pics when it arrives, or it didn't happen 😁

You're actually going to open a sealed in box Awe64 Gold? I try to keep my sealed stuff sealed and buy already open parts for actual use. I remember a few years ago a guy paid a fortune on ebay for a still factory sealed Apple IIc and then went and opened it AND sent in the warranty registration card to Apple just to see what would happen. The still sealed box and the presence of all pack in materials is what makes the value so that guy lost a ton by opening it and sending in the card.

sliderider wrote:

You're actually going to open a sealed in box Awe64 Gold? I try to keep my sealed stuff sealed and buy already open parts for actual use. I remember a few years ago a guy paid a fortune on ebay for a still factory sealed Apple IIc and then went and opened it AND sent in the warranty registration card to Apple just to see what would happen. The still sealed box and the presence of all pack in materials is what makes the value so that guy lost a ton by opening it and sending in the card.

Yeah I am, im not really a collector per se, i'm more of a hobbyist.

Let me explain: Life is too short to worry about such mundane things, I wanna enjoy my treasures. To me, there is a significant different between a collector, and a hobbyist. The collector will keep a sealed item sealed, sitting in a closet or shelf collecting dust, debris, skin particles, etc until they pass away, getting no enjoyment other than bragging rights. A hobbyist will buy a sealed item [preferable anyway] for collection reasons however the hobbyist will open it, enjoy it to it's fullest, and maintain the item and it's packaging so it remains in mint condition.

I fit more into the hobbyist category. I keep everything! I usually open the cellophane around the flaps with a razor, so the cellophane stays in tact around the rest of the box, and also keep the box, and ALL inserts, ads, manuals, etc no matter if it's just a piece of cardboard, or styrofoam that came in the original box, i'll retain it. I keep it all minty mint condition.

However if I do ever stumble upon another one for that price or cheaper i'll be sure to buy it, and keep it sealed for sure.

I also have a brand new sealed ZIP 100 Parallel Port drive I got a couple months ago for only $5.00 from a local thrift outlet. 😀

Now as for the Apple IIc fellow, well that was a very moronic move on his part, thus making him a putz, something that vintage and that classic i'd never have opened.

I would have kept it sealed. I've still got a sound blaster 1.5 in its sealed packaging as well as a number of CPUs such as a 486 dx2 and pentium overdrive. AWE64 golds aren't super rare like some other cards. It surely there can't be many factory sealed examples left.

That said, it's yours now so do what ever you like with it 😀 I just wish I'd seen it on eBay first...

DonutKing wrote:

I would have kept it sealed. I've still got a sound blaster 1.5 in its sealed packaging as well as a number of CPUs such as a 486 dx2 and pentium overdrive. AWE64 golds aren't super rare like some other cards. It surely there can't be many factory sealed examples left.

That said, it's yours now so do what ever you like with it 😀 I just wish I'd seen it on eBay first...

I'll be sure to keep an eye out for you one thats sealed, be it local or online. Either way, if I see one i'll be sure to PM you.

Us hobbyists and collectors have to lookout for each other! 😁

Chaniyth wrote:

Yeah I am, im not really a collector per se, i'm more of a hobbyist.

I totally understand where you're coming from 😀

I also use and play with all my bits. But I admit I never go for boxed things, pretty much only for the cards on their own. One exception was a Sound Blaster 1.5 (it wasn't sealed though).

You can't put a price on have the experience of unboxing new / old hardware 😀

Sometimes I throw out the boxes. For example a few of my Roland MIDI modules came in boxes and they are massive. They take up so much space, which I don't have. So the had to go 😀

Man, I wish I had a Roland LAPC-I, always wanted one when I was a kid because of the amazing MIDI it produced, but man was it expensive back then... Gravis Ultrasound had my attention for a couple years too, but it was exspensive as well and lacked PCM digital playback just like the LAPC-I.

I never had an Amiga back then so I had no idea how freakin' amazing Amiga's were nor their amazing sound chip... it beats both LAPC-I and Gravis Ultrasound in sound.

However, my first soundcard ever was an original Soundblaster... it blew me away [although i'm kinda anti-creative labs these days though due to their shady business tactics] but their older ISA soundcards really are the best.

Now, as for PCI soundcards, in my humble opinion the best PCI soundcard to own back when Live! first came out was an Aureal Vortex 2 chipset card... Diamond Monster Sound MX300 was AMAZING, I miss mine alot, and it's one of those "cult classic" soundcards, and chipsets.

I looked at the LAPC-I before I bought my MT-32. I decided that it was worth having the LCD display. "INSERT BUCKAZOID" is an essential part of the Space Quest experience! 😀

Now all that remains when you receive the box is, "Can You Resist the Temptation to open it?". 😁

I have the E-MU Creation Studio - a SBAWE64Gold + Extras, bought brand new - sealed and all, opened it as soon as I got it, and installed the additional 8Meg RAM module which came with the package, and immediately started blasting away some MIDI tunes in Windows 3.11 fWG.

