VOGONS


First post, by user33331

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Hello
What old hardware you own that you use often in daily life is yet not found a better modern new equivalent ?
No matter how you try to find a newer device to replace it and you probably hold on to it till the end because it is so good.

I have:
- Logitech G5 laser mouse 2006 with full adjustable mini weights.
- Logitech MX3100 keyboard from around 2004. Low profile keys and excellent wrist support.
It is the best and no modern DIY hot swappable mechanical keyboards with for example Invyr: holy panda / Feeker: pink jade / Cherry: brown / or similar ) tactile silent switches come even close to it's feel. I have tried all loose China switches and MX3100 feels better. MX3100 has activating force of 67g and I have tried to use similar grams DIY-springs but no.
- Creative SoundWorks Cambridge speakers from around 2000. They sound just right not too much bass.
- Sound blaster X-FI PCIe from 2008. The new sound cards don't have the same sound.

Reply 1 of 45, by W.x.

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Roccat Kone, first version.
White/Beige new generic simplistic looking cases.
CRT monitors , flat, high quality (SyncMaster 797MB), white/beige color, 4:3.
Normaly looking motherboards (last one was Gigabyte Z77), non-dark, non-smoky black, disgusting filthy style looking (99% of modern motherboards, like for funeral or what) with odd looking passive heatsinks. Just normal colorful ones, or fancy looking ones like Casper Edition, Soltek colored boards, etc...

Last edited by W.x. on 2022-06-30, 13:05. Edited 1 time in total.

Reply 4 of 45, by Joseph_Joestar

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kolderman wrote on 2022-06-30, 13:03:

3:4 CRT monitors.

^ This.

Running old games in 640x480 and 800x600 can look really nice on a well made CRT. If you use a good LCD, you can get somewhat decent results with those resolutions as well, but it's never quite as crisp.

On that note, Digital Foundry has a video showcasing how even modern games can look great on a hi-end CRT monitor.

PC#1: Pentium MMX 166 / Soyo SY-5BT / S3 Trio64V+ / Voodoo1 / YMF719 / AWE64 Gold / SC-155
PC#2: AthlonXP 2100+ / ECS K7VTA3 / Voodoo3 / Audigy2 / Vortex2
PC#3: Athlon64 3400+ / Asus K8V-MX / 5900XT / Audigy2
PC#4: i5-3570K / MSI Z77A-G43 / GTX 970 / X-Fi

Reply 5 of 45, by Gmlb256

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W.x. wrote on 2022-06-30, 12:58:

Normaly looking motherboards (last one was Gigabyte Z77), non-dark, non-smoky black, disgusting filthy style looking (99% of modern motherboards, like for funeral or what) with odd looking passive heatsinks. Just normal colorful ones, or fancy looking ones like Casper Edition, Soltek colored boards, etc...

Motherboards that looks normal without these "gaming" gimmicks are still found on industrial and server computers, usually going with a green PCB.

Anyway, I agree with this as far as regular consumer desktop board goes as I miss the older aesthetics.

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Reply 6 of 45, by AlaricD

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Joseph_Joestar wrote on 2022-06-30, 14:20:

On that note, Digital Foundry has a video showcasing how even modern games can look great on a hi-end CRT monitor.

Which, if watched on an LCD display, tells you nothing about the picture quality.

Reply 7 of 45, by Joseph_Joestar

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AlaricD wrote on 2022-06-30, 14:48:
Joseph_Joestar wrote on 2022-06-30, 14:20:

On that note, Digital Foundry has a video showcasing how even modern games can look great on a hi-end CRT monitor.

Which, if watched on an LCD display, tells you nothing about the picture quality.

Yeah, that's sadly true. Taking photos and videos of a CRT monitor in action can only approximate the experience that you get when viewing it live with your own eyes. It's just the nature of the technology.

They go in a bit more detail about the technical differences between CRT and LCD technology in a different video. Not that this helps with perceiving the differences from a recording, but it at least somewhat explains why CRTs work the way they do.

PC#1: Pentium MMX 166 / Soyo SY-5BT / S3 Trio64V+ / Voodoo1 / YMF719 / AWE64 Gold / SC-155
PC#2: AthlonXP 2100+ / ECS K7VTA3 / Voodoo3 / Audigy2 / Vortex2
PC#3: Athlon64 3400+ / Asus K8V-MX / 5900XT / Audigy2
PC#4: i5-3570K / MSI Z77A-G43 / GTX 970 / X-Fi

Reply 8 of 45, by majestyk

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W.x. wrote on 2022-06-30, 12:58:

Normaly looking motherboards (last one was Gigabyte Z77), non-dark, non-smoky black, disgusting filthy style looking (99% of modern motherboards, like for funeral or what) with odd looking passive heatsinks. Just normal colorful ones, or fancy looking ones like Casper Edition, Soltek colored boards, etc...

Until today I only use plain green mainboards for all the machines I assemble for customers. We still got Supermicro, ASUS Prime and a few more.
No Klingonware in my systems!

Reply 9 of 45, by cyclone3d

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Yes, definitely CRTs, however with an LCD with a high color gamut, the colors are a whole lot better than the crap, normal consumer monitors that is most of what is out there.

No more color banding with a good LCD.
And if you really want to get up there in price, you can go for real 10-bit or 12-bit color monitors... None of this 8+2 or 10+2 rapid color switching pixels crap faking out your eyes.

