eBay's not the best place for big, bulky, fragile objects like that. I see full XT setups go for ~EUR 150 here in NL, depending on what state it's in, what's included and who's interested at any given time. But there's a lot of variation, as demand is almost as low as supply. Incomplete or (partly) defective systems can go for less- I've spent EUR 60 on my two Olivetti M24s, but they only amount to one complete system together, and both are currently out of service due to dead PSUs. If you're able & willing to take on this sort of stuff, you can get good deals.

dionb wrote:

eBay's not the best place for big, bulky, fragile objects like that. I see full XT setups go for ~EUR 150 here in NL, depending on what state it's in, what's included and who's interested at any given time. But there's a lot of variation, as demand is almost as low as supply. Incomplete or (partly) defective systems can go for less- I've spent EUR 60 on my two Olivetti M24s, but they only amount to one complete system together, and both are currently out of service due to dead PSUs. If you're able & willing to take on this sort of stuff, you can get good deals.

So working EGA monitors are not that rare yet that it would increase price of such pc?

Working EGA monitors are as rare as hen's teeth, but I'd say it's likely you'd pay less for an XT + EGA setup than for just the (tested, working) monitor separately. That said, almost all XT systems I see have MDA/Hercules or CGA video, not EGA.

dionb wrote:

Working EGA monitors are as rare as hen's teeth, but I'd say it's likely you'd pay less for an XT + EGA setup than for just the (tested, working) monitor separately. That said, almost all XT systems I see have MDA/Hercules or CGA video, not EGA.

So did your estimation of 150 euros be for XT systems that don't have working EGA card and monitor or for XT system that has those? I am talking about fully working and tested XT system here.

Fully working and tested XT with monitor. Probably not EGA...

dionb wrote:

Fully working and tested XT with monitor. Probably not EGA...

How much more with EGA?

It seems that 300 euros would be lowest I would be able to get the PC. Would I be paying too much for it?

Things are worth whatever someone wants to pay for them. If you *really* want it, you can't find a cheaper alternative and you can afford those EUR 300, then you're not paying too much for it.

Personally I'd not soon spend that much on any vintage PC, I'd rather play the long game, picking up loads of 'old crap' waiting for the right system or bits to turn up. But if you don't want to wait and/or don't have the opportunity to pick up (or space to store) loads like that, this may be the only option.

Btw, look out with "EGA" monitors - not everything with DE9 connector is really TTL EGA, some are plain analog VGA. If you're going to spend this much, be 100% sure of what you are getting.

dionb wrote:

Things are worth whatever someone wants to pay for them. If you *really* want it, you can't find a cheaper alternative and you can afford those EUR 300, then you're not paying too much for it.

Personally I'd not soon spend that much on any vintage PC, I'd rather play the long game, picking up loads of 'old crap' waiting for the right system or bits to turn up. But if you don't want to wait and/or don't have the opportunity to pick up (or space to store) loads like that, this may be the only option.

Btw, look out with "EGA" monitors - not everything with DE9 connector is really TTL EGA, some are plain analog VGA. If you're going to spend this much, be 100% sure of what you are getting.

The monitor is the same model as in this thread http://www.vcfed.org/forum/showthread.php?580 … 420-EGA-monitor

Its also worth noting that there are CGA monitors that can do *most* of what you'd expect from an EGA monitor. The IBM 5153 and the Sysdyne CD-1343 both work for most EGA modes (aside from 640x350x16, which isn't that common). I guess the colors (specifically brown?) look different compared to a real EGA monitor, but my 5153 looks fine in EGA games. Way better than four color CGA mode, that's for sure. Given the choice between a working 5154 (true EGA) for $300-$500 or more (if you can find one) or a more common CGA monitor that does 90% of the same thing and can often be found for a much lower price without having to search for years, I know which one I'd pick.

EGA and CGA monitors! Are one not analog and the other digital? Or do I remember wrong? After all, it is not something I have the broadest knowledge on.

CGA and EGA both work with digital RGB TTL signals over DE9 connector.

CGA can optionally also output to analog composite using a big round IEC connector. Early VGA also used the same DE9 connector for analog RGB. But true EGA was always digital.

dionb wrote:

CGA and EGA both work with digital RGB TTL signals over DE9 connector.

CGA can optionally also output to analog composite using a big round IEC connector. Early VGA also used the same DE9 connector for analog RGB. But true EGA was always digital.

Thanks. 😀

tojavu wrote:

3dfx prices are crazy. Then we have those scrappers that buy stuff in bulk and ask 500+$ for junk parts.

True that, and the funny part is that 3dFX is not absolutely required, in order to enjoy this hobby.

brostenen wrote:

tojavu wrote:

3dfx prices are crazy. Then we have those scrappers that buy stuff in bulk and ask 500+$ for junk parts.

True that, and the funny part is that 3dFX is not absolutely required, in order to enjoy this hobby.

Another thing is that you don't need to go to the top end to enjoy glide games. Voodoo 2 or voodoo 3 2000 agp is fine and you don't need to try finding voodoo 5 or voodoo 3 3000. That might help bit with the prices.

