Wanted to get back into the DOS era of software and games (it’s what I grew up on.) I would have preferred something older, but I ended up with a Slot 1 Pentium III/500. Fortunately it has an ISA slot so all the truly DOS friendly sound cards.

Specs: Gateway 4W4 Something Pentium III/500 384MB Yamaha YMF715 ISA sound card (SoundBlaster Pro and OPL3) S3 Trio 3D/2X AGP mt32-pi (Roland MT-32 and General MIDI) Generic Compact Flash-IDE adapter Gravis Gamepad that still has that little joystick you screw in. 20” Dell Trinitron (forgot the model)

Testing it with Tyrian here, but my plan is to play through Ultima Underworld soon on it.

What’s everybody else’s vintage computer of choice?

  • Nathan Byrd@lemmy.sdf.orgMEnglish
    4·
    1 year ago

    This has come up a lot in the past, and the best I’ve been able to come up with is that what is “retro” varies with every retro enthusiast. A couple of definitions that I’ve heard:

    1. Retro is the computers you used as a kid. Leaves just about everything as “retro” to someone, but probably the best definition I’ve found anyway
    2. Any computer simple enough to be completely understood by an enthusiast. Older computers that came with full schematics fit into this category, and helps define the appeal of retro computers. It does leave out a lot of systems that younger generations would consider “retro” though.
    3. Some specific year cutoff (say 1990 or something.) Definitely the least flexible definition and one that I’m not a huge fan of.
    4. Based on architecture. 16-bit and older, or everything before the IBM PC etc. Again this isn’t a very flexible definition either, but has been used in the past by some (including by VCF-MW, though this has changed)
    • kalleboo@lemmy.worldEnglish
      4·
      1 year ago

      Yeah this is a hot debate in the Vintage Apple community as well. A lot of groups put the line at Intel Macs - anything PowerPC and older gets to count as vintage. That aligns with my interests but the first Intel Macs are soon 20 years old, and that cutoff is starting to make less sense if you look at what was accepted when the communities started out.

      • Wally Hackenslacker@lemmy.sdf.orgEnglish
        1·
        1 year ago

        At this point personally I would personally consider anything from before Steve Jobs death as vintage Apple. Or at least anything from the Big Cats and before.