Brawndo wrote on 2022-01-24, 01:36:

TrashPanda wrote on 2022-01-23, 10:32:

Gonna ditch the idea for a AWE32, gonna get a AWE64 Gold with 28mb ram upgrade board and call it a day, it works out 200 USD cheaper and for what I want to use it for itll work out better.

Wow WTF?? Are Awe64 Golds really selling for over $300 now? I bought one a couple years ago for I think $70-$90, somewhere in there. The ones listed for sale on ebay are insane!

The bigger question is will those prices continue up forever, or are we just in a periodic price hike? This is getting to be a rich man's hobby, at which point I'll have to find a new hobby. 🤣

Might just have to dig out my AWE64 Golds and put them on ebay. With my hearing, I don't need more than basic audio 😀

Meatball wrote on 2022-01-24, 02:17:

Have prices ever come back down? From a software perspective, I always used to think when GoG or when reissues of games were rel […]
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Have prices ever come back down? From a software perspective, I always used to think when GoG or when reissues of games were released, prices would come down for the originals, but all that did was drive up the cost of original releases. Even if NVidia (or whomever owns the 3dfx rights now) or Creative released "Anniversary" editions of the Voodoo/Sound Blaster cards, the mass consumer will settle for those, but the originals will continue to command premium prices. It's the same reason why emulation and virtualization didn't put the kibosh on escalating prices. People want the originals. Has a 64 1/2 Mustang ever gone for $2500 again (setting aside inflation)? A new and better Mustang has been built every year since then... you get the initial depreciation for 10 years and then.... to the moon gradually and then suddenly.

I agree with what some other member posted (I wish I remembered whom to give credit). The retro items you see on eBay now are looking for their final home. Once these are gone (ISA Sound Cards, 3dfx, etc.), you won't see them again without even crazier prices (if ever). Seen any Voodoo 6000s lately? Each month it seems less and less 3dfx cards are available on eBay. A loose 5500 just sold for $510+ shipping. I sold a complete boxed 5500 for around that price about a year ago, and I bought that one from Artex a year before that for under $300.

Future members will be saying... WOW.. $1,000 for an AWE64 Gold? I remember when I paid $300....

If you want something, you better get it while you can. If you really don't want it, then it won't matter how crazy the prices become. (Like I have no interest in a Voodoo 5500. It was loud, finicky, and underwhelming. If I want AA I'll use dgvoodoo or play a remastered version of Turok/Turok 2. I'd much rather be playing retro on a Ti4200 (or Voodoo 1/2/Rush/3500). I have a Voodoo 4500 I don't care for either, but I can't bring myself to sell it, as I'll probably regret it.

4500s are even more rare than the 5500 and command a higher price too, I think there is a PCI 4500 still up thats selling for 1100 AUD makes me glad that I got mine a couple of months ago for 150 AUD simply because the seller either didnt know prices or wanted it gone cheap.

Edit - Currently watching an auction for a K6-3+ 550ACR ..its at $830 AUD(596 USD) buyout ....why would anyone pay that for this CPU when you can grab the K6-3+ 500ACR for 112USD or 3 K6-2+ 570ACZ's for 70 USD ...I dont get the crazy prices for certain bits of junk. (The guy selling the 550 has two up for the same price 440GBP, and likely has several trays of them and is just parting them out at trickle rates)

Is that extra 50Mhz worth and extra 484 USD ? I think fucking not.

TrashPanda wrote on 2022-01-24, 02:55:

Edit - Currently watching an auction for a K6-3+ 550ACR ..its at $830 AUD(596 USD) buyout ....why would anyone pay that for this CPU when you can grab the K6-3+ 500ACR for 112USD or 3 K6-2+ 570ACZ's for 70 USD ...I dont get the crazy prices for certain bits of junk. (The guy selling the 550 has two up for the same price 440GBP, and likely has several trays of them and is just parting them out at trickle rates)

Is that extra 50Mhz worth and extra 484 USD ? I think fucking not.

I would agree with you, and I don't understand the mentality either. I think some things people just want to be able to say "I have a xxx... " when in reality, using it in a PC you would never know the difference between any of the K6-2 and K6-3 variations. I have a couple of brand new K6-2 500 MHz chips, and a couple other speeds of K6-2 and I think a non plus K6-3 in one of the towers I bought. I got them all for very reasonably prices. If I run into a wall with a game or whatever, I just move it on over to one of my PIII systems. If your goal is just to play games and tinker with the OS, you don't need to pay those asinine prices for anything.

