First post, by siberiankiss
What I Want To Do
1. Build a dream machine as though it were the turn of the millennium. I want to play Half-Life, EverQuest and other games from that time on what would be a dream machine from that period (1999-2001).
2. Explore computing prior to my first computer (prior to 1995, basically). I'd like a Windows 95 machine, a 3.1 machine / DOS machine, and then another machine from the 1980s -- a time before I even knew what a computer was.
3. I want to dial-up to the internet a few more times! And dial in to an traditional BBS.
The Important Questions First
1. Where do you purchase your parts? Ebay? Thrift stores? The thrift stores around here don't have any old systems that I've been able to find. Are there any reliable venders of older hardware that you all recommend?
2. Are there any tools or sources to help configure old systems? Do you all have websites with the old manuals on them, and so forth?
3. How do I know a good deal, financially speaking, when I see one? I see old Commodore 64s and so on going from fifty bucks to hundreds of dollars, in similar shapes. Have any of you seen systems like the ones I had for a reasonable price?
4. Do any of you have a recommended build for a 1999 gaming pc (Windows 98 SE)? I remember at the time wanting a Voodoo card specifically for EverQuest's glide engine.
5. Where do you purchase your old software? Or do you basically just download it now? (Old games, for example.) Do they still sell floppy disks new?
6. Are any of you selling your current machines? :-p
My Past Machines:
First machine: An IBM Aptiva. This wasn't really "my" machine, but I used it a lot. I first experienced the internet on this machine. I just wish I could remember the model number. =(
Second machine: My grandmother bought me a Packard Bell Pentium II, 233Mhz MMX system. 40 MB RAM. 6 or 8 GB hard drive. I played the hell out of C&C: Red Alert on this machine. And got my own internet access with this machine. (ICQ! b.net!) This was during my freshman year of high school.
Third machine: An Athlon 700Mhz from Tiger Direct. My parents bought this for me as I headed into my senior year of high school. I saw the preview of EverQuest* in PC Gaming magazine, and begged my parents for a system that could handle this game -- as well as another game that my second machine couldn't play, Thief: The Dark Project.
* One of the main reasons why I'm here is to rebuild a system for this era in gaming. I'd like to replay the classic games from this era in original form. And also, I'd love to play EverQuest via EQClassic.org on a classic-era machine... basically the dream machine that I couldn't afford at the time. =)
I'm currently on my fifth machine, with a sixth new one coming soon (early 2013). But I'm here to explore older technologies, and the software and games developed for those systems.
"The triumph of persuasion over force is the sign of a civilized society." -- Mark Skousen