PC Motherboard Evolution

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PC motherboard technologies and developments from the early 1990s to the present day. For some, this will be pure retro computing nostalgia. For others, a peek into the history of the desktop PC.
This video is a follow-up to my previous video called 'Explaining PCIe Slots': • Explaining PCIe Slots
If you enjoy this video, you may also like this video in which I review the WD Black NVMe SSD, and also explain NVME SSDs more generally: • WD Black NVMe SSD
You can learn more about the history and future of computing in my book “Digital Genesis”. You can download a pdf sampler from this page: explainingthefuture.com/genesi...
Or you can purchase “Digital Genesis” on Amazon.com here (affiliate link): amzn.to/2yVKStK
Or purchase “Digital Genesis” on Amazon.co.uk here (affiliate link): www.amazon.co.uk/dp/1976098068...
More videos on computing and related topics can be found at: / explainingcomputers
And I have another RU-vid channel called ExplainingTheFuture at: / explainingthefuture
#Motherboards #History #RetroComputing

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16 июн 2024

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Комментарии : 1,5 тыс.

@ExplainingComputers 5 лет назад

Dear all, please note that I am very well aware that floppy and IDE ribbon cables had a red or pink stripe down one side that indicated the direction of insertion when using sockets without a notch or blanked out pin. Just because I do not mention something in what is already a long video does not mean that I am unaware of it! :) The cable I insert into the controller card at about 6:15 is indeed inserted the wrong way around. But given that this is an old, non-functional board - and this is not a “how to” video - this really does not matter. As always, when filming I am working upside down, and leaning back to avoid getting in the way of the camera and lights, so what you can see onscreen is far clearer than what I can see, and when filming I have a lot of other things to concentrate on. I make 52 videos here a year on a very tight schedule. Not everything is perfect. It never will be. But I do what I can to make things as accurate as possible. To those keen to point out below that I have “missed things out”, please note that I do say in the introduction that this video is not a definitive history of motherboards. Rather, it is a gentle discussion of those older boards I have in my possession.

@Okurka. 5 лет назад

Relax, it's only RU-vid. :D

@Thomas_P_aus_M 5 лет назад

I think most of the floppy-cable-comments just wanted to say... "hey, I can remember" and most of us just want to give something back to you for your hard work. (oh oh, I think I should learn english harder. Hope you understand me.)

@markhenrydelatorre 5 лет назад

I think you destroyed one of your viewers computer with pentium 133mhz. :)

@mattparker9726 5 лет назад

Indeed, Chris, well said! I hesitate to ask my question now, but I have an ancient, non functional 386 (It even has the original case with the huge red power switch. Very COOL.) Anyways, I have no money at all, and even if I did, I have no idea where to buy used pc parts of this age, would you consider selling me that motherboard for parts? I have about 10.00 usd. (Told you I was poor. XD) If not no worries. I'll just keep collecting...

@kaylaandjimbryant8258 5 лет назад

Despite the fact that it isn't a definitive history video, I still learned something new today from this. I had no idea that Baby-AT was even still a thing in 1999, much less that any P2 boards were made for the format. At that time, I was running a Tyan Thunder 2 motherboard with two P2-333's, it was an EATX board.

@KameraShy 3 года назад

I feel so old. I remember when all this stuff was new. A journey through Memory Lane.

@somerandomuser5155 2 месяца назад

Literally

@mephInc 5 лет назад

Cable management.... I remember it meaning "How can I actually cram all of these in here and still manage to hook it all up" Now it's "oh look. It's pretty!" Times sure have changed. Great video and it brings back bittersweet memories of the horrors/joys of working on old PCs.

@ExplainingComputers 5 лет назад

So true on cable management. So true.

@LionWithTheLamb 2 года назад

Especially if you had to organize SCSI ribbons!

@user-cg5xv4zz2b 25 дней назад

I remember that I purchased adapters to allow IDE drives to be hooked up to sata connectors. It was such an improvement on cable management - even using the older - cheaper - IDE drives.

@it4u214 4 года назад

This is literally a life story of tech enthusiasts of my age. I grew up on these motherboards.

@johncnorris 5 лет назад

In 1998 I built a gaming PC for a buddy at work and was a little amused when he said it would be his last because he didn't think that they would ever get any faster. SMHLOL

@ExplainingComputers 5 лет назад

Great story! :)

@dutchdykefinger 5 лет назад

lol in the late 90's / early naughties your computer was already old 6 months after buying it, those gains on the GPU generations were insane back then... +70-120% orso

@DJBV 5 лет назад

@@dutchdykefinger also cpu wise in this last decades cpu speed depends on cores numbers while ipc performance increases are measured in percentages. Back then each cpu gen was around 2-3 times faster.

@artemaung5274 5 лет назад

I went from 486 DX2-66 (33 Mhz) in 96 to Pentium 166MMX with Voodoo2 in 1998. Quake went from 320x200@10fps 8 bit color to 800x600@60+fps 16 bit color in just a couple of years.

