Cuttoon wrote on 2022-05-13, 12:51:

Well, you can read that right there on the package! (the 10 year warranty might have run out, I lack the receipt... :() […]
Show full quote

imi wrote on 2022-05-13, 12:25:

that's the first time I read hama and "high quality stuff" in the same sentence 😁

Well, you can read that right there on the package! (the 10 year warranty might have run out, I lack the receipt... 🙁)

It's rather depressing, really. That's definitely still original sealed in one of those malicious plastic containers that can't possibly be opened without a tool and/or cutting your hand.
First time I find a RAM module where the gold plating of the contacts comes off, or they corrode beneath that, or whatever - see the markings.

Maybe it was a manufacturing defect that somebody meant to return but forgot.

Cuttoon wrote on 2022-05-13, 13:02:

I just was about to edit that in. […]
Show full quote

chrismes wrote on 2022-05-13, 12:56:

Don't open it. This needs to be preserved new in box. I especially enjoy the markings on the chips.

I just was about to edit that in.

D A F U Q ?!?

It appears that the chips had markings. Then they put two horizontal bars over those. Like the counterfeits production was forced to unmark their chips in court, or whatever.
And, even without any lense distortion, those lines are at an angle, not parallel, from chip to chip.

I still contemplate between selling that as a collectible or nailing it to a post at the market as a warning to posterity...

Quite amusing to see that RAM module with marked "Micron" chips sealed like "new". 🤣

You could warn in another post about this when they are buying one for their retro computer considering the overall quality.

Cuttoon wrote on 2022-05-13, 13:02:

It appears that the chips had markings. Then they put two horizontal bars over those. Like the counterfeits production was forced to unmark their chips in court, or whatever.
And, even without any lense distortion, those lines are at an angle, not parallel, from chip to chip.

IIRC those horizontal bars are marks of defective chips. Not to mention those oxidized contacts.

SDRAM from e-waste are often in better shape than this one.

BitWrangler wrote on 2022-05-13, 13:03:

Cuttoon wrote on 2022-05-13, 12:51:

Well, you can read that right there on the package! (the 10 year warranty might have run out, I lack the receipt... :() […]
Show full quote

imi wrote on 2022-05-13, 12:25:

that's the first time I read hama and "high quality stuff" in the same sentence 😁

Well, you can read that right there on the package! (the 10 year warranty might have run out, I lack the receipt... 🙁)

It's rather depressing, really. That's definitely still original sealed in one of those malicious plastic containers that can't possibly be opened without a tool and/or cutting your hand.
First time I find a RAM module where the gold plating of the contacts comes off, or they corrode beneath that, or whatever - see the markings.

Maybe it was a manufacturing defect that somebody meant to return but forgot.

AFAIK, there's no definitive right to return in Germany for bogus markings. It would have to malfunction to even be replaced in common retail trade. Hama is a notorious retail or POS/store "brand" and so is the shelf container - did not come from mail order, so no 14 days return policy.
I'd say it's one of those many late-time PC upgrades that never got installed for some reason. Maybe they opened a first and recognized the board won't take that type or size...
But, that combination of bogus markings and unstable gold plating - I'm afraid, that's merely a severe case of hama.

dormcat wrote on 2022-05-13, 13:21:

Cuttoon wrote on 2022-05-13, 13:02:

It appears that the chips had markings. Then they put two horizontal bars over those. Like the counterfeits production was forced to unmark their chips in court, or whatever.
And, even without any lense distortion, those lines are at an angle, not parallel, from chip to chip.

IIRC those horizontal bars are marks of defective chips. Not to mention those oxidized contacts.

Interesting, thanks. I'd wonder why they don't just discard defective ones right away instead of marking them, but I don't have any better explanation. Maybe they mislabeled them legitimately at first, crossed that out and sold them at a discount then?
Oxidized contacts, or the gold plating simply fell off and then the copper started to oxidize. Also, the designation on the package is in quotes. It's a Gesamtkunstwerk.

dormcat wrote on 2022-05-13, 13:21:

SDRAM from e-waste are often in better shape than this one.

