Alesia wrote on 2025-03-10, 21:23:

3 currently working, 2 in progress, and a bunch of parts for XP era machines but I'm having a hard time finding computer cases f […]
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3 currently working, 2 in progress, and a bunch of parts for XP era machines but I'm having a hard time finding computer cases for cheap to get them into.

As far as working/nearly working goes:

HP Vectra VE 5/133 Series 3 upgraded with a Diamond Stealth 3d 2000 Pro, 200mhz non mmx cpu, and a 512kb pipeline burst module. Ram soon as well.
Some Gateway windows 98 era business machine I can't remember the model of, has a 600mhz or 800mhz slot 1 CPU and a Rage 128 Pro.
Emerson 286 with matching monitor, keyboard, and mouse. Upgraded to 4MB of ram, 512kb of video memory, and an external Zip 100 drive.

Current projects are a "mega 4000" IBM clone with a Nec V20 in it, currently trying to afford an 8 bit compatible VGA card since the monitor it came with is currently caput. Also have a Kaypro 10 that is failing to post.

Also have problems getting usable cases,mostly I am forced to use ATX cases for AT MoBos,same with PSUs,in these cases I use ATX->AT power adapters & have to place a switch on the back side of the case for powering up/down,as the adapter is too short to reach the front panel with its power contacts,in 1 case I employed an extension,but it was an AT case with ATX PSU & I am using the original switch here,when there is no switch @ all,only buttons on the front panel,it is easier to put the switch to some port hole in the back wall of the case,as mostly the case have more port holes,then I can use with the old MoBo...
I have very few original or era correct cases,as they r hard to find & expensive.
BTW Your collection & projects loox excellent.

8 desktop
11 notebook

At last count I had 7 "retro" older PCs, from 486-Core2. Plus my modern desktop and my modern laptop.
Those are all complete. If you factored in the partials...4 or 5 more.

I have at last count 9 "retro" laptops, all DOS/9x machines, except two that are XP based, multiple core machines.

Several offtopic posts have been removed. Stay on topic please.

Today spreadsheet list is saying (starting from 486 and win3.1 to windows 10) : 165 full working desktop, 118 full working portable PC.
I have to mention also 30 additional "headless" (display panel less) working portable PC. Handy because I can store a few of those on my desk and use them with the same power supply, mouse, sound system and screen.
Only given or dumpster saved equipment.
I tend to focus now more on low energy requirement PC such as netbooks, tiny clients, nuc, sff. It helps for space requirement too 😉

Dhigan wrote on 2025-03-11, 21:42:

Today spreadsheet list is saying (starting from 486 and win3.1 to windows 10) : 165 full working desktop, 118 full working porta […]
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Today spreadsheet list is saying (starting from 486 and win3.1 to windows 10) : 165 full working desktop, 118 full working portable PC.
I have to mention also 30 additional "headless" (display panel less) working portable PC. Handy because I can store a few of those on my desk and use them with the same power supply, mouse, sound system and screen.
Only given or dumpster saved equipment.
I tend to focus now more on low energy requirement PC such as netbooks, tiny clients, nuc, sff. It helps for space requirement too 😉

Any chance you would be willing to share the list? I enjoy reading the specs of machines people have put together.

oldhighgerman wrote on 2025-03-07, 15:56:

Sabina_16bit. wrote on 2025-03-02, 19:05:

Thanx so much to everyone, whos main priority is saving Legacy PCs from scrapping, as I have it the same as a primary motivation […]
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Thanx so much to everyone, whos main priority is saving Legacy PCs from scrapping, as I have it the same as a primary motivation & all,who has same priority,is a most noble collector,who is helpful to preserve historical values.
The side effect of this priority is,that our collections does not exactly matches our dreams,but that may be compensated by some exchanges with other collectors.
& also love fixing decommissioned machine remains & get them back to life.
Every1,who does the same,does the most honorable thing...just after saving Animals from slaughtering...
Also using a ThinClient assimilated to DOS in the living room for my visitors to play games on TV...a DOS gaming console...

Photos of this would be nice ...

