Am I asking too much for my socket 939 motherboards and such?

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Rob94hawk

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Figured it was time to let go of some great socket 939 hardware. Both rigs were still running great before I retired them. The question is, am I asking too much? Most of the old stuff is being sold outside the US. The DDR1 RAM I'm practically giving away. Thoughts?

https://www.ebay.com/itm/Rare-Gigabyte-K8NSNXP-939-Motherboard/143739130943

https://www.ebay.com/itm/Gigabyte-GA-K8NS-939-Socket-939-Motherboard/143742795123

https://www.ebay.com/itm/LED-2GB-51...CC-DDR1-CMX512-3200XLPRO-2-2-2-5/143742829678

https://www.ebay.com/itm/AMD-FX-53-Socket-939-2-4-Ghz-CPU/143742776130
 
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None of that is "enthusiast" grade, so I would consider dropping the pricing if you're wanting to sell. Otherwise just keep it. As a fan of Abit boards, I'm holding on to my AN8 and AN8-SLi (Opteron 165 @ 2.7Ghz) as well as a quad9 gt and P35 pro as they won't fetch much and I like to tinker from time to time. Interesting how the DFI lanparty boards are still worth all the coin.
 
Sold everything for a good deal minus the cpu.

Got some copper heatsinks from that era along with more fans than I ever needed.
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Rob94hawk said:
Any recommended sites for cap replacement?
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Sites don't do cap replacement. You look up local companies that do electronics repair. The Internet cannot help you here unless you want to learn how to do it yourself.

Its like asking for sites to fix your car
 
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travm said:
Sites don't do cap replacement. You look up local companies that do electronics repair. The Internet cannot help you here unless you want to learn how to do it yourself.

Its like asking for sites to fix your car
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No I meant a reputable electronic supply store.
 
zpackrat said:
Mouser electronics or digikey are good places to start for replacement capacitors. Be sure to get the right size and leg spacing. You should also try and stick with the 105 degree rating as well.
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Rob94hawk Temp rating is most important. I would recommend Japanese caps.
Also in most cases you can oversize the caps, voltage rating is a minimum, and capacitance can be slightly higher in most cases with no effect. This is assuming they are bypass caps (most of the electrolytic ones that fail are).
 
The only flaw I see with these listings, outside of capacitor issues cited, is that they're a year or two too early. The market for working 939 kit will heat up a bit as time goes on and people start getting that nostalgia itch. Get these motherboards refurbished, list them citing that you've done the work a little down the road, and you'll probably have decent luck.
 
Halon said:
The only flaw I see with these listings, outside of capacitor issues cited, is that they're a year or two too early. The market for working 939 kit will heat up a bit as time goes on and people start getting that nostalgia itch. Get these motherboards refurbished, list them citing that you've done the work a little down the road, and you'll probably have decent luck.
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I took the K8NS off the market but sold the XP as is. Since I have 2 of the K8 939's I will make an attempt to repair them both and run them to see if it was successful.
 
If you have any CPUs to go with them, consider me a buyer for one of them once the work is done. I could use a backup for the legacy gaming thing I've thrown together in case that goes south.
 
Nice, I handed down my bro my old S939 parts for a desktop he rarely uses and it's running Windows 10 now, lol. Athlon 4000+ (same as that FX53, just not unlocked multiplier) with 2GB RAM, lol. It's pretty painful to use, but works still somehow.
 
Replacement caps I used were Rubicon. I used to snag these at the B&M Rat shacks, but those are long gone. Best bet are the ones zpackrat suggested: Digikey or mouser electronics. Be sure to get the same exact specs replacements. Also have a really good soldering iron and skills. It's not hard to replace caps, but advised not to be sloppy. It doesn't take much for solder to touch a wrong connection and fry your prized possession.
 
Wow I cannot believe any S939 hardware is going for those prices. They are useless for new builds, so must be for replacement of old stuff. Even then...

Any time I see ebay listings for ancient junk at high prices (I'm talking to you erek) I just shake my head and wonder who in the world would buy old electronics like that.
 
Burticus said:
Wow I cannot believe any S939 hardware is going for those prices. They are useless for new builds, so must be for replacement of old stuff. Even then...

Any time I see ebay listings for ancient junk at high prices (I'm talking to you erek) I just shake my head and wonder who in the world would buy old electronics like that.
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A lot of people, myself included do, I like old hardware to play old games on or to tinker with. The older the hardware is the harder it is to get working stuff that didnt get tossed. That creates a scarcity and a lot of people are into retro computing now, so prices keep going up on this hardware. I am glad I got a lot of my stuff back in the day when no one wanted this stuff and got a lot of it for free or almost nothing, now its worth a big pile of money.
 
