Vintage 1995 Pionex 486 DX2 66 Mhz Computer

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vintageestatefin

New Member
I recently got an old 1995 Pionex 486 DX2 66 mhz computer and have a question about setting it up for use. There is a female power connector on the back of the tower (15A 250V) and underneath that a male power connector (10A 250V). I checked my computer power cords and don't have one that matches either of these outlets. I want to buy a power cord, mouse, and keyboard to test the computer for resale, but I'm not sure which of the outlets is for the power cord. Additionally, what mice and keyboards are compatible with this machine, as there is no ps/2 connection on this tower.


It has two hard drives installed : a Western Digital Caviar 1210 with 212.6 MB and a Seagate ST3660A 545.5 MB hard drive. I have additional pics of the inside of the machine but can't upload them. The original owner said it worked when he stopped using it but I'd like to make sure.


Any help is appreciated.
 

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All female power cords are the same. Try again and you'll magically see it will work.
 
I tried my 2009 HP slimline's female power cord on it initially since it has powered all other computers I've tested without issue. The cord has 10A 125V printed on it, and the tower turned on for a second and then the surge protector cut out. I assume that happened since the 125V is not even close to the 250V printed on the back of the outlet on the tower. If I get a cord matching the outlet's specs can I safely plug it into a US outlet or do I need a converter? Sorry if this is a stupid question, I just don't want to damage the components in the machine.
 
I don't think you'll find too much as far as resale value.

The predecessor to the PS/2 was the 5 pin din, do you have some of the inputs for those?
Also older mice connected via serial port.
 
vintageestatefin said:
I tried my 2009 HP slimline's female power cord on it initially since it has powered all other computers I've tested without issue. The cord has 10A 125V printed on it, and the tower turned on for a second and then the surge protector cut out. I assume that happened since the 125V is not even close to the 250V printed on the back of the outlet on the tower. If I get a cord matching the outlet's specs can I safely plug it into a US outlet or do I need a converter? Sorry if this is a stupid question, I just don't want to damage the components in the machine.
Click to expand...

You see that little black slider switch in the middle of the 2 outlets? That's the voltage selector depending on what country you are in. If you are in USA then you want 110 and regular pc power cord will fit where the prongs are.

But as said, there will be no resale value unless you find someone that wants it as a collectors item and not use it. You would find out that the operating system used on it wouldn't be able to run any software on it anymore as its outdated.
 
Yes, it has a 5 pin din connector not pictured on the back. There is also a serial port mouse. Thanks for letting me know about that; all I would need would be adapters of those to PS/2 rather than having to get a new (to me) keyboard and mouse.

I don't have much invested in it since I haven't heard about the brand and for all I know it doesn't work. The original owner told me he always spent around $2,000 on his computers in the 90's so I figured I'd take a chance on it. Figured someone might want it for vintage gaming or as part of a collection as you suggested. I read after buying it that the 486 DX2 was a popular processor for video gamers of the period.

Regarding the slider that's about all I know for certain on setting up the tower for use as far as the power cord goes. I live in the US and it was already set to 110V when I tested it initially.
 
if that power cord works in another computer it isnt your problem here.as was said the 486 is at best a curiousity and of no monetary worth at all.computers seem to defy the norm here.older is definitely not better.lol
 
So buying a 15A 250V cord as the tower outlet indicates wouldn't make a difference from the 10A 125V cord I tried to test with? I'd still like to test the machine rather than as is.

The last mid 90's computer I sold was an old AT&T for $125 and it wouldn't even boot due to a broken drive or incorrect drive geometry. Not to say this is worth anything but I was told that one wasn't worth $10 right before it sold.

I wouldn't want to trash it if it has value to someone.
 
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Yeah that's why I'm confused. It shows Made in USA on the back of the machine despite its 250V figures on both outlets. I'm getting a converter for a trip to England if that could be used on it. Haven't used one before so I wouldn't know.
 
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The switch on the PSU looks to be set on 110V and you power it on with the connector on the left with the male connectors.. You need a serial mouse. If it has a PCI slot you could get a USB PCI card and use a USB keyboard and mouse.
 
Just an update, I ended up getting the machine to work after some trial and error and sold it a week ago for $250 plus $40 shipping. Had an offer on it by some company that deals with the FAA a while back at $175 but the company that ended up buying it works with the national defense branch of the government. Collector value may not be much but apparently some of these machines are still needed by some governmental bodies. Figured I'd post back in case someone else comes across one since there isn't much information on Pionex at all and it'd likely be thrown away as a result.

Anyone know what an organization would still use one of these computers for? I presume it'd have to have some old, capital-intensive equipment that has to have what is now an old machine with certain specs to function properly.

http://www.ebay.com/itm/Working-Vin...mputer-AT-Tower-Desktop-PC-/201433194034?rd=1
 
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Kind of late to the game but here goes...I had a computers back then so I can answer some of your questions.

The power supply could run with either 110 or 220 AC input voltages. In the U.S. you set the switch to 110 and use a standard U.S power cord. If used in a country that used 220 volts you could switch the power supply to 220 and use the appropriate power cord.

One of my computers had two AC connectors like yours. The male one used the standard PC power cord. It was used to power the PC. The female AC connector was used with a short extension cable. I plugged the power cord from my monitor into the extension cable.

The keyboard was probably used with a 5-pin DIN connector. A mouse probably plugged into a 9-pin serial port. Years later the 5-pin DIN connector was replaced by PS/2 connectors for both the keyboard and mouse. The 5-pin DIN connector was round and had a larger diameter than a PS/2 connector.

The most common card slots used back then were ISA, EISA, and VESA Local Bus. PCI slots were just starting to be used then so they were probably not in this computer.
 
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