I've accumulated dozens of RAM modules over the years, some of them from dubious sources and treated with little respect. All of those are in better shape.

Cuttoon wrote on 2022-05-13, 13:52:

Interesting, thanks. I'd wonder why they don't just discard defective ones right away instead of marking them, but I don't have […]
Show full quote

dormcat wrote on 2022-05-13, 13:21:

Cuttoon wrote on 2022-05-13, 13:02:

It appears that the chips had markings. Then they put two horizontal bars over those. Like the counterfeits production was forced to unmark their chips in court, or whatever.
And, even without any lense distortion, those lines are at an angle, not parallel, from chip to chip.

IIRC those horizontal bars are marks of defective chips. Not to mention those oxidized contacts.

Interesting, thanks. I'd wonder why they don't just discard defective ones right away instead of marking them, but I don't have any better explanation. Maybe they mislabeled them legitimately at first, crossed that out and sold them at a discount then?
Oxidized contacts, or the gold plating simply fell off and then the copper started to oxidize. Also, the designation on the package is in quotes. It's a Gesamtkunstwerk.

dormcat wrote on 2022-05-13, 13:21:

SDRAM from e-waste are often in better shape than this one.

I've accumulated dozens of RAM modules over the years, some of them from dubious sources and treated with little respect. All of those are in better shape.

Maybe the contacts didn't deteriorate and it just came like that from the factory. It's hama after all.

I could use those Hama DIMMs for my troll build: Celeron 266, Quantum Bigfoot, Sound Blaster PCI 137x, winmodem, Colani case, Windows ME, Microsoft Bob... 🤣

Grzyb wrote on 2022-05-13, 14:24:

I could use those Hama DIMMs for my troll build: Celeron 266, Quantum Bigfoot, Sound Blaster PCI 137x, winmodem, Colani case, Windows ME, Microsoft Bob... 🤣

oh wow .. went all out huh, thats the kind of PC I leave at the curbside and laugh maniacally as some poor sucker takes that e-waste off my hands for free.

Grzyb wrote on 2022-05-13, 14:24:

I could use those Hama DIMMs for my troll build: Celeron 266, Quantum Bigfoot, Sound Blaster PCI 137x, winmodem, Colani case, Windows ME, Microsoft Bob... 🤣

Can you put in a ton of dust, dirt and somehow a layer of nicotine too? Make sure the fans are blocked.

Grzyb wrote on 2022-05-13, 14:24:

I could use those Hama DIMMs for my troll build: Celeron 266, Quantum Bigfoot, Sound Blaster PCI 137x, winmodem, Colani case, Windows ME, Microsoft Bob... 🤣

If you wanted to ruin a perfectly good troll build, sure.

Think mine will be based on an original PCChips M537 and Cyrix first gen heating implement, since there are no buggy Intel Pentium for S7, afaik.
SB PCI, one of those fuck ugly ones with off-color audio ports? Second that.
Colani case, no. Those are sacred. Have a big tower with intel PCI 486, will restore it to former glory.
Bob? That has passed me. I'll have to include the office version with that sentient paperclip.
Think I'll add a Cherry My-2000 keyboard. Good thing I do own a quantum bigfoot. Always a good starting point! 😁

I have the perfect video card to match.

Has anyone seen memory chips with the information crossed out by a laser?

Grzyb wrote on 2022-05-13, 14:24:

I could use those Hama DIMMs for my troll build: Celeron 266, Quantum Bigfoot, Sound Blaster PCI 137x, winmodem, Colani case, Windows ME, Microsoft Bob... 🤣

Still... 256MB for that kind of quality computer feels too good. 32MB would probably be more appropriate 😆

Snagged this just now.. Looks to have 7800gtx's with watercooling. Seller said it boots to BIOS. Yay

Latest loot.

