So a little update to this project and some future plans. I have decided I officially want to add usb C. Whether thats taking a usb 2 port and just putting a C port there, or taking the power plug out and putting it there. IDK yet tbh, and I still need to map out where shit will go.
I figure I can put like an arduino or something into the HDD bay if I don’t have anything in there and it can act as a sort of controller and just pass through to USB. Something like that at least. Or maybe a ras pi, or bigger, latte panda. Micro ryzen? IDK. Theres ideas. And it’d need to be able to talk over the modem specifically, Its a completely separate chip in the laptop that handles the sound processing and liberation for anything related to 56k and down dial up. If I can just do a serial connection to the computer in the bay with a super short and super thin phone cable, hell, I can just pop a small hole in the case and run it to the gpio pins.
At this capacity, I could connect something over PCIe thru the expresscard port and shove it into the hdd bay. If there was something small enough, I’d stuff a 1050ti under there and call it a day, but I’m not sure I really want to do that XDDDDD
But either way, with a system like this you have a really lot of options, and thats one reason I really love older systems like these. Before ME, DDR2, really hackable machines. DDR1 is just plain too slow, and most DDR2 machines can be bios hacked to at least run 533, which is a pretty good boost from 400 and in system you do notice a difference.
Back to the GPU idea, if I were to do something like that it’d need to be sleek and low power, but have enough oomph to be worth anything. It’d need to be fast enough on a pcie 1.0 4X lane, I think it MIGHT get 2 lanes actually being a big enough device, that I could have CUDA do something or have some AMD stuff going for AI toys, something. Either way I want something as a co-processor to be able to offload tasks from the main chip. I want mostly stuff like firefox, homebank, abiword notes, stuff like that on the linux drive in the laptop. But the SBC could do like gaming, or run modern apps and I could come up with a “Passthrough” system of sorts. Hell I could run an ethernet cable and a phone line and have steam in home steaming from the SBC to the B130 andTECHNICALLY game on it XDD. IDK thats pushing the envelope a little.
I’m still trying to even figure out what I’m going to do about my swap situation. I don’t have trim, or really the ability to add it unless its software… which I’m like… meh… CPU cycles man. I need those. I’d rather not waste random bullshit on the PM, its a secure processor, of sorts. If possible, I’d rather keep private data on the B130 and bullshit whatever on the secondary.
If I do a complete SSD for my boot and storage, I’m going to run into chip thrashing and I’ll kill the disk. If I do an SSD in the disk drive bay and an HDD in the B130 bay, I won’t have space for cool shit, or at least as much. But if I don’t do any sort of HDD at all I’m going to not have any swappable drive space, and thats… not gunna help me much with a 2GB system, lol. And I’ve tried the .5 to 3GB method, as well as the jig method, you can’t trick it, the platform plain ass just can’t read 3GB or anything more than 2. Maybe 2 and 128mb, but like who gives a shit. Then I think about an SSHD but like are there 256GB 2TB ones? Because I’d want something with a big SSD and a big hard drive at that point and not even fuck around.
I could maybe direct wire 128mb of ram from the ram slot its in to the 915GL (its not a 910, hardinfo said), but it’d be an effort and ech, bios editing. I’d rather not, though the platform is capable of it and I’ve seen it done.
Also a quick run down on the drive setup as is rn. I am going to get a CD drive bay dingus because the optical drive is on the same bus as the hard drive, and its direct line to the cpu, basically. Because the HDD and the CD drive are on the same bus, the only difference is the throughput of the connector itself at that point, which I’m pretty sure is irrelevant. Everything about this platform is nearly direct access CPU wise, and with enough patience and effort, a lot can be made out of something that was a 20 dollar ebay find at 3AM when I was depressed.
So I mean hey, whatever. Tho I think I’m gunna be adding shit I think is dank and just piss ppl off XDDD idk. LMK what yall think. If you have sbc suggestions, I will listen.
woot
Edit: Pentium M Overclocking | Hackaday
Excuse me
533 or 800, so its a sonoma, actually a sonoma+
So really what I want to be looking for here is a good in the middle CPU of sorts. This laptop can take a 780 no problem, it was actually the deluxe package and the advertised model, so maybe I’ll keep the 760 I have.
I see mention of someone on hackaday saying they were going to take a 760 to 2.6ghz. I’d… I’d appreciate that. A lot actually. So would my youtube performance, and gaming performance for that matter.
Well this is a neat discovery. Now I need to find a few extra boards for just in case.
Edit 2: Evidentally this laptop has a dip switch to OC for you.
o3o aight, I’m getting ideas for that SBC now.
Fuck I’m gunna need a thermal probe.
Edit 3: I also want an always on usb port. It can even be hooked up to its own battery and the battery can charge off of other USB ports or something. Be a phone battery so its slim. I just want to be able to plug in a phone and have it dump power in. It’d be handy, and nice to not have it be off the mains.