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When was your first computer build?

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Fall_2004

VIA SIS chipset_standard Intel s478 AGP8x motherboard
Celeron D @ 2.4 GHz
512megs RAM (XMS DDR400 and DDR333 pull)
CD-RW 40x and DVD-ROM
Geforce FX 5500 AGP 8x
500w Generic PSU w/LEDs (helped kill my rig overtime)
Monarch tower with side window and case mods
80GB SATA150
Floppy
Viewsonic CRT Flatscreen

That was my Unreal Tournament 2004 machine, played Starcraft and Diablo II and other various shooters
 
Hah, just this month I built the one in my sig. Still having a few difficulties with it, but so far I am extremely happy!
 
My first build was back in... 96? 97? Something like that. Pentium 200mhz, 64mb ram, 4gb hard drive, 3dfx Voodoo! I still remember being totally stunned the first time I saw GLQuake.
 
Ah, the memories 😀

The first I recall with any clarity for me was an old 386-40 (AMD) machine. A whopping 4MB of RAM and (IIRC) a 20MB hard drive.

We've come a long way.
 
Originally posted by: E equals MC2
BTW, is it me or 512 mb of RAM was the sweet spot for the LONGEST time? from early 2000 to even now. 512 is still the norm.

all other numbers- 16, 32, 64, 128, 256 were rather phasing out fast.
Click to expand...

Yeah I agree with you. from the late 90's to 2004, 512megs was considered a lot of RAM even for DDR1 machine, as they easily cost over a hundred bucks for a gig at the time, and even more for gaming RAM.

UT2004 saw good face with 512megs, but even better things unfolded when you had at least a gig.

HL2 required a minimum of 512megs of RAM. Both titles released 2004.
 
It was about 1989. I don't remember much about it except at the time PC Power & Cooling sold cases, and the motherboard was from ABIT. The CPU was one of the old Intel socket 1 I believe, it plugged into the mobo something like a PCI card does and had a case of sorts with a cooling fan.
 
"I remember now. a 300 mhz cheap processor that easily ran 450 mhz. mind blowing speed"

I still have my P2-300 SL2W8 stepping (overclocked to 450!). The machine still runs fine.

My first upgrade was installing a 64K Appleworks card into my ][e back in 1982.

My first full computer build was I believe in 1983. It was an IBM (4.77 I think?) system that I bought with dual floppies, a green monochrome monitor, 640K memory and a 40MB hard drive. I think I paid $1600 for the parts from Microcenter and put it together myself to save money. The hard drive alone was $450.

Ok, I feel old now.
 
Originally posted by: jimmyj68
It was about 1989. I don't remember much about it except at the time PC Power & Cooling sold cases, and the motherboard was from ABIT. The CPU was one of the old Intel socket 1 I believe, it plugged into the mobo something like a PCI card does and had a case of sorts with a cooling fan.
Click to expand...

That form factor didn't start until 1997 or so. It was slot 1, with the P2 plugging into the MB like a card.

All previous CPUs were sockets.
 
As best as I can recall, it was 1994. It was a 486 screamer with one of AMD's first processors.
 
Looks like I and Sinclair man are the longest in the tooth so far. I built my first from a Heathkit - the H88 (dual Z80s) in the winter of 1979/80. Actually had to solder all the parts onto the processor PCB and the power supply (pre-switching PSU days). I think the terminal board was preassembled. I think it started with 16kiloBytes of RAM but I eventually got it up to 64 kb using one row of piggyback DIP sockets - anyone remember those? Started out with a customized GE cassette recorder for mass storage. It was a long while before I could afford a single-sided, single density, hard sectored floppy drive for it (something less than 200 kiloBytes per 5" minifloppy disk). Horseless carriage to Internet speed in 20 years...

The first and only one I ever bought as sort of a preassembled barebones was a Victor IBM AT compatible back in the mid-80s somewhere - I forget the model no. Man those things were tanks. Had no video card and we had a choice of Hercules compatible mono or CGA that I could afford. So I ran Hercules compatible mono for a looong time.

.bh.
 
When does an upgrade become a build? I don't think I've ever built a machine 100% out of parts that didn't come from a previous one, but I've probably hit 95%. First time I pulled/swapped CPU/mobo was probably 1993, DIY warranty repair on my old Gateway 486. My first upgrade major enough to be called a build came in 1998.
 
I don't quite remember what year it was but it was a 486DX which was HOT at the time since the math-co was builtin 😉 lets see... it was:

Proc: Intel 486 DX/33
Mobo: Can't remember but I think it was an intel too
Video: Originally had a CGA but moved up to a VGA card, Trident IIRC with 1mb of VRAM
HDD: 2 DEC SCSI II 200 MB hard disks on a Future Domain HBA/Controller later upgraded to an adaptec 2940
RAM: 16MB of 50ns RAM (Can't remember more than that detail wise)
Not sure what I am missing.... but it was lightning fast for it's time... I knew enough to max out the ram which was EXPENSIVE back then.... Later I made my way into the Pentium world with a 90MHz overclocked to 166 with a peltier cooler 🙂
 
Mine was a 486 DX2-50, to run Win 3.1. Then upgraded my 486SX-20 to a DX-66 (didn't tie down the oscillator can when I swapped it, and it vibrated out in a week lol), bought 2 Intel nics ($100 ea) and networked them with WFWG 3.1. First newwork was with Lantastic (for DOS lol).
 
1985. Intel 8088 4.7mhz cpu, Amdek case, 640k ram, 5 meg HD that weighed 10lbs, CGA card. Total cost was like 3000.
 
I tinkered and replaced parts on old 8088's and 286's in the eighties, my first complete build was 89-90 I built a 386-sx with a 10mb HDD and 1mb of ram
 
My first computer build was in 1997, when I was 16. We had enough spare parts to build my sister a 586. I had a lot of help from my brother though. My first solo build was in the summer of 2000. It was a P3 733 with 64 whole MB of RAM! I was very proud.
 
I think my first build was around 2000, AMD 1.1ghz. Before that I bought from Dell, one Compaq, but never a Packard Hell. Zepper, I remember my neighbor building a Heath Zenith, so I must be old too. First "computer" I had at the house was a digital decwriter with an acoustic modem. Online with Compuserve displayed lots of text until a truck drove by and shook the modem. First "PC" I bought for the house was an IBM, with no hard drive, modem monitor and printer, for $5500. Since 2000, I have built 9 for myself and family.
 
built my first custom PC, in the fall of 1999, P3 550 w/256MB ram. Upgraded to a Voodoo3 3000 vid card!! oh boy, back in the days... Built the PC in my sig last december... and gonna upgrade it soon.
 
1997

AMD K5-166
16MB Memory
3.1GB Hard Drive
Cirrus Logic Video
Sound Blaster 16

The first computer that I had was a Commodre 64 in 1986.
 
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