As admins continues to intercept me,I will sure not post them here publicly,maybe I will only invite for email-discussions instead regularly participating here,I am persona non grata here,thus the logical way of action is withdrawal,this forum is too totalitarian & admins here 2nd worst dictators just after WinWorldPC,thus it will be better to continue via e-mail,write me to sabina.zelena@yahoo.com ,then I will send U photos in my reply.
Live long & prosper.

Sabina_16bit. wrote on 2025-03-11, 12:14:

Also have problems getting usable cases,mostly I am forced to use ATX cases for AT MoBos,same with PSUs,in these cases I use ATX […]
Show full quote

Alesia wrote on 2025-03-10, 21:23:

3 currently working, 2 in progress, and a bunch of parts for XP era machines but I'm having a hard time finding computer cases f […]
Show full quote

3 currently working, 2 in progress, and a bunch of parts for XP era machines but I'm having a hard time finding computer cases for cheap to get them into.

As far as working/nearly working goes:

HP Vectra VE 5/133 Series 3 upgraded with a Diamond Stealth 3d 2000 Pro, 200mhz non mmx cpu, and a 512kb pipeline burst module. Ram soon as well.
Some Gateway windows 98 era business machine I can't remember the model of, has a 600mhz or 800mhz slot 1 CPU and a Rage 128 Pro.
Emerson 286 with matching monitor, keyboard, and mouse. Upgraded to 4MB of ram, 512kb of video memory, and an external Zip 100 drive.

Current projects are a "mega 4000" IBM clone with a Nec V20 in it, currently trying to afford an 8 bit compatible VGA card since the monitor it came with is currently caput. Also have a Kaypro 10 that is failing to post.

Also have problems getting usable cases,mostly I am forced to use ATX cases for AT MoBos,same with PSUs,in these cases I use ATX->AT power adapters & have to place a switch on the back side of the case for powering up/down,as the adapter is too short to reach the front panel with its power contacts,in 1 case I employed an extension,but it was an AT case with ATX PSU & I am using the original switch here,when there is no switch @ all,only buttons on the front panel,it is easier to put the switch to some port hole in the back wall of the case,as mostly the case have more port holes,then I can use with the old MoBo...
I have very few original or era correct cases,as they r hard to find & expensive.
BTW Your collection & projects loox excellent.

Thank you <3
I did find the Inwin C583/C589/C series, but I haven't been able to find them in wide availability. Pretty pricey too but they mostly fit the XP era look according to my memory. No glass and have proper front panel expansion unlike 99% of cases right now. The USB-C on the front panel kind of gives it away though.

dukeofurl wrote on 2025-03-10, 13:00:

Sabina_16bit. wrote on 2025-03-01, 17:45:

I am willing to cooperate,if some other persons would like to do so,for example to co-buy an old industrial building(in some cou […]
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keenmaster486 wrote on 2025-02-28, 23:57:

Some of you have a legitimate problem. We could start and fund a museum with 20% of the stuff you have.

I am willing to cooperate,if some other persons would like to do so,for example to co-buy an old industrial building(in some countries it can fit into a brownfield revitalization program & get some state's support) or an abandoned railroad building or so & put together an IT Museum.
I will probably try & fail to do so for myself till my death,because I lack sufficient resources,but if several of us would cooperate,the project like this could be feasible.
Thus I dare all of U to really think about this,as it is very useful & will serve the best for maintaining the Legacy IT values(not just PC,for example I can also add some TVs,radios,cellphones with the oldest being Motorola d160...fixed-line phones...etc...etc...) .

I think the problem there isn't finding cool stuff to put in such a museum or fund raising enough to set it up initially, but finding a way to pay the ongoing costs and fees with renting or owning a building and overhead for things like an employee to be there regularly to let people in, insurance, utilities, etc. over 12+ months (or much more) it would be quite an expense.

As subtopic about transforming private collections to a cooperative public IT museum has been forbidden by admins,this subtopic is moved to my e-mail sabina.zelena@yahoo.com & will only continue as e-mail discussion to make it safe from F8 guys.Please continue that subtopic only there.

