I started right before I joined here, having lurked for a while. 😀

Dusted off our old Am386DX and bought a bunch of cool parts to start an Am5x86 build in the first week of 2013. I had the perfect setup mapped out beforehand; in the end it took about two years to collect everything on the list, including a GUS, an SCC-1, an original rev MT-32, etc. Of course, I'm still researching and finding parts I can improve in that build as well as my Tualatin 3dfx build. A lot of fun.

I started around 2000 when I purchased my first retro computer (and first mac) a Quadra 950. Branched off to Commodore 64/Amiga a couple years later.

In the mid 90s, my friend and I started an XT building competition as a joke. The local surplus store had a lot of 808x and 286 hardware, and it was very cheap (usually just a few dollars).

For me it was something like 14, 15 years ago, when my guitar teacher handed me a couple of 486 systems. I got one of those working and didn't touch them a lot anymore. Then just before i joined Vogons i got the idea of restoring my childhood 386DX-40 to original condition, and got more into DOS gaming via DOSBox. I wasn't however fully happy with DOSBox, so i started this crazy journey, where i now have a considerable collection of hardware, motherboards, CPU's, VGA and specially sound cards. Everything ISA because that's how i roll. I got into collecting quite a few big box DOS games as well.

Now i'm just focusing on having my DOS gaming machines ready:

1- IBM 5160 with Hercules Graphics Adapter and IBM 5151 monitor; this machine is up and running.

2- Super Turbo Juko XT 12 MHz, IBM CGA + DAC; this machine was a huge success and my most inspired build ever.

3- Tandy 1000 SL -- still working on this one;

4- 386DX-40, EGA/VGA machine; up and running

5- Socket 7 ATX K6-III+, multi sound card VGA+SVGA machine

I started with CPUs. The first piece I had in my "collection" was my old K6-2/500 that I kept when I switched to Athlon XP. Then I got a few dozen CPUs from collectors or acquaintances who didn't need them anymore - then even from online flea markets. But I could only test a few Socket 7 pieces as that was my only extra motherboard that I kept together with the K6-2. It became my main hobby like 3-4 years ago when I lost my well payed job and with it all the hobbies that require money - and got a new, miserably payed job at an e-waste recycling company...