I don't know how was the temptation which got Sir Adam to eat the fruit, but this might be just like that. 😁

sliderider wrote:

You're actually going to open a sealed in box Awe64 Gold? I try to keep my sealed stuff sealed and buy already open parts for actual use. I remember a few years ago a guy paid a fortune on ebay for a still factory sealed Apple IIc and then went and opened it AND sent in the warranty registration card to Apple just to see what would happen. The still sealed box and the presence of all pack in materials is what makes the value so that guy lost a ton by opening it and sending in the card.

Then you are think more money wise, so if its sealed you could sell it for more.. So then you are more a bussiness man then a real hobbyist / retro gamer.. Its a washed if you only putt sealed boxes on the self for only the money 🤑 🤑 🤑 🤑

I only use the stuff rendering them really happens.

Robin4 wrote:

sliderider wrote:

You're actually going to open a sealed in box Awe64 Gold? I try to keep my sealed stuff sealed and buy already open parts for actual use. I remember a few years ago a guy paid a fortune on ebay for a still factory sealed Apple IIc and then went and opened it AND sent in the warranty registration card to Apple just to see what would happen. The still sealed box and the presence of all pack in materials is what makes the value so that guy lost a ton by opening it and sending in the card.

Then you are think more money wise, so if its sealed you could sell it for more.. So then you are more a bussiness man then a real hobbyist / retro gamer.. Its a washed if you only putt sealed boxes on the self for only the money 🤑 🤑 🤑 🤑

I only use the stuff rendering them really happens.

If you're buying things to use, then buying them loose or in an already opened box is best because you'll usually pay less than you would for a factory sealed box. The guy who bought the Apple IIc because he intended to use it paid way too much because he could have bought a loose one for a lot less money. Factory sealed parts are nice to have but not to use as they carry too much of a price premium and you lose that premium money as soon as the seal is broken.

True, but that's the difference between buying new and used. And being able to buy a "new - old" item is also pretty cool.

In relative terms, 50 bucks is ~ 10x what a used one goes for. But in absolute terms, 50 bucks isn't much.

The Apple is different. That's a lot of money, but to that person it might have also felt like "50 bucks"...

sliderider wrote:

Robin4 wrote:

sliderider wrote:

You're actually going to open a sealed in box Awe64 Gold? I try to keep my sealed stuff sealed and buy already open parts for actual use. I remember a few years ago a guy paid a fortune on ebay for a still factory sealed Apple IIc and then went and opened it AND sent in the warranty registration card to Apple just to see what would happen. The still sealed box and the presence of all pack in materials is what makes the value so that guy lost a ton by opening it and sending in the card.

Then you are think more money wise, so if its sealed you could sell it for more.. So then you are more a bussiness man then a real hobbyist / retro gamer.. Its a washed if you only putt sealed boxes on the self for only the money 🤑 🤑 🤑 🤑

I only use the stuff rendering them really happens.

If you're buying things to use, then buying them loose or in an already opened box is best because you'll usually pay less than you would for a factory sealed box. The guy who bought the Apple IIc because he intended to use it paid way too much because he could have bought a loose one for a lot less money. Factory sealed parts are nice to have but not to use as they carry too much of a price premium and you lose that premium money as soon as the seal is broken.

But if you buy a sealed box for use, you get everthing in the box, so the box is complete..

Malik wrote:

I have the E-MU Creation Studio - a SBAWE64Gold + Extras, bought brand new - sealed and all, opened it as soon as I got it, and installed the additional 8Meg RAM module which came with the package, and immediately started blasting away some MIDI tunes in Windows 3.11 fWG.

That's just what I did. In fact, I go one stage further and recycle all of the packaging.

Personally I tend to just open such boxes. Having a sealed box is no 100% guarantee you got the original content anyway as you could put anything inside the box and seal it.

But that's just me, I like to be able to actually touch my equipment (no, not that way! 😜) and see it. I don't collect boxes but do keep the boxes that somehow find their way to me, opened or not.

Yeah I always open things, it's really nice to find unopened stuff but I buy things to use. In theory anyway, but a lot of it goes in the cupboard. Plus I got stung obn ebay once with so-called sealed software that had dirty great fingerprints on the cd...

01/17/2012 - Pics added! Please enjoy. 😁

I find it interesting how Creative number their cards. On the box it says that the model is 4390, yet the card itself has a model number of 4540. I wonder if the difference is just down to what is included on the bundled CD-ROMs? (Edit, incorrect - please see below.)

Edit: I just found a discussion about this issue, here on Vogons.

Chaniyth wrote:

Let me explain: Life is too short to worry about such mundane things, I wanna enjoy my treasures. To me, there is a significant different between a collector, and a hobbyist. The collector will keep a sealed item sealed, sitting in a closet or shelf collecting dust, debris, skin particles, etc until they pass away, getting no enjoyment other than bragging rights. A hobbyist will buy a sealed item [preferable anyway] for collection reasons however the hobbyist will open it, enjoy it to it's fullest, and maintain the item and it's packaging so it remains in mint condition.

AMEN bro! There is nothing like the feeling when you're opening a brand new box. Even if you know whats inside and you tested it already, it's still great, even if just to smell it.

Enjoy your new card! I know I would! 😊