What was your first PC or Computer

[ZoomStop]

I am a sucker for nostalgic computer equipment. I have a basement full of it.
This past weekend I picked up a P2 300MHz system for free.
But I remember paying $1,800 for a 150MHz Packard Bell when I was younger.
And my first PC was a 386 running at a blistering 16MHz with a full megabyte of RAM.

And I am not that old... so how about it? What was your first system and what did you pay for that "cutting edge" technology?

 

[Zugzwang152]

how many times must we do this

first family computer was a 386 Packard Bell running Windows 3.11, later upgraded to a 150Mhz Pentium with Windows 95.

the first computer which was truly mine was a 200mhz Pentium II with 32mb ram, running Windows 95. I used it throughout high school.

when i went to college, i built my first computer, a 1ghz Athlon with 512mb ram, running windows 2000, and later windows xp.

 

[sonoma1993]

well my very 1st pc was an ol tandy 1000rl. that computer was awesome, even though it didnt have a harddrive. it had os built into a rom chip. It had an 8086 with 768k of ram. It had dos 3.3

 

[NetGuySC]

33 mhz for $2100, I remember at the time drooling over the fastest on the market .. a 100 mhz.

 

[ZoomStop]

Originally posted by: NetGuySC
I remember at the time drooling over the fastest on the market .. a 100 mhz.

Jaw dropping Doom2 performance, LOL

 

[compuwiz1]

I spent like $3500 for an IBM 386, including an upgrade from 4mb of ram to 8mb. It had a nifty little hard drive upgrade too....all the way up to 300mb. They told me I'd never fill the drive. I remember later upgrading to a 750mb drive for like $900 bux. :Q

 

[aircooled]

Commodore 64. (early 80's) It all started there for me.

 

[rky60]

Gateway 550Mhz, about $1800 or so

Think it was around 1997 or 98

 

[loic2003]

One of these puppies.

4.77MHz, 640K of memory and one hell of a chick magnet...

 

[hjo3]

Packard Bell 486 SX/66 with 250 MB HD, a 2400 baud modem, and 4 MB RAM. I think it was like $1100.

 

[So]

NEC 286-16 IBM clone. 640k RAM, 5.25" floppy, and it came with a 20MB hard drive! :Q

I was a kid at the time, so I don't know what it cost, but it was pricy, and for the first few years, basically for 'Dad's Work' -- later it played Commander Keen and Chuck Yeager's Air Combat quite well

 

[Kadarin]

Apple II+, with 48k of RAM, and I think it was about $2k at the time.

 

[walkur]

C64 => Amiga 600 => P-133

 

[rh71]

Commodore64. I still remember the phatty floppys (how literal). BASIC was cool.

I graduated to a generic 386 w/ Win 3.1 and I had no clue how to use Windows. What's more was I started deleting files through DOS because I needed diskspace. Oops. I [had my parents] pay $150 for 2MB of RAM just so I could play a hockey game.

 

[Kelemvor]

First computer that was my own:
Packard Bell 486 SX 25. 2 Megs of RAM.
Christmas Pressent from the parents.

First Family Computer:
Apple IIGS
Probably paid a pretty penny back then...

 

[NuclearNed]

Commodore 64

 

[CtK]

$2000 for a AT&T Pentium 100!!
it didnt even come with a monitor
i had that bad boy for 2 years b4 i upgraded

 

[meltdown75]

C=64 as well. late 80s (my mom bought it - as well as the 1200 baud modem - about $100 total i think, not sure)

Ran a BBS for a few years too, that's where the "neffing" began.

by the time i was done, i had 2 1541 drives, 2 1581s, and a "1337" user base with a few overseas "importers"

 

[imported_Beavis]

My very first Computer was a POS puke bell 386

 

[ZoomStop]

Originally posted by: Beavis
My very first Computer was a POS puke bell 386

Funny how many of us cut our teeth on a Packard Bell. God those things sucked

I remember going crazy trying to find drivers for their stupid combo modem/soundcard after a Windows 95 re-install

 

[Cooler]

Intel 8080 i found it so it was FREE! This was in 1987 so it was old back then.

 

[VoteQuimby]

Alienware
PIII 866MHZ
128mb RAM
GeForce 2 GTS 32MB
20Gig harddrive

saved up all summer for that.

 

[pontifex]

486 66mhz, 8 mb ram, sb16, 420 mb hd, 14.4 modem, probably like a 15 inch crt monitor.
i think it cost about $2500
my parents got it for the family as a xmas gift one year.

 

[PingSpike]

Originally posted by: sonoma1993
well my very 1st pc was an ol tandy 1000rl. that computer was awesome, even though it didnt have a harddrive. it had os built into a rom chip. It had an 8086 with 768k of ram. It had dos 3.3

My first computer was also a tandy 1000rl, although mine had a wopping 20gb harddrive and 512k of ram. My dad actually bought it for $400 used, and it was worth probably 150-200 at the time. It had dos 3.something I remember, and a tandy desktop pseudo windows OS with a crummy office suite. I don't remember the OS being on a rom chip on mine, I do remember deleting it by accident though. I later spend $65 to upgrade the ram to 256k so that I could play eye of the beholder on it.

The machine also had "tandy sound" sound card I believe...which was actually pretty good on the like 1 program that supported it. It also had tandy graphics, a whopping 16 colors similar to EGA...which also had pretty hit or miss support.

That machine, while dated, started me on 'the path'. I learned DOS on that machine, really learned it. I started programming in qbasic when I got sick of the games.

Remarkably, we sold it like 4 years later to so other sucker for $400.

 

[Inappropriate4AT]

First family machine was a 386 or 486, used to play 5.25" diskette games on it. Next was a 233mhz Sony VAIO with integrated VIVO and video editing capabilities lol. My first personal PC was a 900mhz Duron with 256mb ram, a gift from a very generous friend. And after that I've been through way too much hardware to name.