Brawndo wrote on 2025-02-28, 04:26:

I've gone back and forth on whether I want to slim down my collection of older PCs or just hang on to them all. I go through phases of thinking I don't really need them all, but I sure have a hard time thinking about letting any of them go. I like them too much! I honestly couldn't give you an exact number, but I probably have about 12-15 complete PCs from the 486 era through windows 7, which does not include my current modern desktop. Not to mention the piles of spare components I have laying around. I'm just curious about how many the average hobbyist has laying around.

That is about my collection too, can see about 10 and have a few more buried behind them. 🤣 my most modern (is 5 years old) runs win10 and win7 heehee.

Alesia wrote on 2025-03-12, 00:51:

Sabina_16bit. wrote on 2025-03-11, 12:14:

Also have problems getting usable cases,mostly I am forced to use ATX cases for AT MoBos,same with PSUs,in these cases I use ATX […]
Show full quote

Alesia wrote on 2025-03-10, 21:23:

3 currently working, 2 in progress, and a bunch of parts for XP era machines but I'm having a hard time finding computer cases f […]
Show full quote

3 currently working, 2 in progress, and a bunch of parts for XP era machines but I'm having a hard time finding computer cases for cheap to get them into.

As far as working/nearly working goes:

HP Vectra VE 5/133 Series 3 upgraded with a Diamond Stealth 3d 2000 Pro, 200mhz non mmx cpu, and a 512kb pipeline burst module. Ram soon as well.
Some Gateway windows 98 era business machine I can't remember the model of, has a 600mhz or 800mhz slot 1 CPU and a Rage 128 Pro.
Emerson 286 with matching monitor, keyboard, and mouse. Upgraded to 4MB of ram, 512kb of video memory, and an external Zip 100 drive.

Current projects are a "mega 4000" IBM clone with a Nec V20 in it, currently trying to afford an 8 bit compatible VGA card since the monitor it came with is currently caput. Also have a Kaypro 10 that is failing to post.

Also have problems getting usable cases,mostly I am forced to use ATX cases for AT MoBos,same with PSUs,in these cases I use ATX->AT power adapters & have to place a switch on the back side of the case for powering up/down,as the adapter is too short to reach the front panel with its power contacts,in 1 case I employed an extension,but it was an AT case with ATX PSU & I am using the original switch here,when there is no switch @ all,only buttons on the front panel,it is easier to put the switch to some port hole in the back wall of the case,as mostly the case have more port holes,then I can use with the old MoBo...
I have very few original or era correct cases,as they r hard to find & expensive.
BTW Your collection & projects loox excellent.

Thank you <3
I did find the Inwin C583/C589/C series, but I haven't been able to find them in wide availability. Pretty pricey too but they mostly fit the XP era look according to my memory. No glass and have proper front panel expansion unlike 99% of cases right now. The USB-C on the front panel kind of gives it away though.

I even have 1 PC with COM port in front panel.

Pentium 3 @ 800
Pentium MMX @ 233
Amiga 1200 @ 66
Sharp X68000 @ 10

I don't have as many systems as other people , I ended up selling a lot of hardware I didn't need and consolidated it down to 4 systems and 3 monitors.
The only extra systems I have is like one test bench PC and one or two scrap PCB's.

The working systems are usually set up between 2 desks and ready to go at the push of a button (well more like a trifecta of them),
but I'm in the process of recapping a CRT to get it working again and also further modifying the Sharp computer with add-on's.

The Pentium MMX has like 7 expansion cards and 2 LPT sound cards , a MIDI stack, Glide and PowerSGL
and various other modifications like a Throttle Blaster that lets it play a good chunk of DOS and Windows games from 1987 to 1997 ,
it's absolutely a Swiss Army Knife of a PC.

Likewise the Pentium 3 has 7 expansion cards and can cover A3D 2.0 and early Sound Blaster EAX ,
on the video side : Glide and Direct 3D + OpenGL and Matrox Simple Interface.

The Amiga 1200 has a newer 3.2 Rom , Amiga OS 3.2 , an accelerator with a REV 5 : 060 CPU , CF card with WHDLOAD, CD interface and Gotek.

The Sharp x68000 has a MIDI card , 10mb RAM card and I'm working on getting a BlueSCSI going for hard drive functionality.