@_j_t_p_ 5 лет назад

@@artemaung5274 geez. id say thats roughly like going from 25 fps at 720p (medium settings) to 1440p 144fps (ultra settings), which took us the last 10 years

@JamieWhitehorn 5 лет назад

If I remember correctly Slot 1 came about because of Intel trying to save some money. Intel were using L1 and L2 cache on their processors. If they tried to put both caches on the same die, the die became big and expensive. By using the Slot which took a what was a PCB they could put the CPU and L1 on the same die but then have the L2 cache as separate chips on the Slot 1 PCB. Because they manufactured it themselves they could guarantee the quality control and run the L2 cache without problem. It also meant they could put different amounts of L2 cache on the same CPUs without have to use different dies. As manufacturing techniques improved and prices dropped the L2 cache was moved onto the main CPU die. Hence no more need for Slot 1 😊

@ExplainingComputers 5 лет назад

Great info, thanks for sharing here.

@PsiQ 5 лет назад

was the pentium D the last slotted one ?? i remember we scrapped old work stations at the university (around 2010?) which were dual core optional and had two slots for cpus. HP workstations for cad i think. too powerhungry for the time but still kinda powerful, i think some were used with dual core afterwards in private hands and not scrapped. i took some heatsinks with me i think. i guess they would make some nerd money now in original state 😅

@metalheadmalta 5 лет назад

Exactly right.

@IIGrayfoxII 5 лет назад

Slot 1 was during the PII era. They released Socket 370 for the PIII era. Socket 478mPGA for the early PIV then LGA775 for later PIV and early core 2/core quad. Then the socket in the 115x family for consumer and the socket 2011 for enthusiast lines

@lawrencedoliveiro9104 5 лет назад

Yeah, I would say Intel had trouble keeping up with PowerPC machines throughout much of the 1990s. Its architecture was simply not as efficient.

@gamersresidence6040 5 лет назад

I really enjoy the way you can talk about motherboards in an factual, well organized and interesting way. Very good work!

@jasongooden917 5 лет назад

The days when you accidentally discover overclocking by putting the jumper on the wrong pins

@ExplainingComputers 5 лет назад

Wonderful!

@mephInc 5 лет назад

Or when components let out the magic smoke because you put a jumper on the wrong pins.

@JeffKraschinski1969 5 лет назад

Don't forget the old 2 part power connectors that you could get switched around and potentially fry the board unless you kept the black wires next to each other

@Vazgen_Ghazaryan 5 лет назад

And I fried my HDD :D

@paranoidrodent 3 года назад

@@mephInc Oh, man... screwing up jumpers could get bad. I've seen dead CPUs and motherboards from that. Getting an incorrectly wired Molex connector on a power supply (most were generic junk back then)... that could be even worse. Let's just say that I have never before or since heard a hard drive make quite that noise (like a robotic shriek of pain) or produce acrid black smoke and brief flames. The technician working on it cut the power and hit the system with a CO2 extinguisher. Wrenching the somehow intact Molex connector from the slag that had been the socket and then identifying exactly why that... dramatic... moment had happened was a job our entire group of technicians focused on. From that day on, we checked the wiring of every single molex connector before ever plugging them in and powering on the PC. I was so glad when they ceased being a commonly used connector (and also when PSUs from reputable brands became common).

@DataSmithy 5 лет назад

Your home is a veritable museum of ancient artifacts.

@antronk 5 лет назад

Wonderful Chris! Beautifully put together. Thank you for the effort. Looking forward for more of these series :)

@RicardoPetrazzi 5 лет назад

Hey Chris, good summary of mobo developments over the years. Those ISA slots take me back! Look forward to the next one on future of desktop pcs

@retrocomputeruser 5 лет назад

Thanks for this upload Chris. I appreciate your time and effort to fit these in. Looking forward to the history of RAM upload in the near future. Keep up the good work.

@Jerkwad152 5 лет назад

Replacing my PC with a self-assembled 286 clone was one of my biggest highlights in computing. I feel so utterly ancient now.

@youtubasoarus 5 лет назад

Just be glad you can hook it up to the modern internet instead of using those damn baud modems and waiting 10 minutes to get some really compressed jpeg to load in line... by... line... lol. Don't miss those days.

@javabeanz8549 5 лет назад

kids... try 300bps and ASCII art ;o)

@Jerkwad152 5 лет назад

+Java Beanz I thought it was such hot shit when I got a 2400-baud modem.

@sinephase 5 лет назад

286 was so bad LOL. People forget they even existed :P

@mephInc 5 лет назад

@@javabeanz8549 Playing L.O.R.D. and Global Wars....then waiting a few days, checking the boards periodically to see if it was your turn. Anyone else remember when patience was a thing? lol

@sumdude4 5 лет назад

What a trip down memory lane. Thank you for these videos!

@MrAtarifreak 5 лет назад

Thank you for this fantastic overview. I am looking forward to seeing the next video.

@1974UTuber 5 лет назад

Nice presentation once again Chris. I feel so old now that I watched this because I remember all those boards and some much earlier ones. Thanks for the trip down memory lane

@MeepMeep88 5 лет назад

People in 1990 be like "But can it play solitaire?"

@deliveryman7001 5 лет назад

Too bad Windows Vista can't.

@LiLBitsDK 5 лет назад

meh we played Wolfenstein, Spear of Destiny and Doom etc. as some of the first games, later on the amazing Duke Nukem came until Quake and 3DFX revolutionezed gaming

@TentaclePentacle 5 лет назад

There were no windows in 1990. So no in 1990 you can't play solitaire, unless you got some third party dos game.

@MonkeyspankO 5 лет назад

But can it play Ultima 7 ... darn memory mangers

@LiLBitsDK 5 лет назад

Windows 3.0 was released May 22, 1990, so then you can use your imagination when earlier versions was released right?