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Reply 10 of 45, by dionb

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Microsoft Trackball Explorer trackballs.

I hoard every one I find, as they are becoming unobtainium. I've tried tens of alternatives, from Kensington old-fashioned monsters through huge over-engineered Elecom monsters, to Logitech cordless and less cordless trackmen, to anything else I can find. Nothing comes close :'(

Reply 11 of 45, by Oetker

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I would say Model M keyboard, but mine broke and I ended up liking a cheap Cherry Blue based board better.
I don't think CRT monitors count, they might be best for retro gaming, but not for daily usage. I feel like my SC-55 doesn't have a completely satisfactory modern replacement but I don't use it instead of Spotify or YouTube to listen to music.

Reply 12 of 45, by dionb

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Cherry Blue better than Model M? For typing that's plain heresy. That said, M was the cheap knock-off of F - and recently I received my modern Model F Ultra Compact 77 keyboard at last. It's divine. So that's one field where there definitely are better modern things

Reply 13 of 45, by W.x.

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Gmlb256 wrote on 2022-06-30, 14:37:

Motherboards that looks normal without these "gaming" gimmicks are still found on industrial and server computers, usually going with a green PCB.

Anyway, I agree with this as far as regular consumer desktop board goes as I miss the older aesthetics.

I mean... I didnt have anything against black boards (there was Inno3d, Asus "White Pearl" edition, some Pentium 4 EPox Board, MSI Platinum editions boards ... and I liked it ), but as long, as you have option to stay basic (green, amber), and have option for variability of colors. So, basicaly, I don't have anything against those dark boards, I have only problem with it, that everyone fallen for this, and there's no other option (in retail market). If at least Biostar or something stood old school, or at least one line of motherboard from every manufacturer. But nothing.

Reply 14 of 45, by Shponglefan

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3D positional audio, particularly as realized by A3D back in the late 90s.

Positional audio seems to have a taken a flying leap backwards over the past couple decades. I keep wondering if we'll ever see a resurgence. I figured VR might rekindle interest in proper positional 3D sound, but given the slow VR adoption my optimism for that has fizzled.

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Reply 15 of 45, by Peter.Mengel

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Shponglefan wrote on 2022-07-01, 01:48:

3D positional audio, particularly as realized by A3D back in the late 90s.

Positional audio seems to have a taken a flying leap backwards over the past couple decades. I keep wondering if we'll ever see a resurgence. I figured VR might rekindle interest in proper positional 3D sound, but given the slow VR adoption my optimism for that has fizzled.

I personally doubt that...cause we would need standard and gamedevs got lazy as a huge sound engine doesnt improve a game as much as GRAPHICS...so its wasted money...no one ever said WOW that sound engine was great did you hear how the game sounds...sad but true..it could add so much to gameplay.
And then we would need better gear and whos left? Creative with bad cards or Asus...if they hadnt drop the market either?

Reply 16 of 45, by Peter.Mengel

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Oetker wrote on 2022-06-30, 21:36:

I would say Model M keyboard, but mine broke and I ended up liking a cheap Cherry Blue based board better.
I don't think CRT monitors count, they might be best for retro gaming, but not for daily usage. I feel like my SC-55 doesn't have a completely satisfactory modern replacement but I don't use it instead of Spotify or YouTube to listen to music.

Well CRTs have many PROs...like Native Resolution...you can get a better picture out of games by using CRTs on modern games to..a Native HD Picture can beat 4K LCD screens....OLED on the other hand are nice...but again only one native resolution and aslong there is any space between the dots its becames blurry if 1 pixel is represented by 4 or more of it....its noticeable.

Reply 17 of 45, by Unknown_K

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user33331 wrote on 2022-06-30, 11:18:
Hello What old hardware you own that you use often in daily life is yet not found a better modern new equivalent ? No matter ho […]
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Hello
What old hardware you own that you use often in daily life is yet not found a better modern new equivalent ?
No matter how you try to find a newer device to replace it and you probably hold on to it till the end because it is so good.

I have:
- Logitech G5 laser mouse 2006 with full adjustable mini weights.
-

I have a few RedDragon M601-3 mice with 8 weights in the base you can remove if you like.

Collector of old computers, hardware, and software

Reply 18 of 45, by user33331

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I remember in 2001 when GTA III arrived I had a cheap 14" generic CRT last time (Cathode Ray Tube=Meaning big screens which weight many kg.) then I bought a Viewsonic VG500 15" LCD cost 400-500 euros back then.

Results was I wanted to play GTA III from the beginning again because the picture quality was so much better on the LCD.
No more fish eye/barrel imperfections of glass because picture was straight in LCD and colors were much more better similar as OLED comparison is now. So remember most common CRTs that regular people used back then are bad just those high end expensive professional CRTs are good.

About motherboards yes I'm also a victim of modern black/grey Intel CPU MSI motherboard 2019 with red dragon pictures.
AMD Phenom ii was the last mfg.2009-10 I had a normal blue colored Gigabyte motherboard.

I would also like to get white colored keyboards back to production I have white IBM KB9910 and Keytronic from 1990s.
Why everything needs to be black ? My dandruff problem is obvious on the current black work keyboard. Keyboard is full of tiny white scalp flakes all over if not regularly cleaned with a white keyboard the dandruff is invisible.