Ok story about my RIG and how I should never have it.
Back in the mid 2000s I was working for a mom and pop computer store and I found a 800MHZ PIII CPU in a cabinant and ask how much they said free its junk take it. (they used to be like this all the time about some stuff) Because they are in the business to make money not collect old parts.
At the same time my uncle who is no longer with us had a tyan tsunami 440bx with a p3 500 in it and I gave it to him so he could upgrade, but he said it didn't work. So he just threw it in a box.
After he passed away I inherited this Mobo flashed the BIOS and found out some undocumented jumper settings and the P3 800 worked.
Fashback to around 2001 before this ever happened my dad used to dumpster dive and bring home all kinds of hardware thats how I got my AWE64gold and also learned about computers back then. (I was retro building back then when parts were prevalent and no one wanted them) Like the stuff that people make today I, already made them) Unforunatly I don't have all the PCs anymore I made back then. Just a lot of parts.
Fastfoward to 2017 my dad is still dumpser diving 🤣 and brought home to me one day a box full of cards. I think they may of come from some place like good will and ratehr toss throw them away my dad some how got them. (cuz no one was going to buy them/they don't know whats good) Most of them were junk but I found a pretty nice Diamond monster MX300 in there.
There was also a STB 12MB voodoo 2 in there as well as a few adaptec SCSI controllers. I already had other SCSI controllers and drives tho. I had a old Cheeta 10k SCSI laying around since 2006 that worked so.
I had been building computers and basically junk collecting PCs for 20 years. So I have tons of parts and I just decided to make a Retro gaming PC out off all the stuff.
The only thing In my Rig that I had actually paid for was the Compaq Voodoo 3 that I found somone selling new old stock. I bought 2 of these just because they were only 20 dollars for new cards at the time. The seller had 100s of them.
There is this place in OHIO that I shop at when I go visit my relatives. Basically this is a computer graveyard. You never know what you will find when you go and pick there. But the people who own it don't even look at what you buy. I would go fill up boxes with just random stuff that I think is good and they just will be like ok 20 dollars. 🤣 I have gotten so many good things there. Thats where I got my slot load plextor for my build.
TL;DR
So my build That I never thought I would have because it basically cost me nothing.
tyan tsunami 440bx
800mhz p3
512 ram
Adaptec 2940UW + 10K Cheeta
Compaq Voodoo 3500
STB Voodoo 2 12MB
AWE64Gold ISA
Diamond Monster MX300
Intel Pro 100
Sparkel 250w power Supply
Plextor Slot Load DVD/CD burner
LG 52X CD Rom
NEC Floppy
Price Basically Free