@Anonopsmo 5 лет назад

Realy thanks for the little history of Motherboards. Its a pleasure to see old stuff again, that its from my teenager time.

@kosmic000 5 лет назад

amazing and informative video as always chris camera work too is top notch thanxxxxxx a lot

@roleplayingmagic 5 лет назад

I'm sure it has already been mentioned several times in the comments, Chris, but thank you for the trip down memory lane. I am really enjoying the conversations you're having with yourself while you talk about the subject (such as the one that starts at 6:50), whatever it happens to be. Funny stuff.

@cornfoot100 5 лет назад

Great video, I definitely remember some of the early stuff being on my early computers as well as when I was in retail having to keep up with the various tech

@sethrd999 5 лет назад

A very pleasant walk down memory lane there, well explained also to point out what we take for granted today with configuration / setup gotcha's. I joined the PC space late ( due to costs mainly ) so did not have to worry to much about alot of the nasties really early on. Its also worth a mention as shown in your other video's how pc tech is making into into the SBC arena aka PCI-E and M.2.

@ExplainingComputers 5 лет назад

Yes, things are blurring. In a few weeks I'll be plugging a PCIe card into an SBC! :)

@perrymcclusky4695 5 лет назад

Motherboards have come a long way. Looking forward to your next video!

@kennyluba4137 5 лет назад

Really great videos, Chris. Keep bringing the great content!!!

@potmej1 5 лет назад

I sure miss those good old cereal ports. Especially in the morning...

@ErtugrulOzdemir-mf1gl 5 лет назад

cereal ports lol

@lawrencedoliveiro9104 5 лет назад

Yeah, helped keep you regular.

@abdussamad9428 5 лет назад

serial and we still have serial connections nowadays. serial ata for example or universal serial bus.

@BlackEpyon 5 лет назад

You can still get motherboards with UART (serial) ports, but they're usually workstation or server boards where you might need to connect to a piece of hardware (like large 48-port gigabit switches, high-end wi-fi access points, etc) via terminal. Home players would rarely, if ever, still use a UART or a floppy these days (unless you're me), and as such have no need for these ports on the motherboard. Most people who use UART or floppy these days just keep a USB version in their laptop bag, but even those can be hard to find without going online.

@lawrencedoliveiro9104 5 лет назад

In those days, “serial” specifically meant RS-232C/422/423.

@MicrobyteAlan 5 лет назад

Great episode. Thanks from Orlando

@chriholt 5 лет назад

Thanks for the trip down memory lane Chris. I remember all of those generations well!

@Velo1010 4 года назад

Man, I’ve got to tell you these videos are some the top notch tutorials on RU-vid. Here are some things that make them so great: great pace, good voice, nice editing, and simple and professional production.

@ExplainingComputers 4 года назад

Many thanks.

@tinkmarshino 5 лет назад

I had just watched your pcie slot video, and was hooked.. I subscribed and went hunting only to find you had already made this vid.. as I said earlier I have been playing with computers since the tandy, commodore days.. and building computers ever since.. I really liked the fact that you have connected all of my old memories into a new form to see the evolution that I was hardly aware of.. It really is fascinating to see it in this light.. I am now going to have go digging into my boxes! I know I still have my old 386 and my 486 (with a cd rom drive) But I have old motherboards, cpus, memory and all the good old stuff.. I will have to get my old 3 & 486 running again I even have the monitor, keyboard and mouse for them.. plus maybe get some cases and build some of the early pentiums back and make a little display of them.. you have rekindled the old fire my friend..and for that I thank you! I am only 66 years of age but I worked and played hard when I was young and as a result have worn my body out and need a simple easy hobbie and you have given me that.. carry on tally ho and TA...

@ExplainingComputers 5 лет назад

Thanks for the sub!

@johngermain5146 5 лет назад

This video and the previous one similar to it are exactly what the young technicians need to know to understand older equipment they may need to repair. Thanks

@BlackEpyon 5 лет назад

Useful in repairing modern machines as well as a general primer. That's because the fundamentals are still the same ;)

@rhedinrage1601 5 лет назад

Lovely presentation, thanks for the info!

@cheddercheese4910 5 лет назад

Love your videos and keep up fantastic information.

@tampepper 5 лет назад

Wow !! A trip down memory lane. Loved it

@Mortarshot 5 лет назад

I stared as a hardware tech over 30 years ago and this was a walk down memory lane. Thanks! I thoroughly enjoyed the stroll!

@adyothuria 5 лет назад

Sick video. Keep up the good work. Got to learn a lot of things Processor Slot, IDE, AGP

@Shizzlewish 5 лет назад

Really fantastic and interesting video. Love your content Chris! Thank you.

@johnandrews2167 5 лет назад

I still have all of these generations of computers. I even still have my Commodore 128D, and it still works! :) Nice video!

@cheungsabrina470 2 года назад

I've been experiencing the evolution of pc motherboard since 8086. There has been huge power jumps. The use of PC has leaped from an office use intrument to high-end gaming machine. Thanks for your sharing the change of PCs in decades! I still have the delight of having new CPUs and motherboards introduced from PC magazines.

@resrussia 5 лет назад

Once again your wonderful video brought back wonderful memories of my teaching career at the university. Your video beautifully captured my lecture on motherboards. Thanks again for your wonderful video. Keep up the good work.

@damwaterthomas1980 5 лет назад

I've recently subscribed to your Channel and really enjoy your content. You make learning fun for us who like to know more about the different functions on computers. Hopefully RU-vid will present you with your very own plaque for all the hard effort you put in your videos.

