2nd gen, based upon a selfbuild Cyrix 5th gen Machine

The late nineties. We began to learn that the cold war was the one thing that kept capitalism at bay. Now it started to rampage. The lack of enemies made the bosses nervous. Radio played only shit, Hollywood just as well. Mailboxes started to die, the Internet was the next big thing. People started to use Computers. Gaming was ravaged by 3D shit. Vinyl was dying. Dotcom became the most annoying word so far.

1996-1998

The base System was a birthday present, bought from Snogard, at that time the cheapest store i know of.
I got the VCR1 from a used parts store for 20DM (which was really cheap). The S3 with the shutter goggles came from a sold out (i think it was 100DM, which was dirt cheap then!). The goggle was quite fun, even though Descent was the only game that really worked with stereoscopic vision.
I bought the CD Burner from a friend, it had then already burned 2000 CDs or more.

• So7 Board
  • Cyrix 6x86 P200+
  • 4*16MB PS2
  • S3 Virge
    • 3D Goggles
    • 15" VGA
  • Videologic VCR1
  • 8-bit SCSI
    • JVC XR-W2010
  • 3GB Harddisk
  • 6x CDROM
  • 33.6 Modem
  • Diamond RIO PM300 PP
  • HP DeskJet 600c
• DRDOS 7 + Windows 3.11, Windows 95, Linux

The Fotos where made with the Kodak DC-25, one of the first affordable Digicams. It had a crude resolution (something around 500something by 400whatever), and an excessively bad compression algorithm: it saved in every other line only every other pixel. It had 2mb Flash, and could store around 25 Fotos with that. It had a UART interface via a 3.5mm phone jack. Linux support was available, but a bit crude and hacky. It used a weird, expensive kind of battery, usually used for analog cameras. I got this beast for 100DM from a friend, and used it way into the 2000nds, until i finally got a decent cam.

1998-2000

When i got a cheap Riva128 GPU (they where selling out one of the last old fashioned department Stores in Hamburg), i needed a new Board with AGP. At that time, AMD had released their K6-2 processor, which had an extraordinarily good price/performance rating. I got one and the cheapest Super7 Boards i could find. Turned out to be totally awesome, one of the best and most reliable boards i ever had.
The SB AWE was quite a lucky find, only 70DM, a good price for that time. The CD Burner had at least 3000 CDs burned now, and only worked with the case removed and some big dictionaries on top.
I started with a stone-age big tower for this machine, silenced with carpet. Later on i build a case from parts of an old press board Locker and a water cooler from a piece of high current cooper rail (salvaged from a trash bin on a building site for a new department of the university Bonn) as a water block and a radiator from a broken Golf III.
I also moved to the great City, leaving the unbelievable cool house i used to live in behind. It was a frame house, at least 300 years old, with stove heating and an awesome mad scientists attic. The roof was leaking and everything was breaking apart, but i had inherited a 20 years old verbal rental agreement (which is kinda awesome in Germany, as those favor the tenant) and my memory wiped out all the mold and problems and stuff.

• DIY Case made from parts of an old press board locker.
• DFI P5BV3+
  • AMD K6-2 300/66@350/100
    • diy Wakü
  • 2x32 MB SDR
  • Hercules 3D Prophet IImx
    • 17" VGA
  • Soundblaster AWE 32
  • Adaptec AHA1542
    • Quantum VK2275J
    • Toshiba MK438FB
    • JVC XR-W2010
    • Pioneer DR-U03S
    • Relisys 768
  • Realtek RTL 2029
  • Hauppauge WinTV Go
  • IBM DTTA 351010,
  • Hitachi DVD
  • Mustek MFS-800SP
  • 33.6er Modem
  • Epson Stylus Pro
  • Diamond RIO PM300 PP
  • Kodak DC25
• DRDOS 7, Windows 98/Me, Linux (RedLinux, RedHat, OpenLinux)