Show your oldest piece of HW you still use

[Memmento Mori]

This is/was my first gaming keyboard i buyed 2011 and is now taking strongli the duty of a office keyboard! 
 

Microsoft Side Winder X4 keyboard

 

 

Im still impressed that its working after so many years of gaming duty and now office life since 2 years… 

[pio]

 

This isn't my oldest working, but its my oldest working that I daily drive still.  I actually use this rig a LOT just playing around in Win9X.  Definitely my favorite older build to play with.

[ozlay]

[SoloCamo]

  On 31/07/2023 at 13:02, Memmento Mori said:

This is/was my first gaming keyboard i buyed 2011 and is now taking strongli the duty of a office keyboard! 
 

Microsoft Side Winder X4 keyboard

 

 

Im still impressed that its working after so many years of gaming duty and now office life since 2 years… 

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Loved that keyboard, unfortunately mine died randomly after only two or so years of use.

[Snakecharmed]

Microsoft Natural Keyboard (1.0)

 

This is actually my second Natural Keyboard after my first one yellowed from being under a halogen desk lamp for years and the keycap printings wore out. I finally replaced it after its spacebar broke (IIRC). Anyway, I've had this specific unit since 2017. I don't know the manufacture date on this one, but this Natural Keyboard model debuted in 1994 and had a 4-year run.

 

I'm only learning now that it was manufactured by Keytronic, which may be why this one feels so different from subsequent Microsoft ergonomic keyboards. As far as the layout, I've gotten so used to this split-key layout over the years that I never seriously considered changing it up.

 

I haven't paid much attention to keyboards since getting the second of these, but while shopping to replace the first one, I did look into mechanical gaming keyboards which were more expensive than what I wanted to pay at the time. I also followed the evolution of Microsoft ergonomic keyboards and all the subsequent versions of their Natural Keyboard had some dealbreaker in terms of key layout, feel, or build quality, which is why I also didn't get a newer model.

Edited July 31, 2023 by Snakecharmed

[Fluxmaven]

Since it seems like a lot of these responses will be peripherals, I guess I'll toss in my original Logitech Trackman Marble from 95ish. I admittedly don't use it daily anymore, but I did semi recently and still like to pull it out from time to time. The Clueboard has also been in the collection for a while, and is coincidentally the board I'm currently using in my work keyboard rotation. 

 

  Reveal hidden contents

My go to work trackball has been the CST (Clearly Superior Technology) L-Trac Glow for the past few years. Turns out they went out of business, but their trackballs are made by PI Engineering now. 

 

[J7SC_Orion]

...still rumbling away in a corner somewhere...

 

a.) old back-up dev server from latish 2013 with 4930K proc, 64 GB of GSkill Ripjaws, Corsair TX850 (btw, have 3x of those PSUs, all still running fine). We keep that oldie running for some strange reason... 

 

 

 

b.) Toshiba Laptop from 2011ish; used perhaps once or twice a year these days, but still hanging in there...has to run on wall plug though as the battery is 

 

 

   

 

c.) 3x of many Antec 302 cases from 2012 still in use...

 

Edited August 1, 2023 by J7SC_Orion

[EHW Ai]

Nakamichi Dragon cassette deck 

[Memmento Mori]

  On 31/07/2023 at 17:17, ozlay said:

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looked at it 10 x and still not sure what im looking at.. 

 

  On 31/07/2023 at 17:26, SoloCamo said:

 

Loved that keyboard, unfortunately mine died randomly after only two or so years of use.

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i think i would buy a new one if i would fide one...

 

  On 31/07/2023 at 14:46, pioneerisloud said:

 

This isn't my oldest working, but its my oldest working that I daily drive still.  I actually use this rig a LOT just playing around in Win9X.  Definitely my favorite older build to play with.

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reminds me on a PC i started to play  "DUKE NUKEM 3D" and "Worms"  running the games in DOS... 

 

  On 31/07/2023 at 17:36, Snakecharmed said:

Microsoft Natural Keyboard (1.0)

 

This is actually my second Natural Keyboard after my first one yellowed from being under a halogen desk lamp for years and the keycap printings wore out. I finally replaced it after its spacebar broke (IIRC). Anyway, I've had this specific unit since 2017. I don't know the manufacture date on this one, but this Natural Keyboard model debuted in 1994 and had a 4-year run.

 

I'm only learning now that it was manufactured by Keytronic, which may be why this one feels so different from subsequent Microsoft ergonomic keyboards. As far as the layout, I've gotten so used to this split-key layout over the years that I never seriously considered changing it up.

