What’s The Oldest Tech Hardware You Still Use?

Shiny Thing Syndrome (STS) is a hard condition to shake, and I’ve been collecting computer hardware since the early ’90s. Some I’ve kept and some I’ve regrettably sold. Not all my vintage hardware is in continuous daily use, except for one.

Compace Rally PC Case (AT)

I’ve had this case since the early ’90s and have been lugging it around ever since. Originally, it housed an Intel 486 and a tiny hard drive with Windows 3.1 – my first introduction to Windows. Since then, I’ve played with numerous configurations, but since it’s an AT design, my choices are limited. Today it contains a PC Chips motherboard, Intel Pentium II 300Mhz, CD-ROM drive, 64MB of RAM, 5 1/4 and 3.5″ floppy drives, and some ISA devices, including a sound card and PCMCIA network card. Really, it’s just a bit of retro fun, ideal for playing with Windows 98 and XP.

My First PC Case With Side Window

PC cases with tempered glass side panels are all the rage today. I bought this one in Spain back in 2003, with a Perspex panel, and built a Pentium 4 system on an Asus motherboard with a massive 2GB of RAM, a DVD drive, a 3DFX video card, and a 40GB HDD. It’s seen numerous configurations since then and currently houses an Asus FM1 motherboard with an AMD A6 3620 CPU and 16GB of RAM, which I was using for VHS to digital conversions. Since upgrading to a Ryzen 5600G in a brand new system, I’ve retired this one, and when the motherboard finally dies, I expect I’ll still use this case for more retro fun.

Creative Cambridge Soundworks 4.1 speakers

How odd that I can still remember the day when I picked up these excellent speakers from a bargain bin at a PC World store in the UK back in 2000 for £10 (which my dear Mum paid for!). Mainly because I’ve been using them every day since, and I’ve moved house at least half a dozen times during that time. The four satellite speakers and one sub-woofer produce just the right sound for me, both for gaming and music, with a handy volume control that sits on the desktop. With a total power of 41 Watts (24W satellites, 17W Subwoofer), it’s easily enough for me, especially in a small room. The subwoofer sits on the floor under my desk, but I don’t trail the cables to the back of the room for rear sound because everything sounds fine, as you can see in the above photo. For a 25-year-old set of speakers that still produce a great sound, I have no intention of replacing them.

Other Hardware

I have boxes of old graphics cards, sound cards, keyboards, and mice, which I occasionally dip into just for fun and am reluctant to ditch, being a collector. Quality products are worth keeping, especially if they do everything you need them to. A case in point is my Cooler Master Storm Trooper full tower case, which I’ve now had for over 10 years because I’ve yet to find a full tower that will take six HDDs, numerous fans, and be spacious enough for everything I throw at it.