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Toshiba T5200 - RAM

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Neosodium

Experienced Member
Joined
Nov 30, 2010
Messages
119
Location
Oxfordshire, UK
Well, those of you who remember my original Toshiba T5200 thread will recall the PSU went bang on it - I never worked out how to fix it and of course you can't just go and buy T5200 power supplies so I have been keeping an eye out for another one ever since.

I finally got my paws on another T5200 recently, this one came with a 200mb(!) HDD factory installed (so I'm keeping that in it!) but no added ram. I have taken the ram out of the other one (2mb) which now resides at a friend's house and runs off an external PSU and monitor. I have also scrounged every other bit of it he doesn't need to have it working ;)

I have ordered a 40mhz CPU upgrade as I'd like to get some more performance when it comes to 3D stuff, but looking to add more ram as it still only has 4MB and quite a bit of software that would otherwise run on the system (read:games) requires a bit more. It seems to use 40 pin 1mb SIMMs and I don't know where to even start looking for those.

Anyone clued up on this?
 
Neosodium said:
Well, those of you who remember my original Toshiba T5200 thread will recall the PSU went bang on it - I never worked out how to fix it and of course you can't just go and buy T5200 power supplies so I have been keeping an eye out for another one ever since.

I finally got my paws on another T5200 recently, this one came with a 200mb(!) HDD factory installed (so I'm keeping that in it!) but no added ram. I have taken the ram out of the other one (2mb) which now resides at a friend's house and runs off an external PSU and monitor. I have also scrounged every other bit of it he doesn't need to have it working ;)

I have ordered a 40mhz CPU upgrade as I'd like to get some more performance when it comes to 3D stuff, but looking to add more ram as it still only has 4MB and quite a bit of software that would otherwise run on the system (read:games) requires a bit more. It seems to use 40 pin 1mb SIMMs and I don't know where to even start looking for those.

Anyone clued up on this?
Click to expand...
You mean 30 pin. These are easily found on eBay. Prices are much better than some years back. I got myself plenty of these, in 1mb, 4mb sizes
 
Neosodium said:
Well, those of you who remember my original Toshiba T5200 thread will recall the PSU went bang on it - I never worked out how to fix it and of course you can't just go and buy T5200 power supplies so I have been keeping an eye out for another one ever since.

I finally got my paws on another T5200 recently, this one came with a 200mb(!) HDD factory installed (so I'm keeping that in it!) but no added ram. I have taken the ram out of the other one (2mb) which now resides at a friend's house and runs off an external PSU and monitor. I have also scrounged every other bit of it he doesn't need to have it working ;)

I have ordered a 40mhz CPU upgrade as I'd like to get some more performance when it comes to 3D stuff, but looking to add more ram as it still only has 4MB and quite a bit of software that would otherwise run on the system (read:games) requires a bit more. It seems to use 40 pin 1mb SIMMs and I don't know where to even start looking for those.

Anyone clued up on this?
Click to expand...

It's proprietary, but I believe 12Mb is possible if you find some. 4Mb is enough on a T5200 - will run Windows 3.11 with networking just fine. I can't think of many games that need more than 4Mb and would run nicely on a 386 (even double-clocked).

If you can track down a Compaq Portable 486C - that'll give you colour, 486DX2 CPU, more RAM, and still be portable with ISA. These play Doom quite nicely.

What CPU upgrade is that? Is it specifically for upgrading a DX 20Mhz machine to 40Mhz (e.g. clock multiplier built in)?
 
orion24 said:
You mean 30 pin. These are easily found on eBay. Prices are much better than some years back. I got myself plenty of these, in 1mb, 4mb sizes
Click to expand...

On the T5200 and T5200/100 there is one 30pin SIMM used for parity (optional I think), but the main modules are 40pin.
My T3200SX uses 30 pin SIMMs, but even then it's very picky, standard ones don't work, I went through a box of SIMM pairs and eventually gave up.
 
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SpidersWeb said:
On the T5200 and T5200/100 there is one 30pin SIMM used for parity (optional I think), but the main modules are 40pin.
My T3200SX uses 30 pin SIMMs, but even then it's very picky, standard ones don't work, I went through a box of SIMM pairs and eventually gave up.
Click to expand...
They really went out of their way to make memory upgrades difficult ;-)

My 3200 doesn't use SIMMs at all, but has a plug-in pcb with soldered-in RAM chips.

My 3100e does use 30 pin SIMMs; they're not quite standard but it's a simple mod to make standard ones compatible. Might be worth looking up the relevant thread in case the modified SIMMs also fit your 3200SX...
 
I figured there wasn't much chance of them being a standard type but if anyone knew it would be the folks on here.

SpidersWeb, I go for the toshiba machines for their gas plasma display :) I find the plasma screen fascinating and love the VGA capability and the incredible contrast the 5200's display has. Not to mention that most colour portables and laptops before the mid 90s used nasty STN displays which were useless for games.

If I could find a 486 with a VGA plasma display (I know Toshiba made them, 4400SX and 6400DX for example) I would be most pleased, though the original 3000/5000 series are the best looking imo :)
 
Also, the new cpu is an AM386 DXL-40 - do I need to change the system clock speed to take advantage of it?

If so, how would this be achieved?
 
