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The
Shopping / Scrounging list
You are
going to need the following parts to build a minimalist Freesco
Box:
Motherboard
and CPU. A 386-33 to 486-66 will do. Any faster may require
a CPU fan. Fans become a maintenance issue and add to the
noise.
16MB
RAM. I found this to be the sweet spot for my Freesco
Box
AT style
case with power supply. 15" Mini-Tower is an ideal size
Floppy
drive 1.44MB, 31/2"
Floppy
drive controller card. Many older motherboards do not have
integrated floppy or hard drive controllers.
Video
card. A VGA card 256KB - 1MB RAM. Be sure it is compatible
with your motherboard. A PCI card will not fit in many 486
motherboards. An ISA card should work fine.
2 Ethernet
cards for routing to DSL, cable or other high-speed networks.
I have had good luck with NE2000 compatible cards.
Misc.
hardware: A hub or switch for 10/100Base-T Ethernets. Needed
if 2 or more PC's are connected to the Freesco Box. Network
cable. These are inexpensive and come in a variety of lengths
with plugs at each end.
How to build
a cheap reliable x86 box suitable for Linux.
The
Cheap /Linux/ Box
Hmmm...
What does this card do?
A Freesco box will appeal to the computer hobbyist. Buying
new hardware will increase the cost of the project. If you
manage to scrounge a motherboard or find a $2 ISA Ethernet
card in the hardware store 'lucky dip' box, you will more
than often be missing documentation and drivers.
Everything you
ever wanted to know. - PC
Hardware FAQ
This a useful site for motherboard manuals and utilities.
- WebHQ
Canada
These
sites should help you locate missing drivers :-
windrivers.com
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