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NUXT v2.0 motherboard is now available!

jasa1063

Experienced Member
Joined
Jan 5, 2015
Messages
386
Location
Minnesota, USA
I just got an email that the NUXT v2.0 is now ready. I went to the Monotech website and put in my order for one. I have been waiting since last fall for these to come out. Should be a lot of fun putting this together!
 
I'm not entirely familiar with the development history of the NUXT, but WHY is the Video mezzanine based around a Trident video chip? Those were not stellar DOS performers.
 
I'm not entirely familiar with the development history of the NUXT, but WHY is the Video mezzanine based around a Trident video chip? Those were not stellar DOS performers.

I think the explanation is basically: "Some guy started listing a ton of old stock chips on eBay and they're the only ISA VGA chip that's close to readily available".

Certainly can't say much to defend Trident, I had a TVGA9000 in my first 486 and it was *dreadful* running at any beyond-VGA resolution (especially 256 color), but I doubt it matters much on an XT-class machine.
 
I'm not entirely familiar with the development history of the NUXT, but WHY is the Video mezzanine based around a Trident video chip? Those were not stellar DOS performers.

Availability I'd imagine.
But if Jacob comes on here or if you flick him a message I'm sure he can answer that for sure.

Also not sure why that matters on an 8088, mine usually run old MDA or CGA boards.
 
Got my NuXT v2.0 motherboard today. I will be doing the build this week and will report back on my experience using it.
 
I just received mine today! Working on setting it up, however I'm running into an odd issue where if you reboot it the VGA and main BIOS post routines come up in black and white, and then it boots into DOS with no working screen. You can still type commands and see the CF light blink, but you can't tell what's going on. If you ctrl-alt-del a bunch of times it'll eventually POST in color and then boot properly. I haven't had a chance to go through the troubleshooting steps yet, but it sounds like it's not properly reading the video configuration and is defaulting to mono.
 
The only other thing I can think of is it's ATX form factor and uses a standard ATX power supply.

Optionally people who want that hardware DOS gaming experience, but don't want that ugly old computer (?) anywhere NEAR their desk.......because for whatever reason those people do exist and make you feel old as you wave your cane at them.
 
I think some of you guy's miss the point it's the
sheer joy of building your own computer and using it..
 
This is why I don't really "get" the NuXT boards. If someone can clue me in as to what the market for these are, I'd appreciate it.

I agree. I built an entire genuine IBM XT from an empty case for less than $340. Not bashing the project, as I certainly appreciate the effort put into it, but I too, don’t really “get” it. An XT just doesn’t seem rare or expensive enough to replicate.


I think some of you guy's miss the point it's the
sheer joy of building your own computer and using it..

I built a genuine IBM XT last year, so I certainly understand the joy of building, but I can’t see paying more for a reproduction than the real thing.
 
This is going to be an unpopular post but it's marketed at people who are too stupid to know better. People who like to throw money at problems to get a solution and people who don't like working with old hardware because somehow *old* old computers is hard.
 
for me originally it was soldering up sergeys xt8088, u8088, building the vga card, building the cf xtide card. soldering it all up.

that was the fun in the design.

having someone do it all for you, shrug.
 
The only other thing I can think of is it's ATX form factor and uses a standard ATX power supply.

Pre-made ATX to AT power adapters are currently on eBay for $8. Past eBay sellers listed ATX I/O shields that had the single large DIN cut-outs for AT MBs, but I'm having trouble finding them now. I'm sure AliExpress has them somewhere!

I can see spending hundreds on the real-deal. Hundreds on a clone that can't run Doom is a bit much.
 
It's kind of like the guy who builds a kit car in lieu of restoring the original. I think it's an ideal project for the person(s) who like to dabble with older software like games and such, but do not possess the know-how or, have the time and resources for the original thing. This project may affect the vintage reseller's bottom line but that's the way it goes in the business world. I don't think that the price is out of line considering the time and engineering that went into it. Would I buy it? Probably not at this point in time, as I have a fully functional 5160 in its original box that been setting on a shelf for over 6 years and I haven'r even bothered to look at at (yeah! - real neat with manuals and software). Just my opinion and I'm sure it will rankle some.
 
I'm not entirely familiar with the development history of the NUXT, but WHY is the Video mezzanine based around a Trident video chip? Those were not stellar DOS performers.

I recall Trident as being fairly common and I'm guessing it's a stable base line.... 'Oak' was another one... 'Paradise'....
 
Personally I think it's "fine". If nothing else it's an interesting novelty having a new-build XT that fits in a modern case, and while $340 isn't "cheap" it's also not exactly exorbitant considering it's a fully manufactured new item that relies on a few semi-hard-to-find parts. Inflation-adjust for, say, 1988 dollars and it's like buying a populated 1MB turbo XT motherboard with a full set of multi-IO interfaces and a VGA card for only about $160, which would be one heck of a deal.

Maybe it just doesn't seem like an unreasonably expensive toy to me living in a world where people pay $800 for branded Lego sets.
 
Got the system put together. It's working well except the BIOS reports my 5.25" 360K drive B: as a 1.44MB floppy even though I have the drive type set properly. Probably a bug in the BIOS and I will have to report this to Monotech. Tried using DRIVPARM in the config.sys, but that is not working. This only affects trying to format floppies and I can do that on one of the other XT class machines I have, so not a big deal at this point. I added an Adlib sound card, ISA game port card, and a Lo-Tech 2MB EMS board to the system. Really pleased overall on how it is working.
 
...BIOS reports my 5.25" 360K drive B: as a 1.44MB floppy even though I have the drive type set properly...

Try disconnecting pin 34 on the floppy cable at the 360k drive. This pin is used for DSKCHG on high density drives but on 360k drives it is usually disconnected or is sometimes used for DISK Ready. This can confuse some floppy controllers, if pin 34 is disconnected, the drive will still function perfectly and you might find the problem goes away.
 
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