23-09-2015, 12:41 PM
I must admit that the satisfaction of keeping old gear alive spreads over into the computers I use, but it can be tricky to decide where to draw the line. Computers can be essential tools at one end of the spectrum, or fun curiosities at the other end. Even more extreme, there will always be those for whom computing is a hobby, and as such they can justify the cost of constant upgrades and tweaks - for them, that is the essence of their hobby. I've always been a bit too mean to be part of that crowd, although in years gone by I did keep a very careful eye on current trends in PC hardware. I was always comfortably behind the leading edge though. My main machines tended to be a generation behind the start of the art - i.e. I ran 486 machines when Pentium was current, and didn't get a Pentium II system until the Pentium III was what everyone else brought. I did buy a P4 system in 2004 when P4 was current but mature, but that was an unusual occurrence.
As of about 2 years ago, I've ditched most of my P4 systems. I have one that runs W98 for a handful of old electronics-related software that requires direct access to hardware, so won't work under NT-based systems, or in any kind of VM environment. The others are dual-core machines of various types - all much faster than P4 systems, but consume less than half the power, and were very cheap to get hold of. You need to have at least one machine that is modern (ish) and dependable, but nothing wrong with a collection of older gear... I amused myself by installing W2000 a few months back, just because I could
The move from P4 systems has meant that I've had to move from IDE to SATA. The divide isn't absolute - later P4 motherboards had SATA - but none of mine do. I must say that I don't miss the awkward ribbon cables, although I did get a perverse pleasure from doing "cable management" in the old days.
So I'm perhaps only slightly ahead of you, Joe. Still a long way off splashing out on an SSD
I still have a P1 in the attic, and needed to use it last year (amazingly it worked, but the drive was a bit reluctant to spin up at first). Sometimes, you need to test or use a legacy bit of hardware - in my case it was an IEEE card that I'd bought to control some HP gear. This was an ISA job. I've since found a PCI version, but it won't fit my workshop PC unless I can find the riser module somewhere (it's a SFF HP), so a Plan B is forming there... I also have some older motherboards and stuff - who remembers VLB? What on earth am I going to do with that? There is a small BBC Micro collection, along with a bunch of 5.25" discs that always seem to work whenever I test them - must be about time to bring it down from the attic to impress the kids...
If anyone needs old computer hardware, try asking me - I have a lot of cards and RAM and CPUs. I see a lot of PCs heading to the skips, and while the whole things are usually past it, I salvage the easily removable stuff. I must have about 50 PCI network cards! And a lot obsolete RAM. I spent a while sorting it all out into boxes and drawers a while back to make it easier to give away - please, just ask!
As of about 2 years ago, I've ditched most of my P4 systems. I have one that runs W98 for a handful of old electronics-related software that requires direct access to hardware, so won't work under NT-based systems, or in any kind of VM environment. The others are dual-core machines of various types - all much faster than P4 systems, but consume less than half the power, and were very cheap to get hold of. You need to have at least one machine that is modern (ish) and dependable, but nothing wrong with a collection of older gear... I amused myself by installing W2000 a few months back, just because I could
The move from P4 systems has meant that I've had to move from IDE to SATA. The divide isn't absolute - later P4 motherboards had SATA - but none of mine do. I must say that I don't miss the awkward ribbon cables, although I did get a perverse pleasure from doing "cable management" in the old days.
So I'm perhaps only slightly ahead of you, Joe. Still a long way off splashing out on an SSD
I still have a P1 in the attic, and needed to use it last year (amazingly it worked, but the drive was a bit reluctant to spin up at first). Sometimes, you need to test or use a legacy bit of hardware - in my case it was an IEEE card that I'd bought to control some HP gear. This was an ISA job. I've since found a PCI version, but it won't fit my workshop PC unless I can find the riser module somewhere (it's a SFF HP), so a Plan B is forming there... I also have some older motherboards and stuff - who remembers VLB? What on earth am I going to do with that? There is a small BBC Micro collection, along with a bunch of 5.25" discs that always seem to work whenever I test them - must be about time to bring it down from the attic to impress the kids...
If anyone needs old computer hardware, try asking me - I have a lot of cards and RAM and CPUs. I see a lot of PCs heading to the skips, and while the whole things are usually past it, I salvage the easily removable stuff. I must have about 50 PCI network cards! And a lot obsolete RAM. I spent a while sorting it all out into boxes and drawers a while back to make it easier to give away - please, just ask!