 

I haven't paid much attention to keyboards since getting the second of these, but while shopping to replace the first one, I did look into mechanical gaming keyboards which were more expensive than what I wanted to pay at the time. I also followed the evolution of Microsoft ergonomic keyboards and all the subsequent versions of their Natural Keyboard had some dealbreaker in terms of key layout, feel, or build quality, which is why I also didn't get a newer model.

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I Absolutly agree with that.. I think that back in the days the products came out in a higher Quality and futfilling higher standards then today.. Today its about making the number - not anymore to create product we are proud of and will last a while... At least thats my feeling ... Quantity above Quality..

 

  On 31/07/2023 at 18:48, Fluxmaven said:

Since it seems like a lot of these responses will be peripherals, I guess I'll toss in my original Logitech Trackman Marble from 95ish. I admittedly don't use it daily anymore, but I did semi recently and still like to pull it out from time to time. The Clueboard has also been in the collection for a while, and is coincidentally the board I'm currently using in my work keyboard rotation. 

 

  Reveal hidden contents

My go to work trackball has been the CST (Clearly Superior Technology) L-Trac Glow for the past few years. Turns out they went out of business, but their trackballs are made by PI Engineering now. 

 

Expand  

I remember i was always wanting one of these  back in the days...

 

 

  On 01/08/2023 at 02:40, J7SC_Orion said:

...still rumbling away in a corner somewhere...

 

a.) old back-up dev server from latish 2013 with 4930K proc, 64 GB of GSkill Ripjaws, Corsair TX850 (btw, have 3x of those PSUs, all still running fine). We keep that oldie running for some strange reason... 

 

 

 

b.) Toshiba Laptop from 2011ish; used perhaps once or twice a year these days, but still hanging in there...has to run on wall plug though as the battery is 

 

 

   

 

c.) 3x of many Antec 302 cases from 2012 still in use...

 

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Living in a DC? nice builds  

[ozlay]

  On 01/08/2023 at 06:49, Memmento Mori said:

 

looked at it 10 x and still not sure what im looking at.. 

 

 

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I believe it is a 1960s hard drive platter from a Control Data Corp 807/808 Disk File.

 

I use it as an end table.

Edited August 2, 2023 by ozlay

[J7SC_Orion]

...4x Swiftech Micro V2 reservoirs from 2012; all still in use - not too many moving parts which could wear 

 

 

[Avacado]

The oldest piece of hardware that is still functioning and in service for me would be the Asus P4B (2001), being used in this years team cup. The MX440 SE is from 2002.

 

Edited August 1, 2023 by Avacado

[kaliz]

The oldest piece of hardware i use everyday in different systems is a Arctic F8 fan for cooling my RAM. It serves at least 13 years(!) in most of my systems now, i think it has seen at least 35 kits of DDR3 and 4 lol. Unfortunately, after using it a lot this year, the bearings are now completely mush and makes a terrible noise, so i upgraded to something more quality just today!! they were on sale just 7,50 euro a piece, with all kinds of weird 7V 9V extension cables really quiet too

 

 

 

 

 

 

Edited August 1, 2023 by kaliz

[J7SC_Orion]

...now I'm digging deeper - this Abit IC7 is from 2003. It still works (booted it up late last year). 

 

[kaliz]

i found a ballistix memory cooler from the ddr3 era, modded it straight away with those fans and it looks really awesome now! 

 

[Fluxmaven]

  On 01/08/2023 at 20:37, kaliz said:

i found a ballistix memory cooler from the ddr3 era, modded it straight away with those fans and it looks really awesome now! 

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That's way cooler (both functionally and aesthetically) than my old RAM cooler that I zip tied a Noctua on. The stock screws weren't long enough for a thicc fan 

[Memmento Mori]

  On 01/08/2023 at 20:37, kaliz said:

i found a ballistix memory cooler from the ddr3 era, modded it straight away with those fans and it looks really awesome now! 

 

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for me is the Mem Cooling era not gone lol... 

 

Using it still actually on my DDR4 mems...

 

 

[neurotix]

Here's mine:

 

 

 

 

 

Logitech z-2300 circa 2007. 2.1 THX certified. Got it on eBay for about $80 in 2008 or 2009.

 

It's 200w total- 120w to the 8" sub and 40w per satellite.

 

Thing is great for gaming and good for music, but for music I have my other stereo that's 500w. Sometimes I play music on the Logitech while doing graphic design.