Brawndo wrote on 2022-01-24, 05:30:

TrashPanda wrote on 2022-01-24, 02:55:

Edit - Currently watching an auction for a K6-3+ 550ACR ..its at $830 AUD(596 USD) buyout ....why would anyone pay that for this CPU when you can grab the K6-3+ 500ACR for 112USD or 3 K6-2+ 570ACZ's for 70 USD ...I dont get the crazy prices for certain bits of junk. (The guy selling the 550 has two up for the same price 440GBP, and likely has several trays of them and is just parting them out at trickle rates)

Is that extra 50Mhz worth and extra 484 USD ? I think fucking not.

I would agree with you, and I don't understand the mentality either. I think some things people just want to be able to say "I have a xxx... " when in reality, using it in a PC you would never know the difference between any of the K6-2 and K6-3 variations. I have a couple of brand new K6-2 500 MHz chips, and a couple other speeds of K6-2 and I think a non plus K6-3 in one of the towers I bought. I got them all for very reasonably prices. If I run into a wall with a game or whatever, I just move it on over to one of my PIII systems. If your goal is just to play games and tinker with the OS, you don't need to pay those asinine prices for anything.

About the only difference you may notice is how much ram you can cache, the + versions have internal L2 cache 256k for the K6-3+ and 128k for the K6-2+, it does make a performance difference but again unless you are pushing for high res DOS/9X games I doubt you'll notice.

But as you suggest if you cant get good FPS on one machine you can usually move to a more powerful setup pretty fast, I actually grabbed the three 570ACZ's for 70 bucks, it was a good deal and I have a use for them upgrading a couple of Socket 7 boards that support them.

bearking wrote on 2022-01-22, 23:25:

Also got this joystick, it's a QuickShot QS-113P. It's not new but it has the box, game port ISA card, paperwork and even the receipt! It was bought exactly 30 years ago, on the 15th of January 1992 from a Bilka store in the town of Hundige, Danmark! 199 Danish krone. Hey, that's nice to know 😀
20220122_021223.jpg

Plus one Danish krone for a plastic carrying bag 😉

Funny, I grew up very close to here, and even worked in that excact store from 1999-2005. Getting some nostalgia vibes here 🤣

Brawndo wrote on 2022-01-24, 01:36:

TrashPanda wrote on 2022-01-23, 10:32:

Gonna ditch the idea for a AWE32, gonna get a AWE64 Gold with 28mb ram upgrade board and call it a day, it works out 200 USD cheaper and for what I want to use it for itll work out better.

Wow WTF?? Are Awe64 Golds really selling for over $300 now? I bought one a couple years ago for I think $70-$90, somewhere in there. The ones listed for sale on ebay are insane!

The bigger question is will those prices continue up forever, or are we just in a periodic price hike? This is getting to be a rich man's hobby, at which point I'll have to find a new hobby. 🤣

Ah hell there goes my chances of getting a awe64 gold , I guess i could trade someone my sc88 for one since I dont use it that much but I'm not sure how good of an idea that is. These prices really are getting off the wall insane now.

AppleSauce wrote on 2022-01-24, 08:08:

Brawndo wrote on 2022-01-24, 01:36:

TrashPanda wrote on 2022-01-23, 10:32:

Gonna ditch the idea for a AWE32, gonna get a AWE64 Gold with 28mb ram upgrade board and call it a day, it works out 200 USD cheaper and for what I want to use it for itll work out better.

Wow WTF?? Are Awe64 Golds really selling for over $300 now? I bought one a couple years ago for I think $70-$90, somewhere in there. The ones listed for sale on ebay are insane!

The bigger question is will those prices continue up forever, or are we just in a periodic price hike? This is getting to be a rich man's hobby, at which point I'll have to find a new hobby. 🤣

Ah hell there goes my chances of getting a awe64 gold , I guess i could trade someone my sc88 for one since I dont use it that much but I'm not sure how good of an idea that is. These prices really are getting off the wall insane now.

welcome to the current market where even retro hardware is as expensive as modern hardware.

TrashPanda wrote on 2022-01-24, 08:10:

AppleSauce wrote on 2022-01-24, 08:08:

Brawndo wrote on 2022-01-24, 01:36:

Wow WTF?? Are Awe64 Golds really selling for over $300 now? I bought one a couple years ago for I think $70-$90, somewhere in there. The ones listed for sale on ebay are insane!

The bigger question is will those prices continue up forever, or are we just in a periodic price hike? This is getting to be a rich man's hobby, at which point I'll have to find a new hobby. 🤣

Ah hell there goes my chances of getting a awe64 gold , I guess i could trade someone my sc88 for one since I dont use it that much but I'm not sure how good of an idea that is. These prices really are getting off the wall insane now.

welcome to the current market where even retro hardware is as expensive as modern hardware.