The two Pentium systems share a Sony Trinitron G500 monitor and the same KB and Mouse via KVM ,
the Amiga has its own CM8833 mk2 monitor , the Sharp x68000 has its own 1987 model NEC MultiSync.

But yeah personally I've found that it is desirable to cram a bunch of add-on's per system to increase the range of what it can do instead of hoarding many individual systems.
Having fewer more flexible systems in turn lets you really focus on the stuff you care about and allows you to declutter the things you don't need.
Also it helps to alleviate the choice paralysis of having too many systems to pick from.

Reality is what is hobby and what is everyday. All my pc compatible computers are offline. Only one Tiny11 installed computer is sometimes online. All else I download with Android phone and upload with USB stick or USB to SD card. Depends if I want them in pre or post USB2 computer. Windows 7 computers are good for x264 video. Windows XP computers are for allmost all retro windows games. And all those 486 to P3 computer with ISA that run DOS and all games and programs just fine. So in reality. Everything is hobby. Only my 125euro Xiaomi phone is semi hobby.

If i count Amigas, Commodores, Ataries, Sinclairs and Amstrades, and of course Segas and Nintendos under my collection of retro computers (along sides with "DOS based" PCs), i have more than 100 working ones - from 286-PIII + 8bit ones! Besides this collection, there is around 500 laptops (newer ones mostly, from 286-modern), 100 graphic cards (ISA, PCI, AGP, PCIe), 200 hard disks (MFM, IDE, SCSI, SATA), 400 CPUs, 30 monitors (both LCD and CRT), and on, and on,......
50m2 is full, brom bottom to the top, so i started to "redisign" my attic only for this purpose. My wife, of course, sleeps with a knife, and waiting for me to sleep, but i didn't slept for a long time 😀

I need to show my wife this thread, I seem positively restrained compared to a lot of the collectors here! My collection is currently:

-PIII-550/440BX/Voodoo 2/Rage MAXX Windows 98 system for late 90s DOS/Windows gaming
-P4 2.0 GHz/GeForce 2 GTS Windows 98 system for early 2000s Windows 98 gaming (likely to be dual-booted to XP soon for fun)
-Athlon 64 X2 3800+/ASRock 939 Dual SATA 2/ATI X1900XTX Windows XP system for mid-2000s gaming
-Phenom II X4 940/Radeon 5870/Windows Vista for late 2000s gaming and analog video capture with an ATI Theatre 550 Pro

These four systems are good enough for now, and the spare parts to go with them including alternate CPUs, video, and sound cards take up a good chunk of space too. I tend to use one system at a time at a dedicated desk for retro PC use, although the Vista system can be hooked up to my modern monitor/keyboard setup since it has HDMI out. If I found a really nice 486 DX2-66 or DX4-100 system for cheap I might grab that, but for now DOSBox Staging lets me play my games older than 1994/1995 (covered by the first system) pretty easily.

butjer1010 wrote on 2025-03-12, 18:07:

If i count Amigas, Commodores, Ataries, Sinclairs and Amstrades, and of course Segas and Nintendos under my collection of retro computers (along sides with "DOS based" PCs), i have more than 100 working ones - from 286-PIII + 8bit ones! Besides this collection, there is around 500 laptops (newer ones mostly, from 286-modern), 100 graphic cards (ISA, PCI, AGP, PCIe), 200 hard disks (MFM, IDE, SCSI, SATA), 400 CPUs, 30 monitors (both LCD and CRT), and on, and on,......
50m2 is full, brom bottom to the top, so i started to "redisign" my attic only for this purpose. My wife, of course, sleeps with a knife, and waiting for me to sleep, but i didn't slept for a long time 😀

My girlfriend tolerates my collection as long,as I am getting new PCs & parts for free(saving from scrapping or gifts),or by exchange trade,but when I buy something for money,she gets angry & her anger is adequate to the amount,I used for my hobby(whatever hobby).
BTW isn't bedroom the most dangerous place for storing the PC collection?
& I also have many of them there...