@ExplainingComputers 5 лет назад

Thanks for your find feedback and the sub. RU-vid sent me a Silver Play Button when I reached 100,000 subs. :)

@drutgat2 5 лет назад

Hi Chris. Thanks for this. As some others have said, that was a trip down memory lane. I actually remember back further, into the late 70s/early 80s when my Dad bought a Radio Shack TRS-80 II; this computer was pre-DOS, if memory serves, and the (specially written) programmes had to be loaded from a cassette tape. Unbelievable.

@richardpalmanteer9798 Год назад

I remember the old TRS-80 and the old 51/2 floppy disk to start the computer and other ones for programs.

@mickelodiansurname9578 5 лет назад

As usual Chris has this uncanny, nay professional method of explaining technology to the average Joe. I know all this stuff but I'm still watching your videos on Sundays. I must have way too much time on my hands Chris.

@KC-zq2zq 5 лет назад

I love your videos and I learn so much from them. it is so well designed and detailed. keep it up.

@ExplainingComputers 5 лет назад

Thanks.

@earthenergyhex 5 лет назад

very nice video, thank you for making these videos

@sherifhassansayed6124 5 лет назад

You are absolutely genius, ur videos is very useful, thanks a lot

@Slinglling 5 лет назад

I learned so much on this channel

@ExplainingComputers 5 лет назад

Thanks.

@arthurdent8091 5 лет назад

Hi Chris, a very nice walk through time. Good show.

@ExplainingComputers 5 лет назад

Thanks.

@Orangino4u 3 года назад

Very nice video. Thx for sharing it with us.

@theoldman6 5 лет назад

Good show that brings back lots of memories of the pc's i had way back starting in 1985 and man the pc have come a long way just think what they might look like in the years

@littlegrabbiZZ9PZA 5 лет назад

Fun fact about slot CPUs. Intel and AMD were physically compatible, but different electrically. If you plugged one into a board for the other, the CPU would die when you powered up the system. Yay.

@TheRealFobican 5 лет назад

They both used PGA unlike today when they used PGA and LGA for motherboard and cpu.

@RWL2012 5 лет назад

Pasta Sarmonella E-Specialé are you saying that Slot CPU modules were internally PGA or...?

@xaenon 4 года назад

@@RWL2012 No. He's saying that AMD Slot A and Intel Slot 1 connectors were physically identical - meaning you could physically insert a Slot 1 processor into a Slot A board or vice-versa. However, the pin assignments were different between the two processors. But, great regret and misfortune would betide thee if thou powereth it up. To be fair, though - the retention mechanisms that locked the processor card into the slot made this difficult to do unless you removed the brackets. A few determined but not particularly bright individuals did exactly that, and there was much depression and gnashing of the teeth afterward. But, while AMD took pains to avoid such tragedy, there were manufacturers who actually set a electrical booby trap that snared many an unwary tech or would-be upgrader. Yes, Dell, I'm speaking of YOU, but you're not the only offender here. Here's the rundown of it: www.informit.com/articles/article.aspx?p=339053

@RWL2012 4 года назад

@@xaenonreply seen and acknowledged :)

@thaernejem7317 5 лет назад

You got me thinking of lovely old days.. thank you Chris!

@PS_Tube 4 года назад

Another gem of a video from this channel.

@ExplainingComputers 4 года назад

Thanks.

@sibandy 2 года назад

I had a 386 PC in 1987 ish. Quote from Wikipedia, "The Intel 386, originally released as 80386 and later renamed i386, is a 32-bit microprocessor introduced in 1985". It didn't half seem fast compared to my 286!!

@ArjunSutar 5 лет назад

This was very nice and good video for whom who don't know how it was evolved. hats off for the research and keeping those M/B handy.

@dylandowdy3687 4 года назад

thanks for making this video, its really cool to look back on pc parts especially parts I will probally never get a chance to use or see. The fact you kept hardware for 30 years is amazing. This is why we subscribe, like, and comment. computers rule!!!

@byonbill9499 5 лет назад

Well Chris you have certainly succeeded in making me acknowledge my age. I worked with all of the boards you reviewed and some older by ten years. Never the less I found it interesting.

@mikeoleksa 5 лет назад

Byon Bill, I'm with you buddy. I've been doing IT work for 20 years. These videos are always a flash from the past with a dash of "shit I'm getting old". LOL

@ahmedshimi4401 5 лет назад

I am 45 and I worked in all of them . do you remember the driver hell and death blue screen. like what Microsoft doing now in windows 10 hahaha.

@mrnickbig1 5 лет назад

Interesting because of all the mistakes he made?

@ExplainingComputers 5 лет назад

mrnickbig1 This video, like all of my content, was presented in good faith based on what I could recall (I have built computers and written about and taught computing for 28 years), and also a great deal of checking -- not least in the manuals for the motherboards concerned. Nothing is every perfect, and especially so when individually producing a c.15 minute show every week. I do not believe there are any major errors here. Indeed, many "mistakes" pointed out in these comments are not actually mistakes at all. All but one of the boards in this video I purchased and built a PC with, and know very well indeed. Offering criticism is very easy. Actually doing a show every week is not. Sometimes on a Sunday a just feel like deleting this channel and giving up.

@mjsimons9757 5 лет назад

Yup. Back then we were cutting edge. I was the guy in my social circle who practiced the black arts of computer building. These boards take me back to that time.

