King_Corduroy wrote:

and isn't this a site dedicated to that or did I somehow miss something?

Technically, no.

It's a website dedicated to getting OLD games running on NEW systems. (Back when "systems" meant PCs and "new" meant Northwood P4's and Athlon XP's running a NT-based OS like Windows XP.) Hacks, patches, and anything to get a game for DOS or Win9x running natively. Emulators also entered into the mix.

"Marvin" was an afterthought and occasionally I dislike how it's starting to overrun the forum. Not to paint a broad stereotype but frequently its users have NO interest in the original goal of the site, seeing it as either pointless ("just run it on original hardware!") or as a solved problem. Most of the time I'm okay with it though because of all the new information and discoveries its members have dug up.

Not that my opinion matters only. DosFreak is the only other original remaining... thought Qbix soon followed 😀

Anyhow, times change.

At this point, none of the computers I use daily are new, even my smartphone is 4 years old - not by choice, mind you. 😀

Just putting this out there, I'd like to see a dedicated forum for modern hardware. I mean, the vintage hardware discussions are nice, but sometimes I want to discuss things pertaining to newer systems, like how a Core i3 would stack up against an FX 6300, for instance.

If there was a seperate forum here for just new systems I don't see it getting much traffic.

I don't see why Marvin couldn't perform the same function.

The Heart of Gold was (is?) a state of the art ship so I'd assume Marvin would be as well.

Also talking about new systems fits with getting old games running on new systems.

Stiletto wrote:

Most of the time I'm okay with it though because of all the new information and discoveries its members have dug up.

It's incredible the amount of information that has been discovered. Just imagine if this forum existed during the 90s with all the info we know collectively..

I agree, this site is an invaluable resource for computer hobbyists. The information stored on this site between our occasional banter is quite impressive.
To be honest when I first came here all I wanted to do was get Earth 2140 to run better in DOSbox, I now have gotten other vintage computers beside my original IBM PCjr and have branched off into the wonderful world of vintage computer hardware. It's really very cool to have a site where others are interested in this too and where we can all collectively bounce idea's off each other or ask questions about problems we come across. 😁

Stiletto wrote:

Technically, no. […]
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King_Corduroy wrote:

and isn't this a site dedicated to that or did I somehow miss something?

Technically, no.

It's a website dedicated to getting OLD games running on NEW systems. (Back when "systems" meant PCs and "new" meant Northwood P4's and Athlon XP's running a NT-based OS like Windows XP.) Hacks, patches, and anything to get a game for DOS or Win9x running natively. Emulators also entered into the mix.

"Marvin" was an afterthought and occasionally I dislike how it's starting to overrun the forum. Not to paint a broad stereotype but frequently its users have NO interest in the original goal of the site, seeing it as either pointless ("just run it on original hardware!") or as a solved problem. Most of the time I'm okay with it though because of all the new information and discoveries its members have dug up.

Not that my opinion matters only. DosFreak is the only other original remaining... thought Qbix soon followed 😀

Anyhow, times change.

At this point, none of the computers I use daily are new, even my smartphone is 4 years old - not by choice, mind you. 😀

They'll come around. There is nothing wrong about messing with old hardware ( guilty 😁 ), but, as you say, times change, and eventualy their curiosity will get a hold of them. DOSBox is fantastic.
OTOH one thing does not prevent the other, and they are quite complementary. One can have real hardware and DOSBox, I recommend this.

The thing with DOSBox is that it doesn't take much to get games going. Once you understood the basics there is little else you need to know.

How retro PCs on the other hand...

Yeah I agree, actually using the real vintage hardware is much more interesting in the long term. If this was merely a DOSbox troubleshooting site I doubt it would get half the traffic it does now since DOSbox is so straight forward.

Stiletto wrote:

"Marvin" was an afterthought and occasionally I dislike how it's starting to overrun the forum.

🤣

And before Marvin was created, those vintage hardware hunters were overrunning the PC subforum; people like ratfink, 5u3, Great Hierophant, Malik, and especially myself, overrunning what's supposed to be a PC emulation subforum. 🤣

Stiletto wrote:

Not to paint a broad stereotype but frequently its users have NO interest in the original goal of the site,

Nope, you're not stereotyping. In fact, you are correct. Just take a look at the (always) hottest thread on this board, and then compare it to this thread. Turns out people are buying more hardware than games! 🤣

And the reason I came here? Was it because I need help with DOSBOX? Not at all, I run DOSBOX fine that I very rarely need help. The reason I came here was because I had some questions regarding 3dfx, while the 3dfx Zone forum was already too quiet even in 2006. So here I am. 😁

Oh, and this too. The SSTH3_SLI_AA things. Really brings back good old memories. 😀

Oh yeah, don't get me wrong - I love Marvin, and if I had the funds and space I might be collecting too, or else getting what I currently have in storage running again.

vetz wrote:

It's incredible the amount of information that has been discovered. Just imagine if this forum existed during the 90s with all the info we know collectively..