Sabina_16bit. wrote on 2025-03-12, 20:57:

My girlfriend tolerates my collection as long,as I am getting new PCs & parts for free(saving from scrapping or gifts),or by exc […]
Show full quote

butjer1010 wrote on 2025-03-12, 18:07:

If i count Amigas, Commodores, Ataries, Sinclairs and Amstrades, and of course Segas and Nintendos under my collection of retro computers (along sides with "DOS based" PCs), i have more than 100 working ones - from 286-PIII + 8bit ones! Besides this collection, there is around 500 laptops (newer ones mostly, from 286-modern), 100 graphic cards (ISA, PCI, AGP, PCIe), 200 hard disks (MFM, IDE, SCSI, SATA), 400 CPUs, 30 monitors (both LCD and CRT), and on, and on,......
50m2 is full, brom bottom to the top, so i started to "redisign" my attic only for this purpose. My wife, of course, sleeps with a knife, and waiting for me to sleep, but i didn't slept for a long time 😀

My girlfriend tolerates my collection as long,as I am getting new PCs & parts for free(saving from scrapping or gifts),or by exchange trade,but when I buy something for money,she gets angry & her anger is adequate to the amount,I used for my hobby(whatever hobby).
BTW isn't bedroom the most dangerous place for storing the PC collection?
& I also have many of them there...

Heheheh, no it's not stored in the bedroom (not yet), i have 2 rooms full of my stuff, so there's the problem. Anger adequate to the amount??? I didn't think about that also! Maybe this is the main reason of her anger??? Not the lack of space for her things 😀

butjer1010 wrote on 2025-03-13, 06:40:

Sabina_16bit. wrote on 2025-03-12, 20:57:

My girlfriend tolerates my collection as long,as I am getting new PCs & parts for free(saving from scrapping or gifts),or by exc […]
Show full quote

butjer1010 wrote on 2025-03-12, 18:07:

If i count Amigas, Commodores, Ataries, Sinclairs and Amstrades, and of course Segas and Nintendos under my collection of retro computers (along sides with "DOS based" PCs), i have more than 100 working ones - from 286-PIII + 8bit ones! Besides this collection, there is around 500 laptops (newer ones mostly, from 286-modern), 100 graphic cards (ISA, PCI, AGP, PCIe), 200 hard disks (MFM, IDE, SCSI, SATA), 400 CPUs, 30 monitors (both LCD and CRT), and on, and on,......
50m2 is full, brom bottom to the top, so i started to "redisign" my attic only for this purpose. My wife, of course, sleeps with a knife, and waiting for me to sleep, but i didn't slept for a long time 😀

My girlfriend tolerates my collection as long,as I am getting new PCs & parts for free(saving from scrapping or gifts),or by exchange trade,but when I buy something for money,she gets angry & her anger is adequate to the amount,I used for my hobby(whatever hobby).
BTW isn't bedroom the most dangerous place for storing the PC collection?
& I also have many of them there...

Heheheh, no it's not stored in the bedroom (not yet), i have 2 rooms full of my stuff, so there's the problem. Anger adequate to the amount??? I didn't think about that also! Maybe this is the main reason of her anger??? Not the lack of space for her things 😀

Depends on the overall budget dependencies.
We r both sick,but her sickness is insufficient to get pension,thus we have 1 income for 3 persons(the 3rd is the Cat,who 1ce caused 1 of my best monitors to fall & brake,thus probably it also was a protest?),& thus when I buy some HW,she gets angry immediately,when it arrives &/or when the account is empty,the 1st question of her interrogation is:"How expensive it was?",the 2nd question is:"Will it somehow serve me too?",I can lie for the 1st question to temporarily reduce her anger,but the main effect of any transaction comes @ the end of the fiscal month,because if the account is empty for 1 week,she is angry for 1 week,if the account is empty for 2 weeks,she is angry for 2 weeks,quite a difference...
But sometimes she is angry & I am innocent,because sometimes she is able to empty the account herself,but her 1st mind then is,I sure bought some HW & if I didn't,I must open transaction records on the account & show her & then she is really surprised,this time that was not my fault,that the account is empty...
& sometimes she orders an audit,when she has a suspicion,I might be over my half or too close to it...
The main trouble,if U have this hobby & a partner @ 1ce,is,Your partner(unless sharing the hobby) will always see all Your money invested into Your hobby as those money,she/he/ze cannot invest into her/zer/his hobby,so she/he/ze sees Your hobby as a concurrence to Your hobby.
Probably the only solution is to think ahead,when U r dating & chose a partner,who shares Your hobby,which is almost impossible & now we would fall into a pit of analyzing,y there r so few Women with this hobby & even fewer of them with compatible orientation...
So maybe only those very welthy of us may live in peace,as when U will give 100000$ monthly to Your partner,then she/he/ze will sure lovely tolerate Your (whatever) hobby.