@philsaunter1956 5 лет назад

The first 486 boards were an absolute pain to configure. You had about 40-50 jumpers to set to correctly address things and configure the CPU. Half of those acted as little killswitches, upon first start releasing curious blue smoke if set wrongly. Those really were the pioneering days of PC building.

@dazingamaine4318 9 месяцев назад

so a bit like aviation in the early days?

@GrahamAtDesk 4 года назад

This was a great walk down memory lane Chris, thank you. I started out with a 16MHz 386-SX, as a very lucky teenager, later getting a maths co-pro for it when I was using a lot of maths software at University. I then built plenty of PCs into the Slot 1 era, after which I started a long spell with Macs. I'm back on Linux now though, and thinking of building myself a custom machine again. So this has been a great watch for me!

@oopeppe98 5 лет назад

Recently I bought an AsRock 4CoreDual-VSTA (L1), excellent for testing components of different generations, certainly my favorite motherboard.😍 Nice video, as always!

@thecaptain2281 5 лет назад

+ExplainingComputers That slot1 board is quite the rarity! It's an AT form-factor when most slot1 boards were ATX. It also has both AT and ATX power connectors. And yet it also has a USB connector? Very rare combination indeed!

@ExplainingComputers 5 лет назад

And it feels like only yesterday that I was putting the board in question into my PC! :)

@thecaptain2281 5 лет назад

Right? I still vividly remember my first 486.

@Umski 5 лет назад

I was going to mention the same thing - Slot1 was Pentium II era so AT form factor was largely obsolete by then iirc so this is a weird one indeed. In fact I remember my first DIY PC around 1998 and the only reason I chose a Socket 7 AT MB over ATX was the price - in hindsight it meant I couldn't upgrade it a couple of years later due most MBs moving to ATX :( at least ATX has stuck around for a long time with some minor updates!

@thecaptain2281 5 лет назад

@@Umski You're right. The AT spec was on it's way out by then. So that board was really just a stop-gap upgrade path for people who liked their AT case, which a lot of people did.

@nickwallette6201 5 лет назад

Not that rare, really. I have two PII motherboards that are strictly ATX, but another that is quite similar to the Gigabyte shown here - a Baby AT with AT and ATX PSU connectors (and a USB header). It's a Totem TM-P2BXAT. The Asus P2B-B is another one. I like those boards because the Baby AT form factor is about the same size as Micro ATX. With Pentium being nearly 100% AT, and Pentium III being 100% ATX, it's not surprising to find some crossover boards in the generation between.

@nicholasparker2433 5 лет назад

Love your videos, feels like I'm in a university class

@henryD9363 5 лет назад

Love them too! But most University classes are not that compelling, informative and fun.

@BlackEpyon 5 лет назад

I took apart and rebuilt these as a kid. Best way by far to learn about computers, when you play with RAM chips and I/O cards like LEGO ;)

@wbdill 5 лет назад

What an excellent walk down memory lane. Thanks.

@SonofSilas 3 года назад

I can't believe how much I just enjoyed watching a 20 minute video about motherboards.

@ExplainingComputers 3 года назад

@Hex-Mas 5 лет назад

Leave up to gigabyte to put the cpu fan pins over the memory slots.

@ElectronicEnigmaZone 3 года назад

No that was a third party cooler if a true intel cooler was there that would not occur

@PhG1961 5 лет назад

How nice,... a trip down memory lane. I recognize all of it and of course, since I can't throw away anything... I have plenty of those in my shed.

@garydunken7934 Месяц назад

Awesome. Very nostalgic to see computer HW from the 90s. Thanks for sharing.

@jeylful 5 лет назад

Great video! Really enjoyed it!

@michaelturner2806 5 лет назад

Nice trip down memory lane. I didn't get started in PC building professionally until the late Pentium days, but I had to troubleshoot some 386 and 486 along the way. I did notice a couple minor things I hope you don't mind me pointing out, not that anyone getting into retro tech is going to use this as their only source. Around 6:15 it looks like you plug the floppy cable in backwards? Red stripe on the side of the cable usually corresponds with Pin 1 on the connector. Also around 13:30 you talk about the Pentium II 300 being a 100MHz bus with a 3x multiplier - that CPU was actually a 66MHz bus with a 4.5 multiplier. The multiplier was usually locked in the CPU, so attempting to set it to 100x3 might result in an unstable 450MHz accidental overclock.

@animalyze7120 4 года назад

He was referring to the FSB speed not the CPU, back then you had to do each separately.

