any new asus with ISA?

  • Thread starter Thread starter lucky
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L

lucky

I built my last machine in 99 and it's time for more speed. I don't need
the latest and greatest, just anything better than a 433 celery chip :)
I prefer to stay with intel/celeron if possible.

I need 2 ISA (sound card and scanner) and 1 PCI minimum. I know I can
get a new sound card cheap but not a new scanner card

Also will my 2x agp card work?

I prefer ASUS but didn't find any legacy on their site. Did I miss one?
I found a Soyo with 3 legacy slots but it was a bit pricey.

Thanks for your advice.
 
lucky said:
I built my last machine in 99 and it's time for more speed. I don't need
the latest and greatest, just anything better than a 433 celery chip :)
I prefer to stay with intel/celeron if possible.

I need 2 ISA (sound card and scanner) and 1 PCI minimum. I know I can
get a new sound card cheap but not a new scanner card

Also will my 2x agp card work?

I prefer ASUS but didn't find any legacy on their site. Did I miss one?
I found a Soyo with 3 legacy slots but it was a bit pricey.

Thanks for your advice.
Click to expand...

If you're on a budget, pick up an MSI VIA PLE 133
http://www.msicomputer.com/product/detail_spec/product_detail.asp?model=VIA_PLE_133_5a_Lan
or a BioStar M6VLQ (see newegg.com). I got an MSI mobo from newegg last
month, but they don't list it anymore. They still have the Biostar board
for $49 w/ free shipping. Both mobos have 1 ISA slot (good luck finding a
cheap 3-ISA mobo, unless you shop garage sales or ebay). Plus, you'll get
onboard video, audio, LAN, USB, etc.

Then, get a nice Celeron 566Mhz chip on ebay for $15 and overclock it to
850Mhz, easily done with a nice Socket A/370 HSF.

Then you have a nice 850Mhz system for roughly $70 (assuming you're using
other components like SDRAM and drives from your old system). If you need
sound on more than two speakers, you'll need to pick up a PCI soundcard for
$25 or so.

Your next best bet for a budget system would be an overclocked Duron using
the same type of integrated motherboards (see newegg.com).
 
Check to see that the OS you plan on using supports your old ISA devices
before you get tied down to a board. If you plan on using Win XP it
probably wont have drivers for them. Unless you have a special sound card
or scanner its time to get some new stuff. many boards will already have
the sound built in and scanners have gotten realy cheap. You will probably
be able to get a much better one than you have now for about $50.
 
If you have Fry's in your area, they have a lot of ECS boards that they
make combo deals with. You can usually get an 1700XP chip and the board for
under $70. They run combos with this board for about $59.- $89.depending
on the CPU. The board will take your old PC133 memory or DDR. No ISA
slots though. It does have sound and nic built on. It makes a decent cheap
upgrade.
 
Lucky,

Some things to consider -

Your new motherboard will almost certainly have onboard sound,
so you can discard the ISA sound card.

Also, your scanner's ISA card is probably a SCSI controller
with a DB25 connector which can be replaced with a PCI
equivalent for little cost. I've replaced several Domex/DTC
3181 ISA scanner controller cards, which are not supported by
Windows 2000/XP with Adaptec 2902E's and a Domex 3191D card.
If you need help figuring what card you need, just let the
group know.

Best of luck,
 
Too bad there is no ISA to PCI adapter, as I have a USR V.90 Everything, a
kickass modem. ONE problem, it's ISA, what a bummer. Almost no Mobos come
with ISA anymore. They should all have 1 ISA slot for stuff like this. I
have no use for the modem now as I have DSL, but it is hard to sell a modem
you can't install into a computer.......
Bitsbucket.
 
I am not a fan of onboard anything but you do have a point. I am not a
sound geek and am happy with basic sound. I assume the on board sound
has the same, if not more, connectors as the ISA card did. I'm not home
now but I think I had one other connection besides mic and speaker, but
I could be wrong. I think my old cd player was hooked into the same ISA
card (Reveal I think) but since I got a RW a few years ago, it's been
disconnected anyways. (had to keep the full tower looking full LOL)

Now that you said scsi card, I think you are right about the scanner.
Good to know I can get another card if need be. The scanner has
sentimental value so I'd like to keep it if possible.

So, now that I seem to have gotten rid of my ISA need - well...maybe-
now to figure out what board I want/need.

I also should have posted I'm going to continue win 98 SE because I'm
very happy with it and don't believe in upgrading if things work :)
 
PS will 2x AGP card work in all the new ASUS boards or do I need to read
the specs carefully?
 
Hi Lucky

I like Win98SE myself. I have a scanner thats a few years old and the WinXP
support for it is minimal. My Printer is also a non XP model.

