Robin4 wrote:

Nice said, but some things here are not true? And i ment about organization of these hardware parts.. Some lines back you wrote about that it would cheaper to buy in lots.. I think this isnt really the best way to collecting things.. Mostly those lots contains about 2 or 3 things you really want (the best parts) and the bigger part of these lots are mostly lower priced items you final dont going to use in the near future..
After all you really decide to take those best parts from the lot.. So i really dont see the comparison about buying from bigger lots and organization. If you dont buying lots, but instead the parts you really look for, then you dont have to organize the stuff you never would use again..

Thanks...Yes, it's true that I prefer lots because I am interested in a wide range of computer eras and 'genres', but it doesn't mean that I don't keep things organized. I still organize everything I buy in a lot. Actually I have it down to a science. When I buy a lot of things, I first of all put everything that I really dont want in a donation box for the trift store or the trash. Then I put everything else in a pile and clean every part (mostly with Lysol wipes)...even cables. Then I sort through and 'file' everything in boxes I have setup in my storage room. Ribbon cables go in one box, Video Cards in another, ISA controller cards in another, Motherboards in another, etc...etc.

Just because one buys large lots does not mean you can't still keep everything organized....but I do admit it does make it a little more work than just being selective about what I buy. I am all over the board though...I am both selective and I do buy in lots as well. I buy lots when I can though just because I usually get some very good items for a much lower price than if I bought everything seperately (even if there's a lot of things I throw out or give away)...No matter how I procure my retro hardware and software, I make sure to sort through clean and file everything (even down to small connectors and adapters). And as for things that I probably would not use, if I really know I will not use those things, they just simply go into thrift store box, or I sell them.

retrofanatic wrote:

Then I put everything else in a pile and clean every part (mostly with Lysol wipes)...even cables. Then I sort through and 'file' everything in boxes I have setup in my storage room. Ribbon cables go in one box, Video Cards in another, ISA controller cards in another, Motherboards in another, etc...etc.

Good to see I'm not the only one doing that. 😵
I'm not some kind of aesthetic purist who demands everything in pristine condition, I don't mind scuff marks and signs of wear (sometimes I even like them for the stories they tell) but I am very picky about cleanliness, right down to the cables, connectors and grills. I end up thoroughly washing pretty much everything, even circuit boards (motherboards, expansion cards, CRT monitor chassis, nothing escapes a good bath!). Because I keep everything clean and meticulously cataloged my family calls me an 'organized hoarder'. 🤣

Yea I also have everything neatly organised. Cards go in anti-static bags and in labelled containers. I can find whatever I need in very little time. Apart from the Super Socket 7 machine and the capture PC, everything else is on a test bench setup. So it is very quick to pack up everything and put together another project.

133MHz wrote:

I'm not some kind of aesthetic purist who demands everything in pristine condition, I don't mind scuff marks and signs of wear (sometimes I even like them for the stories they tell) but I am very picky about cleanliness, right down to the cables, connectors and grills. I end up thoroughly washing pretty much everything, even circuit boards (motherboards, expansion cards, CRT monitor chassis, nothing escapes a good bath!). Because I keep everything clean and meticulously cataloged my family calls me an 'organized hoarder'. 🤣

I totally agree and it's funny because my girlfriend calls me an 'organized hoarder' as well.🤣

Mau1wurf1977 wrote:

Cards go in anti-static bags and in labelled containers.

That's a smart thing to do. I should be doing the same. Only my motherboards and some important video cards and sound cards are in static bags right now...all my other stuff is just in boxes, but they are labelled. I'm working on getting everything in static bags.

Yea some parts stink and are filthy. They need a good bath for sure 😀

I have a bunch of video cards and they will all get washed when I get some time. Fresh thermal paste and all of that.

Just picked up another two PCs.. one socket A and another socket 775... yay for me 😁

snorg wrote:

On a completely different note, is that $800 for a single month, Pete? Or is that more than a month's worth?

We filled up 3 times already since October so $2,400 for 5 months. Fortunately the spring / summer / fall is a lot cheaper. Then again: with all the laundry and dishwasher runs (2 kids) it will still be pretty expensive. 🤣

My limited collection is very organized. But I do not have a lot of spare parts. That is the benefit of OEMs: no need for much. And I sold a lof of the stuff I bought already. 😀

snorg wrote:

I need to get more organized myself. I don't have much stuff compared to others, but the stuff I do have, is taking up more space than it should due to lack of organization. I'd really like to have a special room for everything but that will have to wait.

