seen before with a recently acquired Socket 7 motherboard. The board was a Gigabyte GA-586HX (Rev. 1.58), a relatively uninteresting older Socket 7 board based on the well-regarded Intel 430HX … Continue reading →

Posted in Bugs, PC hardware | 14 Comments