Showing Off My Newly Rebuilt Retro Gaming System

[c750dt]

I recently restored an old PC from 1994 to cure boredom and decided to show it off. Has an 83mhz Pentium chip (actually a special version of the chip made to plug into motherboards designed for the 486), 72mb RAM, an 8mb ATI video card, 1gb hard drive, 4-disc CD changer, DOS 6.22, Windows 3.11 and most importantly, a good Sega Genesis emulator along with rom files for all my favorite games from back in the day. I also have a network card and managed to get this computer on the internet though I just did that to see if the thing could survive on today's internet for more than 5 minutes. A friend of mine on a nerd messageboard I'm a part of is sending me some SNES style controllers that can plug into the computer this week.

I originally got the computer for $5 at a thrift shop. I had to replace power supply, fix the power button, replace video card, hard drive, cd drive, memory and then I spent an hour cleaning it; thing was fucking nasty when I first got home with it.

Click Thumbnail For Full Size:

 

[loveless92]

Running MS-DOS, what a pro! That was my first system I used.

 

[XMan101]

Reminds me of my first PC (after the TV plug-ins that took programmes from cassette tape). I had a Compaq 386. Kept it as a historical momento for years on the top of the wardrobe before finally parting with it

 

[Squallmuzza]

Oh for when we lived in simpler times. I still can't believe I used to happily sit there and wait for pages to load on dial-up.... How did I have so much patience? @_@

 

[c750dt]

Dial-up wasn't so bad back when the best porno on the internet was still 256-color JPEGs.

 

[spammy1982]

@c750dt... Right! It was all about the anticipation back then... watching that image slowly load pixel line by pixel line. I remember it taking 20-30 min to load decent quality jpegs!

 

[shazzam]

So, a Pentium sitting on a 486 board! Does it have a TURBO button? (a.k.a. a slowdown button that lights up when off?) Also, I love how within the context of that computer, an 8mb Riva TNT2 (I think I'm guessing right?) can seem downright sporty

 

[c750dt]

^ Computer didn't feature a turbo button. That would have made the look complete.

Anyways, a few months back I wound up selling the computer to another collector of old hardware. That thing was pretty loaded by then too.

Now I've moved on to another retro computer to kill my time with. This time, a circa 1995 Macintosh Performa 630CD. Specs include a 700mb hard drive (upgraded from 250mb), 36mb ram (up from 4mb), 2x cd, some manner of low quality 8-bit audio, 1mb video that can display 800x600 at 256 colors, 33mhz 68040 and Mac OS 7.6.1. I've managed to get it playing MP3s, have a ton of MIDI and MOD files on it along with a good number of older Mac games. Also have a PC emulator with Win 3.1 installed for the sole purpose of being able to play ZZT and Chips Challenge on the machine. It's a great little machine though the versions of MacOS that will run on it do little justice. It's also funny to think the iPod sitting next to the machine is more powerful.

BTW, props to anyone who can spot the second computer visible in this photo (hint, it's black and runs MS-DOS)

 

[hawtsean]

BTW, props to anyone who can spot the second computer visible in this photo (hint, it's black and runs MS-DOS)

Sinclair Z-80??

 

[c750dt]

HP 95LX. 5mhz NEC V20, 512kb RAM, MS DOS 3.3 built into ROM.

 

[SimplyJakeAndAlex]

That's give me a thread Idea

 

[marco_polo2]

Dial-up wasn't so bad back when the best porno on the internet was still 256-color JPEGs.

best...comment...ever!

 

[brmstn69]

Up until a little over a year ago, my mother was still using ... I'm not sure what the fuck it was, it was so old...

It had a Pentium S, 128Mb RAM, and 2Gig HDD and Windows 98, which I did upgrade to ME...P

Now she has one much better, a Pentium 3, 512 Mb RAM, 40 Gig HDD, and windows XP...:rofl:

Guess what she's getting for X-mas...:thinking:

 

[c750dt]

My laptop has a Pentium III. I bought it for $10 earlier this year at a liquor store. It was in a box near the back and the owner said he replaced it with a nicer system. Pretty good deal I thought though at that point, I didn't have a vodka budget anymore.