@XSpImmaLion 5 лет назад

Nice, stroll through memory lane, back at the time I used to build PCs myself... xD Nowadays, even with the ressurgence of PC builders, I just buy them ready to use. Here in Brazil there was a quirk back in the 90s and early 2000s for anyone who lived close to the Paraguayan border - it was waaaay cheaper to buy parts and build your own PC. That plus me being a tinkerer who broke lots of electronics as a teen and early adult, I'm familiar with a whole ton of stuff Cris is talking about. I started opening up desktop cases to see what's inside back at PC-XT times... but my first builds were probably back at 386 DXII desktops. I think that went on up 'till Pentium III, which I had a Slot 1 cartridge for. Perhaps a bit longer than that. From that time on things started getting super complicated on the ram memory side. There was a transitioning period that had lots of motherboards that were only compatible with certain RAM memory brands and speeds, things got a heck lot more confusing, and worst of all - poorly documented. So what you effectively had to do (which I did) was talk a lot with people working on stores to know what combination worked and what didn't. As they assembled multiple desktops a day, they knew what worked better and what didn't. They had lots of headaches with assembled desktops coming back from costumers because they weren't working properly. You gave a base configuration of what you wanted and they took care of matching brands and whatnot so that the build would work. Things I don't forget from that time... the moment RAM memory prices crashed down, which was almost unbelievable at the time, and the moment RAM memory speeds became a thing, which was the point assembling your own desktop became too complicated - like I said on previous paragraph. From that point on I never went back to building my own desktops. It doesn't make economical sense anymore these days here in Brazil... difference in price isn't that big anymore, parts are harder to find, and warranty plus paying in installments just makes buying a pre-assembled branded desktop the better choices nowadays. But the benefits lives on. My current desktop is over 5 yrs old now. I got a Dell. But I put an SSD in it right after buying it, most people didn't even know what it was. And I'll probably replace the aging graphics card and push it for some more years before retiring...

@abdussamad9428 5 лет назад

Yeah you can upgrade parts as and when you need to which is the major advantage. PCs last a lot longer than they used to too because they aren't getting much faster now so you can keep using the old one.

@johalun 5 лет назад

Thanks for a great video! Looking forward to see your predictions about the future :)

@leeoliver2969 5 лет назад

Another great video. Thank you

@QDStrength 5 лет назад

@3:15 even my sub 2USD microcontroller run on 72mhz, and I only use it for blinking an LED

@KarrasBastomi 5 лет назад

Time flies, my friend.

@99nerka 5 лет назад

Those "cartridge" CPUs are kinda cool to be honest. Just think how easy upgrading CPU would be, just as easy as changing ram.

@BuceGar 5 лет назад

Great video, as always.

@Phambleton 5 лет назад

Fantastic video, I wonder what the future holds for motherboards!

@retropcscotland4645 5 лет назад

I think I just died and went to pc heaven. Really good video from one nerd to another.

@fcouperin 5 лет назад

Gosh, the weirdest thing to me is seeing how much I had forgotten about hardware, and watching you talk about what I always thought was common knowledge as... history. I feel old : o ).

@electron-1979 5 лет назад

I was surprised to see VGA on the last one! Great summary, Chris!

@richardhead8264 5 лет назад

The red stripe on the floppy cable should be oriented toward Pin 1 of the floppy header.

@ExplainingComputers 5 лет назад

That is true! But you still have to know that and get it right . . .

@1974UTuber 5 лет назад

I remember a stage when the connectors had a pin hole blocked or blanked off and the pins had a pin missing to ensure correct orrientation of the connector. I also remember having to carefully straighten pins on the motherboard with long nose pliers after my friend tried forcing the drive cable in the wrong way.

@ExplainingComputers 5 лет назад

Yes, blocked out pins were common in the later days of (E)IDE.

@franka12404 5 лет назад

I came looking for this! Thanks for setting it straight.

@martinkuliza 5 лет назад

Exactly

@Abdulla79 5 лет назад

Nice to see old names and logos, reminded me of Zalman, i checked them out, they are still in business ... i remember asking some one in early 90s "why do you need a fan for the CPU" because back them all i know is 386 without a fan, just heatsink.

@Skauber 5 лет назад

It's like history is repeating itself, today you have the same thing on raspberry pi's and people asking why you need a fan on it. :D

@Abdulla79 5 лет назад

Yeah, in tech almost everything is repeating itself, old debates are new but with different products.

@psychicist 5 лет назад

And I prefer those fanless motherboards. For me it's ARM and RISC-V all the way for low-end motherboards with x86 being pushed more and more into the high-end until it will finally disappear like so many other architectures did.

@Abdulla79 5 лет назад

Agreed, i can't wait for ARM or RISC-V to take over desktop.

@dragonboyjazz 5 лет назад

great video mate!

@ChrisJSetterington 5 лет назад

Brings back memories, I remember building many of these during the 'migration' from AS400 to desktops when I worked at Seven Seas in the late 90's, each one was hand built and configured including a number of Novell Netware servers and a treasured Microsoft Exchange Server. Those were the days. A shout out to any of your subscribers from Seven Seas with thank's for giving me the opportunity to switch from Quality Assurance to PC Support, it was a life-changer. Thanks for sharing Chris.

@PorscheRacer14 5 лет назад

I miss building the old 386 and 486 PCs. All those jumpers and DIPs meant that one error could fry the whole kit. That anticipation after triple checking and you press the power button to either get a boot up or a popping sound. You just no longer get that same all or nothing gratification. Seriously though, I do miss having to get everything just so. Nowadays literally anyone can plug and play a system together and it'll work. I'm not saying it'll work well, but it will work. I remember getting the Abit P5Q motherboard. It was the world's first jumperless motherboard and it was amazing in the fact you could just go into the BIOS, set a multiplier or ratio or FSB and reboot for some overclocking goodness. I still have that old system, haha. Great quick explanation for the uninitiated. This is a good video I can reference people to when I try to explain that things were much more difficult way back when. I'm getting old...

