Is collecting vintage computers a good idea? I have a spare room and want to turn it into something like this...

The old interfaces look kinda cool. Some have usability solutions that ware pretty good and arent used anymore.

turn your spare room into a gym instead, jesus

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Zoomers then. Basically if you're not feeling the nostalgia for old computers then you'll probably only get about 5 minutes of enjoyment out of them.

I've been there with buying old computers to emulate Gen Xers I've seen on YouTube who review old technology, it just wasn't as fun for me as it obviously was for them to revisit these machines.

That being said, I am considering building a Windows 9x pc as I do feel nostalgia for that era of computing.

You need basic electronic repair skills and a moderate understanding of computers to enjoy this hobby. Things WILL break and it made me feel guilty that these 30+ year old machines broke under my watch.

Yeah. Grab an SGI Octane and a DEC Alpha workstation or HP Integrity box to run OpenVMS. SGIs had the best GUI and the most solid graphics hardware for their time, and IRIX is a really great Unix system with cool shit like XFS and some audio/video stuff. OpenVMS was built for security and stability and while it's not Unix it's still fun. I look forward to the x86-64 port, as OpenVMS is still activity developed. I just don't want hot and loud IA64 servers running when I want to play with it. It's also free for non-commercial use, available through a hobbyist program.

Zoomer here. The reason I don't enjoy DOS isn't nostalgia related. It's technologically unimpressive. There's nothing interesting or fun that you can do with it. It just sucks ass. It's your average boomer if they were turned into software.

It's usually the power supply units and internal clock batteries that die in these machines. Sometimes hard drives. These are mostly modular and easy to replace. I was even able to find a brand new clock battery for my SGI Fuel last year by looking up the part number on Amazon. And you can recap power supply units. Yes it's dangerous. Don't be a pussy.

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Perfectly valid points for a lot of people, but that’s all pretty subjective. I definitely have some more nostalgic interests but my favorite systems that I enjoy working with the most are mostly workstations, minicomputers and simple early computers and PDAs far before my time that I never even knew existed before I started getting into old tech. In the end I like them because they feel more professional, machine-like and information-focused rather than merely nostalgic, though I’ve got a lot of those kinds of examples as well, mostly stuff from the early-mid 2000s I used to lust after as a kid/teenager. Emulation also doesn’t do much for me personally, because I’m far more interested in the hardware and historical context than just running some old software, for the same reason I don’t care much about the space, either. In fact, I prefer big and powerful machines.

Reliability really depends on where you live and where the machine came from, I don’t deal with hardware failures very often in a dry desert climate. Software’s easier to get than it used to be but definitely can be a little challenging with some systems, but depending on who you ask that’s part of the fun. I also get shit pretty cheap from a number of local sources and usually only go online for specific parts and systems I really, really want and have not been able to find.

I think I’d agree with you that it’s not much of a thing you should get into if all you want to do is take pretty pictures for battlestation threads, but if you’re serious about it it’s quite fun and you can learn (and appreciate) a lot from it. I don’t think I’d have the knowledge I do without this, modern technology is just plain boring.

Even if you’re nostalgic you’re not going to get much out of them if that’s all that attracts you, honestly. I work with old technology because it’s fascinating as fuck, and trying to make them practical again is a great opportunity to learn and try new things.

commodore is boring /vr/ basedboy shit, needs more Suns and RS6Ks

have someone ever told you that you were a sad piece of shit?
if not, consider it done

seethe harder hipster

>commodore is boring /vr/ basedboy shit
No, that’s MSX. Commodore at least has GEOS and aftermarket WiFi modules to screw around with.

it’s still just a gaming console pretending to be a real computer no matter how much time and money you waste on expensive mods and accessories

Bulk buy a tonne of valves and recreate colossus in the entire room

faggot i was 12 when i got my amiga. if there's a hipster here, that's you

No, at least for me, i wont ever collect something just for the sake of watching it gather dust, if i want to be a collector of something i have to give it a use.
For me are just mechanical keyboards

>it’s still just a gaming console pretending to be a real computer no matter how much time and money you waste on expensive mods and accessories
The 8-bits were low-spec enterprise computers that held up fine for people who needed productivity functionality on a budget. If you’re leveling that charge at the Amiga line, you’re ignorant or trolling since it was a powerhouse for multimedia work that didn’t have its capabilities fully matched for years after its obsolescence.

>8-bit
>enterprise
/vr/ is so fucking cringe sometimes

>but muh childhood...
so you’re a plebeian nostalgia faggot?

Mexicans do that already, it works

>Is collecting vintage computers a good idea? I have a spare room and want to turn it into something like this. Fucking vintage computer ebay prices are insane though.
No, and this is coming from someone who did it for some time. It's a waste of space, is expensive, and you can use the money for something better. I mean, they're interesting, but they're just curiosities at this point. There's not much use for them, since you can emulate just about everything now.

The people who designed and mass produced these machines did not give a fuck about them lasting beyond the next year's release. They are outdated tools.

One of my distant relatives owns an antique shop, and about 6 years ago she started picking up old electronics and computer components. She even brought on a partner who had a solid electronics repair background, and now there's enough demand now for such things that vintage computer and electronic sales and repair takes up 45% of her monthly profits, and is expected to hit 50% in just a few months.

We’re talking about actually old computers, not last year’s MacBook.

They obviously weren’t actually that interesting to you if an emulator fully replaces them.

Collecting some vintage is great. Look through Craigslist instead of ebay. The thing is you dont want what is in pic. It is a waste of space and too much crap. You want just enough as a conversation piece, something small in a corner, another on a wall shelf, etc.. Already spending max $ on it doesnt make sense either from a collecting standpoint. Put more effort into hunting items on the cheap or even free.