Bought on eBay, an Extron 128 video switch in incredible condition. Figured I'll get one while they're still cheap. Since I'm going RGB with all my old consoles, I needed a good way to centralize all the connections.

An excellent thrift store score, a Dell Precision m4300 laptop with the power adapter for $10. I couldn't believe it was just sitting on the shelf. The hard drive is dead, so I guess that's why it was donated. Easy fix. It has a Core2Duo CPU @2.6 GHz, Nvidia Quadro FX 360m GPU, 4 GB RAM, and WUXGA 15.4" screen with 1920x1200 res. It'll be an excellent mobile XP gamer. The Dell Precision machines were top of the line back then.

Same thrift store visit, this massive Dell Ultrasharp 2000FP 20" LCD monitor, also for $10. I've never seen one of these so I had to snag it. I hooked it up to my P3 Voodoo 5500 PC and played NFS2SE for a few minutes to test it out, looks great! I guess there may be some ghosting being an older LCD, but I couldn't tell, and if it's there it's certainly not noticeable while playing. Nice bonus it has composite and S-video inputs in addition to PC, so I could run consoles on it.

Another thrift store find, think I paid about a buck for this. No brainer.

MadYoshi wrote on 2022-05-11, 16:28:

A lovely board for my Pentium III collection. I have been looking for this for a long long time, now it's like christmas ^^

ASUS P3C-D

image001.jpg

Dual slot 1 w/ 133MHz FSB support, AGP and RIMM: was not aware of the existence of this board, it's awesome, I want one too!!

EvieSigma wrote on 2022-05-01, 00:33:

I somehow found this minty HP Pavilion at a thrift store for 20 dollars, I didn't have to think too hard about buying it.

PXL_20220430_144334681.jpg

PXL_20220430_144338209.jpg

I remember when me and my friends were laughing at the ones buying pre-assembled/oem computers
20 years fast forward I'm looking for pre-assembled/oem computers 😁

Brawndo wrote on 2022-04-29, 04:33:

Received this gem today, brand new in sealed box, a first generation Xbox 360 Pro, system board either Xenon or Zephyr due to th […]
Show full quote

Received this gem today, brand new in sealed box, a first generation Xbox 360 Pro, system board either Xenon or Zephyr due to the 203-watt power supply printed on the box label. I couldn't pass it up because it's definitely got the original blades dashboard, version old enough to be exploited via the original diode JTAG method, the most reliable and stable Xbox 360 exploit there is. Granted being a first generation system it's also must susceptible to RRoD, but I believe enough is known about that issue now that I can do enough preemptive cooling mods to at least considerably prolong the life of the system, if not completely prevent it.

I owned so many of these systems back in the day, it'll be fun going down this road again. I must have had 4 or 5 Xenon systems, a Zephyr or two, a few Falcons and one Jasper which I still have. All of them red ringed eventually 🤣.

wow that's cool!
I still have mine, original 360 (xeonon?) and I always wondered why it never died with RRoD; it was an overheat related thing, right? is there an approximate amount of use hrs after they are likely to fail?
I used mine definitely less than the avarage console gamers I think, played mostly Halo 3 and Forza 2, somewhere between 100 and 200 hrs I suppose

Not strictly retro or vintage but a good catch for 20,- Euro (incl. P&P).
Just right for my current early 2010 project 😀

- Intel Core2 Quad Q9505
- Asus P5K Pro Mainboard
- 4 GB DDR2 (4x 1GB)
- Arctic Freezer 13
- 140mm + 80mm Silentwing 3
... plus a load of board accessories

... and the new "home" will be my COOLER MASTER Wave Master TAC-T01-EK

Bought this today at the flea market. I don't know why I like it so much...

I got this nice Terratec Maestro 16 along with Terratec Dream GS Wave 4MB wavetable from a friend in exchange for a big tower case. I think it was a good deal.