VOGONS


Retro Hardware Collecting rants

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Reply 740 of 934, by cyclone3d

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darry wrote on 2020-09-14, 04:30:
bestemor wrote on 2020-09-14, 04:16:
Now, HERE's the card you all secretly want ! 😆 https://www.ebay.com/itm/VINTAGE-RARE-Geforce … ED/292675932134 […]
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Now, HERE's the card you all secretly want ! 😆
https://www.ebay.com/itm/VINTAGE-RARE-Geforce … ED/292675932134

..and if that leaves a bad taste in your wallet... (and if you can wait a couple of months for it to pass customs) -
This thing should be quite ok, albeit not in the FX5900 range:
https://www.ebay.com/itm/NVIDIA-GEFORCE-FX-52 … GA/293632387076
(14 euros shipped to the US...!)

🤣

With hindsight, it is still impressive to see how badly both extremes of the Geforce FX range managed to suck (or more accurately blow, in the case of the FX 5800) for different reasons .

I've got a BFG FX5950 Ultra that had dead fans wh n I got it. Put a nice Zalman VF1000 cooler on it and it works like a champ. Back of the card barely even gets warm with the better cooler on it. Got it for really cheap as well.

Only reason the FX5800 Ultra is so stupidly expensive is because most of them are already dead.

Yamaha modified setupds and drivers
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Reply 741 of 934, by Tetrium

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bestemor wrote on 2020-09-13, 19:09:

Heh, talking about 'mislabeled' Radeons.... I saw a someone earlier this year presumably selling a boxed Radeon 9250 with some stuff inside, but only showing pictures of the (original) box etc, and then the card itself lying inside in a very obscuring metallic antitstatic bag.
Now, having been duped 1 time too many by misleading photos on this local 'Craigslist' version, I asked for clear pictures of the naked card itself, which he provided with no problem. And, my suspicions were confirmed - it was NOT a Radeon, but a.......... ..................................................... Geforce3...😂🤔 !

Granted, it was only the lowly Ti-200, but still.... So I ended up buying it for 5 euros + shipping....

A year or 2 ago I was in a thrift store where they still had some parts for sale. One object that grabbed my interest was a boxed sound card (can't remember exactly, but I remember that I really wanted that specific sound card when I saw it) and on the box it said something along the lines of "Tested working", but they had it closed off with some tape. Immediately after having bought it, I opened it up only to find...a NIC -_-
And it was tested they said 🤣
Anyway, I got my money back for it since it didn't even contain the card that was advertised. And how they managed to test this 'sound card' as working, it was probably a case of people not caring or of blunt ignorance. It happens.

Whats missing in your collections?
My retro rigs (old topic)
Interesting Vogons threads (links to Vogonswiki)
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Reply 742 of 934, by Tetrium

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cyclone3d wrote on 2020-09-14, 04:56:
darry wrote on 2020-09-14, 04:30:
bestemor wrote on 2020-09-14, 04:16:
Now, HERE's the card you all secretly want ! 😆 https://www.ebay.com/itm/VINTAGE-RARE-Geforce … ED/292675932134 […]
Show full quote

Now, HERE's the card you all secretly want ! 😆
https://www.ebay.com/itm/VINTAGE-RARE-Geforce … ED/292675932134

..and if that leaves a bad taste in your wallet... (and if you can wait a couple of months for it to pass customs) -
This thing should be quite ok, albeit not in the FX5900 range:
https://www.ebay.com/itm/NVIDIA-GEFORCE-FX-52 … GA/293632387076
(14 euros shipped to the US...!)

🤣

With hindsight, it is still impressive to see how badly both extremes of the Geforce FX range managed to suck (or more accurately blow, in the case of the FX 5800) for different reasons .

I've got a BFG FX5950 Ultra that had dead fans wh n I got it. Put a nice Zalman VF1000 cooler on it and it works like a champ. Back of the card barely even gets warm with the better cooler on it. Got it for really cheap as well.

Only reason the FX5800 Ultra is so stupidly expensive is because most of them are already dead.

