Remember when ?...Post your old pc parts pics !

[J7SC_Orion]

It is time to wipe off the dust of your old flash cards and file folders and share some of your old computer parts pics  !

 

FYI, when I was prepping a thread on a > tip for custom water-cooling yesterday, I had to go through a whole bunch of folders and flash cards to find the related pics. Of course it was only after I looked through a whole bunch of unrelated pics that I found what I was actually looking for. But in fact, I love to look at (most any) older system pics. So, don't be shy and post your oldies !

 

Ideally, your pics will show testbenches or pics of components going back to 2018 or before, rather than just completed build 'galleries'. Pic descriptions are welcome, but optional...

 

---

 

To start things up...

 

Delidded + LM 3770K housed in an Asus Maximus V Extreme trying to keep up with the demands of 4x GTX 680s...

  

 

 

 

 

...slippery slope of HWBot is kicking in...

 

 

 

Time for work now...

 

My first truly separate home office setup. checking all the wiring...also the beginning of my 'blue period' which lasts to this day

 

 

 

Looking forward to see your pics & related stories ! That includes @ENTERPRISE @Bastiaan_NL @bonami2 @Sir Beregond @Avacado and all the rest of you ! 

 

 

[SamsTechStuff]

I think the GPU was an old 7xxx series card, I can't read it in the picture and of course the mousepad from the collectors edition WoW x-pac, ~2013. The other was the beginnings of my homelab journey, ~2015.

Edited February 11, 2023 by SamsTechStuff

[J7SC_Orion]

19 minutes ago, SamsTechStuff said:

I think the GPU was an old 7xxx series card, I can't read it in the picture and of course the mousepad from the collectors edition WoW x-pac, ~2013. The other was the beginnings of my homelab journey, ~2015.

  

Looks like you also had some serious server cases there as well .

 

Also, I remember those old CRT 4:3 monitors....nothing like playing MDK/2 or Duke Nukem 3D on a low-Hz 17 inch CRT, head-buzz migraine guaranteed. For some inexplicable reason, I keep a 90+ pds Daytek 20/21 inch monitor in storage downstairs.

 

 

Edited February 11, 2023 by J7SC_Orion

[pio]

Ahhh man, where do I even begin!?!? 

 

How about I start my first post off in this thread, with the latest old full rig I'm working on.  I think ALL of these parts should qualify as old. 

 

Specs:

• Asus A78NX-E Motherboard
• Athlon XP 2500+m
• 3x1GB Corsair DDR400
• Thermaltake Volcano 7 CPU cooler (with Thunderblade 80mm fan)
• Aerocool 550w PSU
• Sapphire ATI Radeon X850 PRO
• Realtek PCI LAN Card
• TP Link Wireless N PCI card
• Soundblaster Live! 5.1 PCI sound card
• Adaptec ATA133 RAID card
• And drives of course

 

Just diagnosing why its not POST'ing for me right now, literally JUST put it together, sat down and saw your thread.  To be honest, could just be my monitor, going to try swapping to an older VGA capable monitor first before I start ruling out parts.  Might just need a CMOS reset too, dunno yet.  All parts have been tested as 100% working before though.....so shouldn't be too hard to figure out.

 

So.....guess you guys can enjoy a little sneak peak before I consider this rig "done" and post it in my own thread.

 

Literally, first time powering this full rig, assembled, on.   

 

Edited February 11, 2023 by pioneerisloud

[pio]

If you want an ACTUAL vintage picture, literally taken decades ago......

 

Here's my first rig I built while a part of OCN.  Socket 939 A8N32-SLI Deluxe, Opteron 165 @ 3GHz, eVGA 8800GTS 512KO, 4x1GB Corsair XMS DDR400, and everything else you see.  Other rig in the Chieftec Dragon sitting next to it was my dual Socket 370 overclocked to 1.5GHz Pentium 3 server with 2GB ECC RAM in it and I forget what all drives in it for storage.  Had some weird RAID array of IDE drives though, I think they were 250GB's.  Really wish I still had all these parts.

 

Edited February 11, 2023 by pioneerisloud

[J7SC_Orion]

41 minutes ago, pioneerisloud said:

If you want an ACTUAL vintage picture, literally taken decades ago......