We should just use this slogan when talking about the retro market from now on:
"Yesterdays hardware at yesterdays prices"

AppleSauce wrote on 2022-01-24, 08:18:

We should just use this slogan when talking about the retro market from now on:
"Yesterdays hardware at yesterdays prices"

Actually, heh, this is one part of my purchase thought process when buying boxed hardware... "Well, it was XXX.XX dollars when it was first released..."

I want my 99.9% discount back... like when I could pick up $5000 XT/AT configurations or early laptops for $5 2 decades ago 🤣

Inflation adjusted, if things hit "new" price, those will be worth $20,000 soon 👻

BitWrangler wrote on 2022-01-24, 14:40:

I want my 99.9% discount back... like when I could pick up $5000 XT/AT configurations or early laptops for $5 2 decades ago 🤣

Inflation adjusted, if things hit "new" price, those will be worth $20,000 soon 👻

Pfft... $5? You paid too much. Two decades ago most people would have you over for dinner for taking their "junk" computer equipment off their hands.

BitWrangler wrote on 2022-01-23, 19:56:

appiah4 wrote on 2022-01-23, 18:58:

blurks wrote on 2022-01-23, 11:15:

Is Artex still around? I sold him some stuff a while back and was expecting to see pictures...

Hope not. When Artex posts I want to punch my screen and smash my keyboards to bits. The envy is too much to handle.

It was this post wasn't it? Re: Bought these (retro) hardware today 'coz I wanted one of those completely cool Cyrix case badges.

Hope he's still with us, last post in August some time.

Just talked with him. He's fine. Just busy with life.

Got some laptops to restore:

2x IBM Thinkpad 600. Both has CMOS battery to replace, one has two vertical lines on LCD. Should be fixable, I've done that before. Also a classic sticky feeling because of rubbery coating back in the days. It's easy to remove that, but needs some time.

IBM Thinkpad 380Z and 380ED. Again, CMOS battery to replace and one doesn't have the HDD bay plastic - will 3d print it. Fortunately, doesn't have any rubbery sticky coat.

and a Compaq Armada 1750. This boy is dirty 😁 But it ticks all the boxes - ATI Rage, ESS sound chip, great TFT screen.

Yay, Joakim and pixelatedscraps, we've got another member of the 1750 club 🤣

Brawndo wrote on 2022-01-24, 05:30:

I would agree with you, and I don't understand the mentality either. I think some things people just want to be able to say "I have a xxx... "

I suspect it's collectors that want one of every model CPU in a certain line for example, but other than that I also don't get why anyone would pay that much for a K6-3 or whatever when they can just get a equally fast or faster and way cheaper Pentium III.

devius wrote on 2022-01-24, 21:19:

Brawndo wrote on 2022-01-24, 05:30:

I would agree with you, and I don't understand the mentality either. I think some things people just want to be able to say "I have a xxx... "

I suspect it's collectors that want one of every model CPU in a certain line for example, but other than that I also don't get why anyone would pay that much for a K6-3 or whatever when they can just get a equally fast or faster and way cheaper Pentium III.

You're probably right. For the hell of it, I collected one of every Willamette Pentium 4 1.3GHz - 2.0Ghz, and I only use the 2.0Ghz from time to time.

I've got a 1.5 and a 1.7 and a system that might have one in too, not sure, and I figure even that's too many Willamettes to own 🤣

Edit: Dammit, you jinxed me, now a 1.6 appeared.

Meatball wrote on 2022-01-24, 21:43:

devius wrote on 2022-01-24, 21:19:

Brawndo wrote on 2022-01-24, 05:30:

I would agree with you, and I don't understand the mentality either. I think some things people just want to be able to say "I have a xxx... "

I suspect it's collectors that want one of every model CPU in a certain line for example, but other than that I also don't get why anyone would pay that much for a K6-3 or whatever when they can just get a equally fast or faster and way cheaper Pentium III.

You're probably right. For the hell of it, I collected one of every Willamette Pentium 4 1.3GHz - 2.0Ghz, and I only use the 2.0Ghz from time to time.

And the 478 package of them????? 😀 😀

From 1.3 to 2.0ghz you feel the frequency bump.
I used to start with lowest and hit max frequency with PIII, P4 and celerons, K7 and Xp. Duron to XP 3200+ was an über difference on the same system.
Just the eye feel of the change was incredible. Or being stupid by going max to lowest to see the "crashing" performance.
🤣

i get the concept of thinkering with parts but i just stick with 2 pcs: my main rig (5600x), the retro pc (k6-2 500) and a box with spare parts wich are dirt cheap even today like slot 1 and socket 370 .

i dont get how ppl even in here pay above 100USD for any part, its just insane to me

Living wrote on 2022-01-25, 11:04:

i dont get how ppl even in here pay above 100USD for any part, its just insane to me

Prices are what they are and if you want something you need to payout... I think everyone would like to get cheap deals but reality is different at the moment.