Starfalcon said:
A lot of people, myself included do, I like old hardware to play old games on or to tinker with. The older the hardware is the harder it is to get working stuff that didnt get tossed. That creates a scarcity and a lot of people are into retro computing now, so prices keep going up on this hardware. I am glad I got a lot of my stuff back in the day when no one wanted this stuff and got a lot of it for free or almost nothing, now its worth a big pile of money.
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Are you one of the people who can/does replace the batteries in old NES and SNES games? At least a few of the RPGs require powering off the console to progress the game.
 
Burticus said:
Wow I cannot believe any S939 hardware is going for those prices. They are useless for new builds, so must be for replacement of old stuff. Even then...

Any time I see ebay listings for ancient junk at high prices (I'm talking to you erek) I just shake my head and wonder who in the world would buy old electronics like that.
Click to expand...

I love building and playing with the old stuff. More fun to OC and mod, plus if you're into retro games the only way to go is retro hardware - in the case of PC that's retro hardware running retro OS to play the retro games.

I'm thankful I held onto a lot of old parts but I kick myself for the few things I sold on the cheap or tossed out in the past decade or so. The latest regret was recycling all 6 of the CRT screens I had in storage maybe 6-7 years ago. Only 2 of them were "high end" but the prices on ebay have gone insane for these in the past year. The junk ones fetch $50-100 and the high end crts are going for over a $1000 in good condition.
 
Burticus said:
Wow I cannot believe any S939 hardware is going for those prices. They are useless for new builds, so must be for replacement of old stuff. Even then...

Any time I see ebay listings for ancient junk at high prices (I'm talking to you erek) I just shake my head and wonder who in the world would buy old electronics like that.
Click to expand...

Actually there is a pretty large nostalgic PC following and there has been for several years now. I know it seems amazing but it's a pretty large community of followers and collectors.
 
stinger608 said:
Actually there is a pretty large nostalgic PC following and there has been for several years now. I know it seems amazing but it's a pretty large community of followers and collectors.
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Sad then I didn't stick all my old stuff in a storage unit or something I guess.
 
Halon said:
If you have any CPUs to go with them, consider me a buyer for one of them once the work is done. I could use a backup for the legacy gaming thing I've thrown together in case that goes south.
Click to expand...

Took the FX-53 off the market since I'm going to test them both after repair. I do have another 939 cpu somewhere. Was looking for an FX-60 but they're a tough find.
 
Rob94hawk said:
Speaking of old, besides all the 939 stuff, can any of you ID this Intel motherboard? lol
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That appears to be a Dell 440BX based Slot 1 motherboard such as found in the old Dell Dimension XPS models. I have that exact board in a Dimension XPS T500 I'm currently restoring. Please note these have a proprietary Dell ATX wiring scheme and plugging a standard ATX power supply in will destroy the board. You need one of these to use a standard ATX power supply:

https://www.amazon.com/Connector-Dimension-PowerEdge-Precision-WorkStation/dp/B0042GMAY2

Also that looks like a Powerleap PL-iP3/T Tualatin upgrade adapter installed, thats worth quite a bit of $$$$$.
 
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Dan_D said:
I can't image those motherboards are worth that.
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These boards are approaching the 15 year mark, which for computer equipment is the point at which they become "retro".
This is why a 486 motherboard and CPU, which couldn't be given away 20 years ago, is now going for $150-200 and beyond.

After 2010, the retrocomputing trend started to take off, and by 2014 it was in full swing.
Heaven forbid something is being sold that is non-x86, like a DEC Alpha or Sun SPARC workstation... and the SGI MIPS workstations of the 1990s and 2000s will make any wife cut her spouse's credit cards up. :D

@ OP:
Those prices actually seem pretty reasonable, especially if the motherboards are all in working order.
Agreed with that RAM practically being given away.
 
Rob94hawk said:
Speaking of old, besides all the 939 stuff, can any of you ID this Intel motherboard? lol
View attachment 282174
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This isn't quite the same, but it is extremely similar:
https://www.ebay.com/c/20024470987

Might be this one:
https://www.ebay.ie/itm/Dell-Slot-1-Motherboard-28498-E139761-AA-696089-407/301539814674

Dan_D:
You might notice the first Pentium III motherboard and CPU going for $100+. ;)
The second one is cheaper, but has no CPU.