You may want to check with the manufacurer of your old scanner to make sure
that it will work with a generic SCSI card. Some of the older ones used a
proprietary SCSI controller and although they can be made to work with a
standard one it may require a firmware update in the scanner.

Assuming that you only use the scanner on the SCSI card, it will cost you
more for a new card and cable/adapter to run the old scanner than it would
cost you for a new model. The new scanner would most likely have a USB
interface and not require a SCSI card. I went through the same delemma a
few years back with my old scanner, the $1100. I paid for it being the
sentimental value for me. I finally gave in and bought a new model and am
very happy with it. It is about 5 times as fast, does color in a single
pass and has 4 times the resolution. I look back at some of my old scans
and wonder why it took me so long.

Have a Great Day

Jim
 
Jim said:
Hi Lucky

I like Win98SE myself. I have a scanner thats a few years old and the WinXP
support for it is minimal. My Printer is also a non XP model.

You may want to check with the manufacurer of your old scanner to make sure
that it will work with a generic SCSI card. Some of the older ones used a
proprietary SCSI controller and although they can be made to work with a
standard one it may require a firmware update in the scanner.

Assuming that you only use the scanner on the SCSI card, it will cost you
more for a new card and cable/adapter to run the old scanner than it would
cost you for a new model. The new scanner would most likely have a USB
interface and not require a SCSI card. I went through the same delemma a
few years back with my old scanner, the $1100. I paid for it being the
sentimental value for me. I finally gave in and bought a new model and am
very happy with it. It is about 5 times as fast, does color in a single
pass and has 4 times the resolution. I look back at some of my old scans
and wonder why it took me so long.

Have a Great Day

Jim
Click to expand...

Looks like I'd either pay more for ISA slots or more for a scanner.
Either way I'd pay. I guess progress will win.
 
lucky said:
I am not a fan of onboard anything but you do have a point. I am not a
sound geek and am happy with basic sound. I assume the on board sound
has the same, if not more, connectors as the ISA card did. I'm not home
Click to expand...

I, like you, was not a fan of integrated components on a mobo. However,
they seem to have really improved over the last few years. The nice thing
is that they are easily disabled in the BIOS if you want to add your own
components. Considering that it's hard to find a video card under $40USD,
integrated video makes for a good choice on a budget system.

Integrated sound is generally on a level with what a $100 soundcard sounded
like a coupla years ago (e.g. - soundblaster Live!). They typically have
three jacks for line-in, line-out (speaker) and a microphone jack. Better
mobos will have 6-channel sound, thus including jacks for things like rear
and center speakers and maybe a game port. Again, they are easily disabled
if you want to add a higher-quality soundcard.
now but I think I had one other connection besides mic and speaker, but
I could be wrong. I think my old cd player was hooked into the same ISA
card (Reveal I think) but since I got a RW a few years ago, it's been
disconnected anyways. (had to keep the full tower looking full LOL)
Click to expand...

Onboard sound (and most soundcards) do not have RCA jacks (although my old
Soundblaster AWE GOLD had them). If you want to use RCA devices with them,
run to your local electronics store and get a "2 RCA female jacks into 1
stereo 1/8-inch male plug" adapter, they work and are very handy.
Now that you said scsi card, I think you are right about the scanner.
Good to know I can get another card if need be. The scanner has
sentimental value so I'd like to keep it if possible.
Click to expand...

As Jim said, check with the scanner manufacturer. A friend of mine had an
old Canon scanner that would work w/ it's ISA SCSI card, but not on a PCI
SCSI card.
So, now that I seem to have gotten rid of my ISA need - well...maybe-
now to figure out what board I want/need.

I also should have posted I'm going to continue win 98 SE because I'm
very happy with it and don't believe in upgrading if things work :)
Click to expand...

Nothing wrong with Win98SE. It's a very stable OS when you keep the memory
settings tweaked and the registry clean.
 
Too bad there is no ISA to PCI adapter, as I have a USR V.90 Everything, a
kickass modem. ONE problem, it's ISA, what a bummer. Almost no Mobos come
with ISA anymore. They should all have 1 ISA slot for stuff like this. I
have no use for the modem now as I have DSL, but it is hard to sell a modem
you can't install into a computer.......
Bitsbucket.
Click to expand...


Ah, but there ARE PCI to ISA adapters, Grasshopper.

The big question is: How bad do you really want one?
Bad enough to write the drivers - or at least do the legwork to find drivers
that someone else already wrote?

http://www.costronic.com.tw/Ev72p.htm

and there are others...

/daytripper (somehow I bet a new modem would be smarter ;-)
 
DAMN, learn something new everyday! I however do not have the "smarts" to
write a driver......:-(
Bitsbucket
 
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