Got a new windows 98 gaming PC, and boi she's huge!! ( lemmy.blahaj.zone )

I've gotten really interested in old Computers since I got my Commodore PET 2 months ago, so to play some good ol MS Train Simulator and Stronghold 2, I got this massive beauty. Here is a little size comparison between it and my main PC
https://lemmy.blahaj.zone/pictrs/image/3b050b45-42bf-4f1b-b3c0-799795c76389.jpeg

wildbus8979 , (edited )

You think that's huge? That's a mid tower... You should see full towers!

state_electrician ,

That's not a midi tower.

wildbus8979 ,

Mid tower, not Midi Tower. And yeah it totally is. Looks big because it only has one fan in the front and most mid towers nowadays have more fans and less bays.

state_electrician ,

Here they were called midi towers. And you're right, I didn't see the second picture. It's obvious there.

Mr_Mofu OP ,
@Mr_Mofu@lemmy.blahaj.zone avatar

I hope a full tower is this big
https://lemmy.blahaj.zone/pictrs/image/5c7dad12-836d-4fd9-9c32-8fe79dc7575c.jpeg

wildbus8979 , (edited )

https://sh.itjust.works/pictrs/image/d4031d2d-afb7-4a38-936c-bc50822c2c89.png

☝️ Now that, that is a full tower!

spirinolas ,

Naughty, you've been stroking it

capital ,

Good lawd

lettruthout ,

...and loud? Some old machines have noisy jet engines fans inside

givesomefucks ,

Only when you hit the turbo boost!

Which apparently just sped up your games and why my SF2 record was like 1-99999 against the computer.

Rai ,

The turbo button slows your computer down!

givesomefucks ,

It spends it up, but old games would then run faster.

So like, a 50% gain in performance just made the AI move 50% faster.

I always hit "turbo" when playing a game because I thought it would just increase framerate or something.

I dunno, I just found out a while ago on Lemmy what it really did, so maybe I still don't understand it right.

Rai ,

Turbo being activated makes your computer slower. Many games relied on clock speed for timing and were unplayable on newer computers because they ran way too fast. The turbo button slowed them down so you could actually play them.

givesomefucks ,

https://www.howtogeek.com/678617/why-did-the-turbo-button-slow-down-your-pc-in-the-90s/

So, you're right, that's how it was supposed to work.

But it wasn't hardwired. You could switch so "turbo" actually made "turbo" instead of slowing it down.

Even the clock display wasn't accurate, you used jumpers to set what speed you wanted displayed regardless of what was going on.

So I guess there was no way to tell what the turbo button did without some kind of testing or being the one who built the computer.

My uncle built my old desktop with a turbo back in the day, and he was 100% the type of guy to do it the "right" way instead of a standard that meant the opposite.

But I definitely can't remember, maybe I was just shit at SF2 and Star Craft lol

young_broccoli ,

The "turbo" button switches the cpu speed from its native speed to half of it but it wont boost speeds beyond what it was originally intended.

givesomefucks ,

https://www.howtogeek.com/678617/why-did-the-turbo-button-slow-down-your-pc-in-the-90s/

That's how it was supposed to work.

But apparently you could wire it either way, so some people made turbo actually mean "turbo" instead of "slow".

Which I think was going on with mine since it got louder, but it's been literally decades

young_broccoli ,

You can wire it that way, I do, but it doesnt mean you are making the cpu go faster than what the label says. You are still switching between normal speed and half speed, it just feels better.

TWeaK ,

You could probably upgrade the fans.

Tippon ,

A lot of cases from back then only took 80mm fans. To move more air, they had to spin faster and produce more noise. The loud fans were the upgrade 🙈

TWeaK ,

True, but I think you can get some pretty decent high airflow 80mm fans these days.

Tippon ,

Good point 🙂

mox ,

Noctua to the rescue! (And maybe a fan speed controller.)

towerful ,

I remember a little knob on the back of a pc, taking up a PCIe slot, connected to a fan controller

Mr_Mofu OP ,
@Mr_Mofu@lemmy.blahaj.zone avatar

Yeah its pretty noisy atleast compared to anything modern~

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