My computers during the years
I had the opportunity to grow up with computers. During the eighties home computers were something that was not common, today almost everyone in Sweden has a computer and a connection to the net. I take pride in being one of the few who came from the 8-bit computers to the 16-bit wonder machines and then to the PC where we could turn our knowledge we learned from our hobby into something that could give us a job.
This is a chronological list from my first computer to my present.
1986-1993 – ZX-Spectrum 128K
Specs:
- ZX-Spectrum 128K
- Tape player
- Joystick interface
- Joysticks
Story:
This was my first home computer. It was a simple 8 bit machine that I mostly played games on and coded some basic programs on. Around 1989 most Swedish computer stores did not have ZX-Spectrum software anymore and there was not many Spectrum users left in Sweden after 1990. I bought myself a ZX Spectrum +3 in 2003 for playing games I liked to play when I was young. It was perhaps used one or two times in a year so I sold it. After that experience I now firmly believe that the ZX-Spectrum was meant to be used in the eighties and not in the new millennium.
1994 – C64
Specs:
- C64
- Tape player
- Joysticks
Story:
As a ZX-Spectrum user it was natural to hate the C64 and its users. But I think that many Spectrum users knew that the C64 was the better computer games wise. In 1994 when I got my C64 there were still some hardcore users left who made demos and cracked the small amount of games still coming out, but officially the C64 was dead. I bought my C64 from a friend in school, he promised to copy lots of games to me on cassettes and I had some fun with it for an about half a year but the C64 did not make a huge impact on me like it did with a lot of other users.
1994-1994 – Amiga 500
Specs:
- Amiga 500
- External floppy drive
- 0.5 MB extra memory
- Joysticks
Operating system:
- Workbench 1.3
Story:
Amiga 500 was the ideal home computer to have in the eighties. In Europe it was extremely popular. In Sweden almost every one of your friends had one which meant finding games to copy and play was never hard. It is a bit ironic that I always wanted an Amiga, but when I finally got one, Commodore -the company that made the Amiga- died and so the Amiga market and its user base shrunk.
1995-1998 – 486 DX2 66MHz
Specs:
- 486 DX2 66 MHz CPU
- 4 MB memory
- 420 MB harddrive
- AT case
- 3.5 floppy drive
- ISA and PCI slots
- PCI graphics board
Later upgraded with:
- 8 MB memory
- 4x CD-rom
- 5.25 floppy drive
- Soundblaster 16
Operating system:
- MS-Dos 6.22
- Windows 3.11
- Linux (Slackware/Red Hat)
Story:
This was an expensive computer at the time. My 486 was a dream to work with, it was very silent, stable and fast and I felt home in MS-DOS and Norton Commander. When I expanded it with 4 MB memory a CD-ROM and a genuine Soundblaster card it was complete and could do anything I wanted to do with it. I had it for close to four years which is a very long time in the world of computers.
1998-2000 – AMD K6 233 MHz
Specs:
- AMD K6 233 MHz CPU
- 32 MB memory
- 2.1 GB harddrive
- AT case
- 3.5 floppy drive
- 8x CD-rom
- PCI 2MB graphics card
- Soundblaster Live
Later upgraded with:
- 3DFX Voodoo 2 12 MB 3D card
- 4x CD-burner
- 17 GB harddrive
Operating system:
- Windows 95
- Windows 98
- NetBSD
- Linux (Slackware)
Story:
The two reasons I got a new PC in 1998 were that I wanted to play modern games and I needed to run Windows 95 to be able to play them. I slightly regret not getting a 300 MHz CPU instead, it would have lasted me a little longer, 233 MHz felt a bit slow in 1999 but I got a small lease on its life when I bought a Voodoo 2 card for it.
2000-2002 – AMD Athlon K7 800 MHz
Specs:
- AMD Athlon K7 800 MHz ’slot-a’ CPU
- 128 MB
- 20 GB harddrive
- 24x CD-rom
- Soundblaster Live
- Geforce 256 AGP Graphics board
- ATX Case
Later upgraded with:
- 17 GB harddrive
Operating system:
- Windows XP
- NetBSD
- Linux (Slackware)
Story:
No real story here, I was stuck in the upgrading trap. I just wanted more up to date hardware. It was exciting to have an AMD CPU. I thought at the time that AMD made more interesting CPU’s, they where also slightly cheaper than Intel making them more attractive. Intel and AMD battled each other for the chance to make it to 1 GHz first, AMD won that battle (by a week I think). My original goal was to get a dual AMD K7 board and run two 1 GHz AMD CPU’s when they got available but it would take some more years before a dual CPU AMD solution was offered. And when it was offered I wasn’t to keen on running a computer setup that used 4-500 watt when idling.
2003 – AMD Athlon Thunderbird 1200 MHz
Specs:
- AMD Athlon Thunderbird 1200 MHz ’socket a’ CPU
- 512 MB
- 37 GB harddrive
- 24x CD-rom
- 52x CD burner
- Soundblaster Live
- Geforce 256 AGP Graphics board
- Yeong Yang server case ATX
Operating system:
- Windows XP
- NetBSD
- Linux (Slackware)
Story:
I swapped an Amiga 4000 for this PC otherwise I would have kept my 800 MHz Athlon. I think I could have used my 800 MHz Athlon till 2005, it was very usable in XP and for web development and other needs.
2004 – Pentium 4 2.4 GHz
Specs:
- Pentium 4 2.4 GHz
- 512 MB
- 120 GB harddrive
- 8x DVD-rom
- Shuttle cube case
- ATI Radeon 9600 256 MB AGP graphics card
Operating system:
- Windows XP
Story:
I wanted my hardware to be more up to date. Originally I had a large ATX case but six months later I bought a smaller Shuttle case. This was the first computer I tried to make as quiet as possible. But making the Shuttle quiet was a challenge. I had to mount an external PSU with larger fan and a larger cooling fan on the outside of the Shuttle before I was pleased with the noise level. This is a great computer and a much needed break from oversized ATX cases. This computer would probably last me until 2006/2007 or further since I rarely play games anymore and won’t need more horsepower.