CelGen
Well-known member
Before I foul up this subforum with a non-mac conquest I'll put some detail into this.
(Last thread like this, I promise!)
At about the time Apple released it's biggest mac ever, the Quadra 9x0, IBM went and built the largest and last purebred Microchannel machine. The PS/2 Model 95 is a beast. Like the quadra, these machines are also amazingly upgradeable.
It sports eight 32-bit MCA slots, space for an additional floppy, five 5.25" SCSI devices, eight 72 pin DRAM slots (with varying levels for support of parity an ECC ram, as well as the ability to handle up to 128mb of ram) and a brilliant CPU complex that came in five different varieties ranging from the 25mhz 486SX to the Pentium 66.
Now generally because these systems are the best thing you can get your hands on they usually don't sell for cheap but after MANY unsuccessful attempts at securing one I FINALLY nailed a system for $200 shipped. Unfortunately it arrived damaged so I ended up taking two weeks to carefully reassemble the plastics and potting them with epoxy. Thankfully Paypal gave me a full refund as an early christmas present.
Anyways, today I finished repairing it and FINALLY had the chance to start upgrading it.
CPU Complex: Type 3
CPU: AMD Am5x86-P75 (OC'd to 150mhz)*
Ram: 64mb ECC DRAM (installed in pairs of 16mb)**
Hard Drive: IBM 0663-H12 1gb drive
Optical: IBM CD-ROM II***
Video (2D): XGA-II
Video (3D): Silicon Graphics IrisVision
Sound: Crystal Sound
Network: IBM EtherStreamer/32
SCSI: Standard "Spock" controller with 2mb of cache (!!!)
Floppy: IBM 2.88mb diskette drive
*Not used ATM due to missing components
**On Order
***Not installed yet due to missing bezel
There's also lots of peripherals attached. I have an extra parallel port and two serial ports to handle a Calcomp drafting tablet, modem and ZIP drive. The system will be bundled with a Model M and a "Dovebar" mouse. Due to missing drivers for the IrisVision under OS/2 I'll be running a mix of PC-DOS and Windows for Workgroups 3.11. It will run Doom with no issues and with tweaking will be useable for Quake.
Unfortunately the full potential of the IrisVision is limited to applications like 3D Studio and AutoCAD Release 12 which supply their own drivers for the card. By the way, the reason I'm using a 1gb drive is because this machine uses an IML partition to hold an enhanced BIOS and a bit of extra microcode for the POST. BEcause of limitations brought on by it I cannot use a system disk larger than 1gb.
The only thing I'm actually having trouble sourcing is IBM's matching 20" monitor. I already have the lsightly newer P201 but the monitor I'm after has IBM's more traditional PS/2 style bezel and BNC jacks on the back.
(I am open to trading monitors if you want my P201 with it's 13W3 connector. )
(Last thread like this, I promise!)
At about the time Apple released it's biggest mac ever, the Quadra 9x0, IBM went and built the largest and last purebred Microchannel machine. The PS/2 Model 95 is a beast. Like the quadra, these machines are also amazingly upgradeable.
It sports eight 32-bit MCA slots, space for an additional floppy, five 5.25" SCSI devices, eight 72 pin DRAM slots (with varying levels for support of parity an ECC ram, as well as the ability to handle up to 128mb of ram) and a brilliant CPU complex that came in five different varieties ranging from the 25mhz 486SX to the Pentium 66.
Now generally because these systems are the best thing you can get your hands on they usually don't sell for cheap but after MANY unsuccessful attempts at securing one I FINALLY nailed a system for $200 shipped. Unfortunately it arrived damaged so I ended up taking two weeks to carefully reassemble the plastics and potting them with epoxy. Thankfully Paypal gave me a full refund as an early christmas present.
Anyways, today I finished repairing it and FINALLY had the chance to start upgrading it.
CPU Complex: Type 3
CPU: AMD Am5x86-P75 (OC'd to 150mhz)*
Ram: 64mb ECC DRAM (installed in pairs of 16mb)**
Hard Drive: IBM 0663-H12 1gb drive
Optical: IBM CD-ROM II***
Video (2D): XGA-II
Video (3D): Silicon Graphics IrisVision
Sound: Crystal Sound
Network: IBM EtherStreamer/32
SCSI: Standard "Spock" controller with 2mb of cache (!!!)
Floppy: IBM 2.88mb diskette drive
*Not used ATM due to missing components
**On Order
***Not installed yet due to missing bezel
There's also lots of peripherals attached. I have an extra parallel port and two serial ports to handle a Calcomp drafting tablet, modem and ZIP drive. The system will be bundled with a Model M and a "Dovebar" mouse. Due to missing drivers for the IrisVision under OS/2 I'll be running a mix of PC-DOS and Windows for Workgroups 3.11. It will run Doom with no issues and with tweaking will be useable for Quake.
Unfortunately the full potential of the IrisVision is limited to applications like 3D Studio and AutoCAD Release 12 which supply their own drivers for the card. By the way, the reason I'm using a 1gb drive is because this machine uses an IML partition to hold an enhanced BIOS and a bit of extra microcode for the POST. BEcause of limitations brought on by it I cannot use a system disk larger than 1gb.
The only thing I'm actually having trouble sourcing is IBM's matching 20" monitor. I already have the lsightly newer P201 but the monitor I'm after has IBM's more traditional PS/2 style bezel and BNC jacks on the back.
(I am open to trading monitors if you want my P201 with it's 13W3 connector. )