 

Here's my first rig I built while a part of OCN.  Socket 939 A8N32-SLI Deluxe, Opteron 165 @ 3GHz, eVGA 8800GTS 512KO, 4x1GB Corsair XMS DDR400, and everything else you see.  Other rig in the Chieftec Dragon sitting next to it was my dual Socket 370 overclocked to 1.5GHz Pentium 3 server with 2GB ECC RAM in it and I forget what all drives in it for storage.  Had some weird RAID array of IDE drives though, I think they were 250GB's.  Really wish I still had all these parts.

 

 

Those are interesting cases, never mind the card reader setup on the lower left, complete with an extra USB, and floppy ? !

[pio]

58 minutes ago, J7SC_Orion said:

 

Those are interesting cases, never mind the card reader setup on the lower left, complete with an extra USB, and floppy ? !

Correct.  Above that was a 12v cig lighter and pop out ash tray (or cup holder).  Above that, a 5.25" drawer.  Above that 5.25 - 3.5" HDD adapter with 40mm fans.

Both cases were Apevia (Aspire).  I believe X-Discovery and X-Pider?  The X-Pider was the "Chieftec Dragon" (identical to one, just like the Antec Performance).  The one on the left, that circle in the center was actually an analogue temp sensor guage.

Edited February 11, 2023 by pioneerisloud

[server075]

Not my oldest pc but a loved one:
AMD fx-8350 black edition
9800GTX in SLI 

 

 

 

 

 

 

2003 ish? My First, 

Edited February 11, 2023 by server075

[Bastiaan_NL]

So I decided to take a look on one of my old backup drives and I had so much fun looking through the stuff I found there!
For instance, a folder filled with overclocking software and benchmarks from around 2009
Sorry for photodumping here, but man these were good times! Living at my parents place, playing with (still cheap) hardware...

This was the first computer I bought myself, with an Athlon X2 5600+ and a 8600GT.
In this picture I already upgraded to a 9600GT though.


One might think that my hobby escalated the past year or two, but I was the same 15 years ago


Folding at home around 2009, trying to keep temps in check during the summer:

And another system running folding@home, or maybe benchmarks at this point...

 

My first voltmodded card, an EVGA GTS250 done by CL3P20 from OCN:

 

My second voltmodded card, a GTX275 done by CL3P20 from OCN.
Usually ran this one at stock voltage, besides a few benchmarks I did.

 

And one of the cases I regret selling, a CoolerMaster ATCS840.

 

One of the coolest builds, a custom case made by Oliver and me. The idea came from me, he did the Plexi cutting etc and shipped it to me.
There was some damage and we got a full refund from the shipping company, as we insured it for 1k worth because of all the work put into it

 

 

 

Edited February 11, 2023 by Bastiaan_NL

[EHW Ai]

I don't keep really old hardware around because I simply don't have the storage space for it. So what you guys are sharing brings back a number of memories for me. 

 

While I didn't own what follows, the guy pretending to do testing on the components in front of him reminds me of me the first half of the 90s (92-95):

 

 

and I worked on multi-processor electronic warfare threat simulator systems like this (systems integrator/field service engineer/alternate facility security officer (hence, no actual pix)):

 

 

 

[Sir Beregond]

Yeah so these first few I didn't really know how to properly size PSUs and way overbought. These earlier PCs were also the last time I actually tried at cable management. Since I started getting dual chamber cases like the Corsair 540 and now the O11-Dynamic, I just can't be arsed to do much more than basics. Also back then I didn't really know best practices for airflow and retrospect I would have set the intake/exhaust a little differently in the Switch 810 (looking at you bottom rad).

