The following is a summary of the set of computers I still have and are in operational condition.
PART 0: Pre-1970s
There were many innovations in hardware components throughout the 1930s and 1940s. These were the essential parts that seeded the concept of “desk computing” that became recognized during the 1950s (like the Univac-422) — that is, a computer that was about the size of an entire desk. The 1960s saw advances in memory, magnetic data storage, and wider adoption of “software programming languages”: RPG, COBOL, FORTRAN, BASIC, APL. By 1968, conceptually a “personal computer” could be obtained for about $20,000 (or about the cost of a typical house at that time), but the components would be unreliable and need fairly constant maintenance. And there was very little standardization, such that each system was fairly custom in how it operated (such as keying in bootloaders to kickstart subsequent main processing). The PDP-8 remains one of the viable examples of such a system (here), many of which still function today (some are toured and presented at annual VCF events).
This was an era before my time, and so I don’t have any examples of these systems. There are PDP-8 emulators and modern replicas (that are much smaller, more energy efficient, and more reliable). But in general, any computer system from before 1972 is difficult to replicate, operate, repair, or otherwise obtain in working order.
PART 1: 1970-1980
The affordable desktop sized CRT was introduced in 1970 (with a “steerable beam” coordinated with a “character generator” that enable screens to replace printers), along with “floppy disks” as an alternative to 9-track tapes. Power supplies were also becoming more affordable, reliable, and compact. All that combined with the development of the microprocessor and a “computer liberation movement” (that broke down leasing policies of “big computers” and expanded broader usage of telephone communication networks) – collectively meant that the development of an “appliance computer” (or “home computer”) was inevitable within the 1970s.
| YEAR | PRODUCT | NOTES | IMAGE | GPU | OS | CPU | RAM HDD |
| 1975 | IBM 5100 | BASIC-only model, working QIC 300KB tape, 64-col 5″ CRT |  | BASIC | PALM | 16KB | |
| 1976 | POLY-88 | (similar to a SOL-20; S-100 bus based system) Fixed by Evan Jan. 2026 – TYVM! | 8080A (1.84MHz) | 16KB | |||
| 1978 | IBM 5110 | BASIC-only model, working QIC 300KB tape, IBM 5103 printer (Type-1) |  | BASIC | PALM | 64KB | |
| 1978 | IBM 5110 | BASIC-only (Type-2, no tape deck) | BASIC | PALM | 32KB | ||
| 1978 | Tandy TRS-80 (Model 1) | Fixed by Jake! (1/17/2026) | MS-BASIC | Z80 | 16KB | ||
| 1979 | NEC PC-8001 | Cassette cables, CRT, video cables. Built in ROM TERM. | N-BASIC | Z80 | 32KB | ||
| 1980 | Commodore PET 4016 | TFW8b SD2PET (also have TFW8b mini-PET) |  | MS-BASIC | 6502 | 32KB | |
| 1980 | Tandy Color Computer |  | MS-BASIC | 6809E | 16KB |
PART 2: 1981 – 1990
While “microcomputer” hardware was packaged into a consumer product by the end of 1977, it was still some time before software development tools and “reference manuals” were published and “consumed” by the public. The years 1978-1979 were a kind of “magic time” in the history of computer, where the role of software wasn’t quite yet understood. That is, the very idea of a patent or copyright on software hadn’t yet been established. So, a lot of software was traded in audio-tape, or sold at conferences in Ziploc bags, and produced by non-professionals who had a knack for programming (just by reading the growing number of published do-it-yourself type books). No one yet quite knew what these new microcomputers would even be used for (beyond simple gaming). But many saw what was coming: an entire new form of media had been introduced- a new way of story telling, along with new ways of storing your own personal data. Even in the early 1980s, there was often a question of “what is software?”