@BlackEpyon 5 лет назад

"Nowadays literally anyone can plug and play a system together and it'll work." I wouldn't be so sure about that. I recently helped a "friend" get his new rig going. He wanted to do it himself, and was pretty hyped about it. He told me later that he thought he'd bricked the thing after spending all that money on it. Turns out he didn't realize that the Ryzen 3 processor he put in was a CPU rather than an APU, which has the GPU integrated so you can use the video headers on the motherboard. He bought a new video card for it, but didn't clue in that he might need it to test with. I mean, the motherboard has video connectors on it, so it SHOULDN'T need an external video card to test it, RIGHT!? Well, that hasn't been the case for a few years now, and he was beating himself up over thinking that he'd destroyed his machine before he could use it.

@patience__8051 5 лет назад

6:20 so true, you just need to see the verge PC build to understand what he meant . Nowadays you can really do everything BUT the recommended way, and it still works! Progress, I guess

@scheimong 2 года назад

Holy crap that was already two years ago?!

@MarcThomasRufinoman 5 лет назад

Excellent video and all very well explained. I've had all those motherboards except the last one at one time or another and only moved from a Pentium 4 3.2Ghz in 2010 to a quad core Phenom. That was very significant at the time.

@robozstarrr8930 5 лет назад

....Thanks for the trip down memory lane!

@BryonLape 5 лет назад

Rewind just a few years and there are motherboards with individual RAM chips and I/O cards for MFM and RLL hard drives.

@BlackEpyon 5 лет назад

I actually have a few anti-static bags on my desk with some RAM chips for one of my vintage computers right now. I think RLL is used in other technologies, even today, not just MFM hard drives.

@andygozzo72 5 лет назад

yep, i have a 286 with loads of 41256 256k by 1 bit ram chips on it, has hard drive/floppy card plus a multi IO card, and a EGA video card, 5 1/4 inch 20mb (yes, mb, not gb!) hard drive , plus 5 1/4 and 3 1/2 floppies ....still working when last powered up a few years ago! although the psu did go bang once, but i managed to repair it.

@martinkuliza 5 лет назад

yeah that's right, the DIP Packages that you slotted into a Chip Holder

@BlackEpyon 5 лет назад

@@andygozzo72 Try locating a supply of those old RAM chips these days if some of them go bad. 74xx series logic is very easy to find, even today, but if you're trying to build replica expansion cards for these old computers, you'll be better off getting one or two newer 1MB RAM chips and your own address decoder than trying to replicate the old memory architecture.

@andygozzo72 5 лет назад

@@BlackEpyon luckily i have a bagfull (200 ish?) each of 4164's or equivalent, and 41256s , plus small numbers of various others... you can still find them on ebay now and again, i've found it hard to get some 74 and 4000 series cmos types!

@ashwinmohan4503 5 лет назад

Wow brings back a lot of memories. My first PC was a 486 (my first gaming rig). Then, a P2 500, a P3 1ghz, P4 2.4Aghz Prescott core, athlon x2 1.4ghz, core2duo e6600 (2.4ghz), core2quad q6600 (2.4ghz), i5 2500k, and finally the i5 6600k. Weird coincidence that I have 3 of Intel's same CPU nomenclature numbers although different eras. I still have all 3, the e6600, q6600, and my current PC with 6600k. By the way, I loved Zalman coolers too, but I could never afford or get one from where I used to live. I remember them topping the old Anandtech charts. Fun fact, I bought the Thermalright Ultra Extreme 120 (TRUE120) which cooled my e6600, q6600, 2500k, and is now mated to my 6600k!! Thanks for this awesome video I totally loved it. Felt kinda old, TBH, but wise too. Kids these days wouldnt know what to do with a jumper, except maybe wear it.

@Thomas_P_aus_M 5 лет назад

Have you never used the XT with 8088 CPU 4.77 MHz, 2 floppy drives 5.25", no hard drive and monochrome graphics? You must be very young. ;-)

@CanuckGod 5 лет назад

First PC was also a 486 - had a IBM SLC2/66 processor in it, so not quite as good as the Intel 486s, not to mention a 5-pin DIN keyboard connector instead of PS/2 - but it did have a CD-ROM drive! Just turned 40, so the "5150 and/or XT as home computer" era was a bit before my time, but I do remember playing around with Apple IIs and PS/2s at school prior to owning my first PC, and my dad did have the first model of PS/1 circa 1990, which was always fun to mess around with when I visited :) Of course, I have a Xeon E5-2680 with 32 GB RAM and 20 TB in hard drives (1x8TB & 3x4TB) as my main PC, and a i5-2400 HTPC now, but occasionally I still reminisce about the old days and fire up DOSBox for a bit...

@KarrasBastomi 5 лет назад

Zalman coolers were the bomb at it's time.

@ashwinmohan4503 5 лет назад

Nope, I started out with 486, which was a big deal at that time. No monochrome screens either buddy. I have used and own several old 5.25" discs as well as 2 drives (IDE, so doesnt play well with modern Pcs). I have read and watched a lot about it, which does not count! You old timers really have done EVERYTHING right? haha. I AM young to be honest, just 35. I could guess your age given your PC stats, but I will just say that you are young at heart :-) Thats all that matters!

@RWL2012 5 лет назад

500MHz Pentium II...? overclocked...? :)

@peterg91 5 лет назад

Enjoyed this so much yet in 2019, to re-sync myself on hw stuff , especially PCIe.. Thank you!

@lpgibbo7463 4 года назад

Yes I did come from the 'explaining PCIe slots', thanks for asking. Great little channel this 😊

@wammo12345 5 лет назад

My first true IBM style PC was in 1990, an XT clone, no HDs, just twin 5 1/4 floppy drives, one for OS and one for Lotus 123, Wordstar 2000, my C compiler, or whatever game I was playing. I think my CRT colour monitor gave me mild sunburn ...