And because of its somewhat legendary status of loud leafblower (which was even made fun of by NVidia themselves) and the fact that that card wasn't produced in as great numbers as many top-of-the-line cards would usually be mostly due to the issues it had.

Whats missing in your collections?
My retro rigs (old topic)
Interesting Vogons threads (links to Vogonswiki)
Report spammers here!

Reply 743 of 934, by appiah4

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I have an FX5800Ultra that was functional last I checked and to be honest I would never ever use it. I would easily trade it up for something more useful to me given the chance.

Retronautics: A digital gallery of my retro computers, hardware and projects.

Reply 744 of 934, by kolderman

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appiah4 wrote on 2020-09-14, 12:14:

I have an FX5800Ultra that was functional last I checked and to be honest I would never ever use it. I would easily trade it up for something more useful to me given the chance.

You realize you could "trade it up" for a rtx3090?

Reply 745 of 934, by cyclone3d

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kolderman wrote on 2020-09-14, 18:32:
appiah4 wrote on 2020-09-14, 12:14:

I have an FX5800Ultra that was functional last I checked and to be honest I would never ever use it. I would easily trade it up for something more useful to me given the chance.

You realize you could "trade it up" for a rtx3090?

This was my thought as well.

Yamaha modified setupds and drivers
Yamaha XG repository
YMF7x4 Guide
Aopen AW744L II SB-LINK

Reply 746 of 934, by MMaximus

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I've been watching the pricing trends on ebay, and it seems to me that people have gone a bit crazy lately - since the pandemic began the prices of some items appear to have skyrocketed 🤯

Some examples from my watch list:

1120 euros for a MPU-401AT+ SCB-55 combo
466 GBP for a PS/2 model 30
349 euros for a badly yellowed CM-32L, no box
349 euros for Maniac Mansion PC version
411 GBP for Wolfenstein 3D PC version
320 euros for a MPU-IPC-T, no box (I bought a boxed one on ebay for 25 euros in 2014 and sold it for 99 euros a year later 🤦)

Hard Disk Sounds

Reply 747 of 934, by imi

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there was a SCC-1 on the local classifieds last year for €100-something I think... I was like, nah that's kind of expensive... it was there for a few weeks before it was gone, shortly after I saw one sell on ebay for €300 and was like... hmm maybe I should have gotten it, but then again I don't like paying excessive amounts for single items.

then a few weeks ago I saw one sell on ebay for €1000+... if it actually sold for that much, who knows, but I've seen others sell for €500+ in between, it's madness.

Reply 748 of 934, by cyclone3d

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This makes me think I might want to think about selling off some of my stuff...

I wonder how much an LAPC-I with MCB-1 would sell for...

I am going to be selling some of my stuff that I have multiples of. Have way too much stuff.

Yamaha modified setupds and drivers
Yamaha XG repository
YMF7x4 Guide
Aopen AW744L II SB-LINK

Reply 749 of 934, by darry

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MMaximus wrote on 2020-09-18, 20:59:
I've been watching the pricing trends on ebay, and it seems to me that people have gone a bit crazy lately - since the pandemic […]
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I've been watching the pricing trends on ebay, and it seems to me that people have gone a bit crazy lately - since the pandemic began the prices of some items appear to have skyrocketed 🤯

Some examples from my watch list:

1120 euros for a MPU-401AT+ SCB-55 combo
466 GBP for a PS/2 model 30
349 euros for a badly yellowed CM-32L, no box
349 euros for Maniac Mansion PC version
411 GBP for Wolfenstein 3D PC version
320 euros for a MPU-IPC-T, no box (I bought a boxed one on ebay for 25 euros in 2014 and sold it for 99 euros a year later 🤦)

A lot of the cool audio stuff from the 80s/90s, including examples listed here, has reached price points that are out of reach of most middle class people in first world countries, myself included . I consider myself extremely lucky to already have almost all the retro stuff that I need/want .

I empathize with anybody who just wants to start out in the hobby . His/her options are much more limited than they would have been 5-6 years ago, unless money is no object .