| YEAR | PRODUCT | NOTES | IMAGE | GPU | OS | CPU | RAM HDD |
| 1981 | IBM PC 5150 | This one is a later Model B version with 256KB instead of 64KB. But still 5-slot ISA, cassette support, and boot-up BASIC.. |  | MS-BASIC DR-DOS 3.41 2×5.25 360KB disk drives | 8088 @ 4.77 MHz 8087 Co-processor | 256KB/ 1MB | |
| 1982 | Commodore 64 | Epyx Fast Loader / SD2IEC / PS2 to 1351 | BASIC C64 OS | 6510 @ 1MHz | 64KB | ||
| 1983 | NEC PC-8001 mk II | More built in I/O than prior PC-8001 model. RS-232C port. | N-BASIC | Z80 | 64KB | ||
| 1983 | Sharp PC-5000 | 4x Bubble Memory cartridges, working printer (have 2nd backup also) |  | 640×80 pixel | MS-DOS 2.0 | 8088 | 192KB |
| 1993 | Tandy Model 100 | With DVI (5.25″ Disk/Video Interface and CCR-82 | MS-BASIC | 80C85 | 24KB | ||
| 1986 | Tandy Model 102 | 260×64 pixel | MS-BASIC | 80C85 | 32KB | ||
| 1986 | Tandy Color Computer 3 | STOCK (no mods) | BASIC | 6809E | 512KB | ||
| 1986 | Tandy Color Computer 3 | CoCoSDC, PSG, tape deck | BASIC NitrOS9 EOU | 6809E | 512KB/ 2MB | ||
| 1987 | Apply ][e Platinum | 2x disk drive, CP/M card, ImageWriter II printer | BASIC | 65C02 | 64KB | ||
| 1988 | Compaq SLT286 (two of these) | Laptop with B&W LCD, VGA out, PS/2 keyboard, CF-card to PATA adapter | MS-DOS 6.22 | 80286/ 80287 | 640KB 300MB Solid | ||
| 1989 | Atari Lynx | (handheld game system) | 65C02 | 64KB | |||
In the late 1980s, I did have a Tandy 1000SX (640KB, with dual 5.25″ 360KB drives and a 10MB “hard card” at 8MHz). It was a great system for the price during its time. One of my cousins has that system now, so I don’t list it here. But King’s Quest multi-voice audio blew us away. During this decade I only had one 80286 based system, which had been tossed out from an office (I don’t recall brand, but I do recall it having a “10MHz Turbo” button).
IBM PC 5150
– SLOT 1: XT-IDE CF card HDD emulator w/ 1MB RAM
– SLOT 2: Sound Blaster 2.0 (CT1350B)
– SLOT 3: NIC (Ethernet) (3COM Etherlink III 3C509B-TPO)
– SLOT 4: Video – 3x CGA cards (1804472, 1501982, 6278550) or 1x VGA (8-bit) card (Oak Technology)
– SLOT 5: Serial / Parallel Card (for mouse and SDLPT)
– IBM Type-F Keyboard
– 2x 360KB 5.25″ floppy drives (disabled but working)
– IBM disk drive controller (with 37-pin rear panel expansion for two more disk drives)
–
PART 3: 1991-2000
The 1980s was a lot of fun, to witness and experience never-before-seen concepts of gameplay. During that time, algorithms for data-compression was evolved to be applied to audio and video. Then, after the affordability of the 32-bit processor, finally the true capability of past minicomputers was brought down into the “home/office computer” market (that is, multi-user or multi-process systems). The 1990s was the growth of both “multimedia” and computer-networking.
I had various desktop 486 systems throughout the 1990s, all of them “custom built” using parts at computer hardware stores. But none of them were kept around, since I often had to sell an old system to justify the purchase of a newer one. I did have one Pentium 90MHz desktop system, but by the end of the 1990s I began to abandon Intel and used AMD K6 processors – they were just more affordable and equally compatible. But in my collection today, I’ve come back to that first generation of Pentium processors.