I have nowhere to work on or even store my schnitzel. So I take control of every closet in the house. Also parts of the garage, various corners of rooms. Bedroom is crammed with crappola.

I haven't spent any money on computers in a long time. Solely musical instrumentation. Now I just need to make a note with it ...

But my Intel boxen is coming. IT'S COMING. I have to make room. Somewhere ... somehow ...

Sabina_16bit. wrote on 2025-03-13, 11:11:

Depends on the overall budget dependencies. We r both sick,but her sickness is insufficient to get pension,thus we have 1 incom […]
Show full quote

butjer1010 wrote on 2025-03-13, 06:40:

Sabina_16bit. wrote on 2025-03-12, 20:57:

My girlfriend tolerates my collection as long,as I am getting new PCs & parts for free(saving from scrapping or gifts),or by exchange trade,but when I buy something for money,she gets angry & her anger is adequate to the amount,I used for my hobby(whatever hobby).
BTW isn't bedroom the most dangerous place for storing the PC collection?
& I also have many of them there...

Heheheh, no it's not stored in the bedroom (not yet), i have 2 rooms full of my stuff, so there's the problem. Anger adequate to the amount??? I didn't think about that also! Maybe this is the main reason of her anger??? Not the lack of space for her things 😀

Depends on the overall budget dependencies.
We r both sick,but her sickness is insufficient to get pension,thus we have 1 income for 3 persons(the 3rd is the Cat,who 1ce caused 1 of my best monitors to fall & brake,thus probably it also was a protest?),& thus when I buy some HW,she gets angry immediately,when it arrives &/or when the account is empty,the 1st question of her interrogation is:"How expensive it was?",the 2nd question is:"Will it somehow serve me too?",I can lie for the 1st question to temporarily reduce her anger,but the main effect of any transaction comes @ the end of the fiscal month,because if the account is empty for 1 week,she is angry for 1 week,if the account is empty for 2 weeks,she is angry for 2 weeks,quite a difference...
But sometimes she is angry & I am innocent,because sometimes she is able to empty the account herself,but her 1st mind then is,I sure bought some HW & if I didn't,I must open transaction records on the account & show her & then she is really surprised,this time that was not my fault,that the account is empty...
& sometimes she orders an audit,when she has a suspicion,I might be over my half or too close to it...
The main trouble,if U have this hobby & a partner @ 1ce,is,Your partner(unless sharing the hobby) will always see all Your money invested into Your hobby as those money,she/he/ze cannot invest into her/zer/his hobby,so she/he/ze sees Your hobby as a concurrence to Your hobby.
Probably the only solution is to think ahead,when U r dating & chose a partner,who shares Your hobby,which is almost impossible & now we would fall into a pit of analyzing,y there r so few Women with this hobby & even fewer of them with compatible orientation...
So maybe only those very welthy of us may live in peace,as when U will give 100000$ monthly to Your partner,then she/he/ze will sure lovely tolerate Your (whatever) hobby.

Ahahahahahahha, You got me laugh decently!!! All You wrote here is true, period. But i have found a way to calm her even when the account is empty 😀 We have 2 children, daughter 20, and son 18 years old. I convinced her that those computers and parts will be more expensive over time (probably will be), and that this is the "heritage" i will left to my kids when i'll be gone 😀 Sometimes that story can calm her, but when she sees my rooms, we can start again 😀 Even if had to risk my life, i will never stop to collect old hardware, because this is like gambling - You cannot stop 'till You winning! And every new purchase seems like winning 😀 As a matter of fact, in time of writing this, i just bought CT1750 with all new capacitors 😀