Spending money on something nice is okay if it’s actually something worth it that would otherwise take a long time to find locally, cheaply or in good condition. A lot of my better SysV Unix examples were eBayed after years of putting up with beat up $5 entry-level shitboxes.

What is the point of collecting obsolete garbage? Why do americans do this? Is it because your houses are huge and you don't give a fuck about rationally using the space you have?

Why do Europeans try to brag about being boring nihilistic pieces of shit?

I am not bragging. I am genuinely curious about why Americans seem to have this "collector" mindset and end up hoarding useless garbage.

No, you’re crying out for attention with inflammatory whining because you obviously have no personality or other means of actually earning it.

You are useless garbage.

I mean I suppose that my interest has definitely died, but for me the biggest issue is software. You either spend a ton of money on original software, jump through hoops to actually burn it to the appropriate medium after finding it online, or you get some sort of expansion card that allows you to use modern storage that has a bunch of quirks that need smoothing out. OP should get one or two pieces (3 at max) and actually see if he's willing to dedicate himself to this before dedicating an entire room to it.
If your personality is buying shit then you don't have a personality lmao, but go off.

what type/kind of computer are the two at the bottom left?

American culture strongly encourages the adoption of special snowflake behavior, but only through consumption. Citizens feel empty and powerless, but doing anything constructive will get them thrown in jail.

Goodwill is the jewiest business I've ever seen.

>here's this free book
ok thanks

Mhmm, it appears to be selling for $60 online, it's sort of rare. I'll list it for $60

It looks like it's now selling for $200
>relists for $200
>$200 profit on something that was DONATED to them

>If your personality is buying shit then you don't have a personality lmao
I completely agree. Hence why the person throwing a tantrum over perceived wrongs in someone else’s consumption habits is also quite lacking in that department.

Can’t relate, but I tend to avoid machines that don’t have sane storage/data transfer options for reasons like that. Home computers especially never did it for me.

Good recommendation too. Start small with a handful of good examples, if you like it then grow the collection as you need. Retro rooms are kind of tacky, I keep most of my shit in an outbuilding and just rotate four or so machines around depending on what I want to use.

>There's nothing interesting or fun that you can do with it.
DOS has a massive game library, which is why so many people tend to go for DOS computers over say, UNIX boxes. There are more people getting into the hobby who want retro games over something they have to write code for.

Recycling centers are much better places to scout, the same goes with eBay at times and thrift stores that don't have Goodwill in the name.

There's a lot of systems with nonexistent or poor emulation such as HP Integrity, DEC Alpha, or any HP 9000 series computer. MAME's gotten better with emulating obscure UNIX workstations though, it can now boot IRIX slowly.

won't the water rot?

How can water rot lmao

@70954055
You know exactly what you're doing, faggot. Perhaps I should never have gone back to cuckchan, but that's no excuse for the shithole this has become.

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>old stuff feel more ....eeerm... elegant and ....ahhh... professional, new stuff are just bland
Admit it, you're just a nostalgiafag. Nothing wrong with that, but don't delude yourself.

well it wont decompose but unless it's distilled it will end up full of dead bacteria and likely taste quite putrid

Admit it, you're just a shitter who's mad at people liking things, for some reason. Commodore was cool and memorable for its unique sound chip. Seriously, no two SID chips are the same. Modern PCs are great, but they arent unique.

Would an old viewsonic 19 inch CRT A90 whatever be worth some cash? I need some drug money for my whore.

It will be better than the water after some scenario is cooking up in that requires water rations. All you need to do is boil it or even distill it.

I was not alive and/or conscious enough to experience a good 75% of the shit I own, while most of the other 25% was far out of my parents' budget and useless to me at that time anyway. You sound like you're just projecting.

I'll totally admit I keep a few systems around solely for nostalgic reasons, but those are mostly 2000s era PDAs and 2005-2008 era desktops/laptops from when I was just starting to actually become interested in computers. It's so fun snagging flagship configurations of dream machines your parents gawked at ten years ago for just about nothing.

No point, unless you intend to open a techonology museum - you gotta realize there is no profit in this

what kind of waste of oxygen goes into a hobby just for profit

>A lot of capacitors from this era are dying now
>now
thats an odd way to spell 2005.

About the only ones that still work are the good ones or ones that have been replaced.

I still pick up 68k Macs with dogshit caps that haven't died yet somehow. Of course they'll always decide to go two days after they come into my possession...

If you have to ask, no.
The only retro shit worth anything are some actually rare hardware and things that are uncommon but needed for retro gaming.

They were probably dead before you got them. the electrolyte evaperated off just enough so that when they are cold they will work somewhat in spec but the second they heat up they nolonger work. Thats why it works when you get it and its still cold but then when you start fucking wth it and warm them up they will do you just they did the previous owner.

Never knew this could happen, but it makes a few of the weird hardware fuckups I've had over the years make a sudden lot of sense.

If you think prices are high now, just wait twenty years...

>current zoomer technology
there's absolutely nothing worth saving, nothing unique at all.. zoomers will be remembered as the lost generation, where all the tech had no historical significance and the culture completely cancerous and forgettable.
>/vr/ basedboy shit,
fuck off, iTODDLER. your macs and sun workstations are fucking worthless and completely forgettable too.
>it’s still just a gaming console
> best selling computer of all time
> computer
> is a gaming console
> cringe
AHAHAHA STAY MAD, iTODDLER!

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also watch out for capacitors near heatsinks.

Why not just dig a fucking well? Jesus christ none of this has been technology for centuries.

>fuck off, iTODDLER. your macs and sun workstations are fucking worthless and completely forgettable too.
Caution! Internet Tough Guy in thread.
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