 

Corsair 650D build. i7-960 and a 5770, later 2x 5770's and then a GTX 570. Initially had air cooling then tried an H100 and still wasn't satisfied:

 

 

 

 

My first custom loop. CPU only loop in the 650D. Also upgraded to a GTX 670 (using a 680 PCB):

 

 

From which I decided on a case change to the NZXT Switch 810 and adding the GPU to the loop:

 

 

First real total new build that wasn't me upgrading onsie twosie things here and there. 4790k and 980 rig. First and last time I will ever use EK blocks, what a mess:

 

 

Transferred the rig from the Corsair 540 to the O11-D because the material quality on the 540 wasn't great and the case was becoming a vibrating mess. Since it was just a transfer, this is why rads are too small. This was while I was starting to accumulate parts for current build.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Edited February 12, 2023 by Sir Beregond

[J7SC_Orion]

9 hours ago, pioneerisloud said:

Correct.  Above that was a 12v cig lighter and pop out ash tray (or cup holder).  Above that, a 5.25" drawer.  Above that 5.25 - 3.5" HDD adapter with 40mm fans.

Both cases were Apevia (Aspire).  I believe X-Discovery and X-Pider?  The X-Pider was the "Chieftec Dragon" (identical to one, just like the Antec Performance).  The one on the left, that circle in the center was actually an analogue temp sensor guage.

 

Built-in 12 V cig lighter ! First time I have ever seen that 

 

 

3 hours ago, Bastiaan_NL said:

So I decided to take a look on one of my old backup drives and I had so much fun looking through the stuff I found there!
For instance, a folder filled with overclocking software and benchmarks from around 2009
Sorry for photodumping here, but man these were good times! Living at my parents place, playing with (still cheap) hardware...

This was the first computer I bought myself, with an Athlon X2 5600+ and a 8600GT.
In this picture I already upgraded to a 9600GT though.


One might think that my hobby escalated the past year or two, but I was the same 15 years ago


Folding at home around 2009, trying to keep temps in check during the summer:

And another system running folding@home, or maybe benchmarks at this point...

 

My first voltmodded card, an EVGA GTS250 done by CL3P20 from OCN:

 

My second voltmodded card, a GTX275 done by CL3P20 from OCN.
Usually ran this one at stock voltage, besides a few benchmarks I did.

 

And one of the cases I regret selling, a CoolerMaster ATCS840.

 

One of the coolest builds, a custom case made by Oliver and me. The idea came from me, he did the Plexi cutting etc and shipped it to me.
There was some damage and we got a full refund from the shipping company, as we insured it for 1k worth because of all the work put into it

 

 

 

 

That custom case is in particular is neat - nice workmanship !

 

Also, OCZ gold RAM above that for serious oc-ing  - I also still have a few sticks of that - used them in the (by now very dirty) Abit IC7

 

 

Prepping an oc+rendering work 'HEDT' with Quad Classifieds - inset pic is showing initial leak-testing...still have 12 or so of the universal GPU coolers (Copper, Swiftech)...very useful; just add heatsinks for the VRAM and a 120mm fan and results are as good if not better than custom GPU blocks.

 

  

[UltraMega]

I have this old PC with a 2500K that I bought new a long time ago. CPU is OCed to 4.5ghz. Occasionally I loan it to customers if their repair is waiting on parts and they need a computer to use in the meantime. It's kinda funny that they are always really happy with that computer and surprised by how responsive it is. 

[J7SC_Orion]

9 hours ago, server075 said:

Not my oldest pc but a loved one:
AMD fx-8350 black edition
9800GTX in SLI 

 

 

 

 

 

 

2003 ish? My First, 

 

E-c-l-e-c-t-i-c ! 

[The Pook]

I don't have any pictures of my first system (A64 3000+ Venice) 

 

2nd system aka first paycheck build (E6300 + 8600 GS): 

 

 

First WC loop, same build as ^ but swapped the E6300 -> Q6600 and 8600 GS -> 8800 GT: 

 

 

Same build as ^ but in a U2-UFO and 8800 GT -> 9800 GTX

 

 

there was a brief excursion into FM2 but I don't have any pictures.

 

Ditched the loop and went to an AIO, golden X4 960T + GTX 560 SE: 

 

 

then I "upgraded" to an FX-8320 and crossfire HD 7870s ... but that system sucked and no pictures  

 

built an HTPC around a G3258 and realized how awful the 8320 was, so I built a 4690K system shortly after. No pictures of those either 

Edited February 12, 2023 by The Pook

[J7SC_Orion]

29 minutes ago, The Pook said:

I don't have any pictures of my first system (A64 3000+ Venice) 

 

2nd system aka first paycheck build (E6300 + 8600GS): 

 

 

First WC loop, same build as ^ but swapped the E6300 -> Q6600 and 8600 GS -> 7900 GS: 

 

 

Same build as ^ but in a U2-UFO and 7900 GS -> 8800 GT

 

 

there was a brief excursion into FM2 but I don't have any pictures.