| YEAR | PRODUCT | NOTES | IMAGE | GPU | OS | CPU | RAM HDD |
| 1991 | Super NES | Ricoh 5A22 65(C)816 | 128KB | ||||
| 1992 | POSITIVE 386 (XIPHOD1) | FDD 5.25″ 1.22MB 3.5″ 1.44MB | Northgate Slimline 320 | ISA 16-bit VGA | MS-DOS 5.0 | 80386 (20MHz) | 2MB 2GB / 2GB CF (XT-IDE) |
| 1994 | Toshiba Satellite T1960CT | manual |  | MS-DOS 6.22 WFW 3.11 | 486DX2/50 | 12MB 512GB Solid | |
| 1996 | IBM ThinkPad 365XD Type 2625-1E9 | CD-ROM only (some screen damage) | WinNT | Pentium | 48MB | ||
| 1997 | IBM ThinkPad 385CD Type 2635 | 3.5″ Floppy + CD-ROM | OS/2 Warp 3 Connect | Pentium MMX (150MHz) | 48MB 2GB Solid | ||
| 1999 | Compaq Presario | 3.5″ Floppy + CD-ROM (non-upgradable hard drive) | Windows ME | Cyrix MMX (200MHz) | 256MB PC-100 2GB Mechanical | ||
| 2000 | Sony VAIO PCG-611A (aka PCG-R505TS) |  | WinXP Pro | Pentium III 844MHz | 256MB 80GB mSATA (to PATA) | ||
| 2000 | Gateway Solo 9300 | Composite Out, 15.9″ LCD Power Brick: Gateway SA70-3105 (19V) | Slacko Puppy 7.0 | Pentium III @ 600Mz | 268MB 32GB / 8GB | ||
| 2000 | Gateway Solo 9300 | Composite Out, 15″ LCD, Integrated NIC | Slacko Puppy 7.0 | Pentium III @ 500Mz | 268MB 120GB Solid | ||
NOTE: The 1990s wasn’t all about portable computing. Just for my collection, I’ve just kept or acquired mostly laptops since they are just more practical to store.
Toshiba Satellite T1960CT Accessories
– Toshiba PA2478U AC Adapter (18V)
– Toshiba Ballpoint Mouse (clip-on trackball)
– 8MB memory expansion (12MB total)
– 3.5″ Floppy, OPL3LPT (Adlib via Parallel Port)
Sony VAIO PCG-611A Accessories
– With docking station that has 3.5″ floppy and CD/DVD (and Serial/Parallel) PCGA-DSM5
– PCMCIA CD-ROM PCGA-CD51
– Sony PCGA-UMS1 (USB mouse)
– Sony 3.5″ Disk Drive (PCGA-UFD5)
– Sony 15.5V Power Brick PCGA-AC19V1
Features:
– Pro Duo Memory Stick onboard
– External VGA, 2x USB, Stereo Audio/Mic, 1394
– Ethernet, Modem
– 1x PCMCIA
NOTES: Battery still works. P and “[” key having issue. Right button on touchpad works but slightly misaligned.
After this point, is it still really vintage? That’s debatable. It was interesting to “witness” the turn of the century. That is, going from the 20th to 21st century. While there was an actual concern about “Y2K” and major computer glitches causing catastrophic issues- none of that happened. There was a “.com” crash, which is ironic how it was similar to “RailRoad crash” (of sorts) at the end of the 1800s. That is, there was so much excitement and speculation, everyone was gambling on who the next corporate winners would be (with a lot of fraud and cooked books going on, see the story of “CUC”).
For my own reference, I’m listing my “post 20th century” systems as well.
PART 4: 2001-2010
Right around 2001, I had begun a new job, and then 9/11 had happened. I was busy enough focused on work and my existing AMD K6-2 systems were adequate. I do recall my favorite game, still played over dial up, was Wulfram2 (aka earlier known as ShockForce2) developed by a guy named Slurpy. To me, it still remains one of the best designed multi-player real-time base building games, because on each team any member could pick up the Link and interact with the Airship chess aspect of the game that was happening at the same time in the sky (as those ships provided the supplies for the ground). While it may sound like Tribes2, the dynamics of any player being able to grab the Link and manage the team strategy (and it off to other players), plus the possibility of losing the Link if carelessly taking it with you into battle, it something I’ve yet to see replicated in modern gaming.
For my collection, I’ve acquired some early 2000’s samples of laptops. When the PS3 came out, I did try various “Linux” distributions on that. But it was a very hot and loud system. I didn’t get new desktop systems until around 2007, which is shortly after I got married and it so happened my wife also enjoyed games like Age of Empire 3, so it was time to upgrade. Fry’s Electronics was still open near us, or MicroCenter a little further away, or NewEgg had opened by then – so from any of those, ordering individual computer components made it easy to put together a system.