It was called USENET, 🤣. 😁

Maybe what we should do is expand Marvin out with subforums or something. Been toying with bringing that up with founders/other mods/Qbix.

Anyhow, that's getting off-topic.

^Phew... I was going to post something like,

Poor bastard, Marvin, the unloved child of VOGONS...

^_^

Sometimes I wonder, what if all the resources collectively spent on gathering all the vintage hardware, were directed at completing the development of emulators & wrappers for various 'vintage' proprietary APIs (to open, and hopefully more future-proof standards e.g. OpenGL, OpenAL)?

OTOH I realize that some things are (made) harder than others. I mean for example, I've got this hunch that, to get proper access to A3D, one must step over Creative's dead body first. Then there's the legal issue of using/copying Roland ROMs.

Yeah, these companies like things proprietary.

Interesting discussion. Part of it is money of course. I'd really like to have a Drobo B800FS but they're insanely expensive, not even including drives. Knocking together a fileserver box out of old components could be done for a fraction of the price. Not a perfect substitute but it's good enough.

King_Corduroy wrote:

Yes if you go onto the internet, it's expensive. If you find the original owner (aka buy it at a garage sale, find it in the garbage or save it from a recycling center) it's usually dirt cheap. All I was saying is collecting old computer hardware / restoring old hardware is kind of becoming more popular and it has just as much validity as a hobby as restoring a classic car. Which for some reason prompted PeterLi to try to disprove it's validity for some reason unbeknownst to me. 😒

Also I never said "soon" I said it could and probably will someday since it is a mass produced product that is becoming more and more rare as time goes by. After all it's just as useless as a muscle car when gas prices are 4-5$ a gallon and rising.

Most of the really collectible stuff is so old that you can't find it reliably in dumpsters or at yard sales anymore. You'd be really lucky to find anything earlier than a Northwood P4 on a regular basis anymore. Once in a while maybe, but not every day like you used to be able to. People check ebay now before they throw that stuff out to see if it's worth anything.

Hi Everyone,

This is my first post, but, I expect. like most people, i've been using vogons as a resource for a couple of years now. But that's not why I'm posting.

in the, now distant, past, I've owned a Tandy CoCo 2, a Tandy 1000 EX, either a Tandy 1000 SX or TX and both an Amiga 500 & 2000 before getting into the mainstream of wintel which started with the 386.

My current retro computing rig (Dell XPS400, Pentium D 2.8 GHz, 4 GB RAM, onboard sound, nVidia GeForce 8400GS, 17" 4:3 LCD, running Linux Lite 2.0) is set up to emulate the Color Computer (via xroar), Tandy 1000 (via Dosbox) and the Amigas (via Cloanto's Amiga Forever and fs-uae).

I've read almost all of the posts in this thread. I agree with almost everything said here about emulation vs. real hardware. Emulation is cheaper in out-of-pocket cost, space requirements and time sinkage and in most cases is adequate. However, in all of my previous (and current) forays into retro computing, I've never been able to recapture the feel of playing the old (OLD) DOS games on a Tandy 1000. So, yesterday I bid on and won an auction for a tandy 1000 TX.

Is this a problem with Dosbox? i don't think so. Dosbox is awesome and we can do alot with it. I just think my particular interest in using it is outside the norm. Dosbox can go all the way back to the 386 which is just barely not far enough. Of course there are other emulators but they mostly don't come anywhere near the capabilities and especially the ease of use of Dosbox. i think that emulation of the Tandy 1000 series was just not in the original design of Dosbox and was retro fit (pardon the pun) as best as possbile.

So now I'm soon to be in posession of my first (only?) retro PC. Will this turn into a quest for more? Only time will tell. I have the same lack of funds and space as most people but it will be difficult to resist temptation.

nemolomen

Are Dell still using non-standard ATX power cables in their computers?

2fort5r wrote:

Are Dell still using non-standard ATX power cables in their computers?

No, they stopped doing that over 10 years ago.

I wonder how many people fried their motherboards because of that nasty piece of design.

I stopped reading when I saw "bcuz"....

Yes, Dosbox made the purpose of this site change course. It bundled up almost all problems faced when running old games on new systems and shredded them away.

I would say Vogons has evolved rather than 'lost focus'. There are a lot of classic hardware and software related discussions going on here more than anywhere else. (Although I admit, sometimes I get tired of seeing repeated questions and discussions again and again. Still, I try to reply when I see topics of my interest.)

And coming back on-topic, I wanted to put in my thoughts, until I realized this thread started long ago and I have already posted about 5 years ago. 🤣