On a completely different note, is that $800 for a single month, Pete? Or is that more than a month's worth? I don't know what the hell I'd do without natural gas heat, this winter has shattered any illusions I've had of being able to rough it in a cabin in the mountains. I don't think there is any quantity of wood I could chop that would be able to keep me warm. I bet you would go through several cords easy, even to heat a small cabin in this kind of miserable weather.

Bah! Organization is for wimps. If you're not knee deep in junk in at least 3 rooms in your house, you're not doing it right. 😁

I've gotten back into the "hoarding" of parts but for me I do keep it on a marked line so to speak. I know the parts I'm after, because for me it's more about the nostalgia then just everything old. Although we did have a C64, and 386, the first real PC my dad bought was an NEC Ready 9712 166MMX. My close friend had the AMD 5x86/133 PR75, and so this is the generation, and the parts I always seek. I had a Canopus Pure 3D Voodoo 1 6mb, I bought the Voodoo 3 3000, and then Creative Labs Annihilator Geforce 256 32mb SDR. All the original stuff is long gone, and obviously time can't be recycled but I collect for the nostalgia only. I bought a Athlon Slot A 650 on vacation in Florida, picked up a socket A board and Duron from a PC shop while in Holland, so those parts too I'm after always.

My collection of parts was quite extensive... but 2 years ago I dumped most of it because it was getting out of hand, although I'm now trying to re-collect everything for future preservation, and to enjoy it now. Like a previous poster I have 3 toddler boys of my own now and so time doesn't permit a lot of playing around, just collecting and I would really like to start preserving the parts for use down the road.
The system's I remember the most are the NEC Ready 166mmx, and the AMD 586/133, but trying to find an NEC ready and the exact 9712 is almost impossible. I managed to locate a seller on ebay down in Florida last year that had one, (I'm in Toronto) and although it was more then I wanted to pay I had it shipped up here. It wasn't the 9712, I think a 9625 (P133). Probably cost me $125 with shipping, but it was a complete waste because the seller had posted pictures showing the system as *Mint*, however the seller later admitted those were taken 2 years prior. When I received it, the hdd was missing, the sleep button had fallen off and the spring was gone, motherboard had screws missing, PSU had been opened and not put back together properly, and the heat sink was loose. I did get a refund but that was really too bad, so I keep my eye's open.
The stuff I like collecting are the socket 7/pentium/k5/k6 stuff, the era of Adventure games and FMV games. I am going to try and build a Socket A and or Slot A system, but for me that generation isn't fully worth investing in because you're really limiting yourself. Games like Postal 2 (2003) require a 1GHz or faster so it's better to build a fast Pentium 4 or Athlon XP system to run everything from 2003 on. A fast socket 7, (300-400mhz) can usually handle all the stuff up to 2002-03 although I'd really like to re-build a Slot A 650 system.

There was once opening a cabinet literally made motherboards fall out tumbling one over the other. Then sold some and dumped the rest of them. Now I'm keeping lean and clean. My only working classic systems currently are my 486DX2-66 and my downclockable Pentium II 400Mhz systems. Despite this, I still have the first Socket 5 motherboard with Pentium 133 and it's casing tucked inside. Hmmm...come to think of it, I STILL have some sound cards and graphics cards piled up in two places. I guess they'll never leave you.

Once I completed my ideal machines mentioned above, all I'm doing now, is playing all the games that I have missed, longed for, or simply replaying them for nostalgia. Furthermore, they are armed with all the goodies like the LAPC-I, CM-500, MT-32, AWE32 & 64, Voodoo 2 SLIs, Matrox, S3 Virge 4MB, more RAMs......

In the past two months I managed to sell a socket 3 and socket 7 system as well as an empty AT case. On the other hand, I just saved a complete 486 w/ leaky battery from the dumpster... way to go!

I find myself hording every remotely interesting SMP board I come across these days... I think I may need help 🤣.

I have so much hardware I don't know what I'm gonna do with even half the stuff I have.

I keep my stuff under control by allowing myself only a certain amount of space in the shed, if I can't fit it into one of the many cupboards I've allocated myself (it's a big shed) then I have too much stuff and it's time to either toss it, or sell it.

As was being discussed above I like my stuff clean and neatly stored, actually this is part of the hobby which I really enjoy. Bringing stuff back from the dead and making it neat and tidy is very cathartic I find - last weekend for example I was left upset by a family drama so I took myself off and cleaned a PS1 controller! I've tried drowning my sorrows, but this works better.