Dial up was “still a thing” in 2001, but the migration to DSL and cable modem was very much accelerating. Another home utility bill was born: the Internet bill, with varying performance speeds from $10 to $80/mo. Some fiber options did exist for certain areas at a higher cost. Home wireless home-computing did exist but was still too slow. USB and SD-card existed, but weren’t yet commonplace (since they weren’t very large capacity nor very reliable). CD-ROM’s were the main means of moving files around between systems.
| YEAR | PRODUCT | NOTES | IMAGE | GPU | OS | CPU | RAM HDD |
| 2003 | DELL Precision M60 | 15.4″ manual | NVIDIA QuadroFX Go 700 (128MB) | ArcaOS | Intel Pentium M (1.7GHz) (Centrino) | 1GB 128GB Solid | |
| 2003 | DELL Precision M60 | 15.4″, VGA-out, Serial / Parallel port. | NVIDIA QuadroFX Go 700 (128MB) | WinXP | Intel Pentium M (1.7GHz) (Centrino) | 1GB DDR 333MHz 80GB Mechanical | |
| 2007 | DELL Latitude D520 | System is 64-bit capable. VGA-out, Serial port, 1394 | Intel 945GM | Win10 Pro (32-bit) | Intel Core Duo (T2300) (1.6GHz, 2-core) | 4GB 80GB Mechanical | |
| 2007 | DELL Latitude D530 | 15″ | Intel Crestline (8MB) | Win10 Pro (64-bit) | Intel Core 2 Duo (T7250) (2.0 GHz, 2-core) | 4GB DDR2 80GB Mechanical | |
| 2007 | DELL Latitude D530 | Centrino | Intel Crestline (8MB) | Win10 Pro (64-bit) | Intel Core 2 Duo (T7250) (2.0 GHz, 2-core) | 4GB DDR2 120GB Solid | |
| 2007 | Shuttle XPS Custom Desktop | (SSD to 3.5″ SATA adapter) | XFX Radeon (VGA/HDMI/DVI) | ArcaOS | Pentium Dual Core | 4GB 1TB Solid | |
| 2007 | Custom Desktop | DVD, 3.5″ Floppy Disk | GT 1030 (2GB) Passive | Win10 Pro 64-bit | AMD Athlon X2 BE-2350 (2.10GHz, 2-core) | 8GB DDR2 1TB Mechanical | |
| 2008 | DELL vostro 1710 | Many USB, DVD, SD-card, WiFi, ExpressCard, VGA-out | NVIDIA GeForce 8600M GS (4GB) | Win10 Pro 64-bit | Intel Core 2 Duo @ 2.6 GHz (T9900) | 8GB DDR2 512GB Solid State | |
| 2008 | ASUS M50VM | DVD, WiFi, ExpressCard, VGA+HDMI out | NVIDIA GeForce 9600M GS (1GB) | Win10 Pro 64-bit | Intel Core 2 Duo @ 2.6 GHz (T9400) | 8GB DDR2 512GB Solid State | |
| 2008 | DELL Precision M6400 (laptop) | Integrated SD-card, WiFi, PCMCIA, 1394, ExpressCard, VGA+DisplayPort | NVIDIA Quadro FX 2700M (4GB) | Win10 Pro 64-bit | Intel Core 2 Extreme @ (2.5GHz, 4-core) | 8GB 256GB/256GB Solid | |
| 2009 | Toshiba Satellite U505-S2002 (laptop) | Integrated webcam, SD-card, WiFi, ExpressCard |  | Win7 Home 32-bit | Pentium T4400 @ (2.20 GHz, 2-core) | 8GB 1TB SATA Solid | |
Around 2006, I had an overclocked Pentium D at 4 GHz, as my first liquid cooled desktop setup (and also “lapped”, which was a process that never quite caught on). Later, I initially ignored and resisted the Apple Smartphone (iPhone) of 2007. It was still expensive then. But more than that, I foresaw a lot of the social issues it would bring (in terms of massive distractions, privacy concerns, and that amount of radiation near your skull). I had the “a phone should be used as a phone” mentality, as many others used their smartphone and quickly out of battery by the end of the day. But when the iPad came out in 2010, I did jump onboard those and bought them as gifts for my daughter and parents. I recall being at airports and strangers being interested about this new device and asking questions about them – which was a fun experience, almost like computers of the early 1980s again (as far as “public interest” and discussions about them).