@BlackEpyon 5 лет назад

Mine was my dad's Tandy 1000HX. Based on the IBM PC-Jr, it 's got an Intel 8088-2 @ 8/4.77 MHz with 128KB onbaord RAM and 512 on a card for 640KB total, and 2x 720k floppies. Got it when dad upgraded to an IBM ThinkPad (486-DX 50MHz something something, forget the model). Still have it, and I keep it working for playing old games on.

@javabeanz8549 5 лет назад

That first board looked rather familiar, I had a similar one, with an 80386SX-16, and you could use SIMMs in 256KB, 512KB or 1024KB. In the 80386 days, SX referred to the "folded bus" 16bit data bus, rather than the DX with a 32bit data bus. In the 80486 days, the meaning changed, and SX meant the CPU didn't have a built-in Math Co-Processor. My first 486 was an SX that was over clocked, I think it was a 25MHz over clocked to 33MHz. Then I got to try the DX2/66 and I was hooked on the speed boost, LoL!

@larryb9632 5 лет назад

Very good video Shows how fast things improve

@BiohazardX9 4 года назад

Great video - and one I like to show to people really because of evolution. Gone from needing interface cards to having everything integrated.Amazing really.

@DanielPierce 5 лет назад

Who here remembers when they first started making smaller rounded IDE cables? I remember them being so expensive compared to their flat grey brethren...

@ExplainingComputers 5 лет назад

I remember paying a great deal for an extra long version of such a cable to use in a large tower PC. :)

@MaximoGeek1337 5 лет назад

I still have two of them.

@KinksKomments 4 года назад

@@ExplainingComputers I had a tower case like yours for a long time but it got damaged when I bought my new house and moved in. I miss that roomy beast.

@KinksKomments 3 года назад

It had 5 external bays, 7 internal bays, at 5 1/4" 2 external and 1 internal 3 1/2" bays, it was 33" Internal Height, Can't remember the foot print now but was huge.

@BharatMohanty 5 лет назад

That slot processor thing is new to me....this proves "Every day you learn something new...."

@dj_paultuk7052 5 лет назад

They were rubbish. The AMD slot processors had an issue where if you didn't have enough cooling, they actually de-soldered themselves and slid down the pcb. Then game over....

@potmej1 5 лет назад

@@dj_paultuk7052 I had a 300mhz slot Pentium II back in 1997. Later upgraded to 533mhz Celeron, but I needed a slot to socket adapter... That was the fastest I could go on the LX chipset... In the hindsight I should have waited for BX chipset. That was really upgradeable!

@BharatMohanty 5 лет назад

@@dj_paultuk7052 this is the best reply regarding AMD that i get 👌....it seems you are one of the victim.

@potmej1 5 лет назад

@1ctrlaltdelete1 I wish I kept mine... I had an Intel motherboard.very basic in terms of available settings, but very stable. I'm sure it would have lasted...

@BharatMohanty 5 лет назад

@1ctrlaltdelete1 this story makes me feel better. You know what I am using AMD PC with Linux works fine...nothing fancy just RU-vid video editing and web browsing sometime I play cricket game using wine....

@tamarockstar45 5 лет назад

Overclocking via dip switch? This is fascinating. I got into PC hardware around 2002, but learning about older motherboards is an experience. Nice video.

@Zany4God 5 лет назад

Thank you for this video. Now I see how MB's have changed and that I won't be able to use my old cards. It is so much easier to build your own computer now. You brought back a lot of memories, some were good and some were very frustrating. Thank you, Chris.

@meowthx1985 5 лет назад

Well that blue barrel battery was pretty much an indication on how PC manufacturers clearly designed their PCs to eventually fail due to Planned Obsolescence. You can see how it leaked, like a Zinc Carbon or an Alkaline Battery does when it becomes dry. Sadly the Amiga 500+ had those barrel batteries that caused a leak that made the Amiga motherboard beyond repairs, even those Arcade machines that had used them for SRAM Hi-Score storage. As for the i80386 lacking a fan it didn't seem as powerful as it was for the Pentium II or III, but it be recommended to have a PC case with plenty of circulation as well maybe having a case cooling fan, to prevent excess heat from damaging the Capacitors and melting the solder. But those PowerPC, Motorola 680x0 processors didn't compete well as Steve Jobs ditched the PowerPC for Intel x86 near 2006 for Apple's iMac range.

@Cypherdude1 5 лет назад

Those barrel batteries aren't that hard to replace. All you need to do is desolder the 2 connections, remove the battery, and install a new one. Even for a newbie, it would probably take one day's labor, about $6 and would last another 5-10 years. You can buy the barrel battery anywhere. Here's one listing on eBay: "3.6v rechargeable CMOS battery 60mAh (NiCd/NiMH) for vintage motherboards & PLC", Item# 331034570308. Amazon has many different listings, including Varta (made in Germany!) and 2 and 3 pin models. For the *_ONE_* person who reads this and actually needs to replace their barrel battery, I recommend you spend the extra $5 and buy a higher quality rechargeable battery such as the Varta.

@sinephase 5 лет назад

The weirdest boards of the 90s were the ones like yours that gave you the choice of older tech like the AT power connector as well as ATX. I have a board that supports DIMM and SIMM modules, and the jumper selector for the memory looks like a capacitor. Pretty odd stuff ;)