Baoran wrote:

brostenen wrote:

tojavu wrote:

3dfx prices are crazy. Then we have those scrappers that buy stuff in bulk and ask 500+$ for junk parts.

True that, and the funny part is that 3dFX is not absolutely required, in order to enjoy this hobby.

Another thing is that you don't need to go to the top end to enjoy glide games. Voodoo 2 or voodoo 3 2000 agp is fine and you don't need to try finding voodoo 5 or voodoo 3 3000. That might help bit with the prices.

Still.... How many games in percentage, out of all games ever created, are actually 3dFX-only? Compare that to the prices, and you see why I got rid of mine, before the prices got too high. I did however keep one card, an Orchid Voodoo1, because the only Glide-only game that I am actually using, are NFS2-SE. I can happily game UT99 and NFS-Porche-2000 on TNT2, Geforce2 or Radeon9600. Better they went to someone that want to use them and wear them out, than sitting in a box unused at my place. Shure Voodoo stuff are totally awesome. Yet if they are sitting in a closet unused, then what is the point of them anyway?

brostenen wrote:

Still.... How many games in percentage, out of all games ever created, are actually 3dFX-only? Compare that to the prices, and you see why I got rid of mine, before the prices got too high. I did however keep one card, an Orchid Voodoo1, because the only Glide-only game that I am actually using, are NFS2-SE. I can happily game UT99 and NFS-Porche-2000 on TNT2, Geforce2 or Radeon9600. Better they went to someone that want to use them and wear them out, than sitting in a box unused at my place. Shure Voodoo stuff are totally awesome. Yet if they are sitting in a closet unused, then what is the point of them anyway?

I couldn't agree more. I have currently 2 voodoo 2 cards and 2 voodoo 3 2000 (1 agp and 1 pci) cards in my retro systems and only voodoo card not in use is diamond voodoo 1 4Mb that I have not found a system to put it in yet. I don't see the point of having working card stored and gathering dust. People who do that might as well have a broken card there gathering dust and it wouldn't make any difference.

Edit: sorry about going bit off topic here. This was meant to be about prices of 80s computers.

I agree that eBay is not the best place to look for a "cheap" vintage XT computer nor, to use eBay prices as a benchmark for what those components or systems are actually worth.

Unfortunately, due to their age and these becoming more scarce, people seem to think that every computer from the 80's has now become an investment and now charge ridiculous prices for those components and/or complete systems.

However, I have used eBay in the past to buy individual components and, on a couple occasions, have managed to acquire components for very good prices.
Another place to look is AmiBay.

What I can perhaps recommend:
Check on Facebook or in your local community for any vintage computing and/or console groups.
If there are none, take the initiative and be the first one to create such a local group. State what the purpose of the group is. At first, it might go a bit slow, but as word gets around, more and more people will join up.

Fortunately, where I stay, we already had such a group and within two years of joining, I managed to acquire a complete Olivetti M24 (and recently an M21 as well), dozens of computer parts from the 80's & 90's (motherboards, controller cards, MFM hard drives, floppy drives, graphics cards and even a CGA monitor).

As a matter of fact, about 18 months ago I wanted to get hold of an IBM 5160. Via networking, I managed to acquire all the parts (except for a genuine IBM monitor) to build up a complete and original IBM 5160. Some of the parts I actually bought on eBay but, most of these I acquired locally (for free) from fellow collectors who had also acquired so much over the years that they reached a point where they just wanted to get rid of the stuff.

I think many people don't realise how many other people are out there with boxes of these old parts in their store rooms, basements and garages who are (from time to time) cleaning out these old storage places and just dumps it.
If you can reach these people before they just dump it, then you'll soon have the problem I'm facing (which is running out of space 🤣).

I blame a lot of the raised prices for those clickbait news slideshows like "Things you should not throw away if they are living in your closet" or "Stuff from your attic you thought was worthless but is not"....

Then some person sees their locally built Dalco mess Turbo XT in their closet and goes "Hey, I can ask $550 for this old boat anchor!" - so they slap the Cactus 47 Turbo from long since dead local shop and scream in all caps on their auction "SUPER RARE IBM XT CACTUS 47 PC CLONE!!! LOW BID, NO RESERVE" with a starting bid of $550 because somehow they believe this is going to make them rich.

Then they ship it in a ratty old box used for a duck blind held together with duct tape and large cable ties, leaking foam pellets everywhere, the thing arrives with a broken monitor, the hard drive crashed decades ago, it looks like it spent it's live in the smoking section of a Casino, and you realize they gyped you out of the EGA adapter for a VGA adapter because they knew that Quadram EGA they could jack up the price because some friend of theirs said it was a super rare old Compaq Deskpro part.

(rolls eyes)

This is why I don't buy vintage computers anymore, I just take them in when given for free. I got to live through the amazing days when all this stuff was free, but it still cost me......my social stigma because they thought I was some mentally challenged kid out buying old crap nobody wanted. Doorstops, boat anchors, and dinosaurs, oh my.

Actually,m if you're looking for an XT or 286 with EGA, I'd get a Tandy 1000 series model. If you need to have it shipped, they tend to be pretty light, they have most of the EGA modes that are used by games, and they are not too terribly hard to get because Tandy sold a lot of those things. I love mine, it's my main XT.