Also around 2006, there was a general migration to 64-bit systems becoming more standard. The 32-bit systems were capped to 4GB system RAM. I was familiar with the 16-bit to 32-bit transition and saw within compilers how a standard “int” evolved accordingly. This made me realize to not assign hard definitions to software development terms, as they can morph across the context of the platform involved (e.g. word-size could vary). At the same time, “multi-core” was becoming far more popular. I had worked with multi-CPU systems as early as the mid-1990s (and Xeon servers today are still multi-CPU), but “multi-core” packed multiple register files and whole CPUs (and their individual cache) all into a single chip. The web-giants of Facebook and YouTube were also just getting started in the mid-2000’s. In 2006, Apple also migrated to x86 platform, a bold move that killed IBM PowerPC and fairly unified the industry on little-endian format.
Toshiba Satellite U505-S2002 Accessories
– Toshiba PA3743E-1AC3 AC Adapter Power Brick (19V)
– ExpressCard 3x USB3.0
– SD-card reader at front (and WiFi on/off switch)
PART 5: 2011-2020
By this time, I gain more appreciation for how the computer industry was maturing. Throughout the 1990s, I got a new computer system almost every year, since technology was changing so fast. Or, I had to reinstall Windows almost every month or at least every year. By the 2010’s, I noticed I was down to a new system about every two years, and I could go weeks and months without reinstalling the OS. Windows XP had been great, while Vista had indeed been a disaster, but largely redeemed by Windows 7. I had been fortunate to always get Professional edition of these operating system. I sometimes wonder if the sour opinion of Microsoft might be from users who only experienced the base Home editions?
Around 2014, I began learning about astronomy and using a PC to control tracking automatically throughout the night, and also post-image processing. Most users don’t have much data to process at home, so expensive computers are largely just for gaming. But photography now becomes a worthy data processing challenge, for both data storage and the actual processing. I now finally had a valid reason for paying attention to the efficiency of data transfer (like with USB3 and NVM data devices) and affording multi-core processors.
To me, around 2015 was a significant evolution in computing: NVM had won out over mSATA, become an affordable high speed and reliable data storage replacement to classical “mechanical drives.” Networks were fast enough for full remote desktop computing, virtual computing had become much more affordable (in the software that utilized Virtualization capabilities). The concept had been around for many years already, but really went mainstream for consumers after 2015.
| YEAR | PRODUCT | NOTES | IMAGE | GPU | OS | CPU | RAM HDD |
| 2012 | Apple MacBook Pro | 15″ | GT 650M (1GB) | macOS/Win10 dual boot | i7 2760QM (2.6GHz, 4-core) | 16GB DDR3 500GB Solid | |
| 2012 | Apple MacBook Pro | (backup, minor case damage) | GT 650M (1GB) | macOS/Win10 dual boot | i7 2760QM (2.6GHz, 4-core) | 16GB DDR3 500GB Solid | |
| 2013 | i7 Desktop | BLACKJACK | GTX 1060 (from 2016) | i7 (8-core) | |||
| 2013 | Razer Blade 14 (laptop) | BLACKBIRD | GTX 765M | Win10 | i7 (8-core) | 16GB | |
| 2013 | HP T620 | (thin client) | Win10 | 16GB DDR3 | |||
| 2013 | HP T620 | (thin client) | Win10 | 16GB DDR3 | |||
| 2014 | HP ProLiant DL580 Gen8 | (server) | WinServer 2016 | 4x Xeon E7-4890v2 @ 2.8GHz (60-core total) | 512GB DDR3 | ||
| 2016 | i5 Desktop | WHITEHOUSE | GTX1070 Ti | Win10 | i5 | 16GB 17TB | |
| 2017 | Nintendo Switch | ARM 4 Cortex-A57 | |||||
| 2018 | BULK | Win10 | Pentium G3430 @ 3.3GHz | 16GB 15TB | |||
| 2019 | Raspberry Pi 4 (64bit) | 8GB | |||||
| 2019 | Raspberry Pi 4 (32bit) | 4GB | |||||
| 2019 | i5 Desktop | POLARIS | GTX 1060 (3GB DDR5) | Win10 | i5-9600K 3.7GHz (6 thread) | 16GB 1TB boot, 512GB data | |
| 2020 | i7 Desktop | MINH | GTX 1080 | Win10 | i7-8700K 3.7 GHz (12 thread) | 16GB 1TB boot, 1TB data, 2TB data (NVM) | |
| 2020 | Acer TravelMate B3 (N20H1) | Win11 Pro Education | N4020 1.10 GHz (2-core) | 4GB 64GB SSD (and MicroSD) |
PART 6: 2021-2025
The COVID pandemic of 2020 really did impact the computer components industry. There was a true “parts shortage” between labor shortage of workers coming to work to make the parts, and whole nations starting to “hoard computer parts” for their own benefit (which was understandable since an electronic shortage impacts military capability).