 

Ditched the loop and went to an AIO, golden X4 960T + GTX 560 SE: 

 

 

then I "upgraded" to an FX-8320 and crossfire HD 7870s ... but that system sucked and no pictures  

 

built an HTPC around a G3258 and realized how awful the 8320 was, so I built a 4690K system shortly after. No pictures of those either 

  

 

Your "2nd system aka first paycheck build (E6300 + 8600GS)" is very colourful (in a likable way). BTW, what was that neon-green yellow red purple mobo again you used to post at another forum / thread ?

[Snakecharmed]

I guess this thread came at a good time for me considering I'm planning to move my entire build this weekend into a temporary Montech X1 case I picked up for cheap at Micro Center so I can perform some more fabrication work on my own case.

 

These were the main parts to my build in 2011. I'm still using the motherboard.

 

 

Back then, I didn't have a cordless drill, Dremel, metal files, or any meaningful sense of custom fabrication or building things the right way, so the hole I cut out in my case back then was extremely hacky.

 

 

The bump originally housed a bracket which held the PC speaker and an optional 80 mm fan. I think I made those cuts with an angle grinder, which was too unwieldy for making more precise cuts. The fan was a 140 mm AeroCool mounted on a 120 mm adapter which barely hooked into the slots for the original PC speaker bracket in the sheetmetal.

 

There also used to be a 3.5" drive cage that I no longer use that mounted on a mid-case support brace. That brace has been the bane of almost all my CPU air cooling efforts. The case mounting point for the PSU has also been a nuisance for me over the years. At the time, I was using a Noctua NH-U9B SE2 oriented to attempt to ram the exhaust through the PSU.

 

 

I've measured and determined that I can indeed create a proper dual 140 mm fan intake on the front. Part of the challenge for my Zen 4 build will be continuing to make a 27-year-old ATX case viable despite it having a few idiotic layout issues that were complete afterthoughts back when active cooling wasn't necessary.

 

 

Obviously, I don't need to do any of this when I can work with far more modern cases, but it's been a good challenge to cut down on e-waste and see how far I can push the limits of such an old case that also serves as a reminder of how long the ATX form factor has been around. My main difficulties involve no top ventilation, no chassis-mounted rear fan (that stupid 80 mm above the PSU doesn't count), and no built-in cable management. If the case wasn't so tall and ATX, I would have given up on it a long ago.

 

It's interesting reflecting on how I transitioned from a time in my life when I didn't want to spend money on a new case because affordability was a concern and I was being frugal, to now, where I'm basically keeping an old-ass case for retro vibes and the technical challenge of making it work for a modern PC build.

 

Here's the oldest PCB I photographed. This was my old Iwill KK266Plus VIA KT133A motherboard that I used from 2001-05 before I listed it on eBay. I also have plenty more pics I can post later of old hardware from when I listed those components for sale.

 

 

Finally, this was my desktop in 2005 with the Altec Lansing ACS500 speaker towers and a 70 lb. 21" Sony CPD-G500 Trinitron CRT that had some color accuracy issues over VGA. First of all, what a boulder of a monitor. Second, I can't believe I used to think those speakers were good compared to the time, effort, and money I put into audio equipment now.

 

Edited February 12, 2023 by Snakecharmed

[Bastiaan_NL]

3 hours ago, iamjanco said:

I don't keep really old hardware around because I simply don't have the storage space for it. So what you guys are sharing brings back a number of memories for me. 

 

While I didn't own what follows, the guy pretending to do testing on the components in front of him reminds me of me the first half of the 90s (92-95):

 

 

and I worked on multi-processor electronic warfare threat simulator systems like this (systems integrator/field service engineer/alternate facility security officer (hence, no actual pix)):

 

 

 

Oh, I thought it was you pretending to work on that hardware
 

1 hour ago, J7SC_Orion said:

 

Built-in 12 V cig lighter ! First time I have ever seen that 

 

 

 

That custom case is in particular is neat - nice workmanship !