Retrocomputing via ebay is not for the faint of heart! :ROFLMAO:
 
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Teenyman45 said:
Are you one of the people who can/does replace the batteries in old NES and SNES games? At least a few of the RPGs require powering off the console to progress the game.
Click to expand...

No I dont do that, more into PC hardware than console stuff, although I do have a lot of that also. Suprisingly though, when I fired up my SNES my old carts from the early 90's still had the saves intact.
 
70 Polara said:
That appears to be a Dell 440BX based Slot 1 motherboard such as found in the old Dell Dimension XPS models. I have that exact board in a Dimension XPS T500 I'm currently restoring. Please note these have a proprietary Dell ATX wiring scheme and plugging a standard ATX power supply in will destroy the board. You need one of these to use a standard ATX power supply:

https://www.amazon.com/Connector-Dimension-PowerEdge-Precision-WorkStation/dp/B0042GMAY2

Also that looks like a Powerleap PL-iP3/T Tualatin upgrade adapter installed, thats worth quite a bit of $$$$$.
Click to expand...

That's exactly what it is! Thanks for the heads up! IIRC it’s either a 1.2 or 1.4 GHz cpu
89425F1C-371E-45D9-9F88-51EDD3F23972.jpeg
 
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I am amazed that anyone in their right mind would pay more than $50 total for a 939 board. Replacement or not. You can buy full off lease systems for $150 that are more powerful.
 
Staples said:
I am amazed that anyone in their right mind would pay more than $50 total for a 939 board. Replacement or not. You can buy full off lease systems for $150 that are more powerful.
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Its the same as why would people like old muscle cars, they handle poorly and get bad gas milage. New cars run better, handle well, and get good gas milage. But people still pay a lot of money for old cars, same as for old computers :)
 
In my experience these old parts are sought because they can do things new PCs can’t. Haswell and onward Intel chips don’t support Gate A20, which is a death blow for protected mode memory support in DOS. Finding vanilla PCI slots outside of limited run industrial motherboards is no longer possible on new kit. If you have vintage ISA equipment to run for any reason, that same situation is even worse. And serial ports that are implemented natively instead of via USB translation are seriously useful for a lot of equipment.

I wouldn’t trust old gear for production unless I had no other options. But for a huge volume of old software that won’t cooperate with newer hardware, eBay is a godsend. Emulators exist and virtualization is an option, but the only reliable, authentic way to experience a ton of this stuff is with the hardware meant to run it.
 
Halon said:
In my experience these old parts are sought because they can do things new PCs can’t. Haswell and onward Intel chips don’t support Gate A20, which is a death blow for protected mode memory support in DOS. Finding vanilla PCI slots outside of limited run industrial motherboards is no longer possible on new kit. If you have vintage ISA equipment to run for any reason, that same situation is even worse. And serial ports that are implemented natively instead of via USB translation are seriously useful for a lot of equipment.

I wouldn’t trust old gear for production unless I had no other options. But for a huge volume of old software that won’t cooperate with newer hardware, eBay is a godsend. Emulators exist and virtualization is an option, but the only reliable, authentic way to experience a ton of this stuff is with the hardware meant to run it.
Click to expand...

Truth! I have an itch to play an old game called Chaos Gate that will only play on that old BX system. The only thing I don't have is an old PSU to power it up. I do have an old PSU from a Dell P4 system I still have running but the question is can I run my ATI X800XT PE on it.
 
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Hah! You should go look what nForce2 (socket 462) boards sell for. Certain popular enthusiast models command big bucks. Well above the original pricing.

As one who has been shopping socket 939 hardware recently, I think those prices are too high in the current market. Just got an MSI K8T neo 2 for under $40. Still waiting for the cooler and 4400+ proc to arrive. Why buy? Just for fun. And because this particular board is still AGP and 20-pin ATX connector which I already have card and PSU for.
 
Starfalcon said:
Yeah Socket A is one of my favorite boards, I have a ton of them mostly Abit and Asus ones. Got most of them dirt cheap on clearance back in the day, they are worth a lot now though :)
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Same here. Bought a few of the Soltek FRN2 boards when on fire sale at the Egg back in the day. Everyone was excited about the new A64s. Had one virgin Soltek just collecting dust in the closet for all these years. So fired it up first time a while back. Thought it would be fun to run comparisons with same RAM and AGP in the 939.
 
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