Oldest PC Discussion thread

[Chad -]

Hello everybody. How are you doing?

So, when did you first meet your computer? What were the specifications and brand of it? And do you still have it sitting alone in an isolated closet?

For me, I bought my first computer like 10 years ago (maybe more). It had Windows 98, which was the best operating system at its time. It was from Microsoft or Sony or something (can't remember). It had a 64 MB RAM (or 128 MB) and 10 to 30 GB of hard disk storage. I sold it like 6 years ago for 1/26 of its original price. xD, so I don't have it anymore. x(

Discuss yours!

Thank you.

 

[Team_SJK]

Bought my first computer a couple years ago, it's got an Intel Core2 Duo at 2.16 GHz, 2GB of RAM, a skimpy 120GB hard drive, and... it's a MacBook. In all the time I've had it, the only places it's been to are anywhere but storage. It's also the first computer I have that wasn't handed down.

 

[mr. ck]

Well we had computers even before I was born... And I only got a personal computer like a few years ago...

Considering that I am 16, the first computer I used was probably just as old... Was a Celeron? and had RAM around 64-128MB. 20GB HDD and well it really was never "sold" It ended up going away when it was worthless: this year.

 

[TheAppleFreak]

I was too young at the time to remember much about it, but I recall that my first computer was an IBM. I used to play some sort of preschool game on it called BusyTown (I was, what? three at the time), and that was really it. The second, much more long-lived was a Compaq Pavillion 550 or something like that. It had a really slow AMD processor, 64 MB of RAM, and an 8 GB HD. I got rid of that in 2008 when I got my MacBook, which soon was accompianied by my Dell Mini 10v netbook.

 

[Dawn]

My first computer was a Windows 95 machine that ran Worms World Party and that was pretty much all I did with it. Back then my parents were under the illusion that 2 hours was sufficient time to play a video game for the day. The concept that your average video game round of Worms World party takes an hour or more didn't mean anything to them. Still doesn't mean anything to them.

2000: Guys. I didn't even get to play two matches of Worms World Party! That's like no time at all!

2010: Guys. I didn't even get to play two matches of Left 4 Dead! That's like no time at all!

(2 hours is totally enough to play two matches of L4D usually, but the range is between 45 minutes to over an hour per match, so not always)

 

[Gerri Shin]

If we're talking oldest pc used, then I still have and could possibly use my old 386 dos machine. It has Windows 3.1 on it, but it was only ever used to read those old "true" floppy disks and play an old golf game. I think it only had about 25mb hard drive and less than 128kb of ram. Now if you're talking oldest commuter that I have ever owned then I think that honor would be an old HP zd8000 series laptop. It had dual p4ht @ 3.4GHz, an ATI radeon 300 series graphics card, and a max ram of it it currently being used by my little bro since I got my current computer.

 

[Alistair]

The computer I've had for the longest (as well as being my first and oldest computer) is an old Tandy 1000 TX we bought in 1995. It came preloaded with DOS and DeskMate software to give it some pizazz. But really, the thing has an 8MHz CPU, 640KB of RAM, and a 20MB hard drive. At the time, the computer sufficed. It played basic games, had some fun programs, and even had some odd word processor.

I sitll have this computer, by the way, but the hard drive went and I don't have the DeskMate disk set or DOS disks, either for the new hard drive I installed.

 

[Elite Overlord LeSabre™]

My first experience with a computer outside of school was my uncle's old IBM Aptiva running Windows 3.1. I think it was in '93 or '94. I do remember it came bundled with some pretty good (at the time) games. He never had internet on that one.

The first computer that I owned came into my hands in May of 2001 - a Dell laptop running Windows 2K that I purchased through my university. For $2500 it should have had a CD burner and more hard drive space, but it was sorely lacking in both.

 

[linkinpark187]

The first one I ever got was from my grandmother about 10 years ago. It had an old Intel processor, but I don't remember which one, nor do I remember how much RAM. What I do remember is that it had Windows 3.11 on it, and I loved it. Then I bought some older computer shortly after from the local computer store for $15. It wasn't too great, but had Windows 98 on it. Then my father and I would get everyone's leftover junk, and I ended making a pretty decent computer. It wasn't until two years ago that I started spending real money on computers. My first buy (from the same local computer store), I only spend about $300, but that's because I'm friends with the owner. Then, a couple years ago, my first build cost me around $500. It was a decent computer, but I still wasn't quite satisfied yet. My most recent, which was last year (added to this spring), cost me over $2000. Next spring, I'm going to look to replace my GTX295 with one of the new 480's. Should be good. :D

 

[Aether★]

I used PC for the first time in 1998. I could use it once a week/two weeks, until I've got my own in 2006. I don't remember the stats of the oldest one. I knew it had Windows 98. Before my Laptop I had quite weak computer. AMD Athlon 1800+, 60 GB HDD, GeForce MX 200, 1GB RAM SDR and Windows XP SP3.

 

[Xtrude]

My first PC was:

CPU: Intel Pentium 1
RAM: 16 or 32mb
HDD: not sure...probably like 2gb rofl
GPU: rofl dont even talk about that
OS: Windows 3.1 FTWWWWW

 

[twocows]

I had a 386 with DOS on it. I knew how to navigate DOS with the more common commands pretty early.

 

[Heart's Soul]

I think it was one of those ELEKTRONIKAs used in Russia. The first computer that we had at home (which was half-advanced) was a 300MHz computer, about 64MB RAM and 20GB hard drive. Moved here, now our computer is filled with items! (And about 4 TiB of downloaded material, LOL)

 

[Chad -]

Seems most of you have had/had Windows as their first operating system. Was UNIX bad at its time? Like 1995 and before. Now, I think it's a bit outdated and unused, right?

I only tried Windows and tested Linux (I think it was something called MINIX?).

 

[locoroco]

My first comp was an amd duron 997 mhz about 9 years ago it had 256mb of ram and win xp with s3 graphics pro savage ddr 32mb. i burnt it out by fu***** around with her XD.

 

[twocows]

Seems most of you have had/had Windows as their first operating system. Was UNIX bad at its time? Like 1995 and before. Now, I think it's a bit outdated and unused, right?

I only tried Windows and tested Linux (I think it was something called MINIX?).

UNIX itself specifically refers to the OS developed for AT&T back around late 1960, early 1970. UNIX itself doesn't get much use, but there are a number of UNIX-like variants in existence today. This was also true back in the 1990s, but most at that time were developed by and for corporations for internal usage. There are still variants of UNIX today, and there are even some that are suitable for home use (Solaris comes to mind, though it isn't specifically targeted at home users).

Linux is a rewrite of the UNIX kernel (a kernel is more or less what lets software communicate with hardware), released under a free license so that anyone could use or modify it, and it is for this reason that it has become so popular. Linux isn't an operating system in and of itself, it is just the kernel. However, there are many operating systems that use the Linux kernel, and these are often (for brevity's sake) referred to as "Linux distributions." However, it's only recently that Linux has become a viable option for household users. Back in the 1990s, Windows was just coming into market dominance for personal computers, and there weren't many alternatives for non-business users. And, as is true now, most of the software for home users was being written for DOS or Windows. Most people wouldn't have used alternatives even if they were readily available (which, with the internet in the early state it was in, they weren't).

 

[Archer]

Up until I got my Athlon XP 1600+ with 256MB Ram and some old Geforce, we used my Dad's machine. All I could remember is that it was a Pentium 2 with 64MB ram. Running Windows NT, as well. That was a workstation, in its day.