 

Also, OCZ gold RAM above that for serious oc-ing  - I also still have a few sticks of that - used them in the (by now very dirty) Abit IC7

 

 

Prepping an oc+rendering work 'HEDT' with Quad Classifieds - inset pic is showing initial leak-testing...still have 12 or so of the universal GPU coolers (Copper, Swiftech)...very useful; just add heatsinks for the VRAM and a 120mm fan and results are as good if not better than custom GPU blocks.

 

  

Thanks, Oliver was very good with Plexi(or whatever it was made of). I had the idea in my head for some time, so we decided to give it a try for a competition.
Sadly they valued a few modifications on an existing case more than a custom build, so we didn't win anything besides the payout from the insurance.

As far as the Gold OCZ goes, I don't own it anymore otherwise I could have some fun with it. I was stupid or smart enough to sell most of my hardware at the time, and now I regret not having most of that cool stuff anymore.
On the other hand, I didn't have room to store it at the time and my mom would have killed me if I kept everything

 

1 hour ago, UltraMega said:

I have this old PC with a 2500K that I bought new a long time ago. CPU is OCed to 4.5ghz. Occasionally I loan it to customers if their repair is waiting on parts and they need a computer to use in the meantime. It's kinda funny that they are always really happy with that computer and surprised by how responsive it is. 

This is what I always say when I'm playing with older hardware, how responsive it feels and how good it usually works (also with Windows 7 installed).

[J7SC_Orion]

3 minutes ago, Bastiaan_NL said:

Oh, I thought it was you pretending to work on that hardware
 

Thanks, Oliver was very good with Plexi(or whatever it was made of). I had the idea in my head for some time, so we decided to give it a try for a competition.
Sadly they valued a few modifications on an existing case more than a custom build, so we didn't win anything besides the payout from the insurance.

As far as the Gold OCZ goes, I don't own it anymore otherwise I could have some fun with it. I was stupid or smart enough to sell most of my hardware at the time, and now I regret not having most of that cool stuff anymore.
On the other hand, I didn't have room to store it at the time and my mom would have killed me if I kept everything

 

This is what I always say when I'm playing with older hardware, how responsive it feels and how good it usually works (also with Windows 7 installed).

 

Old hardware is still useful for 95 % of 'regular' daily tasks, apart from high-res gaming. One of the best upgrades is to eliminate spinning HDDs and go for at least SSDs if not NVME > breathes new life into old systems, especially on Win 7 Pro. Mobo below is from the fall of 2015, drives and GPU from late 2018.

 

 

[UltraMega]

53 minutes ago, Bastiaan_NL said:

Oh, I thought it was you pretending to work on that hardware
 

Thanks, Oliver was very good with Plexi(or whatever it was made of). I had the idea in my head for some time, so we decided to give it a try for a competition.
Sadly they valued a few modifications on an existing case more than a custom build, so we didn't win anything besides the payout from the insurance.

As far as the Gold OCZ goes, I don't own it anymore otherwise I could have some fun with it. I was stupid or smart enough to sell most of my hardware at the time, and now I regret not having most of that cool stuff anymore.
On the other hand, I didn't have room to store it at the time and my mom would have killed me if I kept everything

 

This is what I always say when I'm playing with older hardware, how responsive it feels and how good it usually works (also with Windows 7 installed).

win10 on my 2500K. 

[Snakecharmed]

Here are the oldest components I documented selling.

 

Afreey 56X CD-ROM

 

256 MB Crucial PC133 CL2 SDRAM

 

Nvidia GeForce 2 GTS 64 MB

 

AMD Athlon Thunderbird 1333 MHz with Socket A heatsink and fan

 

US Robotics 56K PCI Faxmodem

 

Finally, here are the oldest components by manufacture date that I photographed. The Altec Lansing ACS400 speaker system came with my Gateway PC in 1996. Apparently, I didn't sell this until 2010.