Fry’s Electronics closed their doors in 2021. I recall being in the store in 2017, at a time when I was in need of updated video cards, and quite literally the video card shelves were empty. I had to settle on the 3GB versions of GTX 1060’s and felt lucky to still get those at a somewhat reasonable price. The rise of both Crypto and AI-oriented processing has certainly kept up the demand of high end video cards.
CPU continue to increase in cores, with Intel Xeon’s up to 88-core for consumers, or some Ryzen Threadrippers up to 128-cores. Apple had given up PowerPC and adopted x86, but now Apple was embracing ARM processors. Wireless is now “comfortably fast” for many users to stream HD-quality at the same time, but the infrastructure for cloud computing is still not quite there. That is, I still trust and use local file processing.
I see a day is coming where my next computer may end up being “leased from the cloud” rather than physical equipment I use at home. Which I find ironic how a modern laptop may just be a “dumb terminal” into a mainframe, leased at some monthly cost, effectively coming full circle back to the 1970s era (before the “computer liberation movement” of around 1974). The Internet remains a kind of “wild wild west” where “anything goes.” Also, “paid streaming” is now starting to inject commercials back into the experience.
Note that in the previous section, I noted upgrading or re-installing a computer every other year. I’ve now I’ve found a system to remain useful to me for many years. My Razer Blade 14 served me well for 10 years, before the trackpad showing some wear and become less responsive, or the system itself starting to show its age. And Windows Update has worked effectively (in that Windows 10 is still very viable and it’s no longer a “2010” year product). I haven’t had to re-install any OS for many years (except where deliberately experimenting).
There is now greater interest in the “efficiency” of computer, in terms of performance per wattage of power consumed. That is, less powerful computers are often sought. Through all this, I realize that a “good enough” computer is whatever can drive its corresponding display screen. Early days, 1MHz was good enough to drive 40×25 text-mode (but struggled slightly for 80×25 text mode). So the industry tempo was around that theme: screen resolutions would enhance, and a more powerful system was needed to adequately drive that new resolution. These days, HD-resolution (1920×1080) is still generally adequate, and systems can drive multiple-displays thereof. So, we’ve mostly plateaued on the development of “home computers” – like cars, they aren’t getting orders of magnitude or “day and night” improvements as they were in prior years (since there isn’t much to gain in doing so, they’ll run too hot and be too loud to be of practical use). There is now even the concept of “distraction free computing” where one deliberately gets a lower powered system, to avoid excessive distraction from multi-tasking.
| YEAR | PRODUCT | NOTES | IMAGE | GPU | OS | CPU | RAM HDD |
| 2021 | Raspbery Pi Zero 2 W | 512MB, 1GHz Quad Core | (4-core) | 512MB | |||
| 2021 | ACER Predator Helios 300 (laptop) | DOUG 15.6″ | GTX 2060 | Win11 | i7-10750H (6-core) | 16GB | |
| 2023 | DELL XPS 9530 (laptop) | BLACKBLADE | (Sonnet eGPU Thunderbolt) | Win11 | i7 (2.4 GHz, 20-core) | 64GB 4TB NVM | |
| 2024 | Commander X16 | Otter16 (512MB), DEV108 (2MB), PR15/16/17/900 | VERA | 6502 | 512KB/ 2MB | ||
| 2024 | Raspberry Pi 5 (8GB) x2 | 8GB |