Neosodium said:
Also, the new cpu is an AM386 DXL-40 - do I need to change the system clock speed to take advantage of it?

If so, how would this be achieved?
Click to expand...

Yes you do, and you can't change the system clock, it's 20Mhz.
That's why I was asking :) With the new CPU it's not going to be any faster.

Some upgrade chips are around, I'm sure Cyrix made some '486' style versions with a clock multiplier, just can't remember which models etc
Edit: just been looking, haven't found any yet that have a multiplier and fit in that socket.
 
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Ah well, I guess I might as well stick it in there anyway unless it would mess things up. Is it worth picking up an 80387 FPU in terms of performance in 3D games?
 
No point installing it - just makes the machine less original and a risk of damage to the chips (pins getting bent etc). But it is incredibly easy to access the CPU as I'm, sure you're aware :) Mine plays Wolf3D quite well, but Doom could be a stretch.

80387 won't help in most games - but if you get one make sure it's an 80387DX.
I wondered if there were 486 ISA upgrade boards around? They'd take normal SIMMs and the T5200 provides room for one full length 16 bit card, and with a sound card in the 8 bit slot (just use it as a SB Pro) - that could be a possibility.

Edit: something like this: http://www.ebay.com/itm/American-Me...420?pt=LH_DefaultDomain_0&hash=item3384c8c5b4 only thing is, I can't guarantee it'd fit/work, but it's an option that might if you really needed it running faster.

Edit: bugger, just realised that probably wouldn't work with the onboard keyboard because it has it's own PS/2 port.
 
SpidersWeb said:
Yes you do, and you can't change the system clock, it's 20Mhz.
That's why I was asking :) With the new CPU it's not going to be any faster.

Some upgrade chips are around, I'm sure Cyrix made some '486' style versions with a clock multiplier, just can't remember which models etc
Edit: just been looking, haven't found any yet that have a multiplier and fit in that socket.
Click to expand...

If there is no option to define the CPU clock, then you "might" be able to change the clock generator of the board. There must be a 40 MHz clock generator on this board somewhere. Replace it with an 80 MHz one and you'll get 40 MHz for the CPU. But this is not easy to do and stability is not guaranteed. For sure this is not one of the most customizable PCs you've got there.
 
orion24 said:
If there is no option to define the CPU clock, then you "might" be able to change the clock generator of the board. There must be a 40 MHz clock generator on this board somewhere. Replace it with an 80 MHz one and you'll get 40 MHz for the CPU. But this is not easy to do and stability is not guaranteed. For sure this is not one of the most customizable PCs you've got there.
Click to expand...

Yep. Just gotta be careful experimenting because if something goes wrong he'll have a very hard time replacing that motherboard. I've had to do that in the past messing with mine (and it cost a lot more than I should have spent - but eh I was attached to it)
 
I was thinking maybe the clock generator could be swapped out, but I'd be apprehensive about doing it if it's not something anyone has tried already (Another dead 5200? No thanks!). Is it just a crystal oscillator on the board or a whole chip that would need to be desoldered/replaced?

I'm surprised you can't just get a clock multiplier that plugs between the socket and CPU and intercepts the clock pin...
 
You'd replace the crystal, but you have to think about what it effects downstream - for example the 8Mhz ISA bus may now be running at 16Mhz (unless it had it's own clock), etc etc

Your suggestion of the clock multiplier is what I would do if I was going to attempt it. A board sandwiched between the CPU and socket. I've seen (on the net) a photo of a home made design for an 8088 - 4.77 to 9.5Mhz but not for a 386. In that scenario, you could test it on a generic 386DX-20 cheapo motherboard first. Only thing that I can think of that might be a downer - is if the memory can't keep up.

NB: these are just thoughts off the top of my head, I haven't spent much time looking at modifying hardware to this degree. It's a bit easier these days, I can just adjust things in my BIOS setup :p
 
SpidersWeb said:
NB: these are just thoughts off the top of my head, I haven't spent much time looking at modifying hardware to this degree. It's a bit easier these days, I can just adjust things in my BIOS setup :p
Click to expand...
Yeah, but this style of being easy, risk-free and achievable by almost everyone, makes it a bit more boring and takes some fun away from it. Personally it is when I do all those risky, warranty-void, out of the ordinary mods that I sit and enjoy it in the end.
 
orion24 said:
Yeah, but this style of being easy, risk-free and achievable by almost everyone, makes it a bit more boring and takes some fun away from it. Personally it is when I do all those risky, warranty-void, out of the ordinary mods that I sit and enjoy it in the end.
Click to expand...

True. Getting a Core 2 Duo at 533 FSB made me do a dance, but raising a clock multiplier a few times doesn't do it for me.
 
Spidersweb, just noticed your post about that upgrade board (don't know how I missed it before!) It looks fantastic, is that basically an entire 486 system board that fits in an ISA slot? I don't see why it wouldn't work with the internal keyboard though I think it just adds a PS/2 connector as most early 386 machines had AT keyboards. Unfortunately, it's a bit beyond my budget for upgrades.

Does anyone know where the crystal is on the 5200's board? perhaps it's possible to make a little board that can switch between 40 and 80mhz crystals?

I would make a multiplier that went between the socket and chip if I knew how, it's a shame they were apparently never made :(
 
Look what I found :)
28bwtjd.jpg
 
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