 

I replaced the ACS400 with the ACS500 back in 2006, then I sold the ACS500 in 2011. Both models debuted in 1995-96 with the ACS500 coming out first (according to what spotty records I can find with Google) and going to retail markets, while the ACS400 debuted a little later and went to OEM.

Edited February 12, 2023 by Snakecharmed

[EHW Ai]

2 hours ago, Bastiaan_NL said:

Oh, I thought it was you pretending to work on that hardware

 

 hmmm... okay, this is actually the oldest hardware i've worked on:

 

 

 

 

Edited February 11, 2023 by iamjanco

[pio]

Here's the rig I had built BEFORE I joined enthusiast communities (OCN).

 

Celeron 352 @ 4.5GHz  (clockgen OC'd)
I believe it was 2x512MB DDR400

ATI Radeon X1650 PRO AGP

Idk what else it had in there, literally all I have is memory and these 3 pictures.

 

My above pictured rig (939) replaced this very shortly after joining OCN.

 

Ironically enough, I located a VERY similar case to this, and built a similar rig to it in it.  A64 3200+ / X1950 PRO.  That rig lives, just haven't taken pictures of it yet.

 

 

 

[J7SC_Orion]

2 hours ago, Snakecharmed said:

Here are the oldest components I documented selling.

 

Afreey 56X CD-ROM

 

256 MB Crucial PC133 CL2 SDRAM

 

Nvidia GeForce 2 GTS 64 MB

 

AMD Athlon Thunderbird 1333 MHz with Socket A heatsink and fan

 

US Robotics 56K PCI Faxmodem

 

Finally, here are the oldest components by manufacture date that I photographed. The Altec Lansing ACS400 speaker system came with my Gateway PC in 1996. Apparently, I didn't sell this until 2010.

 

I replaced the ACS400 with the ACS500 back in 2006, then I sold the ACS500 in 2011. Both models debuted in 1995-96 with the ACS500 coming out first (according to what spotty records I can find with Google) and going to retail markets, while the ACS400 debuted a little later and went to OEM.

 

I recognize a lot of it, such as the 56 K US Robotics PCI modem (still have one in storage). That was fast for its day  

 

1 hour ago, pioneerisloud said:

Here's the rig I had built BEFORE I joined enthusiast communities (OCN).

 

Celeron 352 @ 4.5GHz  (clockgen OC'd)
I believe it was 2x512MB DDR400

ATI Radeon X1650 PRO AGP

Idk what else it had in there, literally all I have is memory and these 3 pictures.

 

My above pictured rig (939) replaced this very shortly after joining OCN.

 

Ironically enough, I located a VERY similar case to this, and built a similar rig to it in it.  A64 3200+ / X1950 PRO.  That rig lives, just haven't taken pictures of it yet.

 

 

 

 

Another trip down memory lane with the CPUID ClockGen applet in the Win XP look...I still think that XP Pro 64 was one of the best OS Microsoft has done - especially compared to that Win 11 monstrosity..

 

----

 

A testbench run with 4960X in an Asus Rampage IV Black Edition, plus R290X Lightning.

 

 

 

 

...a quick look at a 980 Classified with a universal GPU cooler and retaining the custom cold plate that came with the card.

 

 

And another testbench, a 5960X in a Rampage V Extreme from early 2015 - had that testbench for about six years; below it is used for a stock-air-cooled 3090 Strix to baseline before water-cooling. 

 

 

[pio]

I can top that.....  

 

How about a "custom modded" cheapie desktop ATX style case......running an AthlonXP 2400+, uknown RAM and GPU (obviously has S-Video Out though), running Windows Vista x86 specifically for Media Center and I think it was "TVU Player"?  Was my first 110% purpose built HTPC.  Rocked plenty of desktops on the TV's back then for NES / SNES / 64 emulators, I think I started originally with a P3 era Celeron emachines or something.  But yeah, first official HTPC "mod" I ever made.  First mod I "published" on OCN too.

 

 

 

I did, later on rebuild it with some better parts.  Athlon x2 3800+, NF4 SLI motherboard, 2GB (4x512MB) DDR400, and AMD ATI HD3450, in a "proper" HTPC case.  I didn't actually mod anything on this one though.

 

 

 

Edited February 12, 2023 by pioneerisloud