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IBM PS/55 Z – All About The Pentiums

Found this at the local flea market on the weekend. After spending many nights replacing the guts of my IBM PS/55Z with a 486 DX2/66, I saw the specifications of this motherboard and couldn't resist snatching it up. 166mhz! PCI! ATX! 96mb RAM! USB! What more could you ask for in a vintage machine? I wonder if I should try and make it fit!?

Turns out it's the motherboard from a Compaq Deskpro 2000. Am I happy to have the Compaq splash screen display when the machine powers up? I believe the BIOS will also be tricky to get into as these machines need a separate hidden partition with Compaq's proprietary tools?

A quick Google lead me to realise that building an AT to ATX adapter would be a nightmare. I'd need to create a solid +3.3v DC supply from the 5v rails and also muck around with more sense wires? Might be easier to just rip out the power supply and slap an ATX unit in there. Would have to merge in the CRT electronics though... Of course, it's also ever-slightly too long, so there'd need to be quite a bit of hacking to make it fit.

Such delight at finding this beautiful piece of equipment! ... Oh wait, maybe this will be easier than expected!