That said, with patience and local/online prospecting, it is still possible to find some neat stuff . At least there is the thrill of the hunt .

Emulation and FPGA recreations will likely be the only reasonable options for many hobbyists in a few years .

Reply 750 of 934, by SodaSuccubus

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darry wrote on 2020-09-18, 21:24:
MMaximus wrote on 2020-09-18, 20:59:
I've been watching the pricing trends on ebay, and it seems to me that people have gone a bit crazy lately - since the pandemic […]
Show full quote

I've been watching the pricing trends on ebay, and it seems to me that people have gone a bit crazy lately - since the pandemic began the prices of some items appear to have skyrocketed 🤯

Some examples from my watch list:

1120 euros for a MPU-401AT+ SCB-55 combo
466 GBP for a PS/2 model 30
349 euros for a badly yellowed CM-32L, no box
349 euros for Maniac Mansion PC version
411 GBP for Wolfenstein 3D PC version
320 euros for a MPU-IPC-T, no box (I bought a boxed one on ebay for 25 euros in 2014 and sold it for 99 euros a year later 🤦)

A lot of the cool audio stuff from the 80s/90s, including examples listed here, has reached price points that are out of reach of most middle class people in first world countries, myself included . I consider myself extremely lucky to already have almost all the retro stuff that I need/want .

I empathize with anybody who just wants to start out in the hobby . His/her options are much more limited than they would have been 5-6 years ago, unless money is no object .

This is exactly what's been slowly plaguing the vintage game console market for years now, worse then the vintage PC market. I don't know if it bad as audio equipment yet, but it's getting worse and worse by the year. Especially with individual game costs reaching modern AAA titles, even for common stuff.

Honestly tho, I woulda thought prices should have come down with people trying to quicksell their collections to help pay bills or whatever. Surprised it's seemingly the opposite.

That being said, I have had a few sellers on eBay send a "thank you for keeping me afloat" message after they ship the component.

What a weird time, we are in.

Reply 751 of 934, by konc

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MMaximus wrote on 2020-09-18, 20:59:

320 euros for a MPU-IPC-T, no box (I bought a boxed one on ebay for 25 euros in 2014 and sold it for 99 euros a year later 🤦)

And then the guy who bought it for 99 also sold it for x4 and there you have the 400 euros 😉

Reply 753 of 934, by schmatzler

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I bought a GTX8800 on eBay, because it had a massive aftermarket cooler (Arctic Cooling Accelero Xtreme) that keeps the card cool and is also supposed to be attached WITH THERMAL PADS for the VRAM chips.

The previous idiot owner did not attach the thermal pads. So of course, the VRAM chips have started to desolder themselves off the board.
I was able to reflow the chips with my hotair station and get the card working again, but I'll send it back regardless, since the price (50€) was way too high for a risky card like this.

People are stupid dumbasses. These cards are prone to fail with stock coolers. If you go out of your way and buy an expensive aftermarket cooler to extend the lifetime, why don't you assemble it properly? And why the hell is no one testing a simple PCI Express GPU before they ship it? There's no excuse for this, an 8800 can be tested in a modern system.

Sometimes eBay is annoying the crap out of me. The Dual VSTA 775 I received last week reeks of tobacco. Of course that wasn't mentioned, why would it be...

Got a GTX560 Ti for almost half the price now, let's see if I'll also find a dead spider and her babies inside of that one...

"Windows 98's natural state is locked up"

Reply 754 of 934, by Miphee

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Someone already mentioned the reason for the price increase.. it's you! And by that I mean most of us.
The price goes up if there are people who are willing to pay it.

Offer A: $20
Offer B: $50
Offer C: $400

What should the seller think? Should he sell his next similar item for $30? No. He'll sell it for $500 or at least try it.
If people had more self-control this would never happen. But they want that item, they want it for $400, and they'll buy it for $1000 too.
Why? They want the item NOW. They don't want to wait for a cheaper option, they want that item even if they have to get into a bidding war to get it.
They can't wait to show off their new acquisitions here.
Impatience, greed and vanity, the three major price increasing factors.

Reply 755 of 934, by badmojo

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Miphee wrote on 2020-09-19, 10:07:

Impatience, greed and vanity, the three major price increasing factors.

Lolz yep, you've got it all figured out. So what's the solution genius? Let me guess - everyone needs to be sensible and awesome like you and only pay the amounts that you deem reasonable? That'll totes work.

Life? Don't talk to me about life.

Reply 756 of 934, by Doornkaat

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Miphee wrote on 2020-09-19, 10:07:
If people had more self-control this would never happen. But they want that item, they want it for $400, and they'll buy it for […]
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If people had more self-control this would never happen. But they want that item, they want it for $400, and they'll buy it for $1000 too.
Why? They want the item NOW. They don't want to wait for a cheaper option, they want that item even if they have to get into a bidding war to get it.
They can't wait to show off their new acquisitions here.
Impatience, greed and vanity, the three major price increasing factors.

Why are you hating, dude?
I mean, I'm not paying crazy prices either. I can't even afford to and if I could I would probably still not do it because I don't value those things that much.
Instead I spend a lot of time browsing/watching various sources for retro parts and try to be the first buyer. I actually kind of enjoy this 'hunt'. And I definitely spend too much time with it. 😁
But if there's somebody with more money and less time than me why hate him for using the resource that's better avaliable to him to achieve the same goal?

I've never heard anyone say that people who aren't willing to spend lots of money on old hardware and would rather wait (and maybe even risk never getting a certain piece) don't really appreciate it and were somehow in the wrong.
So why would somebody be wrong for appreciating this stuff enough to pay a lot of money for it?

Reply 757 of 934, by Miphee

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badmojo wrote on 2020-09-19, 11:57:
Miphee wrote on 2020-09-19, 10:07:

Impatience, greed and vanity, the three major price increasing factors.

Lolz yep, you've got it all figured out. So what's the solution genius? Let me guess - everyone needs to be sensible and awesome like you and only pay the amounts that you deem reasonable? That'll totes work.

Solution? People would have to understand and acknowledge the problem first and it won't happen anytime soon. Not with such whiny butthurt attitude.

Reply 758 of 934, by Miphee

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Doornkaat wrote on 2020-09-19, 13:05:

So why would somebody be wrong for appreciating this stuff enough to pay a lot of money for it?

Because that caused the price increase. It may be good for the top 1% of the buyers with no money problems but bad for the rest.
No point in denying that dumping serious cash into the hobby will cause it to become expensive. It already happened.
As soon as resellers appear on the market it's inevitable. Who attracts them? People who are willing to pay anything to get their hardware immediately.
When was this hobby cheap? When people were happy with the parts they got, traded with each other, sold their items for a fair price on a small forum and expected fair prices in return.
It required patience and that killed it's cheapness because people now want to build a new system every week.
Explainig that to people is pointless because they are not willing to wait for anything and get butthurt when they are called out on it. It won't fit in their "live fast" lifestyle of consumerism.

Reply 759 of 934, by imi

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you realize the people you're trying to talk to are not in this forum? ^^

yeah there may be a few "rich" people here that can afford stuff at prices that most of us can't, but they usually are after unicorns that are expensive anyways, and I for one am happy they share it with us at least.

as I said a few times already, I have kind of a hard limit on what I spend on a single item, no matter if it would be worth it or not, hence why I didn't buy the SCC1 in the first place, even though it would have been "relatively cheap" or why I still don't have a V5 ^^... I bought all my midi modules for €50 or less for example, even the MT-32 that sometimes sells for €300 now, it's not just patience though, it's also a lot of work actually looking for stuff and being there when the chance arises.
And yes, while I may not be rich, I consider myself lucky that I can just spend €50 here and there for a hobby that a lot of people probably can't even so I don't take myself out of that concept, and yes I may pay a little more than some people may be able to afford sometimes (well I don't see how I would be winning ebay auctions otherwise x3), but like I said, there's a limit to everything.